Posted by jason on April 09, 2001 at 17:28:38:
In Reply to: Looking at a 77 530i..new to BMWs..help? !!! posted by Kurt on April 08, 2001 at 20:57:26:
i dunno about that 77. i do however know that people with parked and non running cars will pretty much tell you anything to get you to come look at the car, then once you've got all the way out there, it's such a waste of time not to buy it, that you do.
i did just that with an '85 jag xjs. i live in sacramento, ca. the jag was in hollywood. that's about a 9 to 10 hour drive in a truck worthy of towing a big car. before i left, the guy told me that everything in the car was great, interior was great, body was great, and that there was a top end fuel leak in one or two of the injector feed hoses.
the car cost my 1200 bucks. a steal, as the rear end is worth that to most t-bucket buildin' hot rod folks. i get down there, there's a dent in the front quarterpanel, the front spoiler is missing, the power steering pump is dry and probably has a leak, the water pump has a bad shaft seal, the interior is substandard, but fixable, the radiator crossmember is bent, causing the fan to rub the shroud, the exhaust pipes are broke halfway back between the resonator and the mufflers.
needless to say, i still bought it. but i'm a hell of a lot deeper in than i expected.
three months after buying it, i've got everything fixed except the power steering and the exhaust.
so if you want to go look at the car, go at it assuming it's a heap. and don't feel bad when you decide to flip a u and head home empty handed.
jason