Here's the text from the seller's ad when I bought it:
"
First of all, I'd would drive this wagon today across the country and back without hesitation. It's got a 3.0 V8 M60 motor in it, paired with a manual transmission from a same-year sedan, and it purrs like a kitten, and has always had synthetic fluids in it. It's beautiful British racing green which almost looks black in the right lighting conditions. It's got 225k miles on it, but it accelerates, turns and brakes and handles very well, with no squeaks, squeals or groans. It is of course however nearly a 25-year old vehicle and shows it in more than a few places, but as I say, this pretty wagon has still got it where it counts and still turns heads.
I am the 4th owner of this car and have owned it since 2014. It was converted to a 5-speed and also had a partial engine-rebuild around the same time early in its life. The rebuild was due to a much-publicized-at-the-time factory recall, and you can read about it online by searching 'nikasil alusil' and the M60 engine and it'll fill you in. I am selling it because I have opted for a newer manual wagon, although I love this one dearly and has sentimental value, so I won't be swayed by lowballers.
Here's a list of what's new and new-ish in the vehicle:
* New V-rated tires with less than 10,000 miles on them
* New clutch put in about 20,000 miles ago
* Clutch pedal rebuilt, plus new master cylinder, slave cylinder and custom-machined shifter rod done about 3,000 miles ago
* New Front strut inserts done about 20,000 miles ago
* New refurbished A/C compressor which works fine
* Front brakes and rotors replaced under 10,000 miles ago
* Exhaust is quiet and has no holes in it that I know of
The car still gets about 22mpg on the highway with no A/C running, 20 with A/C, and it gets about 16mpg around town. The paint is in overall good condition for a 25yr old, but the Clearcoat is starting to wear out on both the hood and top of the vehicle. No body or major components' rust that I can see at all. So here is a list of mechanical things that may or may not need addressing, depending on your level of sensitivity: some of them have been here since I first acquired it, some of them have occurred on my watch.
* It leaks oil and steering fluid; the last item uses mineral oil instead of Dexron-type fluid: Pentosin CHF 11S--but all are slow leaks, and I always travel with extra fluids so I'm never caught unaware.
* Though all 4 window motors work, only the front windows raise and lowers without going off-track
* About 20,000 miles ago, one of the spark plugs blew up, taking the threads out of the engine block with it; this was successfully repaired with a sleeve and as I say it now purrs. The blown plug slightly dented the hood and cracked the paint there; it is clearly shown in the photos and has never bothered me.
* The shifting is whisper-smooth through all gears except 3rd, whose syncro appears to be failing, but if you are sensitive to the engine's RPMs you can easily get to third without any grinding. I get it about 75% of the time doing nothing special, but double-clutching going into 3rd will improve odds.
* Though the transmission shifts smoothly going into reverse, the plastic cutout that the shifter fits into was custom-cut for the car before the new shifter rod was installed, and it will need to have another recut eventually, or you can just do what I do when reversing: lift the plastic insert easily out of the console which will allow you to shift into reverse, then replace the insert (this process takes about 3-4 seconds) and you can shift through all forward gears from there. The cruise control worked before the clutch rebuild (lone experience with shade-tree mechanic on this car--which is why clutch pedal assembly required rebuilding later) but hasn't worked since, and will probably just need to be hooked up again correctly.
* There's a medium dent to rt. rear quarter panel (pictured) by light cluster that might even pop out with a plunger, but I've never tried it, and the plastic cover to the back bumper has been held on with huge industrial black Zip-ties for at least 20,000 miles.
* Lastly, though the A/C compressor works and 'blows' cold as I mentioned above, the blower motor lost it's last good setting a few months back.
I have to say though, all these items are eccentricities by-in-large, as it is a dependable car which eats up the road, idles rock-solid at 5,000 RPM and is an almost-2 tons of safe German steel to ride in.
The interior is fair and I can upload more photos if you need them: driver's seat's adjustment buttons need some playing with; passengers' seat buttons fine. The leather is worn and has one tear on bolster of driver's front side. The interior panels in the back doors have some of the glue-release-issues common with these E34 cars, but they're very fixable yourself: I just never cared to. It has a double sunroof I have never, ever opened or messed-with, and currently the control panel for it is removed (I still have it), showing the manual access to crank or adjust it. There are scattered other small issues which are to be expected in a car of this age, and I'm sure I've forgotten a thing or two, but I'll happily answer all questions that you might have."
Indy-Guy Notes:
- Interior leaks are stopped. I caulked the sunroof closed.
- new oil pan & gasket
- new valve cover gaskets
- new water pump, thermostat, upper radiator hose, secondary water pump
- Front two windows operate as they should now. rear two need attention.
- blower motor replaced and A/C Heat & function
- it's going to need steering components (center drag link and both tie rod ends)
