Hello. New guy here, might be getting a 91 318is soon, wanted some input.

[BlastedCorpse]

I found this car in a local craigslist ad and was wondering if you guys think this is a good buy.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/4786912519.html

He is asking 5800 which sounds really high to me, however mechanically everything appears to be in good working order, with the exception of the odometer+fuel gauge. I'm gonna go have a look tomorrow. I know where to check for rust, leaks, oil pan bolts, etc and I feel I have been thorough in my research but was wondering if there was anything else I should keep an eye out for?

[DesktopDave]

That car looks to be in great shape, even down to the complete toolkit. I was looking for something to knock the price and the only thing I could find was the spare tire mismatch. The leather is worn the same way as every other sport seats. The steering wheel was swapped at some point too, should have had an airbag 4-spoke wheel. Check that the control stalks are the proper distance from the steering wheel. I'd also see if he has those parts (the old 4-spoke wheel and the airbag stalks). I don't know if any collector would want a completely OEM car, but they're good to have just in case. You might be able to knock the price down a bit due to the mods, even though they're OEM, but I doubt it.

You can get a complete build sheet if you have the last seven digits of the VIN here:
http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html
Keep your fingers crossed for an LSD, although it's likely as not been worn out.

The slick top cars (no sunroof) are VERY sought after. I'm glad he's going to mod some other E30 instead of a facelift car. Any E30 with plastic bumpers is climbing in value. A 325iS is difficult to find under $5K and the M42 cars have also gotten noticed. All the E30s are wonderful cars, but many other 80s and 90s cars are heading up the scale.

I do think that $5800 is a bit high, but I'm figuring on local prices. Given our salted roads and climate, prices in the Pittsburgh area are always on the low side. The fuel gauge is likely the SI board batteries, although it could also be a wonky sender or a bad gauge. If you need a new gauge, be sure you get one from a single-sender car (55L tank)...the big-tank cars (63L tank) used a different gauge.

[BlastedCorpse]

You can get a complete build sheet if you have the last seven digits of the VIN here:
http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html
Keep your fingers crossed for an LSD, although it's likely as not been worn out.

The slick top cars (no sunroof) are VERY sought after. I'm glad he's going to mod some other E30 instead of a facelift car. Any E30 with plastic bumpers is climbing in value. A 325iS is difficult to find under $5K and the M42 cars have also gotten noticed. All the E30s are wonderful cars, but many other 80s and 90s cars are heading up the scale.

I do think that $5800 is a bit high, but I'm figuring on local prices. Given our salted roads and climate, prices in the Pittsburgh area are always on the low side. The fuel gauge is likely the SI board batteries, although it could also be a wonky sender or a bad gauge. If you need a new gauge, be sure you get one from a single-sender car (55L tank)...the big-tank cars (63L tank) used a different gauge.

First of all: Thank you for your response!

He has a post on R3v stating it has a 4.10 LSD. Build sheet doesn't mention anything from the factory.

Well here is a link to a local search http://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=bmw%20e30%20318is&sort=rel. Only a few results, most within the same price range. I was thinking of offering $3700, but something tells me I will need more luck to get to that price range. At the end of the day it's still a 24 year old car.....  I had found one earlier in the week for 5500 and that one came with BBS CR's, which from what I've discovered are some pretty pricy wheels, so 5800 for this one is kinda steep is a little more difficult to justify.