philosophical question...

[michaelgvh]

Used modded cars, stay clear of them, or buy them?

I see someone like Keef who tastefully mods his car and pampers the hell out of it. An enthusiast would do this. But then I also think the modded out car is often beaten on, tracked, autocrossed, etc.

What do you guys think about buying a car with Mods?

The only mod I'm definitely staying away from at this point is someone who drops it by a bunch. I would have to raise the sucker back up to make it driveable in Maine and that's an additional cost I don't want to have.============================================= ============

Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)

[NY_Pete]

[Keef]

bought anything other than a stock car but I wouldn't let some well done basic mods kill a deal.

I think the most important thing you can do is discuss the mods with the owner. The quality and tenor of his or her responses should tell you all you need to know about whether or not the car was abused.

Like you I would steer clear of excessive or no name suspension mods. Also be wary of any car with "incomplete" mods. I.e. springs but no matching dampers or strengthened bushings. Really be careful with aftermarket audio mods.

Is there a specific car you're looking at? If you're looking at e36 convertibles still then be very careful of verts with suspension mods. There is a right way and a wrong way to do it and I learned the hard way.

[michaelgvh]

Is Cleveland too far to go for a car? Jeeez. What am I thinking? ================================================== =======

Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)

[michaelgvh]

Hard to believe it would take that long to sell.============================================= ============

Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)

[NY_Pete]

You'll be miserable for 9 months out of the year, and then even when you CAN put the top down, you won't every day.

[michaelgvh]

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Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)

[michaelgvh]

Define miserable...
Is it that much louder and draftier?
Hard top could solve that for the winters here.============================================= ============

Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)

[cek]

you gotta look at the workmanship of the mod. i lot of folks don't know what they are doing. i shudder at the number of M3s on the road with loose upper strut nuts.

go ahead have your fun...

[michaelgvh]

Or just your buddy has one?

This seems like a fantastic deal. 2003 330i for $8400.
I don't know anything about the E46, though to worry about them at what miles and such.

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Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)

[cek]

had 45K on the odometer when we picked it up in the spring. the E46 is a well designed car. i can't find a fault with it. the 330 in the link is well priced for only 67K miles. i wouldn't have a problem with it as long as the VANOS is quiet.

[michaelgvh]

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Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)

[michaelgvh]

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Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)

[NY_Pete]

[michaelgvh]

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Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)

[NY_Pete]

[michaelgvh]

Damnit - it's amazing how much more nimble and fun that thing was than an E39. I have never driven an E46 M, but the 330ic sure felt like it had the balls to match an E36 M pretty well.
So I think I'm narrowing my search to a 330i or 330xi.

Also, just brought my 528it into the shop (the snack bar) and it needs about 1k of rear bearing/parking brake/rotor work done. It also have various hoses and seals and bushings that are on the way out. I'm probably looking at $2k to get the thing back into top shape. Considering I can only expect to get $4-5k for it as a trade, I'm looking to unload this sucker in a trade-in scenario ASAP now and hope they just give me blue book and don't inspect it too closely.

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Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)

[cek]

the only noticable diffenence is the xi sits a little higher then the non-xi. otherwise, no performance or handling differences that i can find. your climate is perfect for the xi.

p.s. i'm keeping the stock 16" rims on it because the sergeant major aims for potholes.

[Keef]

I drove an e30 vert through nyc winters and an e36 vert through Hartford winters. It's not ideal but it can be done. A hardtop makes winter in a vert a non issue.

Of course, any rwd bmw isn't ideal for winter conditions but if you get a set of snows then you can get around in all bu the worst conditions.

I'm in Miami right now and I'm insanely jealous of these people. It's convertible weather practically every damn day down here.

[michaelgvh]

Buddy of mine lived there for a few years and hated it. It's not as HOT as living in Vegas or something, but it's so humid you can't walk outside without breaking out in a flop sweat. So you stay inside all day. You live in the AC. Verts stay closed so you can crank up the AC. ================================================== =======

Michael G. vH

1999 528it
1994 325i (sold)