What can I do?

[gthcmnmlst]

Hey all, I am about to purchase a used bmw and had a pre-purchase inspection done on the vehicle. Here's what we found:

-Shifter Seized - Difficult to move stick from gear to gear (est. $400)
-Needs a new AC compressor (est. $800)
-Needs front corner ball-joints (est. $325)
-Rear trailing arm bushings (est. $400)
-Rear shocks + mounts (might just be the mounts) (est. $400)
-4-wheel alignment (est. $170)
-Rear muffler (est. $550, but not important)
-Possible tie rods, not sure (est. $400)

So here is my questions, what of these things as an beginner should I attempt to replace on my own, if anything. What can be ignored? And what if anything should be put against the price of the vehicle? Right now the asking price is $6995 w/ 97000. It's a '93 325i. The body and interior are in incredibly good shape imho. All electronics, lights , audio work fine. It has power and heated seats, sunroof. Let me know what you guys think! Thnx.

Sidenote: This is not my first bmw purchase, currently driving a '92 325i that was severely neglected by previous owners.

[preyash]

NAh! its too much, you can get a nice BMW in running coniditon for like around 5k with decent amount of miles on it, If a car already has problems rite now, just imagine whats gonna go wrong after u fix all those problems and some problems are just too time consuming and make the car not reliable, so my suggestion is dont buy it.

[gthcmnmlst]

Cool, thnx. Just some additional info/?s. I live in Michigan, so the weather is never kind to any vehicle. Also the engine has a very nice tone, and sound to it. If I can get it for <$5k would it be a fair buy then? In addition, my current bmw needs to be replaced stat. Also, do you think my third party mechanic is estimating too high on any of the repairs?

[paco1076]

DON'T BUY IT! You can spend less and get more car for it. Just look around for a while. I live in MD and while our winters aren't as bad as Michigan, we still use road salt that eats metal... Trust me. Keep your eyes open for a different car. Those prices seem ok for what the work is, but it doesn't sound like that car is worth it.

Just my 2 pennies worth.

[gthcmnmlst]

Ok, thanks again for your help guys. I'm trying my hardest not to let my excitement get the best of me. I've been watching autotrader.com and Yahoo! Autos for the last 6 months or so. Due to my location those are pretty much my only options besides driving for 2 hours in any direction. Haven't seen many cars pop up unfortuneately. So if you were to suggest a price to pay for the vehicle (mechanic said $4k) what would it be and any suggestions on where to look?

[preyash]

Originally Posted by gthcmnmlst

Ok, thanks again for your help guys. I'm trying my hardest not to let my excitement get the best of me. I've been watching autotrader.com and Yahoo! Autos for the last 6 months or so. Due to my location those are pretty much my only options besides driving for 2 hours in any direction. Haven't seen many cars pop up unfortuneately. So if you were to suggest a price to pay for the vehicle (mechanic said $4k) what would it be and any suggestions on where to look?

I know whats happening to you, u are seeing the car and not caring about the mileage and the condition, i would say for 6k you could find a 1996-1998 BMW 6cyl or 4cyl with about 100k miles on it. i would say get models after 1995 cuz they have all the goodies like digital climate control and the body is revised too, both interior wise and exterior wise, so good luck, check out these websites for used cars, make sure to refine the search.
IM me if u really want help with them, my aim is preyash123

www.autotrader.com
www.autoshopperonline.com
www.cars.com

[///M Power]

Overpriced as previously stated, especially for a 325 and super especially for a 93.

[Ivan]

thats a major rip off.

[Ivan]

Originally Posted by ///M Power

Overpriced as previously stated, especially for a 325 and super especially for a 93.

and even more so for one with that many problems

[WarNox]

most things arent as hard to do as people think. with a good manual you can do anything, a decent set of tools helps too, but yeah that car costs a lot, for a 93', i paid about $3500usd. and that was too much if u ask me now. there was/is stuff to fix but not many things have gone wrong since i've got it (fingers crossed). and mine has done about 139k miles.

[gthcmnmlst]

Thnx alot. I guess I'm waiting it out then. Kinda sux, but better safe then sorry. Thanks for all the advice