6SpeedOnline Exclusive: Buying a Cheap Euro Car Off Craigslist
I’m something of a professional at buying terrible, cheap cars.
Now, when I say “professional,” I’m using it in a fast and loose sort of way. If someone is a plumber, you could call them a professional. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are any good at being a plumber.
But the fact remains, that at least for the most part, I have a decent intuition with cars. Turning wrenches for a few years, and being a prodigious car geek with Internet access has that effect, I suppose.
My long term Nissan 240SX cheap car build has been on something of a hiatus after a small incident. Will it get fixed? Certainly. It’s sitting in my backyard, radiating shame and remorse upon me every time I walk past it. However, I love change, and I especially love playing with whatever new bauble catches my imagination. So, the 240 will sit for a while longer.
So, what new automotive curiosity will take all of my time & money?
Well, there are a few requirements. First off, it has to be cheap: $2,000. MAX. Second, it has to be manual. Yes, I’m a diehard, and not giving it up, even with a budget beater. Finally, rear-wheel drive, which is optimal for burnouts, and, ideally, drifting. Videos are a lot more entertaining to watch when the rear tires are being slayed around corners.
The price cap really dictated most of my market share. No more 240s. Cheap, but too predictable. I love Miatas, but I’ve already done that. Surprisingly, American Iron was difficult to find in running condition. I figured Craigslist and the like would be littered with crummy third-gen Camaros or ’90s Mustangs, but apparently not. In fact, the overwhelming majority brand that popped up during my daily Craigslist perusal was something much more fancy than a Camaro.
BMW. In the greater Los Angeles area, and really, in California in general, BMWs are everywhere. The second- and third-hand market is flooded with every model imaginable, and because cars generally aren’t susceptible to rust here in SoCal, even the older Bimmers hold up well. Sun-faded paint work and neglectful owners the obvious aside.
I figured Craigslist would be littered with crummy third-gen Camaros or ’90s Mustangs, but apparently not. In fact, the overwhelming majority brand that popped up was something much more fancy than a Camaro.
E30 generation 3-series (1982-1991) are considered classics now, and locally, they trade hands at too high of a price for what they are. Fun, but too expensive. E36s (1991-1999) seemed to bottom out in value last year. I was looking for those, but they were few and far between. The E46 3’er (1999-2005) seemed to be the sweet spot. New enough to be readily available, and old enough to be cheap.
I have an affinity for the E46, for several reasons, despite never owning one myself. First off, watching Formula Drift professional Chelsea Denofa slide this E46 around mesmerized me when I first started drifting. There is a certain aesthetic that these cars have when modified for drift work that really does it for me. Additionally, I basically grew up in the back seat of E46s as a youngster. I’ll avoid the full laundry list, but my mom had some pretty cool cars growing up. Two stick out in particular: an early model E46 325i sedan, and then a late model convertible. I spent a lot of time in the back seat of E46s. Looking at them now online was nostalgic.
Finding the right one, however, was a bit tricky, but I think I managed.
I’m not a complete jerk, contrary to what Internet commenters tend to say. When sifting through the infinite amount of jalopies online, the temptation is too real to go look at all of them. However, one, that is very time consuming for me, and two, if I’m not dead intent on buying the car, I’m not going to waste someone else’s time.
After about two weeks of intent searching, I thought I had found a winner. Listed for $1,800, it looked like a very dusty, dirty, but solid running example. The ad read like a disinterested owner tired of an old car. I called and instead of some snot-nosed kid (like myself), it was an older gentleman. He confirmed that the car was still for sale, and that I could see it tomorrow. We would meet at his country club at 2 p.m. A few jokes floated around the office about meeting at “the country club,” which is amusing considering that kind of degenerates (us) that would be showing up.
We (myself and my friend Daud) actually showed up a few minutes early. I’m never early. In fact, I’m rarely on time. So, we waited around until we heard a familiar sound: the hum of a straight six sewing machine, a 1999 BMW 328i, specifically.
The pictures look better than the reality.
The paintwork was heavily etched and watermarked, and the driver’s side fender had been poorly repaired after a fender bender. The tires were all low on air, and the interior had seen better days. However, at this price point, they’re all a non-issue for me. At least the owner was up front about it all. His family had owned it since new, and they recently picked up a 2017 3-series to replace it. He was over driving a manual in L.A. traffic, so the new, automatic car was nice change.
I brought a jack, stands, and a flashlight to take a look underneath the car. No obvious tears in the chassis around the rear subframe, a big E46 issue. Everything was OEM or OE replacement underneath. Inside the car, everything worked, which is odd for an 18-year-old BMW. Electric, one-touch windows, A/C, six-disc stereo, sunroof, it all worked. Huh. Let’s take it for a test drive and see how it goes.
We got 50 feet down the street before the inevitable happened.
Literally, 50 feet. One block. I could still see my car parked next to the curb. The temp gauge began to creep upwards, and as I slowed for a stop sign, the needle almost hit the red. So, I killed the ignition and popped the hood. The owner of the car is briefly caught on video, and he seemed pretty composed. At first. Off camera, he was a bit flustered that the test drive didn’t go well. On the flip side, we thought it was hilarious and had a good laugh at the whole thing. Pop a head gasket, or two, and your outlook on cars changes quickly.
The owner watched us ‘fix’ the car. He said it looked like we would take good care of it (probably true…maybe), and said for $1,500, it was ours. We drove to the bank, withdrew the cash, and bought it on the spot.
After popping the overflow cap off the radiator expansion joint and letting the car puke a bit, the issue was obvious: big air bubble in the cooling system. I turned on the fan in the car, and it wouldn’t blow hot air, a clear sign that the cooling system needed to be bled. The coolant was green, and not brown or black, we took our chances. So, we had the owner run 50 feet back to “the country club,” and get water. After a few big gulps of water, we bled the cooling system for about 15 minutes until the vents in the car were coming out scalding hot and called it job done. The temp gauge was dead center and the car was running great.
The owner of the car was not a car enthusiast, nor was he particularly car-inclined. He watched us “fix” the car and was amazed that it all went well. He said it looked like we would take good care of the car (probably true…maybe), and said for $1,500, the car was ours. No negotiation needed. Sounds good to me. We hopped in the car, drove to the bank, withdrew $1,500 cash, and bought it on the spot.
The drive home would be the real trial by fire.
This is likely obvious to most of our readers, but let me reiterate: L.A. traffic is terrible. It’s especially terrible when you’re trying to leave Pasadena at 6 p.m. on a weekday. A 30-mile drive home was slated at an hour and a half. Stop and go traffic on an L.A. freeway is probably the worse place to drive a car that we just rescued from overheating.
However, this 1999 328i sedan with 214,988 miles was running great. With the A/C on the whole way, it was a supremely comfortable and uneventful ride home. The car ticked over 215,000 miles halfway through the journey.
This also doubled as my first real test-drive of the car. Due to the whole “overheating immediately” thing, I didn’t have much of a shot at it before. A lot of the BMW-driving dynamics that the brand is known for were in play. The steering was nicely weighted, communicative and smooth. The brake pedal was immediate. The clutch is actually completely linear in operation, which sounds normal, but the when you think about it, that’s a bit different than a lot of newer cars. Overall impressions were positive, however…
Sitting in traffic made me appreciate the car’s strengths, and dwell on its weaknesses. That supremely cushy ride quality would not bode well for drifting. Stiffer springs and some new shocks would be a must. The car is a first model year, non-sport E46, so the softest suspension setup, with the flat non-sport seats. Obviously, an open differential to match. The steering was slightly loose when first coming off center before regaining its composure. Basically, it’s an old, floppy car. Go figure.
The car gave me an intrinsic, intangible feeling that only good things would come from this. It does help that the entire engine and cooling system was replaced a few years ago, which explains why the engine was as smooth as silk.
However, the car gave me a good feeling. An intrinsic, intangible feeling that only good things would come from this. It does help that the entire engine and cooling system was replaced a few years ago after the original owner let it overheat. This likely explains why, despite the big time odometer figure (215,000 miles), the engine was as smooth as silk.
So, the next step of the build is to make a formal plan of attack on getting this thing drift-ready. We will form a budget; list of upgrades and necessary repairs; and some other fun, miscellaneous things necessary to “finish” the car. Please stay tuned to 6SpeedOnline as I roll out “Project BMW E46,” because a lot of interesting will be happening with this car in the coming weeks and months.
Project BMW E46: Jake Stumph, far right, and Daud after dropping $1,500 on Stumph’s latest project.
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