E36 M3 Sedan purchasing advice

(put this in the new members section but figured it'd be better here too w/o the intro)

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on a M3 Sedan I have my eye on.

Here is the good about it:

-$2250
-Black E36 M3 Sedan
-5 speed

and then the bad:

-overheats when driven (probably needs new thermostat)
-missfire on cylinder 5 (in obd2 reader) probably needs new coil.
-Has been in a front right collision (shows on car fax and that the car had to be towed). A used bumper and hood has been put on. I didn't see any welding or bends in the engine bay on that side. Wasn't able to look under the car it's too low when I saw it in person.
-I don't know what the extent of the damage was but he said he had to replace the radiator so it must have went that far.
-The roof is dented a bit (the pillars are fine) and the sunroof is crooked. He says the hood got knocked back during the collision and hit the roof.

The drives pretty solid though the 10-15 minutes I test drove it before it started overheating. I'm guessing its been sitting in storage since the accident back in 2010 because he said he's left it in storage for a year and half.

I suppose I could get it running smoothly by changing performing some maintenance on it.. I've done body work before but the roof is more trouble then I want to deal with so I'd bring it to a shop.

Any thoughts? I've been trying to do price comparisons and I don't see any e36 5 speed m3s for sale or sold on the internet. The lowest condition (which this is below) in KBB is $4700ish. Think its worth it?

It,s $2250 + another 5 grand and a lot of time to get this car into shape! go look at a $7500 M3

Originally Posted by naes

-overheats when driven (probably needs new thermostat)

Probably needs a new headgasket too...

Originally Posted by Woodacre tom

It,s $2250 + another 5 grand and a lot of time to get this car into shape! go look at a $7500 M3

QFE

Don't bother with all that UNLESS you have a shop with the ability to do all this yourself for CHEAP. Still, it will be a good few thousand dollars more.

We picked up an AW with a rebuilt motor for $4400. Needed a guibo only and a good cleaning.

Remember, most cheap cars are cheap for a reason

There's nothing more expensive than a cheap BMW. - 4harpe13


If it is consistently over heating, there's no easy way to tell if previous driver's took it past the danger point. You could have a warped head there, which would tack on more to the rebuild bill.

Originally Posted by Woodacre tom

It,s $2250 + another 5 grand and a lot of time to get this car into shape! go look at a $7500 M3

I'm with Woodacre. I'll sell you mine for $8,000. Everything works except I'm currently addressing my negative camber issue on the front... see my recent thread.

Run. Don't buy someone else's problem!