1990 525 HELP PLEASE CHECK PIX

[leetman]

I am thinking about buying this car but I was wondering what all that wet stuff was on top of the engine and if it means it is leaking something?

Also how does the engine look? 240K miles and the guys wants 2 grand for it. Test drive runs fine.

[leetman]

Heres what the whole car looks like.

[leetman]

Any advice or suggestions or opinions on deal or especially the eingine itself?

[Silver4evr]

Oil.

You should have this checked out by a BMW mechanic.
There's a lot of rusty stuff in there as well.

Are there maint. Records available?
Who maintained it?

[LivinFast67]

looking at an engine in't gunna say much. for a little money the guy could have had it steam cleaned to look like my engine bay. get a mechanic to check it for sure. i did

[leetman]

Thanks for all help and input. He says he has maintenance records and he says it just got a full tuneup 3 months ago.

Heres interior pic.

[leetman]

One more.

[billB]

Ryanbaker123

I hate to say this but for 2 grants you can get a much nicer car than this one (NOT A BMW THOUGH) to tell you the truth a clean NISSAN/TOYOTA/HONDA/ FORD or CLEAN anything is way much better than a beat up BMW....This car reminds me of the old saying: A LIVE DOG IS BETTER THAN A DEAD LION. The reason being: BMW is JUST TOOOOO EXPENSIVE TO KEEP AND/OR TO MAINTAIN. YOU HAVE TO KEEP UP WITH IT JUST LIKE HAVING A VERY NICE LOOKING GIRLFRIEND--TOO EXPENSIVE AND DOES NOT LET YOU GET AWAY WITH A WHITE CASTLE DINNER; and so BMWs : any visit to the dealer is much more expensive than seeing your doctor. Thus all this rust/oil leaks (looking at these pics) does NOT exactly testifies to a good maintenance record..just take a look at the gas pedal they did not even bother cleaning the mud out of it--Does not mean this BMW will give a check engine light for having mud on the pedal!!!!!

Stay away man

Good luck on you decision
billb

[sp0rky]

Well wait a minute guys

Im not gonna say this car is good or bad.

you have to look at this. the car has 240k miles and its 2k. for that little money and that high mileage, who the hell would take the time to clean it up super nice.

Now on a different note, this car is good for someone who knows about this kind of car. there is a lot to check for. At 240k miles, even if it had the worlds best maintenance history, BMW dealerships will find millions of things wrong with it. Taking it in for an inspection will do nothing more than intimidate you.

BTW, i Hve a 1990 525 and a 1993 toyota camry. The toyota is by far more expensive for maintenance and repairs... ESPECIALLY PARTS. ridiculous. Anyway... its your call - get it if you can do the work yourself ... these cars really aren't that complicated.

[Bimmin'88]

I have to agree with billB....I just purchased a 325i....yes its not a 5 series but it is clean and the guy had a stack of oil change receipts (every 3k) price was $2500.00 not much more but I feel real good with the purchase. And its something I can drive and use my $ to do upgrades intead of to keep it running. just my opinion.

[leetman]

Thanks guys you have been really helpful. By the way I think the mud is from my foot after I test drove it heh (but im not 100% sure) I took the pics BTW not the seller.

[d3ity]

Has this guy heard of degreaser?

The oil leak could be something minor like a valve cover gasket or loose hoses.

Total cost, 100 bucks to replace most relavent hoses and the valve cover gasket.

Grab a bentley service manual for 50 bucks and do the job yourself...its not that hard.