chit chat thread

YoungCR

The general control module is also located in the spare tire well on the wagons. If that gets wet, things start going haywire.

jc43089

Well the e60 was interesting. "An oil leak" turned out to be pouring oil out everywhere as soon as you start it. It's actually coming out where the oil filter cap meets the aluminum housing so it must be cracked from over tightening. So the alternator is well lubricated. Looking at the valve train through the oil fill cap it looks fairly clean like oil changes have been done at least at the BMW extended intervals. The engine sounds good and runs really nice. It's cool looking through the cap and seeing how the valvetronic works. Valve cover kit 66$, aluminum bolt kit 15$, OFH gasket kit 50$, New oil filter cap 40$.

So it's a black on saddle brown. The interior isn't worn but pretty dirty, both cup holder thingys in front of the passenger are broken. There was a scrape on the outside of both left doors that would mostly buff out I think but not worth really repairing. It has decent tread summer tires (on an xi???) Cooper Zeon RS3-A. Buy winter tires immediately 5-600$

The front suspension is clunky. 5-700$

There is a message about AWD and DSC functionality but I got no codes related to that on my scanner. Some reading I did suggests that the steering angle sensor is a likely cause. It's an optical encoder device and sometimes cleaning the disc fixes the problem, I read about people finding the disc hazy with dirt. ?$

The CEL was on due to an O2 sensor fault. Set P0138, P2271. Pending P0139, P0171, P0174. Those are all O2 sensor related. 1-200$ for upstream o2 sensors

Coolant temps were around 175-180F (from my OBD2 reader) while driving around town, is that too low.

Also the 2-1 downshift when coming to a stop is a little harsh, it surges the car forward. Probably drain/fill transmission and a new filter. 300$

It is at a used car lot that mostly has domestic trucks and a few domestic cars. Receipts in the glove box showed an early life in the Minneapolis area and then came down to this area a couple years ago. 4950 was the internet price. After about 30 seconds of talking after the test drive he dropped to 3200 and take it as is. I was actually quite surprised that he dropped that much so quickly. I expected him to stay firm knowing he can clean it up and some sucker will pay at least 4500 for it that doesn't know better. But maybe he got scared when I started talking. I'm not the one potentially buying it but I came along because I'm the resident BMW guy.

So around 1200$ in parts to get it back to good condition, plus winter tires. I think my top price would be 3000$ out the door. What do you think?

patsbimmer1

I think $3200 is a good deal. I wouldn't squabble over $200 if someone planned on cleaning it up and keeping it. I'm sure the dealer is scared to death that he has a big scary BMW on his lot with issues and someone who's willing to take it off his hands is a god send. I don't know what you mean by "broken" for the cup holders but a lot of the time they are just stuck and can be cleaned up by removing the trim and the cassette's. Other e60 530xi's are going for about $5k-$7k.

stealthbimmer

jc43089 said:

But maybe he got scared when I started talking.

So, its on a lot? How long has it been sitting. They guy probably just wants it gone and didnt realize how much work is needed once you started getting into everything...especially if its not a bmw specifc (or euro) dealer.

wasnt m3

At the same time, you could probably find a nicer one for $5k and save all the time working on it. It'd be a pass for me.

suspenceful

wasnt m3 said:

At the same time, you could probably find a nicer one for $5k and save all the time working on it. It'd be a pass for me.

This. Unless all of the other boxes are checked for your buddy (color, interior, trans, driveline, condition, etc.)

jc43089

Yea he likes the color combo and it seems saddle brown interior is not super common and he thinks he needs an xi and has no desire for a manual transmission.

So how many 5k ones do you think there are that don't need most of this stuff either very soon or the next couple years anyway? My thought is that most of them need a lot of this work anyway but are all detailed and nice looking. Yes they probably aren't puking oil everywhere but if they are leaking a little then the same stuff has to be replaced. And it becomes a big bargaining chip if it looks really bad. The biggest oil leak is the filter cap which a genuine one costs 40$ and 2 minutes to replace.

The biggest thing that won't get fixed is the scrape on the drivers side. it looks like somebody hit it with a bumper backing out of a parking spot and its very slightly dented but mostly paint scratches about 18" long half on each left door. The guy who might buy it really just wants a decent car to drive a lot of highway miles to/from work to avoid driving his Duramax truck and having it rust apart in the winter. He has a '96 Duramax truck he would like to get rid of so he might offer that for a trade. The sales guy was talking up Chevy diesels so that might be more up his alley.

Can you see how I talk myself into buying other peoples problems Just like my Toyota van that was cheap but needs a transmission.

I did some reading on the clunky 2-1 shift and it seems really common, fluid needs changing and the software apparently sucks? I think it's the ZF 6 speed auto. Are those the transmissions you can do the "Alpina flash" for? I rode in an e92 with the Alpina flashed transmission and it was excellent.

stealthbimmer

Has it been sitting a long time? If so, wait a week, offer 2.5k. I bet they will take it.

wasnt m3

To put things in perspective, we decently took in a 2008 535xi sport auto with 94k miles at my work on trade for $1600. Was dark green with the same natural brown leather. Needed a bunch of little things just like that one but over all was a decent car and was nearly perfect aesthetically. These e60's are getting really cheap.

jc43089

It's been there at least a couple weeks and they hadn't even tried to fix the oil leak. My coworker has a '96 diesel Chevy farm truck that he figures is worth about 2000 - 2500 to offer in trade so he is going to wait until next week and call the guy and offer that with maybe a few hundred cash if he has to. It's crazy how cheap they are at 10 years old. They drop way faster than a 3 series. The front and rear heated seats and heated steering wheel makes for a nice winter beater.

wasnt m3 said:

To put things in perspective, we decently took in a 2008 535xi sport auto with 94k miles at my work on trade for $1600. Was dark green with the same natural brown leather. Needed a bunch of little things just like that one but over all was a decent car and was nearly perfect aesthetically. These e60's are getting really cheap.

What will you list it for when it's spruced up? I'm assuming this dealer has 2000 or less into it. They got it from another local dealer.

wasnt m3

We sent it to auction right away, detailed and as-is mechanically. I think it sold for just over $3k.

patsbimmer1

@jc43089 you are why your cars don't stay running for any longer than 3-6 months at a time. You just can't leave a project alone!

jc43089

patsbimmer1 said:

@jc43089 you are why your cars don't stay running for any longer than 3-6 months at a time. You just can't leave a project alone!

Yup, this is true. I have a disease of tinkeritis.

B C

Kudos for daily-ing a mystery 270k mile e36 though.

I have been looking at houses and jobs out West recently.
Im getting kind of sick of the no daylight lifestyle

patsbimmer1

Snap said:

Kudos for daily-ing a mystery 270k mile e36 though.

I have been looking at houses and jobs out West recently.
Im getting kind of sick of the no daylight lifestyle

Fuck this state. I dream of a life where I dont need to worry about winter tires.

jc43089

I for one was excited for some exciting winter driving! I feel like I've got more power when i can get some wheelspin in 5th gear. It was glare ice in sections this morning on the way to work. The General tires aren't quite Blizzaks but way better than any all season and the price is right.

B C

Had I been born to a wealthy Saudi oil sheikh, I would live the snowbird life. Beach house in the winter months, Cabin in the woods during the summer months. Alas, here I am as a peon in my cubicle. Should have invested in Bitcoin.

I think the dark is more annoying than the cold though

Jdesign

Snap said:

I have been looking at houses and jobs out West recently.

Me too.

Jdesign

So I purchased a RAV4 recently and have been going through all the maintenance items. Check out this cabin filter that was inside the car........

B C

I usually get a token dead bee when i change mine out for the first time. Any such critters in yours?

WIBIMMERS

chit chat thread