other Potential purchase in Denver

[nbmgreg]

8 minutes ago, mike said:

And if you look carefully at the first picture, it has an aftermarket pop-up glass sunroof--a popular thing to do back in the 70s, and OK if done properly and not by some yahoo with a recip saw and tinsnips.  However, that sunroof will bring the car's value down.  

 

Hard to tell about the paint--it appears to be a repaint (overspray on the rear shocks in the trunk) but in at least one of the trunk shots, the green is dark enough to be Agave.  And Jadegrun was not a '72 color; Agave was.  

 

I bought two 318is E30s--the first one sight unseen--and drove 'em back to Ohio from Oklahoma and SW Florida with nary a problem; great trips in fun cars.  But the Denver to LA drive is a lot more difficult terrain-wise unless you drive south to NM and then across I-10--fewer mountains that way.

 

mike

 

 

I did notice the sunroof, and the owner says that was done prior to him owning it. Says it does drip a little in a car wash, but nothing crazy. Does not leak in rain, not sure what the difference is. I don't care for the sunroof, but at the same time I'm not going for 100% originality.

 

the guy is asking 7k for the car.. Which seems to be much lower than any round tail local to me in good driving condition, which is why I'm really eager to see what the deal is. 

 

[jrhone]

$7K???  Run....away.  I was thinking it was like 3 or 4k....Not 7.  The sunroof and the shady trunk area seem like deal breakers for me...but its not my cash.  

[jrkoupe]

Ive had cars that were far away PPI'd by shops w/ good reps...then had cars shipped to me........no biggie.

 

 

But its always best when I see it prior to purchase if poss.

 

that being said.......I have no opinion on this car.

[nbmgreg]

8 hours ago, jrhone said:

$7K???  Run....away.  I was thinking it was like 3 or 4k....Not 7.  The sunroof and the shady trunk area seem like deal breakers for me...but its not my cash.  

Wow really? The cars I've seen for 3-4K are either incomplete, not running or enough rust that I could flinstone the car home. 

[jrhone]

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/5712252899.html

 

6k roundie in SoCal. No pop up sunroof. 

[bmdubl02]

More than several 02s listed in SF Bay Area CL..

[RipR2]

I'm in Denver and have been working with a terrific BMW mechanic for my '73 roundie. He might be a resource for you. Try Mark Hutto,  <mrhutto54@comcast.net> and tell him Rip Ripley referred him. Good luck with the purchase. 

[Simeon]

When in touch with the mechanic see if he is willing to get you on a FaceTime / Skype type video call and run you through the car. You can see a lot plus watch for things like how long it takes for oil pressure light to go out and any smoke from the exhaust. Could be tricky with the 70 year old owner 

 

Still no substitute to seeing the car but might make you more confident to make the trip. 

[nbmgreg]

57 minutes ago, Simeon said:

When in touch with the mechanic see if he is willing to get you on a FaceTime / Skype type video call and run you through the car. You can see a lot plus watch for things like how long it takes for oil pressure light to go out and any smoke from the exhaust. Could be tricky with the 70 year old owner 

 

Still no substitute to seeing the car but might make you more confident to make the trip. 

Supposed to get a call tomorrow from the mechanic. Honestly this whole deal is stressing me out and kind of turning me off the longer it's taking to just get simple pictures of the car. That and the aftermarket sunroof is starting to sound like a big negative.. I imagine the car was probably a non-sunroof car, and to think of (most likely) a mediocre body shop chopping up the roof and installing that thing back in the 90's sounds like a disaster and some warped sheet metal.

 

i loved the idea of the car at first, but now that I've had time to calm down and think rationally I think I might pass, just feel bad for seller, he's been nothing but cooperative so far, to his abilities. 

 

I think if the car wasn't over 1,000 miles away it would be so much easier. Go look at the thing, make a decision and move on. 

Edited August 5, 2016 by nbmgreg

[jrhone]

Why feel bad for the seller. He is asking good money for a car that probably has issues. Seriously. He said the sunroof leaks. Has been leaking for decades. What do you thing that is doing to the metal on the car?  Then you say he hasn't sent a lot of pics?  Like I said. There are other cars in the world. The way you were wanting to go and grab this car I thought it was a 3-4K car. Why spend 7 plus shipping on this?  I posted a link of a running and driving roundie that's local to you for 6K. I'm sure if you post a wanted ad here on the FAQ you would find a decent car for 7k. 02s are not that had to find...yet. 

[nbmgreg]

26 minutes ago, jrhone said:

Why feel bad for the seller. He is asking good money for a car that probably has issues. Seriously. He said the sunroof leaks. Has been leaking for decades. What do you thing that is doing to the metal on the car?  Then you say he hasn't sent a lot of pics?  Like I said. There are other cars in the world. The way you were wanting to go and grab this car I thought it was a 3-4K car. Why spend 7 plus shipping on this?  I posted a link of a running and driving roundie that's local to you for 6K. I'm sure if you post a wanted ad here on the FAQ you would find a decent car for 7k. 02s are not that had to find...yet. 

I've seen the car you posted on CL quite a few times. The guy keeps deleting and reposting the ad with different prices. Honestly that thing looks rough to me, so I haven't bothered inquiring. Dents, good amount of rust, blacked out chrome pieces. Not quite what I'm looking for.

 

I was actually scheduled to look at a car from FAQ on Sunday and as I was driving to the car the guy sold it out from under me :/ one of these days I'll find one that works out perfectly. I think I have some leads on potential cars, so I guess time will tell.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by nbmgreg

[jrhone]

Good luck with your search. They are out there. If 7K is your budget you won't find a well sorted roundie. It'll need work. You just have to decide what kinda work u wanna do. Pay now up front or pay later when you fix it lol. 

[nbmgreg]

12 minutes ago, jrhone said:

Good luck with your search. They are out there. If 7K is your budget you won't find a well sorted roundie. It'll need work. You just have to decide what kinda work u wanna do. Pay now up front or pay later when you fix it lol. 

Very true. My budget maxes at 10k, I thought 7k was a great price for a clean driver but maybe I need to bump it up a little? Or maybe I need to consider square tails a little more? I don't dislike them, just like the rounds a little more. 

 

I'm mechanically inclined, but extensive body work is new to me.

Edited August 5, 2016 by nbmgreg

[jrhone]

10k should get you a nice driver. You have a few options. Get a 4K car and put 6k into it to make it reliable and drivable or look for a 10k car that is reliable and drivable. I would lean towards the first option. This is what I did. I bought a 3500 car and used that as a platform for how I wanted my car to be. I wanted a mildly hot rodded 02. Nice wheels. Nice stance. Performance boost over stock and great suspension. Also clean and comfortable interior. With a retro look but some modern touches. I'm very picky about what I wanted so I didn't want someone else's stalled project. I bought a completely original 1976. I wanted a square tail because I wanted to mod it. Motor was tired. Reliable but tired. So I bought a used motor, did the suspension work and began the interior work. Because the motor work was done it has been my daily for 7 years. Body was fairly straight. A few rust spots and 40 years of door dings. It had a few cheap resprays over the years so I lived with it until I was satisfied with the mechanicals and most everything else. Now it's just about done with a respray. I have spent WAY more than 10k but I'll have a pretty unique car. It's cost me much less than buying a new car and it's probably worth about what I have put into it where as a 2008 25k car would probably be worth 3-4K now.  Plus I had a lot of fun wrenching on it. My only regret is that since it was my daily I didn't do the major motor work. I wanted it done right so I had a few great mechanics do that work. If it was my spare car, I would have attempted a motor swap and 5 speed upgrade myself. Good luck with your search. I'll keep my eyes open for 02s. They pop up frequently.