About to buy an E30 M3...questions

[chandler]

Guys I am new to the M3 but not to E30's. I am thinking of buying a 1988 E30 M3 for $10k...

The good: Suspension, cam gears, timing chain, tensioner, radiator, control arms, clutch are all new.

The bad: 199,000 miles


Tell me what things I need to consider. The motor feels really strong and smooth but with all those miles what should I worry about?

Thanks in advance

[Neel]

I would worry about everything, save what you listed as being replaced. How many miles do the replaced parts have on them ?

I would seriously ask to see at what interval things were replaced at, ie plugs water pump, belts, oil changes, diff fluid, etc etc etc.

200k is no joke. I would hope you could get the car for less... there are cars that have less mileage then this car going for around 10k.

[kroberts]

Honestly Amigo that's a lot of money for an M3 with 200k on it. You really should step back and try to be objective about this. Whatever you do, dont rush.

My M3 was $7800. It has 148k on it. Every suspension bushing was fresh & the interior is nearly perfect. The body is rust free but the paint sucks.

Some words of warning, dont trust Carfax and dont trust Ebay.

kroberts

[lockolose]

I also bought my first M3 1988 with 143k miles for 7k. The car came with a ton of reciepts and all work was done by BMW. The car did need paint but other wise the car was good. My second M3 1988 i just bought for 5k to do a swap. sold the motor for $2500 and now have a nice roller.
Don't be hasty. Shop around and do your homework something better will come.


Mike