Possible challenge contender. Needs clutch and TLC.
How bad are these. Will they further convince me that German car are designed by the Devil himself.
Talk me out of it.
Possible challenge contender. Needs clutch and TLC.
How bad are these. Will they further convince me that German car are designed by the Devil himself.
Talk me out of it.
Another question.
How well would a 6'2, 300 pound person fit in one?
In reply to Toyman01 :
Pretty sure the clutch is an engine-out job, for what that's worth. Its a BMW product, so don't be surprised by BMW prices for parts (though plenty of budget brand stuff is available).
At 6'4", 200lbs, I have no complaints (aside from the seat raise mechanism being stuck at "up"). I get lots of "how do you fit in that car?" comments, but there's plenty of legroom, plenty of headroom. Column tilts but doesn't telescope. If the seat bolsters agree with you (or if you plan to run different seats), I see no hurdle to making it fit you.
I didn't realize you were a masochist.
Clutch isn't engine out, but quite a bit of stuff to remove to get the transmission pulled. I have an R50 blown apart in my garage right now as I had to pull the transmission. There are a bunch of YouTube videos on how to change them. Probably a weekend if not a one day job. I'm 5'11" and at my biggest was 290 and fit in it no problem. They really are quite big inside. Reliability wise, I don't think they're really any worse than any other enthusiast car. As dead simple and reliable as a Honda/Toyota? Of course not. As bad as a Maserati Bi-Turbo? Not even close.
With the early cars, any major issues or parts going bad have happened and there's a strong support community on how to fix it. At challenge prices, I'd say jump on it and, once you get the clutch fixed, try to keep the grin off your face when you drive it. They're just that much fun.
Does it have a sunroof? I can't tell from the photo. The sunroof takes up some of the headroom. IF you drive it, remember the seats lower quite a bit, so make sure it's adjusted correctly.
You can go factory parts and pay a premium or (especially at that price) get away with aftermarket for much cheaper. The clutch kits under $100 on RA and shouldn't require any BMW specific tools.
-Rob
Has the supercharger been replaced yet?
They are a sealed for life oil supply which has often disappeared by 120k iirc
Check the upper strut mount sheet metal for mushrooming and cracks
Engine mounts fail early and often
So do ps lines for some stupid Germanic reason
Fun car to drive but too many failure points for me. Btdt with an 05 bought new
No. No no no. Now that the search works you can find a ton of threads from myself and others where we repeat that often and loudly.
WHEN they run, they're brilliant.
I've had mine for 13 years. Did the supercharger, it has some mushrooming, currently needs the driver's door module replaced, plus a few other lesser issues. I've become attached to it and don't know what to replace it with. I've driven it from the Challenge home to Michigan in a day six times now. It's plenty comfortable enough for long hauls and it's a go-kart on local twisties.At Challenge money I'd definitely go for it.
Note that this would not be a keeper.
Just a buy it, fix the broken stuff, and make it pretty. Flog it through some autocrosses and take it to the Challenge for 2020. Then it would be scrap, part out, or throw it back on Craigslist and get my money back. Buy in would be $1200-$1500 and the clutch would be $80. Supposedly, it just had it's 175K mile service from the local dealer with new struts, brakes, T-belt, and supercharger oil.
I am very tempted. It seems like a good deal, but every time I've bought a German car I've ended up hating the damn thing.
I hate the 04 s model pos in my driveway.
In reply to Ranger50 :
So the question is, did you love it or even like it for 6 months to a year?
I'd rather have a biturbo.
In reply to Ranger50 :
Ouch. Maybe I better go look for one of those.
Stop the press!!!
There is a Biturbo with in 100 miles of me for under Challenge money.
Toyman01 said:Stop the press!!!
There is a Biturbo with in 100 miles of me for under Challenge money.
Do you own it yet?
In reply to EvanB :
He wants $2k for it. There isn't enough money left in the budget to engine swap it, so no. It's in surprisingly good shape, but won't run above 3000 RPMs without dying.
Toyman01 said:Another question.
How well would a 6'2, 300 pound person fit in one?
I can answer this one. A 6'4", 290 pound person fits just fine. Even with long legs, I don't need the seat all the way back.
They're a hoot to drive, but expensive as hell to fix.
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