To Buy or Not To Buy 1990 BMW 735i

Ok guys, I have a lead on a 1990 BMW 735i, The price is for a 2 vehicle deal, (Other vehicle is an 80's Chevy pick-up with a 350 motor) I want to max out this BMW if I bite the bullet, I have heard you can part out for upwards of $3K, but I need to know reasonable and not "pie in the sky" or have to wait a year to get my $ back. Guy is firm on his pricing.. just wanted to know if you guys have any tips. Apparently the car runs- but battery is dead and he thinks.. thinks their is a bad ground somewhere (elec can get to be a nightmare) Did a quick KBB in average condition only $808 on a trade in. Just wanting to buy smart and not get burned. Definitely too nice to scrap- and would never make $ back out of it if it went to the crusher. I'm all ears gents and ladies!

P.S. Guy wants $1500 for both/all

From experience BMW's are notorious for electrical problems. Yes, nightmare.
Better look for a bucket of leverite.

if it were here i would take a chance at about 800 but to be safe at scrap value you would have to be at 600, but since his price is firm he probably wont come down at least that much, ive got a thread on here somewhere where i bought a 325i for i think for 325 but i may be wrong, with the truck down here in AR if its a shortbed you could make a good chunk with just a body, everyone likes rebuilding them. 1500 is way too much to come out and for me would be too much money to have on one purchase. when you get into project cars there is ALWAYS more than meets the eye

1500 $ for both ? No way man, no saying there isn't money to had there but it'd take a lot to recoup the initial investment let alone profit. I'd run far far far away from this one. It's a huge gamble in my opinion, and it's never a good sign when they are sold as a pair especially when it's not a pair of the same. If it was two pickups wouldn't think as much about it but a Beamer and a Chevy pickup, wtf ? Do both run and drive ? Idk what it is but something is amiss here

Cory: I did in fact do a search on your very topic. I think you snagged that car for $300 bucks- which I would pay in a second for a 740il, the cats would NEARLY pay for the outlay of cash. I have been thinking about this one all day, and as tempting as it may be.. I just don't see an upside here. I see myself sitting on two "fixable" vehicles, with no desire to drop MORE money into them.. and then have the pleasure of trying to sell them off AND get to profit.

Tater:
As far as each one's issue:
Truck: Leak in secondary gas tank, Body is rough as hell
BMW: "Electrical Issues" and lack of a battery.

And those are the issues that I was told- who know what else lurks. He also has a hard sentimental attachment to the BMW, which makes trying to get it down further- a futile effort (I did try)

Thanks for the input guys. Looks like a good "pass" Just didn't want to let the deal slip by if somehow a more experienced car scrapper saw a goldmine where I did not!
Most appreciated!

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Originally Posted by sledge42

Truck: Leak in secondary gas tank, Body is rough as hell

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If the truck had been in good running and solid condition, I believe you would've made back most of your investment on it alone. But this being Indiana, the solid rust free trucks are a rarity.

Electrical problems do suck. I've been dealing with one for the last couple years with my van. Nobody can figure out the issue. Ah well, when the van's time comes. I'm dissect that sucker an enjoy every minute of it.

Sirscrapalot - Just got suckered into buying girl scout cookies by a clients daughter...lol.

I'm not sure you could part out a beamer that old and make it worth your time. What does someone want from a 1990 735i worth 3g? Maybe an old E86M3 or something......But I have no experience... I do know of a fellow that buys totaled newer luxury cars because the parts are in much higher demand he did well.

I'd probably pass unless you know cars WELL to fix them no problem.

hmm depends on the area i could part out both and double my money but it would take about a month

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Originally Posted by Libertytow

hmm depends on the area i could part out both and double my money but it would take about a month

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Yeah a month plus another 11 months, I think there might be money to be made there but who wants their money tied up that long ?

I think with time, space and resources, it would be a do-able deal to part them out.. but things in this game are odd that way- you could think you'd sell everything and get stuck with either:
A. A whole bunch of time taking/storing/listing and make your $ back
B. All of the above and it sits to rot and you take a loss.

Too risky for me with my current set-up/space and the amount to invest.

Tater in all honesty chevy pick ups are workhorses everyone uses i could probably get back $1500 on the cab dash doors tialgate bed lights grille front clip tires etc the bimmer would be tougher but doable you should look into bavarian auto parts they scoop them fastest for highest prices i"ve seen

Bavarian Autosport is an awesome place.. but they are in NH and out of Rancho Cordova CA, I'm doubting that they would haul this BMW from Indiana to NH unless it was something super sweet or super rare. I looked into trying to find a BMW dismantler somewhere close and came up empty :-(

I do older Benzes and am very familiar with them which makes it easy. It's doable with a good tool set and meter, but rust is a big problem on those cars. Try the completed search mode for that model for parts on Ebay. If you're slow it could fill up some time.

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Originally Posted by Libertytow

Tater in all honesty chevy pick ups are workhorses everyone uses i could probably get back $1500 on the cab dash doors tialgate bed lights grille front clip tires etc the bimmer would be tougher but doable you should look into bavarian auto parts they scoop them fastest for highest prices i"ve seen

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Did ya miss the part where he said the body was beat to pi$$ ?
Believe me I'm very well aware of what Chevy parts are worth. But if the body is shot making 1500 back on that pickup would be impossible less it's got a 572 crate motor under the hood

If you can get the bimmer running, put some rims on it and you can sell it for more than you think.

So far as electrical problems are concerned, more often than not it has nothing to do with the wiring but has to do instead with the car's computer. That is easy to replace, and you can find them in pull it yards all over the place.

As far as working on them, I have owned several 7 series BMWs. From the oil filter, to jacking them up to change the tires, they are amazingly simple to work on. It's the parts that are expensive, and this because all the parts are still made in Germany. If you bought a Mercedes it would be different because many of the parts are made in Canada, Mexico and China, but not BMWs. This is also why they are such amazing cars, they are the only car totally designed and made in Germany.

Just my two cents, I have owned many cars, many Mustangs, until I owned my first BMW. I refused to buy anything but American for years, but after my first experience with a BMW, I have wanted, and driven, nothing else. And all of those I have purchased used, and for better than reasonable prices. You don't have to be rich, or a yuppie to buy, upkeep and enjoy one of the finest cars made in the world.

Scott

Scott-
I wish I was as mechanically inclined.. I could see this being such a headache for me fast. I got the guy to $1000 on the BMW, but I'm still too new at pulling cars to try and get them running again. I appreciate the insight on the situation though. Maybe in a year I'll look back and kick myself for passing this up. Under my current circumstances, I'm going to gut the Pontiac Sunfire I picked up yesterday for $200 bucks and make some profit off that. Unfortunately, right now, that is the stage in the car scrapping biz I'm in.

Noble, i had a 77 320i

It was the perfect commuter car, wish they all didnt rust out

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Originally Posted by sledge42

Scott-
I wish I was as mechanically inclined.. I could see this being such a headache for me fast. I got the guy to $1000 on the BMW, but I'm still too new at pulling cars to try and get them running again. I appreciate the insight on the situation though. Maybe in a year I'll look back and kick myself for passing this up. Under my current circumstances, I'm going to gut the Pontiac Sunfire I picked up yesterday for $200 bucks and make some profit off that. Unfortunately, right now, that is the stage in the car scrapping biz I'm in.
Aaron

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keep doing what your doing, if you can keep getting cars in the 2 to 300 range you will do fine, the ONLY time i ever paid more than scrap on purpose anyway was when i needed a transfer case for a durango, found a rollover on cl and i paid 650 for it. i will tell you where i messed up the most, stuff like sun visors, tail lights and other easy stuff to pull is worth a good amount of money and doesnt weigh anything, the bezel in my 02 2500 is over $100. i still dont pull it all but i know i should , another thing i forget to do is label what car they came off of, i can usually figure it out with the repeated use of the google button, my way to resolve this is to buy 10 or so big plastic bins at walmart and just label the outside of the bin, i just gotta get to walmart

I parted a 325i this year and did really well on it. I had right around $600 into it, including the title, sales tax, auction fees, and diesel to get it home. The converters fetched me $250 bucks, and my tonnage was another $325. From there, I parted out a ton of things, rear end, axles, radiator, alternator, dash, interior parts up the ying yang, etc. Mine ran and drove, but was wrecked pretty hard in the front. I was hoping to put it together when I bought it, but it was a little too far gone.

Cory-
Thanks for the kuddos man. I just need to remember- I have a business plan and am sticking too it. I got a guy up the street who is trying to "compete with me" he hauls all day long. I bill 50 hours a week, and do this on the side, he stopped over to brag this morning.. I just laughed- this is spare and pocket money for me and a reason to putter, his is trying to pay the bills and eat. I'd rather keep going like I do making a couple hundred or more profit on each one.

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Originally Posted by sledge42

Cory-
Thanks for the kuddos man. I just need to remember- I have a business plan and am sticking too it. I got a guy up the street who is trying to "compete with me" he hauls all day long. I bill 50 hours a week, and do this on the side, he stopped over to brag this morning.. I just laughed- this is spare and pocket money for me and a reason to putter, his is trying to pay the bills and eat. I'd rather keep going like I do making a couple hundred or more profit on each one.
Aaron

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you will have competition drop in, i guarantee he was checking out your operation, he may have been bragging but he was also checking you out, my favorite is when they call and ask for a price on a car, you give them a quote and they say well "let me ask my wife" lol how many wives want to leave the junk car in the yard, you never hear from them on that car again but a few weeks later you'll get the same number they are just fishing for information, its just part of reality every car you buy is one he can't get and vice versa

Cory-
The sad part is he is the guy who helped me get started. Now he seems to be on some kind of mission to "put me in my place" Like I said- two totally different business plans. I own my own General Contracting company and do this for pocket money, he has no income other than how many cars he pulls. :-)