Wanting advice on a 87 528e (should I get it)

Hey this is my first post and I'm a noobie to bimmers so, I'm wanting some advice on this car I found on craigslist here is the link.

http://yakima.craigslist.org/bar/2180229535.html

I'm wondering if this is a good buy even with the problems, How much longer should I expect it to run? (If you look in the pics it says 260.000 miles) I don't really have money to buy a better one. But I don't want to buy a big can of worms. I'm thinking I can get a laptop to trade for it even if I can't is it still a good buy? So if I could get your opinions that would be great.

Thanks In Advance

Yaka

For 400 dollars it looks good, I can sell you an alt for 35 plus shipping. But you should ask about the timing belt. It needs to be replace every 4 years or 60000 miles. I would assume that the you are going to have to replace the front end because the parts are worn and tired. That would be around 400 if you buy the parts off of ebay. The better parts will run you more. The brakes could be expensive, depending. But I am parting a few cars so I can help you keep costs down.

Andy

Originally Posted by Yakabimmer

Hey this is my first post and I'm a noobie to bimmers so, I'm wanting some advice on this car I found on craigslist here is the link.

http://yakima.craigslist.org/bar/2180229535.html

I'm wondering if this is a good buy even with the problems, How much longer should I expect it to run? (If you look in the pics it says 260.000 miles) I don't really have money to buy a better one. But I don't want to buy a big can of worms. I'm thinking I can get a laptop to trade for it even if I can't is it still a good buy? So if I could get your opinions that would be great.

Thanks In Advance

Yaka

Buy it! The brakes aren't hard to work on, but you don't yet know what it actually needs. I bought a set of nice Axxis front pads recently on Amazon for $6. Keep in touch, we'll walk you through it.

Thanks guys for the help. I have a friend that will sell me his older macbook for 50$ so I think I might buy that and trade it to him.

I will keep you all posted might happen this weekend (hopefully ). My dad (he is a old German car guy) looked at this same car a month ago and said the alt belt was really lose he was surprised it stayed on for the test drive.

He is thinking if we tighten it up might fix the problem that or a new battery. I guess the guy that is selling it is just wanting to wash his hands of it. What should I look for when I go look at it?

Does the heater fan work? Does it have the 55 shimmy? When at speed does the car shake or the steering wheel shake when you brake? Is there rust back by the rear bumper? When was the timing belt changed? Rust on the shock towers? Are the tires metric or standard? If metric you will need to get new rims, because the tires are 400 each.

Andy

pardon my ignorance lol whats a 55 shimmy lol. (I figured it out just had to think about it more) with the car not charging I can't really drive it at speed. I know about the timing belt needing to be changed every 60000 miles or 4 years.

Not sure about the heater fan I will check out all the issues you mentioned and use my gut lol thanks again. I want buying this car to be a good experience. I'll keep you all posted and take pics if i get the car.

Originally Posted by Yakabimmer

Thanks guys for the help. I have a friend that will sell me his older macbook for 50$ so I think I might buy that and trade it to him. I will keep you all posted might happen this weekend (hopefully ). My dad (he is a old German car guy) looked at this same car a month ago and said the alt belt was really lose he was surprised it stayed on for the test drive.

He is thinking if we tighten it up might fix the problem that or a new battery. I guess the guy that is selling it is just wanting to wash his hands of it. What should I look for when I go look at it?

That's the cost of a tank of gas. You can't go wrong on this deal. I once bought a car with an engine knock. It turned out to be only a bad plug wire. Lots of problems that are insurmountable for one guy are an easy fix for someone else. Drive it around, assess the condition of the various systems; brakes, suspension, tires, cooling system, battery and electrical system, door locks, electric windows and switches, exhaust system, body integrity and rust, transmission operation, etc. then prioritize what you want to fix. If nothing else, you can always sell it for parts.

i got the mac laptop turned out to be a ibook g4 seems to work fine I'm using it right now lol. I'm hoping to look at the car tomorrow haven't been able to get ahold of the guy. will hopefully get the car tomorrow and take pics and see what you all think.

If the guy doesn't like the laptop what do you guys think would be a fair price?

Originally Posted by Yakabimmer

If the guy doesn't like the laptop what do you guys think would be a fair price?

$400 isn't a bad price if you want the car and plan on keeping it for awhile. You can offer him less, all he can say is "No". You're going to have to spend some more money on repairs so assess the condition and try to figure out how much money and work that it will need to be a reasonably good car.