Buying a used e30 sport

[jck]

i am looking to buy my first e30 sport and want to no how much i should pay for one. I found a good condition sport with just under 100k total standed what is it worth.

[billgatese30]

well, welcome for starters.

it depends on what you consider good condition...a reasonable sport will fetch about 2.5-3K and mint perfect one could be about 5K or so.

like i said, it depends on body, milage, history, engine condition etc

what is this one that you have found up for?

[jck]

it is dolphin grey 1988 on f mint codition it has 97k and is total standed as it came out of the factory it has no rust and loads of mots to prove milage but the history is not complete from 1993-2005 because he has ownd it for 12 years and serviced it himself. what do you think

[billgatese30]

its hard to say with out pictures etc.

it also depends on what options it had, leather cruise etc all add a bit of value as you can imagine

an auto box can knock quite a bit of value off as these are not as desirable as the manual, not that the autos are bad, just most people prefer than manual box's.

missing history can be a minefield unless you know the seller personally and know how well (or not) he looks after his cars, other wise it could be quite dodgy.

howmuch was he asking or don't you know?

[RustyRuss]

Is it Auto or Manual? Its an Auto one im after.

[placey]

'no history 'cause he's serviced it himself' - i'm a great believer that a caring owner will do a better job of servicing and maintenance than a paid monkey as the owner cares and the monkey cares about going home on the dot at 5. it's reasonably easy to check - ask the owner for any notes he's made of what he's changed and when as it's easy to keep a service history up to date - just write on a piece of paper what you've done and when and put it on top of the pile along with any receipts. if he's not a paperwork person ask some pertinant questions about what he's bought for the car where and when and judge the answers for yourself. a genuine servicer might reply - i always change the dizzy cap and rotor arm but make the leads last two sessions - i get the cap and arm from gsf for Ԛ£60 and the leads from [insert random local auto factor name here] for Ԛ£75 whereas a liar might reply - 'i change everything mate' and stumble over exactly where the parts are purchased. it takes only seconds to check the state of the oil and rotor arm and make a judgement about how well the engine bay is cared for. trust your instincts - they usually judge pretty accurately. a clean engine bay tells as much of a story as a rusty area covered in oil and crap.

hth - paul

[JOSEMI]

I agree, a well cared for car may as well be better serviced and in better condition than one with dealer's service history. It all depends on how well cared for was the car, and as said before you can see that in a few minutes of a look over the whole car. Don't forget to check the underneath of the car, as a private servicer may not have a car lift in his garage like the dealers and he may have overlooked this !

Jose

[RustyRuss]

Totally agree with comments about personally done services - you can usually tell how well cared for a car is, and as has been said, its probably been done better than a dealer would do. Good luck with it.