71 2800 on ebay

[Ohmess]

I haven't seen this previously, and so I beseech thee, oh great and powerful e9 brain trust: tell me about this car:

And while you are at it, what say you about its owner?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Other-1...7da3c7146&item=171165118790&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

 

[Stan]

Definitely bears closer inspection. Request under hood and inside trunk photos.
That pile of receipts is good if they go back offer the life of the car.

 

[decoupe]

Little rust stains under the 2800 CS badge, re-spray in engine bay (look at strut tower tops) but the under carriage look pretty clean.

 

[HB Chris]

I can go take a look but I cannot guarantee it is rust free if you decide to take the plunge of course. It looks nice from the photos and is only 20 minutes away.

 

[sfdon]

I'm sorry - when the seller states in writing that the car has 83,400 miles on it and then coughs up later when asked that it is actually 100,000 miles more-
I'm not interested.
Period.
How can you bring up the clock and forget the head gasket at 160,000???

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

not a pro but

I noticed a strange dent by the driver side front door, also, looks like the passenger side underneath got hit-bending the tow loop- completely missing on the other side and the "Z bar" on the passenger side looks bent. I like the fire engine red calipers with overspray on the shields making me wonder what a close inspection of the car would reveal. I'm helping a friend with a car that had some "mickey" done to it and it had to come pretty much down to bare metal, so the "nice paint" on this car might be all but useless. Judging against my rough purchase 2 years ago I would say no more than 8K. Again, I'm a hobbiest, not a pro.

 

[Ohmess]

I'm sorry - when the seller states in writing that the car has 83,400 miles on it and then coughs up later when asked that it is actually 100,000 miles more-
I'm not interested.
Period.
How can you bring up the clock and forget the head gasket at 160,000???

Thanks for emphasizing this. I had forgotten one of my rules of buying a used car: if anything about the seller's story indicates deception, walk away.

 

[HB Chris]

Seller replied that it is available for me to look at on Friday, I will go only if someone is serious about making an offer. Let me know.

 

[Arde]

Chris, you should go in any case to settle the question on what exhaust headers buy you on a stock engine!

Oracle of Delphi says: the owner is a hands on male, not a native speaker, possibly east Europe I guess.
Car has had attention to details which means both it can be a good purchase and also that more care in inspecting is needed.

I like it.

+ original 4 speed
+ Chamonix
+ exhaust
+ clean
+ interior
+ CA and Texas roots

- US sealed beams
- no Toolbox
- no Bilsteins
- AC console but no AC, added speakers but no radio

 

[rsporsche]

i think it is a good idea to go see it Chris. a little more give back to the community from a highly respected member. i know we can't do it all the time ... but if we all do it everynow and then it can help some people get good coupes.

i did mine last week, going to see the 74 in roswell, ga. its a great coupe, i think its slightly overpriced though.

 

[HB Chris]

I am going this Friday and will report back to let you know if the Oracle is correct.

However, we may find ourselves between Scylla and Charybdis if the negatives overrule the positives!

 

[Ohmess]

Hi Chris -- I may be interested depending on what you find and how high the price goes. (The comment about the owner perhaps being of Eastern European lineage caused me to rethink my critique of the ad.)

Obviously, there are no guarantees in life, but I would be interested in your view. I see a bunch of stuff on the paint work that may be a concern -- the rust under the trunk lettering; the gas cap door looks funny, the paint runs on the pic of the inside of the driver's door; the painting under the hood of the strut bolts and nuts, battery ground and hood release cable -- to wonder if the paint work was hastily done. I hear the paint on your car looks great, so I am guessing you have a keen eye for these things.

On the other hand, the underside is clean, the car has lived in the right places, appears intact, and the stack of receipts may indicate solid care.

 

[Arde]

OK, I sense some skepticism on my predictions. If I am right CBS will have me on Sundays instead of Simon Baker, The Mentalist.

I am raising the stakes, the previous owner was Mr. Genaro, likely a lawyer or financier in Austin who took good care of the car in spite of buying his tires at Sears.

 

[JFENG]

Imho

Paint is at least 50% prep.
If the owner was too cheap to pay $1 for the shop to disconnect the battery gnd strap (2 minutes) and you see consistent cheapness elsewhere in the paint prep ... how well do you think they prepped the body (which you cannot see under the shiny paint)? At best I'd figure on redoing the paint down the road ($10k).

 

[HB Chris]

Saw it today, funny I had met the seller a while ago, he is into Alfas. Maybe a $20K coupe, paint is a five footer, appears solid but can't tell. Overspray everywhere, vinyl front seats I think, needs a booster, brakes dragging a bit, webers, ran fine, started right up no smoke. At current bidding he has broke even, cars had two prior owners in Tx with lots of invoices as proof including two head rebuild back in the day.

 

[Arde]

Saw it today, funny I had met the seller a while ago, he is into Alfas. Maybe a $20K coupe, paint is a five footer, appears solid but can't tell. Overspray everywhere, vinyl front seats I think, needs a booster, brakes dragging a bit, webers, ran fine, started right up no smoke. At current bidding he has broke even, cars had two prior owners in Tx with lots of invoices as proof including two head rebuild back in the day.

Did you drive it? Do the headers help?

 

[HB Chris]

Couldn't really tell, with no brake booster I could hardly stop the car!

 

[HB Chris]

Sold, $19,180 on eBay.

 

[Ohmess]

I liked this car, but would rather have older paint than poorly done newer. So in the end, it went quite a bit higher than I would have gone.

 

[HB Chris]

Talking to some local experts they felt $20K was a reasonable price. Even I have a hard time believing coupes have risen as much as they have but it's a fact.