Posted by Joel on February 01, 2008 at 19:39:41 from 68.38.143.146
ENGINE/TRANSMISSION:
The engine is strong as reported by my mechanic and as far as I know, bulletproof. This M30B28 engine has never failed me. Could be the low miles. Could be the fact that it's so well engineered. I have driven the car on 10 hour drives around the Delaware Water Gap and have never had a problem with starting, hesitation, or lost power. I would love to drive this car cross-country. It runs smoothly but some black droplets occasionally come out of the tailpipe when you first start the car and there is a definite oil leak as evidenced the following morning by the floor under the engine bay. I faithfully put in quarts of 20W50 when the oil runs low (this being every 500 miles or so). I am not a mechanic so I'm trying to give potential buyers an idea of the state of the engine. The car has an automatic transmission and I've never driven it hard enough to rev the engine past 5000 rpm or so. (It's an automatic; you'd have to be doing 85 mph or so in 2nd gear to get it up to there). I therefore figure the engine needs to be broken in and used for its real intention: spirited driving. You may not get the reported 181 hp @5500 rpm, but I'd love for someone to take the engine and put it into a car with a manual transmission. Or replace the automatic transmission with a manual. I hate to give the car up because I think the engine will go for another 130,000 miles, effortlessly and quietly, with care. Someone who doesn't add oil every 500-1000 miles or so will seize the engine and I don't want to sell it to someone who doesn't know e12s.
BODY/EXTERIOR:
The body is in decent shape, some rust at the door sills, but I'm guessing that on the whole the car may be more easily restorable than other e12s out there. Could be wrong. Rust behind the rear door sills has slowly increased (more quickly this year since I drive it in the rain). And yes, I get water in the trunk but haven't read the thread on what to do about it. I will right after I type this. Some dings, some missing trim. The previous owner(s) had the whole car painted (similar to the original safari beige but not sure if it's BMW paint). They also replaced the right passenger door mirror with a Chevrolet Cavalier (1980-1988) mirror for who knows why. I priced the mirror assembly for $1800 or so at the BMW dealer and decided it was not worth it to replace. Everything else is there and original (wheels, bumpers, etc.) as far as I know.
INTERIOR: Seats are in good shape. Not leather, but leatherette (possibly aftermarket or did these cars come with cloth, leatherette, or leather as options?). One crack in the driver's seat leatherette just popped up and is just recently visible if you look closely. A few scratch marks on the passenger's seat, no tears. Support is fine, normal wear and tear, and passenger's side seat feels softer and more worn, probably because it's not height-adjustable. Everything is presentable on the wheel and instrument panel. The B column where the front driver's seatbelts are housed has worn and curling leather lining. Doors are fine but one door handle is missing the black insert and the front driver's door no longer has the map pocket. Carpets are not so good: no tears, but they're pretty old. The dashboard has multiple cracks running towards the windshield. The rear hat shelf carpeting is basically crumbling towards dust. I managed to do something to the locking mechanism in the rear right door and can't get the door open (this has been the case for 2 years). The left rear automatic window does not roll down, the 3 others do. Automatic locks are fine, they run slower in the cold. Sunroof motor is smooth. Everything looks like it is original except for what I know I replaced: (1) the original radio I replaced with a CD player with a red lit face to match the interior lighting on the dashboard, (2) the visor clips, and (3) the glove compartment lock. For #3, I should have read the easy repair guide on firstfives.org!
A/C: not working, not converted. Basically it blows oven hot. This is the other reason I'm selling the car. The e12's body style is such that it becomes a greenhouse in the summer. Heater works fine. I love the idea that you can get fresh cool air in your face and hot air on the floor whenever you want in the winter. I can list about 10000 other things that I love about this car, but I'll leave it to the buyer to discover them.
I'm going to take pictures tomorrow if it's sunny and will post them here soon.
I don't know how much to ask for this car. Gold book value is $1200 for fair up to $5000 for show condition. Dealers have offered me $50 to $1500 as part of a trade in for another car. We all know their prices mean nothing.
Basically, I consider the price and money to be of no issue. I'd consider any offer; most important is that I just want the car to go to a good home. If anyone shows up with another e12 (I've never seen another one on the road here in NJ though I know they're out there), and I get to get a look at what these cars look like restored, (and maybe take a ride, too!) I would be almost willing to give this car away for free. If I saw it in a dealer's lot, and knew how to fix the A/C and was handy with rust removal and repair, I'd buy this car in a heartbeat. Anyone interested to purchase? Any advice regarding the rear right door handle/lock would be great, too.
Thanks in advance.