Looking at car with Rust issues.

[ramLlama]

Hi. I have been looking at a Ascot Green 1998 ti with 119000 miles on the clock. Active, with heated seats.

It seems to be just fine. Except for the rust:







It also has 15 inch wheels. I thought all Active models came with 16 inch?

Asking price is $3700 near Philadelphia. What do you all think?

Thanks in advance.

[tiFreak]

actives had 15", sports had 16".

the rust on the hood and wheel arch doesn't look too bad, that c-pillar is concerning though. it might just be the paint but it almost looks like bondo cracking, so they're might be some kind of damage there.

I'd be most concerned with what it looks like underneath, that's quite a lot of rot even for a northern car. I'd have a shop put it on the lift before you buy it to check it out underneath

as for the price, that's way too high with that rust, I'd say it's worth closer to 1500-2000 assuming it's all structurally sound and there's no holes in the floor

[teetime4one]

I agree with Brendan. You should fully investigate the car and make sure the underside is sound. Chances are...it's got more issues than what meets the eye. That can get spendy.
$2K max.

[teen ti]

the wheel arches are prone to rust although it looks like a bit more than i would expect, but like was said the rust on the c-pillar worries me. as for price i wouldn't go anywhere over 2500 because of the rust and if the rust is that bad (which it is, I've owned 2 ti's, both lived their whole lives in upstate ny and were driven year round, but all of the rust on them wouldn't even add up to on the wheel arch) i would say the owner didn't care for it as well as they should've which would lead me to believe there may be more wrong with the car.

[ramLlama]

Thank you for all the input everyone. Yes, I too thought this was too much rust. I decided to pass on the car. Since the ti will be my second, "just for fun" car, I am in no hurry to get one.

[mtlblue]

if you're in no rush , pass . the rust will come back if it's not fixed right, then it'll pop up somewhere else. way too expensive for that car.

[cmoore]

RamLlama - i assume that is the one in Bensalem? i texted and called that guy a few times but he either didn't return my call or wasn't available despite having said he'd be around all day. He seemed pretty dodgy. For re-posting his ad every other day, i am surprised he wasn't more eager to show it. For what its worth i looked at one today posted on CL (delco - near the airport) had a few rust spots on wheel arches (though not nearly as bad) and some tired/bad bondo on front fender, but despite high miles pulled harder than i expected. wasn't sure if it didn't have a chip. Still priced way to high, but might be worth you checking out. Seems like we are both in the market and not too far away. Good luck.

[ramLlama]

Originally Posted by cmoore

RamLlama - i assume that is the one in Bensalem? i texted and called that guy a few times but he either didn't return my call or wasn't available despite having said he'd be around all day. He seemed pretty dodgy. For re-posting his ad every other day, i am surprised he wasn't more eager to show it. For what its worth i looked at one today posted on CL (delco - near the airport) had a few rust spots on wheel arches (though not nearly as bad) and some tired/bad bondo on front fender, but despite high miles pulled harder than i expected. wasn't sure if it didn't have a chip. Still priced way to high, but might be worth you checking out. Seems like we are both in the market and not too far away. Good luck.

Yes, it is the one in Bensalem. I was a bit concerned talking on the phone as well, but he seemed nice enough in person. I think he is just putting out feelers, he did not seem very interested in the proceedings.

Do you have a cl link to the one in delco? I may hold out if it has rust, since I have the luxury of waiting. I would still like to get one within the next month, though.

[cmoore]

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/3086291784.html
or
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/3075127979.html
(same car)

its not bad, but still has a tiny bit of rust on the wheel wells. more troublesome to me was that a lot of the gaskets, windshield and door handles kind of looked dried out. see the other post of mine - "confirm this is a sport for me"....

this one was a little better;
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1997-...t_41033wt_1165
this one was real clean, but even this one had a spot by the rear window where the clearcoat had faded. i suspect the reserve on this one though is going to be way higher than where the bid ends - i think its also listed on bimmerforums


i looked at the CL one with 49K miles on it - from North Brunswick. Drove real nice, but the previous owner kept the car in NY i guess so it had lots of door dings, minor bumps and scratches on it. shame for such a low mileage car.

i struggle and am not sure where the market is for these cars. kbb says one thing. there's another price that is put on high mileage cars with kbb values in the mid 2k's (and people seem to expect to get the near 4k they are asking) but the cars sit on CL for a good while. and any one of these cars that has some issues like the above mentioned, all the follow up posts say they are not worth any more than 1.5-2k. Yet on the "for sale" forum here, there are cars listed at 8k or even way higher and yet all the follow up posts to those cars say how they will have no problem getting such lofty numbers. i have only looked at 5 or 6 cars so far, but still have little idea where the market is/what i should pay.
over 100K doesn't bother me, but exceeding 150k i assume that some major scheduled maintenance will be expected. and body/aesthetic condition is all over the place.
i am hoping for a car with <150k or if over that, documentation that it has been well cared for and hoping to avoid rust or significant clearcoat issues. (all within a few hundred miles) i guess i'll have to keep waiting.

let me know if you have any luck.

[jca]

I watch the ti market every day just for fun. The red car is a very nice example, despite the higher mileage. It appears that it has been well maintained. I love the color and it's very rare. I would pay up to $4k for it after having a mechanic look at it.

[cmoore]

The red/burgandy car is at a used car dealer - there is no evidence whatsoever of what maintenance it has had. It has a carfax showing 2 owners, but the current used car dealer bought it at auction. Aside from the items that were just replaced, the only indication of the cars "maintenance" is looking at the general condition of how the car looks.
kbb lists it between 2400-2500 at private party and $3700 retail. but retail implies excellent condition which this car is not.
I am anxious to see where that car ends up on ebay. I would estimate given its an odd color with zero options on a base model, it may not go above $2500, but i hope to learn from where it ends. Regardless, i suspect it won't make it anywhere near its reserve as the same car is listed on bimmerforums at $4500.
But ebay is usually pretty good indicator for these things. With the widest audience possible, and the auction mentality i expect i will see what the car is worth.