My brother - who lives at the other end of the country to me in the UK - is looking at a '00 330 Touring which is for sale privately at well below the trade price for a one private owner low mileage car. It has a slight dent in the roof and some damage to the rear bumper - but otherwise seems fine to look at both inside and out. But no MOT or tax. The owner has bought a new 3 Series. It has a service history - a mixture of main dealer and independant.
He was allowed to take it for a test drive - without realising it didn't have an MOT - and commented that it didn't seem very lively. It's a manual. His current BMW is an E28 520 - so I'd have thought it would seem very lively indeed compared to that. Does this sound like a VANOS issue? He said it was smooth and quiet otherwise.
He's keen on buying it provided the owner gets a new MOT - and the price allows him some extra for repairs. But it occurs to me the owner would have traded it in for the new car - or be asking a higher price for selling it privately - unless he knew it had expensive issues.
His wife has definite views on the colours she wants - under no circumstances silver - which sort of restricts the choice. ;-)