Re: [bmw] 1986 bmw 535i assessment

[Richard Welty <rwelty@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 17:17:10 -0500 (EST)
   Richard Welty <rwelty@domain.elided> wrote:
> my brother in law is about to get out of his 1986 535i, and i'm considering
> whether or not it's worth a look.

i'm not going to buy this car, i don't need another project. however,
someone on the list may want to take a look. the car is in
Schenectady NY, Douglas Montgomery, 518-346-4422

> it's a 5 speed, white, 200,000 miles, body ok. engine and exhaust
> are another matter. it's been an upstate ny car for most if not all
> of its life.

note that i won't vouch for the condition of the body and interior,
i've never examined the car very closely, but from a distance it
looks like a 200,000 mile car with a somewhat dull paint job. i've
never seen any rust on it, but i've never inspected it with that
in mind.

also, my brother in law is a smoker. i've not ridden in the car, but
i can guess what it smells like inside.

> the exhaust is a conglomeration of parts scarfed from the dumpster
> at a cole muffler shop, no cat (can't pass inspection in NY without
> a cat, i'd have to buy and install one, $550 from rusty in atlanta.)

> the engine is running way rich, it's killing O2 sensors at a high rate,
> the current one is defunct. my brother in law doesn't want to spend
> the money to diagnose and fix this problem. if it's, for example, an
> ecu, rusty wants ~ $500 for a new one. 

> he wants $1100 for it. i'm pondering whether or not this is a
> fair price; Edmunds shows the car at roughly $2100 in clean
> condition, $1100 in average condition.

richard
-- 
Richard Welty                                         rwelty@domain.elided
Averill Park Networking                                         518-573-7592
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