E30 Zone

Hi I'm new to this site
Can you please help me
I've seen a bmw 325i sport 1989 g reg in black m tech 2
Only problem the cars a cat D registered
My question is
Is it worth buying for £6500

Can someone give me some advise regarding this question
Thanks

If its a solid car, reasonably rust free, with history, then it is worth the coin imo

There is no way anyone can advised truly on your question. how long is a piece of string?

It could be a peach that is only cat D due to a bit of vandalism or it could have bodged up accident damage with poor panel gaps etc.

You don't mention mileage, history, what any history files like, is it standard, molested? Any rust visible in the roof / scuttle?

We need some pictures and a lot more information to give any worthwhile opinion. There is so much shit out there, £6.5k is a lot of money to waste!

Insurance damage categories are based entirely on the projected cost of repair as a percentage of a car's pre accident value, and NOT in any way based on the actual extent of the damage, so you need to find out when this insurance write off happened, to get some idea of how badly the car may have been damaged.
If the car was written off early in its life, or in the last couple of years or so, when its PAV was high, then it indicates far greater damage than if whatever happened had occurred when its value was at its lowest point, when simple paint damage could have been enough to trigger a cat D classification.

Link to ad and reg needed !

hello
Regarding the cat D post I put up
I'm thinking of buying it as a investment car
So is it worth paying £6500 for a cat D original sport
It's a
Bmw e30 325i sport 1989 g reg original m tech 2 kit with black leathers some service history
It's in average condition
I think it needs a new head gasket or some sort as it's got like mayonnaise kind of liquid in the engine cap

Frq wrote:hello
Regarding the cat D post I put up
I'm thinking of buying it as a investment car
So is it worth paying £6500 for a cat D original sport
It's a
Bmw e30 325i sport 1989 g reg original m tech 2 kit with black leathers some service history
It's in average condition
I think it needs a new head gasket or some sort as it's got like mayonnaise kind of liquid in the engine cap

realy mate you do need pics for refrence

Frq wrote:hello
Regarding the cat D post I put up
I'm thinking of buying it as a investment car
So is it worth paying £6500 for a cat D original sport
It's a
Bmw e30 325i sport 1989 g reg original m tech 2 kit with black leathers some service history
It's in average condition
I think it needs a new head gasket or some sort as it's got like mayonnaise kind of liquid in the engine cap

"mayo" under the oil filler cap does not always mean HGF, it can happen if the car is used for (very)short trips where the engine has not warmed up fully.

as a few have said we really need pic's/link to the add to give an honest opinion.

Why not use the mayo to bargain the price down? I would expect a pretty good Tech 2 for that sort of money, and get a look under the kit and ideally carpets first - they rot like mad under the sill skirts especially!

From what I've seen recently 6k is getting you a car that will need a resto, not sure what it's like in the mainland but quality cars are very rare and now commanding a premium.

A Cat D will always be a Cat D. It's not an "investment" and will always lag behind in values as there are plenty of good ones around that are worth the money.

Why not add another £2000 and buy one that is not a cat D, with good history and looked after?
Couple on Ebay and Gumtree for around the £8500 mark at the moment

Tanwar123 wrote:Why not add another £2000 and buy one that is not a cat D, with good history and looked after?
Couple on Ebay and Gumtree for around the £8500 mark at the moment

This is the way forward.

When I bought my 1987 325i Sport last year I did a history search through the RAC for £25 and discovered it had been a Cat C write-off in 2001, and I think that came as a real shock to the seller who had only had the car a year. I reasoned that in 2001 when it was 14 years old it would not have taken much damage to write it off so it might still be worth buying. I said to the seller that I might still be interested but I needed a BMW specialist to look at it and I would need a substantial discount off the asking price because even if satisfactorily repaired it still had the stigma attached to it. The specialist said it was difficult to detect any damage but possibly it had received a rear corner impact, perhaps the best place as it would be well clear of any suspension components, it appeared the entire car had been professionally re-sprayed because the paint was immaculate and there was no rust apparent anywhere apart from inside the front arches. On that basis I paid £5,250 for it.

The mayo is worrying, but if it is condensation it should disappear when the engine is hot, otherwise it is a head gasket or worse. I am not sure I would buy a Cat D as an investment rather than use, for investment purposes I would say you want a pristine car, and getting a cheaper car and bringing it up to a higher standard is almost always more expensive than buying a car in better condition.

ChrisHC wrote:When I bought my 1987 325i Sport last year I did a history search through the RAC for £25 and discovered it had been a Cat C write-off in 2001, and I think that came as a real shock to the seller who had only had the car a year. I reasoned that in 2001 when it was 14 years old it would not have taken much damage to write it off so it might still be worth buying. I said to the seller that I might still be interested but I needed a BMW specialist to look at it and I would need a substantial discount off the asking price because even if satisfactorily repaired it still had the stigma attached to it. The specialist said it was difficult to detect any damage but possibly it had received a rear corner impact, perhaps the best place as it would be well clear of any suspension components, it appeared the entire car had been professionally re-sprayed because the paint was immaculate and there was no rust apparent anywhere apart from inside the front arches. On that basis I paid £5,250 for it.

The mayo is worrying, but if it is condensation it should disappear when the engine is hot, otherwise it is a head gasket or worse. I am not sure I would buy a Cat D as an investment rather than use, for investment purposes I would say you want a pristine car, and getting a cheaper car and bringing it up to a higher standard is almost always more expensive than buying a car in better condition.

Couldn't agree more, cost of restoration can easily spiral and once you get started its easy to go overboard - having said that, cat d is usually very minor damage and there is an argument of age etc... Price seems fair, seen a lot worse go for more...

SasG wrote: cat d is usually very minor damage

Car D is NOT usually very minor damage. It's not an indicator of level of damage in any way.
All it indicates is that at some point in its life it received damage that would cost between £0* and about 60% of its PAV at that time to repair, and for some reason the insurance company did not go ahead with the repair.

* This could be a totally undamaged stolen, recovered, which they had already paid out on.

Thanks guys
I'm going to think about it and keep it on hold
Maybe a good one will be up for sale soon . But it's something I need to have a good think about
Thanks for your replies

NOBODY ever bought a car on the list as an investment. If you need a further reality check, do a MOT history check. Recorded cars attract undesirables, cars that pass through the hands of undesirables often have 'interesting' history. All you need is the reg. Be sure to pay particular attention to mileage readings !

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

pacerpete wrote:NOBODY ever bought a car on the list as an investment. If you need a further reality check, do a MOT history check. Recorded cars attract undesirables, cars that pass through the hands of undesirables often have 'interesting' history. All you need is the reg. Be sure to pay particular attention to mileage readings !

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

That's not true, I remember Quentin Wilson buying a Merc SL on the register, bought it cheap as salvage, repaired it and sold it for a profit. The details evade me now, it was a long time ago.

Good old Quent

Jesus325iTouring wrote:

pacerpete wrote:NOBODY ever bought a car on the list as an investment. If you need a further reality check, do a MOT history check. Recorded cars attract undesirables, cars that pass through the hands of undesirables often have 'interesting' history. All you need is the reg. Be sure to pay particular attention to mileage readings !

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

That's not true, I remember Quentin Wilson buying a Merc SL on the register, bought it cheap as salvage, repaired it and sold it for a profit. The details evade me now, it was a long time ago.

Good old Quent

Thats because he bought it cheap.

And no doubt applied some of the snake oil he smarmingly endorses:

http://www.ametech.co.uk/press-articles-3-w.asp

Speedtouch wrote:And no doubt applied some of the snake oil he smarmingly endorses:

http://www.ametech.co.uk/press-articles-3-w.asp

Cos it replaces worn pistons you know

Its f***ed ,plane and simple dont buy a £6000 car, as is its going to return,no no,keep looking,your not going to wipe away the history on a qaultiy classis motor, mine are mostly rotters returned to road worthy, and im doing well ,but throu hard work and lottsa welding,lotts
its not a easy cash in,unless you can find chumps,good luck.keep looking ,what you want is out where,just wait,andy

You can get a decent 325i cabby for £6,500. If your looking for an investment and you don't have the money for an M3, then I would go that route.