[alex21074]

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum, pleased to meet everyone on here! I am being offered a 2008 328xi by one of my co-workers for 500$. Before you guys freak out at the price, it obviously needs repairs. It has 240,000km, my co-worker owned it for two years, bought it for 7000$. Owner replaced front shocks and springs, starter, oil filter housing (no leaks there or on the valve cover gasket), two crankshaft positioning sensors, three coils and spark plugs, differential oil. Here's a rundown of the problems and repairs it needs, based on the pre-purchase inspection I paid for;

All 4 tires need replacing (only one OEM set of rims, R16's)
Brakes and rotors need replacing
Both front control arms on each side need replacing
Rear shock absorbers need replacing
A/C needs a refill (based on owner's words), A/C seems to work
Misfires on cylinders 1,2,3 (owner says needs engine coils and spark plugs)
stored code for oxygen pre-cat sensor and coolant temperature sensor
Current code for transmission oil wear (assume fluid was never changed)
needs alignment
needs battery replaced
Oil pan sweating (repair shop says small enough to pass safety inspection)

Owner serviced car at MrLube, but every 4000km (synthetic, but doubt it was LL-01)

Anyway, I know this is a lot of work to do, but I am planning to have this as a second car for fun and repair it myself (found a place where you rent the workshop with tools for 30$/hour in the GTA, my buddy who worked at a dealership offered to help for free). Some background info; 25yo, live in a condo (wish they had a place to hoist cars in the garage), my daily driver is a 2012 Volvo S60 T6, pretty trouble free in the 4 years that I've owned it, I do some work on it myself.

My question is this, do you guys think it's worth it to get this car for myself or not? I'm not planning to flip it or part it out, I'm a car guy and don't mind working on it myself.

[fastboatster]

What is transmission oil wear code?
P.S. got it, there’s a a code for it, might or might not mean you need to change bit, I assume you do. Question - did you test drive it and did you like it? If yes, go for it.

[clegg]

I would think that if the body and interior are in decent shape and you can work on the car that it would be worth it.

Don't forget about the likely possibility of the water pump and thermostat will need replaced very soon.

The AC needing a recharge indicates that there is a leak that will continue until the evaporator, condenser or line is repaired.

[alex21074]

Originally Posted by fastboatster

What is transmission oil wear code?

They didn't write the code on paper, but it says EGS gearbox oil wear, that car drives like sh*t, but I know how well a good condition BMW drives, my ex's 2013 BMW X1 drove amazing, it kinda felt better than my car (which kinda sucked at the time), I don't know if it's the placebo effect or is BMW really the ultimate driving machine?

[alex21074]

Originally Posted by clegg

I would think that if the body and interior are in decent shape and you can work on the car that it would be worth it.

Don't forget about the likely possibility of the water pump and thermostat will need replaced very soon.

The AC needing a recharge indicates that there is a leak that will continue until the evaporator, condenser or line is repaired.

body has a few scratches, nothing major, no rust, inside has been smoked in (including weed), small rip on driver's seat, passenger seat spring fell off (hand crank seats)

[alex21074]

Originally Posted by clegg

I would think that if the body and interior are in decent shape and you can work on the car that it would be worth it.

Don't forget about the likely possibility of the water pump and thermostat will need replaced very soon.

The AC needing a recharge indicates that there is a leak that will continue until the evaporator, condenser or line is repaired.

Owner said the shop he serviced it in said the water pump was supposed to fail at 220k, right now it's 237k.

[alex21074]

I was looking at the possibility of purchasing a donor car from an auction and stripping it, because the auto wreckers don't give good deals anyway, they ask 80$ for each control arm and 150-200$ for a used battery

[fastboatster]

Don’t need used front control arms, replacement ball joints and bushes are available for xi cars, rwds only have either replacement bushes or complete arms. New oe are not too expensive either, 130ish for a set

[fastboatster]

200 for used battery is a ripoff, you can buy some auto part store batteries and they will work, just need the right size and type. No need for a parts car

[alex21074]

I forgot to add, the rough idle goes away if the car is turned off and back on again, for a short while.

[alex21074]

Originally Posted by fastboatster

Don’t need used front control arms, replacement ball joints and bushes are available for xi cars, rwds only have either replacement bushes or complete arms. New oe are not too expensive either, 130ish for a set

The control arms are rusted and need replacing, the shop said, to pass inspection. Underbody has no rust whatsoever. I was looking at OE, and right now my parts bill comes to 2500$ CAD with used tires and battery

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

You can part out random shit on it for more than $500 and sell the rest to a wrecking company.

[alex21074]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

You can part out random shit on it for more than $500 and sell the rest to a wrecking company.

I am not going to part it out as stated in the original post, I am interested in cars and want to learn how to fix them. Obviously if it's not worth the repairs to the market price, I won't buy it.

[alex21074]

I was thinking of using liqui moly fuel system cleaner to clean the whole injection system, what do you guys think?

[Serf27]

Seems like you know all the parts it needs.
Why don’t you price it all out and add it up to see if it’s still cheaper than what a good condition 328i sells for in your area?

For $500 CAD, it seems like a good cheap project.

If you do get it, I recommend fixing the misfires and other engine/transmission issues first to make sure it will run well, then focus on control arms/struts and brakes.

[velorider562]

For $500 it's hard to go wrong for a car guy. Sounds like a fun project. My concern would be that you need to take it somewhere to work on it, not the best situation for a project car.

Budget a considerable amount of money, considering the mileages. Maybe 2k-3k.

I don't agree with the comments that there is an A/C leak if the R134a is low. After that many years it's pretty normal, not like the good old freon systems.

[glyts]

Sounds like a big project to me, i probably wouldn't go for it. is it manual or automatic?

[alex21074]

Originally Posted by Serf27

Seems like you know all the parts it needs.
Why don’t you price it all out and add it up to see if it’s still cheaper than what a good condition 328i sells for in your area?

For $500 CAD, it seems like a good cheap project.

If you do get it, I recommend fixing the misfires and other engine/transmission issues first to make sure it will run well, then focus on control arms/struts and brakes.

That's what I was thinking of doing, I was thinking of moving one ignition coil over and seeing if that solves the rough idle. the rough idle is actually intermittent, and if you shut the car off and back on again, it dissapears for some time.

[alex21074]

Originally Posted by glyts

Sounds like a big project to me, i probably wouldn't go for it. is it manual or automatic?

Automatic, GM transmission (not the ZF)

[alex21074]

Originally Posted by velorider562

For $500 it's hard to go wrong for a car guy. Sounds like a fun project. My concern would be that you need to take it somewhere to work on it, not the best situation for a project car.

Budget a considerable amount of money, considering the mileages. Maybe 2k-3k.

I don't agree with the comments that there is an A/C leak if the R134a is low. After that many years it's pretty normal, not like the good old freon systems.

just the parts (assuming used all seasons and battery) is about 2500$ CAD, I found a place 100km away from my house that has a hoist and all the tools needed for 30$/hour, I think 8-10 hours would be enough for the brakes and suspension. The rough idle is probably something that needs to be worked on from the top.

[fastboatster]

all boils down to whether you like the car or not. if you like it and like how it drives, then go for it, at this price it's reasonable.
would be better if it was a manual for easier resale if you decide to sell it after, but auto is okay, too

[Jesda]

So $3000 all together for a car that's been fully refreshed, assuming the interior can be cleaned and deodorized.

If you dont think you can get rid of the smell then pass on it. Or buy it and part it out.