Am I Being Unreasonable?

[ynotony]

I have been pursuing a buyer who is selling his beautiful 1998 BMW 328i sedan 5 speed. It has 113,000 miles and he is asking $9995. Located in San Diego California. I went to test drive the car, it was awesome. It looks awesome. The owner is very friendly. I did some research and got it inspected and here is what I turned up:

1) KBB price: $9700

2) He is the second owner. First was in MICHIGAN. (snow/salt rusit issues)

3) $2000 (parts and labor) for repairs need to be done. This includes belts, leaks, shocks, hoses, etc. I got this quote from an independant BMW mechanic.

I offered him around $8000 for the car because of all the immediate repairs I would need to pay for as soon as I got my hands on it and started to drive it. This is my first time ever buying a used car so I don't know if it is insane or not to deduct some money off the price of the car because of pressing repairs that need to be done. He said he was insulted and that it is INHERENT in buying a used car that you would need to be fixing problems and putting money into it. He probably won't go any lower than $9700.

[93 325i]

you are not being totally unreasonable.. if you find out the car is leaking oil you wouldnt pay KBB value on it right? Same thing with other leaks and repairs. The cars mechanical condition is def a factor in price. Since it seems some of those repairs are an easy DIY i would offer him $9000 and call it a day

[ynotony]

Originally posted by 93 325i@Jul 14 2005, 04:57 PM
you are not being totally unreasonable.. if you find out the car is leaking oil you wouldnt pay KBB value on it right? Same thing with other leaks and repairs. The cars mechanical condition is def a factor in price. Since it seems some of those repairs are an easy DIY i would offer him $9000 and call it a day

[snapback]362391[/snapback]

Yea I am planning to do most of the repairs myself for around $1000 but I don't want him to know that. He still thinks that repairs shoulding take away from what he gets.

[Rooz]

Yes, speaking as the son of a car dealer, that KBB value you speak of it's based upon cars in GOOD to EXCELENT conditions!

[e36surge]

Tell him 9000$. A vehicle must be sold in proper working condition. I don't know about your state laws but up here even a private sale requires the seller to sell a vehicle in proper operating condition. When I bought my 325is the starter needed replacing so I deducted parts and labour. I did sell my 318is 'as is' and I understand the seller's point of view as well. If you really want the car then 9K is a reasonable offer without being insulting, tell him your willing to go halfsies.... Good Luck and show us some pics if you buy the car.

[Hootie361]

If he based his price on KBB, have him read the fine print, which states that a car in "Excellent" shape needs no repairs, a car in "Good" shape needs some mechanical repairs before it can be sold, a car in "Fair" shape has significant repairs.

Print that out for him. You're not being unreasonable, just walk away if he won't bite. Your repairs are gonna be expensive unless you DIY.

[thekid]

Yep that is not unreasonable. 2k is repairs is very expensive. When I bought my car, it need about 1k in repairs (I was getting hooked up with bascially free labor). But the car needed- struts, hoses, belts, windsheild, brakes, rear exhaust mount (the rubber ring thing), and a few other things. They adjusted the price accordingly and this was from a dealer. He should definately come down in price. As said above, take him the fine print, take him an estimate on paper. Tell him you don't "want" the whole 2k off the car because you understand his position on wanting to sell a nice car for a decent (for him) price. But try to get him to the 8.5-9k range. If not, walk away.