No, don't need anymore headlights. I'm done putting more money into this car. Going to leave it as-is until the summer, and then decide what its fate will be.
Another semester of college is almost done for me. I'm trying to plan out what I'll be doing over my winter break. The ti will stay in St. Louis and has been trouble free, besides a small coolant leak that I have to add coolant in every few hundred miles.
I really want to try my hand at flipping cars for once. Been seeing some decent E36's that I should be able to fix/pretty up easily and sell for a few hundred profit. There's three days until I fly home to NJ, so I figured I should start looking now in between studying for finals.
It really depends on your market there, is there a interest?
I know over hear it is pretty easy to find decently clean e36's for cheap if your a bit patient. So then are you selling to enthusiasts? Because those are all pretty standard model E36's. For more of a "normal" buyer they may be scared of by the BMW badge, and may normally go for a honda/toyota etc.
If you want to flip a e36 it has to be a very good buy. For example I found a exterior/interior clean 1996 318ti auto with a california roof for 600. Even though though it is auto it has the attraction of being a california roof - making it a bit more special for those interested. That is a car i could check the maintenance, make sure its safe to drive and mechanically sound, and even if I sell for 1500 - which would be a good buy for the buyer - which they want, they want to feel they got a good deal - I would also be making a few bucks off it.
So anyways it takes a good amount of work and time, so be careful if do you try it.
Even more important: SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW!
Well, I think there is a market for clean $2k BMW's. Usually, the ones around me are ragged out for that price range, and this is the first time I'm ever seeing them dip below $2k consistently. Clean ones usually ask for $3500 and they usually sell within 2 weeks of the ad being posted. I plan to buy one for around $1000 and put <$500 into it, so I can turn it around for an easy $500 profit.
Deep inside, I also hope to find the perfect chassis to actually start an STX build with. But I may be just dreaming on that one.
That's pretty impressive that the clean ones sell within 2 weeks, it seems like you do have some kind of market, just start with a clean good find and do a test run to see how fast it's bought etc. You just have to make sure to take your time to find good clean buys, and set up a list of "musts" like clean title, under a specific mileage (that mileage number even with maintenance matters to buyers) etc - kind of like your own list of what you want when you buy so that you won't up something randomly and end up getting stuck with it.
Even more important: SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW!
Weird update, but a 2004 Ford Focus will be joining my 318. Bought it for a good price and will keep it in NJ until the spring, when I either offload the Focus or the 318. Why a Focus? Because this particular car is a great base for a H Street or STF build. I also bought it at a low enough price that I could make a profit if I do decide to sell it instead.
Got a new paperweight for my car. It's a S4.44 LSD out of a 318ti.
Reluctantly put the Focus up for sale. PM me if you're interested in buying it since I still believe it will be a better HS car than the 318ti, and it has potential to be a nationals car in STF with the right driver and prep.
I drove 726 miles in the span of 3 days this weekend. Took a trip down to Nashville from St. Louis for my fraternity's formal. It averaged 30 mpg with 4 people and luggage. My ears do hurt from doing 75-85 mph for 4 hours though. Still proud of this 19 year old car making the trip without any breakdowns.
That was on 225/50/16 Continental all-seasons. I'm out in St. Louis for college still so I don't have my summer tires on.
I will usually autocross with 205/50/16 Z1 Star Specs. They're old and they worn but I should get 1 more summer out of them. I'm not sure what tire I'll move on to after the SS's but I have time to plan it out.