Advice needed for e34 ebay purhcase

[bigtings]

Hi guys

I am been offered the following car on ebay for a price of approximately £2000

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4638168107

The car has been listed numerous times and has never reached £1k in normal bidding. My question is, what can of worms am I likely to come across for the "trans program" fault code that he has noted. He claims to have checked the engine and gearbox out, what other causes could there be?

I guess I'm seeking advice as to whether it is worth the gamble or to steer well clear.

Thanks in anticipation of your help.

[chris_e34]

In my opinion that is a very good deal, however i would not take the sellers word on the mechanical condition of the vehicle. have your own knowledgable mechanic check it out, or find someone to do this for you. anyone on this forum will tell you, it is always worth a couple hundred extra bucks up front to save thousands down the road. for the electrical fault it could be a very simple fix, try http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=21543& . also this thread addresses the trans code specifically. http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=20823&highlight. just search this forum, there is alot of info on this problem. good luck. i wish i lived in uk, i would probably be right beside you looking at this car. OH WAIT, nevermind its an automatic. :)

[bigtings]

Any other suggestions?:(

[wingman]

Have you inspected the car? I'm not sure if this would be your first E34 purchase or not but the photos cleverly don't show much of the door trims. These trims as you will see from numerous threads have a tendency to contract and pull away from the backing board, gape and generally look woeful. Apart from that I'm not sure whether BMW did 'pearl' paint. I may be wrong but I'd be suspicious of a car with those 'low' miles that has been resprayed. www.bmwe34.net has a good list of 'what will break'. Good luck!

[ProZak]

Those throwing star wheels, if they're in good condition, are probably worth about $1000.00 for the set. You'll have to convert to pounds yourself. :) *shrug* You'll have to inspect the car yourself and check the online "what will break" stuff to get a firmer grasp.

-Zak-

[Rustam]

Hi guys

I am been offered the following car on ebay for a price of approximately £2000

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4638168107

The car has been listed numerous times and has never reached £1k in normal bidding. My question is, what can of worms am I likely to come across for the "trans program" fault code that he has noted. He claims to have checked the engine and gearbox out, what other causes could there be?

I guess I'm seeking advice as to whether it is worth the gamble or to steer well clear.

Thanks in anticipation of your help.

I would not bother with this car. The limp mode maybe due to a problem with ECU electronics or transmission electronics, either in the transmission or outside of transmission. My advice - don't bother with this car especially if this is your first BMW. You may spend a ton of money only to diagnose the source of the "limp mode". Not a good choice for BMW DIY starter...
If you have twice as much money as the car's cost then maybe buying it would be financially responsible. But that money will start leaking away right away for diagnostics.

[DaveVoorhis]

I am been offered the following car on ebay for a price of approximately £2000

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4638168107

The car has been listed numerous times and has never reached £1k in normal bidding.

I guess I'm seeking advice as to whether it is worth the gamble or to steer well clear.


Steer clear. It's never reached £1k for good reason. Only take on a bad tranny if you've got a spare one waiting in your garage. It might look like a simple electrical problem, but if it was, the current owner would have fixed it.

Better cars appear on autotrader.co.uk with some regularity. Right now, there's a '94 for £1595 (mileage unspecified) and a '95 for £2495 at 109k.

[ThoreauHD]

Yea, that car looks like hell. Mine was hardly used and I dumped 5K into it, without a bad transmission/engine. Subjectively, it also looks a bit ghetto. But that's just my taste in cars.

[Bleeding_Knuckles]

I dont see the pearl effect, looks like it was washed with a broom. trans program error could mean you need a new trans right off the get go. thats like 2k i think in US funds.