Should I buy a rebuilt used 2003 BMW 325i?

I have a tough decision.





I am looking at a 2003 BMW 325i with 87k miles on it. The price is 8k.





Its a rebuilt title, has been rear-ended in the past. I had it checked and turns out there are several things wrong.





- water gets to the battery compartment, needs to be sealed properly


- needs 2 new front tires


- 2 suspension lower bushings are bad


- front breaks need changing


- engine oil change needed


- 2 fan belts need changing


- driver side window regulator starting to go bad


- small oil seepage, front engine valve cover gasket needs to be replaced


- AC works, but fan speed fluctuates (AC control module might be going bad)


+ some other small things





All in all its like $1500 to fix all that.





Engine is good, transmission is good, car runs good, looks good.





Is it still a good buy? NADA Guides clean retail value is $12,300.|||Absolutely NOT a good buy. Here's why - the salvage/rebuilt title negatively impacts the book value. How much varies, but I'd say by a third or so. That would mean 8K if it didn't have all these problems.





That said, the main reason I'd stay away from this car is this laundry list of problems - most people get things done as they go, they don't wait for the list to get this long. Many of these items are safety related (suspension, tires, brakes), yet they're still not done, and it needs an oil change too?





All of this tells me that this car has not been well cared for at all - if they're overdue on this oil change, how have they been with the others. BMW's are well engineered cars, but not exactly renowned for their reliability to begin with, when you combine that with a clear pattern of neglect, I would not buy it.|||stay away, theres most likly something really wrong with that car even after its been fixed, once there hit hard no cars ever the same again. then theres all that hidden damage thats hard to notice exept on good roads and then the odd sounds from the car, find another one there out there., that cars going to cost you alot more money than you can imagine.|||Its entirely up to you. In my experience, once a few things start going wrong (as they are now) lots of things start going wrong.


Its 4,300 cheaper than the retail for a reason.|||(PMack) The guy above me is 100% right. Now that the car has been involoved in an accident the resale value will depreciate considerably more opposed to a vehicle with a clean title. Trust me there are loads of 2002-2004 BMW 325i sedans for sale around $9,500-$10,500 with 50-85K miles on them. Ask your self, if the car is priced at $8,000 and your willing to cover the cost of repairs which in this case is $1,500, invest your money elsewhere into a car that has not been involved in a collision. Your price range may be $8,000 but really youll be spending $9,500 on a used 3 series once you have fixed this vehicle of interest you had in mind. Keep looking for another 3 series. I have posted links from craigslist based on your price range and criteria involving BMW's with clean titiles and good miles. Ide suggest you keep looking. Hope this helps.





http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/ctd/1584鈥?/a>


http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/ctd/1567鈥?/a>


http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/ctd/1591鈥?/a>