Seth Horwitz

I'd just add that I'm not sure that a Credit Card adds any security to a PayPal transaction. I know I've had issues, a long time ago, where the CC company said "we processed a legitimate payment to PayPal, and anything after that should be addressed with them." To be clear, it can't hurt, but I wouldn't trust that your Credit Card company will help out unless it's an added feature that I don't know about. A normal buyer dispute won't work, because PayPal is the seller as far as the CC company is concerned. That said, and know that it will add to the cost, an escrow service is your safest bet for a large purchase from a stranger. There are several reputable ones online, but the seller will need to agree, obviously.

I'm THE NY pessimist, looking for a surprise. The benefit of realism is expecting the worst.

That looks like a roller mid restoration (always a scary term) that has had a bit of customization and fresh paint that can hide a lot. (Or be perfectly addressed. Who knows?) It also looks like they're trying to get all of that money back out of it. 1) Possibiy super hidden rust + 2) An expensive brand new paint job in what wouldn't be my first color choice + 3) Some permanently removed trim and other that's just missing + 4) What can only be assumed to be an empty interior = Pass for me. There was a red one (auto/roof/AC) on eBay in Cali a few weeks ago that was cheap enough that it was gone in a day. I should've just bought it and had it put on a truck, with no PPI, and rolled the dice. So be it. I'll find one from somewhere, and hope to get it ready if you guys meet up again.

We're in full agreement. (I wouldn't even list on Craigslist, to be honest with you. WAY too many scams and people wasting time.) That said, I've done about all that I can do to prove that I'm a serious buyer. Cash for pictures? Obscene, but fine I'll do it. No problem. Picture of my cash fanned out with my driver's license? Sure, I'll do that too. I'm just waiting on a confirmation of what he means by "deposit before PPI." I made it clear that I'm willing to even write out a contract on what would be considered a pass or a fail on a PPI (that I'd pay for). I'm not looking to nickel and dime anyone, but if the car isn't safe without a $5K repair or shows $10K in rust remediation (ignoring paint) needed, making a deposit, however much, non-refundable is just insane. Agreed on the $50. Oddly, he seems more interested in the $50 or non-refundable PPI than selling the car. Could just be an oddity, or it could be a picture of someone else's car he doesn't even own.

Won't it be ironic when I'm the one that helps him sell it locally?

I'm with you, but these Autos are getting harder to find. To be honest, I'd even prefer a sunroof car. Everybody did a swap from Auto to Manual. You're very right in that I have almost no tolerance for nonsense like this in everyday life, and have had to wait an hour after each email draft (and then make it much nicer) before sending it. I plan on losing money when I'm done with my project, as I want to make it MY way and know that unless I find the right buyer (never happens) I'd get hurt selling it. My way has also never been done, as I've seen one person upgrade the auto to a 4-speed Auto, and that's it. (4-Speed with an M20 and air conditioning? I'm making zero progress in finding the smallest details that may even let me attempt it.) Therefore, the current plan is to keep it forever. I want to buy the cleanest car that I can to start with, but there's also a balancing act between what you spend for the car and then the "upgrades." Rust free automatic (for the shifter and tunnel differences) that drives is my goal for the moment. So, the further I shall trudge.

I'm looking at the above car, but being from NY has made it quite difficult. I'm trying to negotiate with the seller to get some more pics of potential problem areas, and am willing to fly out if I have to, to finalize a purchase after a PPI. New York cars have rust, so I'm thinking you do as well, so any thoughts or help would be appreciated. Thanks. (If one of you steals it, maybe that'll be my good deed. Please don't. Ha.) Seth https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/seattle-wts-1976-bmw-2002-e10/6776598483.html

1) Ad said "locals only" and had the really strange "deposit for PPI" wording that I'm going to figure out before doing anything. Also, something along the lines of "serious buyers with serious questions, only." Last part seemed fair. 2) I replied with serious questions, but made it clear that I'm in NY but would travel AND deal with transport, so it wasn't his problem. I'd rather not, but I have some time to kill. 3) Got a reply that answered no questions, and basically said "I want to sell local. Bye." No answers. Not much I can do with that, so I tried. 4) I replied that, however crazy, I'll pay him for better pics of the car because I'm not local. 5) He sent me an email with his PayPal address, (and did offer to apply it to the purchase price) still with no answers to a question like "does the car have AC," but with a note that he has no lift and can't promise great shots. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Lovely. I'm about to send an email to get some clarity. This PPI deposit thing could be a nonstarter, so I'll start there. If it's reasonable, I'll send a list of all of the photos that I want. If he's cool with that, I'll pay it. (As crazy as that is.) I worked at a car dealer in high school, way back when, and some people are just a hassle to deal with, as buyers or sellers. (I just washed the cars, and even I had to deal with it.) If I were selling an inexpensive car, I'm not sure I'd want to deal with the scrutiny of Bring-a-Trailer (as that can be a full time job on top of your job), but I'd take as many pictures as were needed on a 40+ year old car to sell it. I also get that an online sale to someone across country can feel like wasted time if you don't know that they're serious, but I'm also not asking for anything that wouldn't make a local sale easier. Sometimes someone has something to hide, and other people just don't want any hassle when dealing with anything. (I'm thinking of my dad. My dad wouldn't sell a car at retail, though. He'd rather take a bath at the dealer for the convenience of handing over keys and being done with it. Everyone is different.) Long story, short, I get a bad feeling about this whole thing, but sometimes good things can come from garbage. It's never happened to me, but that's what I've been told. If the PPI deposit is some sort of escrow pending no safety issues or an engine/tranny about to blow, and my payment for the service, I want pics of the following first: Sills Door bottoms Shock towers (front and back) 1/4 panels Around wheel openings Inner wheel wells Front pan lower Around gas tank in trunk and underneath Spare tire well in trunk and underneath Rear sub-frame mount Frame rails Floor pans from below (I wouldn't take off carpet for someone, and wouldn't ask someone to.)  I'd pay for those pics, again acknowledging how insane that is, and then a PPI at Midnight Motorsports, as recommended by Andrew. Maybe we'll get something new for the forum. (Though I'm not taking bets.)

To be honest, I'd even put the whole thing in escrow if I got a good feeling from this seller. He's not being particularly helpful, partially I'm hoping, because I'm on the East Coast. I get wanting to sell local, but they invented these things called "planes" that can get me there pretty quickly. We'll see. Maybe I'll take a week in Cali/Oregon/Washington just roaming around for a 2002. That's normal, no?

Thank you, Sir. I so wish I didn't need an automatic. This is a real headache.

Thanks, Andrew. Unless this guy is busy taking pictures, he's just blowing me off via email. If that's the case, this isn't the car for me. I asked some basic questions that have gone unanswered. (Maybe it's Saturday and he'll surprise me.) If I find anything in the area, though, I'll use Patrick for a PPI. Back to the seller, he wants a deposit before a PPI, as written in the ad. I haven't even gotten as far as figuring out what that means.

I tend to agree. Even if he has a local buyer, why would you not go take some pictures for money? There's a local car that is a REAL project about an hour away from me. I haven't even seen pictures, know it doesn't run (so it needs the engine and/or tranny rebuilt, but I figure it's worth a ride to check the rust situation. Maybe it'll work out.

You guys are awesome. Thank you much. I'm willing to pay for pictures of those other areas for the very reasons you state. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to someone who doesn't want or deal with regular Craigslist cretins, but I want to make it clear that I'm serious if nothing is being hidden. Thanks again. Seth

Do they look original? Condition? (It's all I've got between a plane ride and a purchase, though I've offered the seller money for just taking more pictures. He really wants to sell local, which I get, but I won't fly until I see shots of the undercarriage. This is the best I have to look for rust at this point in time.) Thanks to any experts.

Can anyone speak to how far back the transmission is moved when using one of the ready made (assumably well-engineered) M20 mounting plates? I see people talking about changing the shifter to accommodate for the movement, but seeing as how I'd be doing it to an Auto, that doesn't apply. I've searched, but if anyone has done the swap to an Auto, I'd gladly go through the threads. Thanks. Seth

Thanks. Fingers crossed on finding one!

Thanks for the heads up. My gut feeling tells me that I'll be missing a gear, though. (Regardless of engine, at first.) Trannies are obviously a trade-off between acceleration and top speed, so an extra gear makes the trade off just a little bit smaller. I won't be doing 140 in a 2002, and won't be racing kids at stop lights, either. If I can have a car that is a bunch of fun on the side roads, with the added bonus of a gear that can easily keep up with highway traffic (even if I need a custom ratio), I think that'd be great. For that reason, I would like to buy a 3-speed and play around a bit, as you suggest. There have been a few California cars that I would've bought straight off of eBay to do just that, but I'm concerned of rust from a few thousand miles away with a couple of pictures. I'd gladly send a truck and a check for the right car, but some of these jokers won't even respond to a question. Alas, I move on. Thanks for the heads up. Seth

No harm done. I'll take you up on it in the event that I am. Seth

You seem like a great guy who I can’t wait to engage with even more. I’ve spent hours going through search to avoid asking common questions like a rookie, and merely hit you with the implied ask of not taking your own time to type a smart-guy answer. Good on you. Luckily, I’ve been on enthusiast boards since A4.org in the late ‘90s, so I’ve seen your type and have no issue dealing with you. I hope that other newbies aren’t scared away by your ilk. Thanks for being helpful to someone who is both a BMW enthusiast and has a medical need for an auto tranny. You’re a gem. (Based solely on this post. I don’t know what else you’ve done.) To you other guys, I truly am grateful. I have a bit more research to do. This clearly won’t be drop in, but I’ll figure it out and make things known. Thanks again. Seth

Bingo. I don’t make things easy, unfortunately. (Sometimes my fault, sometimes not. In this case, shockingly, not.) I’ve been following your old posts, by the way. Beautiful job. Unfortunately, I’m not sure there’s a shop that has done any sort of fast auto without throwing all of the shop’s resources at it. If I owned a shop, I’d do a show piece, but that seems silly for a personal toy. Thank you for your help, Andrew.

I know that this mod has been done to death, and have searched a lot, but I'm in a pretty unique situation, and apologize. Put simply, what's the cleanest drop in of an M20, and what impact does that have on the EXISTING transmission mounting? (I should ask about hacking to the front sheet metal, I suppose, but I'm not there yet.) I'm not looking to start anything between any vendors or users, (but feel free to PM me), and just want to know what can be achieved. To be SUPER brief, I need an automatic in this 2002, I know that the 3-speed auto is unlikely to do it for me (meaning I'll shortly go for a 1985 318 ZF 4HP22 as I've seen done ONCE before in my searching which seems to fit on a stock M10), and expect that I'll probably get bored with that and go with an M20 instead of doing much on the M10. Any help as to what caused how much movement, or pics, would be super appreciated. Any suggestion as to another (BMW) power train that could work would be appreciated, though I think this is it for anything resembling cost-efficient. (I know that's a relative term, as right now I'm willing to fly someone in to get it done right.) Thank you much. Seth