Found another E34--pretty clean! Weird door trim thing?

[NimbleCow]

Hey again guys,

Looked at my 2nd '95 525 5-speed today--much better than the one I saw a few weeks back. This one was cosmetically very good--interior was good except for a little wear here and there on the leather. The front doors at the bottom had a little bit of rust but it didn't go through to the outside yet. There were a few tiny bubbles under the paint that hadn't broken through yet though. Also the thin (2"?) horizontal strip of trim on the front door was bent away from the car just slightly and didn't sit 100% flush--this was more prevalent on the drivers side but was a bit too on the passengers side.

Car drove very well. Good power (especially above 3k rpms) and smooth clutch/shifting. A lot of fun to drive. A little noise on the highway coming from wind getting in around the doors? The drivers side power window seemed to be off track a bit (it sorta went down, but slowly and in an ugly way).

When we were under the hood I noticed that the washer fluid was down to about 30%, which made me wonder how meticulously it was maintained. Also there was a weird abrasion on the front corner of the engine where it had rubbed up against the (padded) underside of the hood. Any ideas here?

That's about all I walked away with after looking at it for a few minutes and driving it for about 20.

Here is the link to the car listing, and below is a recap of some of my questions:

Car listing:
http://tinyurl.com/2hsq65

1. Is it possible to stop the common rust issue for these cars that happens at the bottom of the doors?

2. Any thoughts on the thin horizontal strip of trim on the front doors being bent away from the car slightly?

3. How much could it cost to re-align the drivers side power window that seems to be off track? Could this also be the cause of hearing a slight bit of wind coming through at highway speeds?

4. Am I being paranoid that the washer fluid being not filled could mean that the previous owner didn't care for it meticulously?

5. What about an abrasion on the front corner of the engine cover from where it rubbed up against the padding on the underside of the hood? Common or fishy?

6. The guy that showed me the car hadn't ran a carfax on it and didn't know a whole lot about the history. Carfax.com tells me the car has 7 records but if someone could look up the vin (WBAHD5320SGB37144) I'd really appreciate it--have no idea what the 7 records are.

Thanks guys! I'm trying to decide if I want to get serious about the car and have it inspected and wanted to give you an account of what I saw at a glance. Also, any further thoughts on this cars age/mileage/price etc. in terms of it being a rock soild daily driver would be appreciated also.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

[Jon K]

1. Is it possible to stop the common rust issue for these cars that happens at the bottom of the doors?

If there is "bubbles" under the paint, it doesn't mean tha tit hasn't "broke through yet" - it means its RIGHT under the paint. That's rusted through bro. Only a matter of time before the paint no longer adheres to the material and you're looking at brown love.

2. Any thoughts on the thin horizontal strip of trim on the front doors being bent away from the car slightly?

Well, you say that both doors have weird trim going on, rust, and there is wind noise. This vehicle may have been in an accident nvolving the doors. I would really look at the carfax.

3. How much could it cost to re-align the drivers side power window that seems to be off track? Could this also be the cause of hearing a slight bit of wind coming through at highway speeds?

Forget cost you can look at it yourself. It is probably the window "sticking" in the rails below the door. Again, if this is happening, consider that maybe something was bent there... ie. and accident?

4. Am I being paranoid that the washer fluid being not filled could mean that the previous owner didn't care for it meticulously?

I don't even have a resevoir! I wouldn't hold this too high on the list of concerns. Pull the dipstick and look at the oil. Truth is its REALLY HARD to not maintain these cars. Simple oil change every 3000 - 4000 miles and that's that.

5. What about an abrasion on the front corner of the engine cover from where it rubbed up against the padding on the underside of the hood? Common or fishy?

If you mean the hood mat is a little depressed/rubbed on at the front timing chain cover, that is normal.

6. The guy that showed me the car hadn't ran a carfax on it and didn't know a whole lot about the history. Carfax.com tells me the car has 7 records but if someone could look up the vin (WBAHD5320SGB37144) I'd really appreciate it--have no idea what the 7 records are.

Sounds like maybe he didn't want to know or didn't want you to know . Check it out.

Thanks guys! I'm trying to decide if I want to get serious about the car and have it inspected and wanted to give you an account of what I saw at a glance. Also, any further thoughts on this cars age/mileage/price etc. in terms of it being a rock soild daily driver would be appreciated also.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

I would make sure you get it up to 55 - 65 mph and make sure there is no shimmy, and brake from that speed and make sure it continues to not shimmy. Doors and trim can be replaced but bent frames cannot be - so make sure that if you do buy the car, and find out it was in an accident or not, that its limited to just bodywork. The whole window/door trim/rust/wind noise sounds a little sketchy.

[632 Regal]

way too much money for its condition. as you described a top limit of 3K is what its worth.

[nirvana19]

Be sure to take a good look at the underbody, especially the rocker panels and the bottom part of the fender. My car had a bit of rust in all those places, near the jacking points the rocker panel was actually rusted through. Not too bad, I've had the car for 3 weeks and I've already put POR-15 on all rust I could find on the car except for the slight bit of rust (just cosmetic) next to the battery under the rear seat. My car is black so it was easy to do all this, what was hard was getting the paint off my hands/driveway (the newspaper blew away and the gloves tore). Also there was some rust on th drivers side bottom of the doors on the inside. I think thats what you were referring to.. that was really just cosmetic and I cleaned that up very nicely. If theres rust you might want to get the car inspected as there could be other issues. I still have a few things to take care of.. but for the price I paid and the fact that the car had an excellent maintenance history up to two years ago (from then the car more or less sat for two years, which is the source of most of the problems).

[Macv]

You're getting robbed at $6,000

[attack eagle]

no kidding.

I only paid $6500 for a car in exceptional body, electrical, interior, and mechanical shape. So Cal car with 0 rust issues.



IT would have to be as immaculate as the virgin mary for me to consider paying that much for one.

[NimbleCow]

Thanks so much guys. I am truly among veterans. I've been looking around for Blue Book and Nada values, and have found that retail value should be between $4800-$7000 for this car depending on condition.

One weird thing is that carfax.com says that there are 7 records in the database, but nada.com has 21 records in their database! Does anybody have the ability to check (WBAHD5320SGB37144) in either? Now I'm worried there has been an incident!

Cheers!

[BuckNaked]

Carfax records include any DMV transactions including registration and renewal with mileage updates along with dealer service reportings. Seven on a carfax could mean anything, but probably nothing.
That last car looked real clean, and even though it's a 5-speed manual, $6500 is kinda high. At that price I would expect a stack of dealer service records and no more than 80,000 miles.
My approach has always been that it is worth what you are willing to pay for it, and no more. It is worth what you are willing to sell it for and no less.
For another $1,000 you are in 540i 6-speed territory.

[markus]

Carfax records include any DMV transactions including registration and renewal with mileage updates along with dealer service reportings. Seven on a carfax could mean anything, but probably nothing.
That last car looked real clean, and even though it's a 5-speed manual, $6500 is kinda high. At that price I would expect a stack of dealer service records and no more than 80,000 miles.
My approach has always been that it is worth what you are willing to pay for it, and no more. It is worth what you are willing to sell it for and no less.
For another $1,000 you are in 540i 6-speed territory.

thats what my thouths were