Alistair J Murray wrote in news:j602s2-pdu.ln1 @florin.fluffy:
That's a good idea and one I did think of this afternoon (honest) whilst attempting to console myself. Perhaps I'll give this a try, but I might just grab that green E34 on eBay, yet. I'm sure it would sell on in 12 months, after which I would be in a stronger position to get the E39.
The guy selling it gave me an excellent description, he even found one more stamp in the service book, which he's not mentioned in the listing. The last recorded service was just 1,000 miles ago, done by the dealer that originally sold the car. It's had just two owners in almost ten years.
Except the '97 528i SE Aoto at £2995 I mentioned. 32 miles away. Have you forgotten it?
Take a tip from me. If you find what sounds like a good deal. Don't hang about. Get on your bike and see it as soon as possible. I baught my SD1 Vitesse when it was under 3 years old. I saw the ad, got straight on the phone and got a promise from the guy that he would hold it for me for 2 hours. The time it would take to get there. Saw it, gave the guy a deposit, and picked it up a few days later. Apparently I was the first to reply. Between me paying a deposit and picking it up, he'd had about 14 calls.Some offering to pay more than the asking price when they found it was already sold. The guy did the decent thing and kept his word, and I got a bargain.
Thing is I want
You're apprehensive about buying from a dealer, yet you're thinking about buying at an auction? Mike.
I suppose finding the right one would be rather like a
"Mike G" wrote in news:42ee56f1$0$16210$ snipped-for-privacy@authen.white.readfreenews.net:
No I haven't. It just seems too good to be true. A couple of things ring alarm bells: 1) The wheels don't look standard 2)No mention of SH, mileage or condition. There should be. But yes, it does have an MOT and a good spec (particulary like the sound of the interior/exterior colour combination) and I'm stupid not to have at least called about it.
I hear you. I'll make sure I ring about the black one tomorrow.
Must admit, never bought at auction. Do realise it can be risky but otherwise totally ignorant. Theory was that the cars there may be more affordable and would leave me some budget for sorting out minor niggles. That is, after all, how dealers are able to make a profit, is it not? Wouldn't buy without at least seeing service history, looking under the bonnet and starting it up, but I know that there's thousands of potential faults that those brief checks would not eliminate. I think sniffing around main dealers for P/Xs is a better idea.
Alistair J Murray wrote in news:bp42s2-vj.ln1 @florin.fluffy:
I think you're right, but I really want an E39 now, so if I'm not getting it unless it comes cheap, cheap enough to be sold on for the same amount in another year. I'm signed in & waiting for the shootout in the last 5 minutes. Make your mind up time on the bid price :-/
Maybe they're not std, but there is a vast range of genuine BMW wheels. Changing the std wheels is quite common on BM's, so I wouldn't regard it as anything significant, even if they're not OE. TBH I can't tell either way. BTW my car has non std wheels. It has 17" M-tech wheels instead of the std
"Mike G" wrote in news:42ee6a7a$0$14693$ snipped-for-privacy@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net:
I reckon so. Can't believe it. Contacted the seller, I'm going for it on Friday and he's going to collect me from the train station!
What's more, his good atitude inspired me with enough confidence to enter a £1750 bid. Bearing in mind that he'd told other people about the reserve, I couldn't believe none of them were prepared to advance on it. Not even by a penny. Great buy (I hope :-) . It seems that many people get scared off by high-milers. Their loss, my gain :-) He's even going to have a look at that brake circuit fault for me. I was rather hoping Dave could shed some light on that. He seems to know his BMWs.
Time for a big thankyou to all you excellent people who stuck it out with me on this long-winded thread. You're fantastic! But don't think you've heard the last of me. I'll need to find out plenty more about this car if I'm going to look after it properly.
Doh! Just remembered......I've got to get the Primera sold now, and I've nowhere to put it..... ;-)
Just remember when you're driving it home. Forget your left leg and foot. Tuck it under the seat, or somewhere where it can't easily reach the pedals. :-)
Not a fault I've heard of. I've got the Bentley w/s manual for the 5 series. I'll see if there's anything in there about 'EDS Regelt'.
Park it in the road and make it a 2-3 day sale on Ebay. Buyer to take possession quickly.:-) Mike.
"Mike G" wrote in news:42ee7898$0$3485$ snipped-for-privacy@ptn-nntp-reader03.plus.net:
HeHe..it's all motorway work, so I hope I'll just be using the one pedal (to maintain a sensible speed, of course :-) Gonna love the auto if I hit some traffic, though :-)
Cheers, Mike. BTW, I've looked at those manuals and they seem quite expensive. Is there any decent alternative available cheaper? No HBOL for this particular model/year.
I'd like the best price for it really. Autotrader say £2318, Glass's just give a retail value of £3010 but only £1600 if I were trading it in. But there's no SH after the first two years, after which I bought it and lovingly maintained it by my own fair hand. Don't think that'll wash with the punters, though :-(
It's virtually impossible to park on the road without blocking someone else's house off, as we live right at the end of the street, within the turning area bit. Might be able to stick it in the works car park if I speak nicely to the gatekeeper. It's only a mile from where I live, so no problem to fetch it home for a punter, sticking the Beemer up the road for the duration of the visit.
The motorway's the easy bit - remember when you first pull away from a stop after you've left the motorway, and a couple of days later when you're in a hurry.
Yes it will, you'll be fine. Put it on ebay, being completely honest about how often you've serviced, exactly what you've done and when, mentioning that there's no formal service history but it has been cared for properly, and also mention how reliable it's been in the years you've had it (assuming it has!) - people like buying from genuine honest private sellers, and if it's in genuine decent nick, people will see that.
Haynes do one for the 5 series, but it only covers '81 to '91. Whilst it's better than nothing, it's hardly worth buying for the later E34's. The Bentley one covers later cars. It is aimed at the US market. L/h drive etc, but most the info is applicable to UK cars. Fairly expensive at £46.95 here:-
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A cheaper and more complete alternative is CD's a few quid on eBay.
Yes. that is problem. I must of spent at least a day of maintenance on my car in the 18 months I've had it. The recent service, replaced a couple of bulbs. It does get a bit much sometimes. Mike.
Alistair J Murray wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@florin.fluffy:
You'll get the full report once I've got it home :-)
At that price, I'm now feeling much better about missing the E39. I know the chance of that will come. In the meantime, if I'm going to be converted to a BMW veteran, it's only fitting that I make the pilgrimage of owning the original 'ultimate driving machine' :-)
I need a fair price for it to go towards my E39 fund. Having said that, who knows? I may grow to love my newly acquired E34 so much that I keep it for several years! Valuations indicate the Primera (98 GT, 51k) is worth about £2300, but I doubt that it'll fetch anything like that on eBay.
Not sure whether to remove the 17" alloys and sell 'em seperate or leave them on. I only got them because they improve grip (ony 195s as standard) and greatly enhance the appearance. OTOH, they may convey a 'Nova Boy' image to potential buyers. This is not the case. I've never modded any of my cars, not even when I was a 17 year old maniac.
It's disheartening: I've maintained the car lovingly for 5 years (oil change every 6 months, Coolant 2yrs, BF 2 years, F Filter at 40k, A/C filter 2 years, brakes brushed out annually, redline oil in gearbox, new hydraulic tensioner just to stop the brief chain rattle on startup). For all that effort, I'll probably get a below market price just because of the lack of a few stamps in the book. No dealer serviced car has ever had the same thorough care as mine!
I just have to keep reminding myself of all the money I've saved in garage labour charges. I hope it outweighs the loss in value.
Forget the E39, and start saving for an M6. The old one, the proper one. The M635CSi.
Might well be worth going back to the standard wheels if you've still got them.
Stop it. Now. Just stop it! Have you kept a notebook or some form of record of all the things you've done? Even if not, you can obviously remember anyway. Stop worrying. You *will* get a decent price for your car. For the more discerning buyer, a properly owner-maintained car is worth every bit as much as a full main dealer service historied one, possibly more. Seriously.
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