Thinking of Parting Out a Red 98 323is

Hi all!

I think my baby is at the end of here useful life as a whole piece. I think parting her out is the best option for me since I don't need $ immediately and would rather the most $ in the long run. There is enough body damage and repair needed that the cost (fender, ball joint, ignition, rear bumper, main wiring harness) would be nearly as much as buying something comparable used w/o such major issues. I think. Before I jump in, looking for advice from someone who has parted before. Cant find any decent advice from an hr of searching.

The wiring gone bad is my main reason to want to part vs restoring or selling as-is used.

For starters, what $ could I expect to sell-off within: 6 months? 12? 24?
What might I expect for this car is sold as-is whole? Any takers ;-)
BB in fair says $2800 private party

What problems would someone of my skill level come across in parting out?
I've got maybe 200 hrs of car work, mostly supervised by someone knowledgable, so learned even more from their tips along the way than fumbling by myself. Have done clutch, front & rear seals, timing belt, & some body work on a 944s. I expect I could learn a lot from dismantling a car, but dread ruining parts & other possible complications like if I send someone something and they say it doesn't work and broke more stuff, etc. I have friends that are mechanics that I can ask for help when I get to hard parts, but wondering how feasible this is for a back yard mechanic like myself. Have rather complete tool set and wouldn't mind adding to it.

What kind of space will be required at minimum? Ideal? What portion for the car itself and work perimeter? Vs parts storage.

Where can I get diagrams and part names/numbers? I'm guessing that if I do this, I'll need shop manuals. Source? Anything electronic or online? Would be nice to access from an ipad while working.


Car Details:
Red 1998 BMW 323is
Black leather interior, sun roof, ac works
@200k miles.
@50k on current clutch, manual
original engine and transmission. No issues w either.
Scranton, PA – 3h N philly, 2.5hr E NYC, 1hr S Binghamton
marquL AhT g m a i l . c o m
570-430-3673 - Louy

Known Issues:
* left rear fender scraped, dented and rusted.
* dent and rust on some metal strip above rear bumper but below trunk opening
* wiring from trunk cd changer to ?cpu or radio? Shorted, smoke came our right side cabin wall
* last problem caused the passenger side parking lights' fuse to blow. Lights lit, but fuse blew in hr first time. Did it maybe 5 times, each time faster, so stopped. Instead cut right bulbs to cpu and wired in parallel to driver side parking lights
* passenger front ball joint shot
* some minor starting cracks in front seats' butt area. No tears yet.
* missing rear bumper
* ignition wont turn. Key goes in, wont turn. Happened suddenly, nothing can be in the key hole, and tried all keys, no damage to any. Think the ignition lock broke.
* stick shift knob leather torn
* tires may be bad. one flat. has sat 6 months since ignition problem occurred
* gets foggy inside back window if rained recently. thinking a leak?

History:
* driver door was 'kissed' viciously by another. About a $1000 bmw dealer repair, not replaced. Looks fine to date. Happened 10 years ago. Both doors do now have dings even minor dents.
* front end run in w/ foam off DC beltway. A few k$ repair at a philly dealer, probably overpriced since insurance covered. needed front bumper, radiators, fan,? Dont think belts hurt since it drove 10 miles to exit and station.

may be a lot of work but you will get more for it than just junking it

Pictures if you are parting out.

In theory, you can make more money by parting it out individually then as a whole, but parting it takes a lot of work and even more time. Its usually easier to sell the car as a whole. By parting it you would need the room to keep it as parts sell, and you will have to deal with many people wanting different parts rather then one person wanting the whole car.

really looking for some pre-advice to even decide IF I do this.
of course I'd take pictures and put online on a dedicated page w/ lists of parts sold/bad/available-already-off/available-still-on-car and prices

mainly want to know a ballpark of expected $ over first 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years. if i'm only looking at a few % more $ than selling as-is, I'd rather not jump in.

my simpleton ballpark of parts value is: (no way an offer ;-> my point is here I dont know what prices to expect. if anything i'm lowballing this estimate since my goal is to find the least $ I might make.)
$200 outside light assemblies
$200 rims + tires
$100 radiators
$ 50 fans
$300 engine sensors + wiring
$ 50 ac compressor
$ 50 water pump
$ 50 oil pump & ?
$150 air intake, throttle
$600 engine
$400 transmission
$100 other power-transfer: universal joint, clutch parts
$300 power steering, rack
$200 control arms
$200 other suspension
$300 break parts, calipers, rotars, cylinders
$100 switches
$200 relays, wiring, other. expecting some wires and maybe cpu unit to be bad because of mentioned short on passenger parking lights
$100 steering column levers, parts
$100 window motors
$200 windows
$ 50 sunroof parts
$100 seats. not power
$100 spedo display, etc
$100 exhaust
$200 doors
$200 hood
$150 trunk lid
$ 50 front bumper
$300 other body parts
$100 gas tank, float n sensor, pump

the experience: priceless!

Can I get SOME feedback? Am I way over/under estimating?
So i'm thinking w/i 3 years maybe $5-6k vs selling now for abt $2500


Also worried about identifying parts. What shop manual options exist that include pictures, part names, part numbers, price new. Without such a resource this would be impossible for me.
Found an 800 page pdf here: http://www.mediafire.com/?gldgnyynz4y but it has no/few part numbers and no prices. I think I need a shop manual or a dealer cd ;-) not just a 'service manual'.

Originally Posted by marqul

really looking for some pre-advice to even decide IF I do this.
of course I'd take pictures and put online on a dedicated page w/ lists of parts sold/bad/available-already-off/available-still-on-car and prices

mainly want to know a ballpark of expected $ over first 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years. if i'm only looking at a few % more $ than selling as-is, I'd rather not jump in.

my simpleton ballpark of parts value is: (no way an offer ;-> my point is here I dont know what prices to expect. if anything i'm lowballing this estimate since my goal is to find the least $ I might make.)
$200 outside light assemblies Ive seen a full set go for $100
$200 rims + tires
$100 radiators
$ 50 fans The aux fan is $327 brand new
$300 engine sensors + wiring
$ 50 ac compressor
$ 50 water pump An original water pump is not worth this. Maybe $25
$ 50 oil pump & ?
$150 air intake, throttle Throttle bodys arnt needed very often, might not sell quick
$600 engine You could probably shoot for at least $1000 depending on area
$400 transmission
$100 other power-transfer: universal joint, clutch parts
$300 power steering, rack A refurbed Z3 rack goes for $175
$200 control arms Not for used ones. Brand new ones cost this much
$200 other suspension
$300 break parts, calipers, rotars, cylinders
$100 switches
$200 relays, wiring, other. expecting some wires and maybe cpu unit to be bad because of mentioned short on passenger parking lights
$100 steering column levers, parts
$100 window motors
$200 windows
$ 50 sunroof parts
$100 seats. not power
$100 spedo display, etc
$100 exhaust
$200 doors Average i see for these is usually $250 depending on area
$200 hood
$150 trunk lid
$ 50 front bumper
$300 other body parts
$100 gas tank, float n sensor, pump

the experience: priceless!

Can I get SOME feedback? Am I way over/under estimating?
So i'm thinking w/i 3 years maybe $5-6k vs selling now for abt $2500
.

My opinions are in bold.