Messages

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General Topics / New 318is failed idle smog test

« on: October 03, 2008, 07:50:53 PM »

A few weeks ago, I picked up sumyungguy's 318is, which has been great so far. Initially he thought that it had been smogged recenty enough that I wouldn't have to do anything, but it turned out the purchase was just a few days after the 90 day smog cutoff. I registered the car at the DMV, but they insisted that I get a new smog certificate.

I finally got around to getting it smogged again today and the car failed the idle test, but passed the 2500rpm test at only 11ppm (the max allowed is 140). The car has an intermittently surging idle that apparently has been an elusive problem to solve. About half the time, it idles smoothly at 800-900rpm just like it should. The other half, it'll surge up to about 1200 or 1300, then immediately drop back down to maybe 700 or so - just enough to feel rough for a moment - then immediately surged back up 1200 or 1300.

Would you think that the smog failure was due to the idle issue or could it be something else? And what could be the underlying cuase of the idle problem?

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 21, 2008, 02:26:00 AM »

I'd say "running horribly" is an understatement. My friend stalled it 3 times just backing it out of the driveway, and he's plenty experienced with a 5-speed. It made all sorts of puttering noises, and in general just sounded horrible. In addition, the front seats were totally trashed and needed replacing. On a side note, they were gray non-sport cloth seats with a checker pattern. I thought sport seats were standard on the is model? Anyway, the car also smelled like smoke which would have been a bitch to get rid of.

Sure, there's the possibility that I could have fixed it up for not too much, but the effort would not be worth it in my situation.

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 19, 2008, 09:03:17 PM »

I just ended up replacing the motor/trans with a freshly rebuilt one ~20,000 miles on the motor I bought.  Cost me $1100 for the motor and trans... I didn't want to mess with a motor with a bad head gasket.  Sold it for $250 with 250,000 miles on it to the owner of my shop.  Engine turned out to be good so he got a good deal.  

I wouldn't drive that one though... you could turn a relatively cheap fix into a very expensive one.

Wait I'm a little confused. Are you saying if I drove it the 135 miles I would make the "cheap" head gasket into a bigger problem? After what you said before, I wasn't planning on driving it more than whatever's necessary for a quick test drive.

Update: Found a 230k DS 318is just a few miles away. He says that it needs plugs, a sunroof crank, and seat covers. Asking price is only $1200! I should be checking this out tomorrow.

Update #2: I just came back from test driving the car. The exterior was in surprisingly good condition with no obvious dents and decent paint. However, it ran horribly so I ended up passing.

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 19, 2008, 01:46:44 AM »

Nope... I wouldn't drive it 150 miles.  Bought mine in Austin with a blown head gasket... wouldn't chance even the 60 miles back to SA.  Called a flatbed.  

If u do drive it... she will over heat most likely.  How long it takes depends on how bad the head gasket is leaking.  Mine was shot totally... oil was moca coffee colored.

Did you fix it yourself or did you have someone else do it? If you did the latter, how much did it end up costing? Also, how much was it to ship?

This is the guy's response to my email: "I think the gasket just went bad friday night after I put in the waterpump and thermostat. I test drove Sat morning and it was running strong, but the exhaust was showing intermitent steam. Overheats if sitting idle and runs upper hot on driving around town here. Mileage is a bit over 200k."

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 19, 2008, 12:10:29 AM »

Found this guy on craigslist earlier: http://monterey.craigslist.org/cto/802905565.html

The guy says it needs a new head gasket, which is clearly a big job but he's only asking 850 OBO. Now bear with me here - I don't know that much about cars, but is there any chance that car could be driven 135 miles without it taking a shit? Also, roughly how much would it cost to get the head gasket replaced?

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 14, 2008, 05:44:39 PM »

Well, after some further communication with the seller, I found that the only real problem that needed to be was broken blinkers. A friend and I drove up to Santa Cruz yesterday and took a look at the car at 1:00PM. The paint was in worse condition than I had hoped and it looked as if there could be some minor oil leaks from the engine (Nothing dripping, but plenty of thick black gunk). During the test drive, the engine felt a little rough at low RPM, but smoothed out at around 3500 or higher. The transmission felt fine, and the only other thing I noticed was some faint "ticking" from the engine which I presumed to be noisy valves (am I right on this?).

This being said, I still felt the car was worth $1700 but I figured I might try to barter a bit so I offered the woman and her dad, who did most of the talking, $1550 assuming it would pass smog. They said they would think about it and get back to me in an hour and half or so. After about two hours hanging around the beach and boardwalk, I got a call from the woman saying that someone had driven it before us and offered $1700. I said that if she was firm on the price, I would accomodate, but apparently since we had left she promised it to the "first" drivers.

Even worse, she said that they weren't sure they wanted the car but refused to sell it to me. The seller also said that she couldn't tell me that day, but might be able to tell me the next (today) if they had made up their minds. My friend and I ended up visiting some of his family in San Jose, but she never ended up returning my calls. Our assumption is that the "first" drivers had really checked it out after us, but the whole thing still doesn't make much sense. Anyway, it looks like I'm going to have to pass on this one so my search continues. I'm still considering that one in SLO, but I'm not too sure about the price.

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 11, 2008, 02:25:54 AM »

Looks like I found another potential buy about 3 hours away.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/cto/791262351.html

Obviously the valences looked pretty trashed, but it could be a deal if it's in good mechanical condition.

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 09, 2008, 04:06:39 PM »

Yeah, I drove it a few months ago but it was the first e30 I had driven. It seemed fine to me, but the front shocks are pretty shot. Also, in comparison to the second one i drove, his seemed to be more "squeaky" for some reason. Maybe it was just the suspension parts that need replacing. At this point, it's really the mileage that's keeping me from jumping on it. 222k is a lot... but at the same time, what does that really mean? If cosmetically it's clean, compression is good, and I know what parts need replacing, does the milage make that much of a difference?

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 09, 2008, 01:09:39 PM »

I told him that I might be willing to pay $2200 and he said he thinks the lowest he'll go is $2500. It's really tempting to just go for it and end my search, but on the other hand I'm not sure I'd be getting the best deal.

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 05, 2008, 12:55:58 PM »

I'd offer him 2000 for it.. You gotta barter.. 220k is a ton of miles but from the looks of the car it was well taken care of. Noticed the Blacked out low beams and the painted lip. I'd start off with 2k and work your way up if hes not willing to barter

Well, I fully intend to try to talk him down if I decide to get it, but I really don't think he's going to want to budge much. It was priced at $3500 before and he didn't want to go under $3k. Also, he's selling it to get money for a truck so he wants to get as much as possible.

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 05, 2008, 12:40:08 PM »

Well, it sold to some other guy before I was able to drive up and take a look.

On the other hand, it turns out that the guy selling the very first 318is that I looked at has reposted his car asking $700 less than before. Since then he's replaced the guibo+csb and the antenna grommet, but a small chip in the windshield has become a large crack, so the windshield needs to be replaced. After consulting the list of suggested repairs from my mechanic:

differential side axle seals
brake pad wear sensors
rear sway bar bushes
lower A arm bushes
front brake hoses
fan belts
front struts with top bushes
power steering hoses
oil pan
+windshield ($150?)
+fuel pump (it's pretty noisy)

I added everything up real quick on pelican parts and it came out at about exactly $1000 including the windshield. In addition to the aforementioned problems, the AC doesn't blow as cold as it should and there are a few exterior dings and scratches mentioned in the ad. Does this look like it's worth anything close to $2800?

here's the ad: http://slo.craigslist.org/car/783107786.html

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 03, 2008, 12:38:07 PM »

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=85120

Stereoinstaller's post at the bottom is inspiring!

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 03, 2008, 12:29:54 AM »

I talked with the seller some more and apparently the only leak she's aware of is from the PS system.

What do you guys think of the paint? Does it look shot and in need of a respray or do you think I could get away with some serious waxing?

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 02, 2008, 08:52:51 PM »

Price is $1750. Edited my post to reflect this.

Pictures!

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General Topics / My quest so far... is there still hope?

« on: August 02, 2008, 07:40:30 PM »

Well, I'm back from my trip and it looks like I could have another potential test drive lined up. I found this one on craigslist as well and have been in communication with the seller via email. The car is a brilliantrot 318is with 202,000 miles in good mechanical condition with some problems. The radio is broken, there are a few rips and tears in the front black vinyl seats, and the paint on one side, the roof, and the front and rear bumpers appears to be severely faded. Otherwise the body appears straight, with few if any dings and no visible damage.

She also sent me an incomplete and kind of confusing maintenance record, notable repairs including the A/C system and front shocks at an unknown date, "MW driveline" in 2000 (whatever that means, but apparently expensive), a leaking profile gasket in 2000, and a timing chain + front and rear brakes in '04 (not sure about the date).

Any thoughts? I can post a few pictures in a bit.

Edit: She's only asking $1750, which could probably be talked down