Third post for this newbie here. I ask this question to prepare myself for when I start inspecting cars come buying time.
Here's the question that popped into my head and scared the beans out of me. I imagined myself finding a car I really liked. The car looks good, I am starting to really get interested. Let's say the car is something like a 93 E34 525i with 120,000 miles (all of this is made up). The only thing the owner says is that it has a "minor oil leak."
Originally I thought what I would do is try and determine the source of the leak, then guesstimate if it was something like a rear main seal (drop the tranny), or front seals (a bit less dramatic). Valve cover gaskets (piece of cake), or maybe some failed sensor. (I had a Volvo with the oil light sensor failed, leaked oil like mad. $9 fixed it all.)
Now I am thinking - I don't know a thing about these bimmers. Maybe I should just stay away from ANY leaks. Is it common to start seeing leaks in the 10 year old + cars, with over 100,000 miles?
The fear of the unknown has reared its ugly head in my mind!
Any comments?
PS: To try and narrow the hypothetical down, the scenario is my budget is now about $5000 - $6000 and I want a range of about 1991-1997. E34
525i with no more than about 130,000 miles. Manual tranny.jamie