Swap in works
 

Hi guys. So some unfortunate news. My 1999 323ic 5 speed convertible is toast. Mechanically and electronics wise everything is in sound shape. The black interior is in good condition, the body panels are good but here's the dousy. I bought it last summer and drove it around for the summer then parked it this last winter. The PO showed me a stack of receipts for complete cooling system overhaul, raceland ultimo coilover install, driveshaft replacement, single mass clutch replacement, and a few other things so I willingly bought it. It rode very low so I wasn't able to get under the car fully to check everything out. (kinda wish I had now) Yesterday I went to use the passenger side front jack point and guess what the tube broke, luckily without me or nobody near / under the car. So I jacked it up and looked underneath. The long of the short is after prying off a 1/4" sheet metal piece covering a massive hole, it looks like the PO put a jack or jackstand through the underbody then covered it with that metal with pop rivets and no sealing. It's rusted badly around the side skirts and that body cavity there. Too much work for me at this point for a plain jane convertible (it'd be different if it was an m3, z3, etc)....