Cts-v vs. Cts-v

Going to look at this one on Monday. If everything checks out, I may snag it. Only bummer: As far as the current owner knows, the diff has never been replaced/upgraded, nor has the clutch. Only other weird ones: A fellow member here checked out insurance claims. There was one for hail damage earlier this year, but no details. Seller did not mention this. Also, the guy has only put like 7,000 miles on it in the last 3 years. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. Could be 1/4 mile at a time. Tires could be dry-rotted, etc. According to seller, he checked the GPS and it looked like the original owner used it for business, driving all over the country (hwy miles) I figure $13k is about the max I'd pay for it.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/4169066771.html

...And then there's this one. In Kentucky. 88k miles (versus 114k on the local one) Upgraded exhaust, LS7 Clutch, motor mounts, tranny mounts, axles and diff...but the guy says he's FIRM at $18,500.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/4129414973.html

Assuming there are no big issues with the first one, try to snag it for $13k or less and just anticipate having to throw some coin at it down the road? I think $5k buys the entire Creative Steel kit (Ford 8.8 pumpkin with upgraded axles.)

Though the seller claims the diff isn't making any noise, it sounds like I should just anticipate and plan to live with a little whine.

Thoughts?

Maybe this has already been covered, but advertised in Atlanta as being in Kentucky with Tennessee plates? Seems a little hinkey, but I'm assuming that you've talked to the guy on the phone and got some warm fuzzies from him.

I like the local one. Slightly higher miles, but it makes me nervous when I hear a seller talk about upgrading things. And, of course, you've got more walkawayibility if you haven't traveled 8 hours to look at the thing.

wae wrote: Maybe this has already been covered, but advertised in Atlanta as being in Kentucky with Tennessee plates? Seems a little hinkey, but I'm assuming that you've talked to the guy on the phone and got some warm fuzzies from him. I like the local one. Slightly higher miles, but it makes me nervous when I hear a seller talk about upgrading things. And, of course, you've got more walkawayibility if you haven't traveled 8 hours to look at the thing.

Very good points. Thanks. Bottom line is I have such a hard time pulling the trigger on 4 - 5 digit purchases. One of the things beaten into my head as a kid was "Never get in a big hurry to spend a whole bunch of money." It's served me well in a lot of cases, but I berkeleying agonize over purchases like this.

IMO, hold out for black.

DILYSI Dave wrote: IMO, hold out for black.

There's a black one right down the road from car 1 that I might take a poke at...but as badass as they look in pics, I know good and damned well that I'm not going to wash the berkeleyer once a week, and it'll look like E36 M3 in no time.

FWIW, I think this is still pretty badass:

...though this is admittedly moar badass (I think this dude is on the board)

...that may be a function of the wheels too though...and lowering springs.

Black is overplayed. Everybody wants black. Go for something cooler in the summer and not hypersensitive to dirt. I don't even mind the metallic red ones.

Duke wrote: Black is overplayed. Everybody wants black. Go for something cooler in the summer and not hypersensitive to dirt. I don't even mind the metallic red ones.

With the right wheels, the red doesn't bug me either, but I gotta stand firm on the "no tan interior," for the same reason I shouldn't do black paint. It will look like E36 M3 in no time.

Also...it would appear as though I have a thing for Forgestars.

Uggggghhhh. So as mentioned before, a member on the board here found an insurance claim for hail damage earlier this year. I had planned on bringing it up when I went to look at the car just so I could read dude's reaction, or see if he just came clean and gave me details. Today, I'm talking to dude to set up a time and he says "And it's got two spare wheels, from when my Son's got totalled out from hail damage." Huh? What? "Oh, not this car. My son's. He got caught in a hail storm and it totalled the car. His was black."

Wondering what the berkeley is going on, or whether or not it's even worth my time to take a look at. Claim was in April, so it may not have even hit the Carfax yet...which is why it shows no damage.

If both cars were on the same policy, and are the same model year, the claims adjuster could possibly have put in the wrong vin as they didn't verify it. I've seen it happen.

I like the silver too :) But what's wrong with washing a car every week? The people in my apartment complex must think I'm insane because I keep my car under a cover and wash it once a week or two even though it's pretty dang clean!

I think the red is sharp. Silver just blends in with everything else on the road. Aren't they also available in a navy blue?

OK..not stock..

Grtechguy wrote: Silver just blends in with everything else on the road.

That's not necessarily a bad thing when driving a Q-ship/rocket...

I don't know much about them, but I'd lean towards the cheaper car. But that also assumes future upgrade work would be DIY.

Coldsnap wrote: I like the silver too :) But what's wrong with washing a car every week? The people in my apartment complex must think I'm insane because I keep my car under a cover and wash it once a week or two even though it's pretty dang clean!

I'm "lucky" if I work six days a week. I'm taking a day off to go look at this hail-damaged piece of E36 M3. It's dark when I leave for work, and dark when I get home. Even if the "full service" carwashes were open 6am-9pm, I don't like using them. I worked at a full service wash when I was in school. Fellow employees stole everything that wasn't attached to the car. Wheels were scratched, or chemically damaged, more than one car jumped a roller and ended up in the reclaim pit, etc.

Sonic wrote: If both cars were on the same policy, and are the same model year, the claims adjuster could possibly have put in the wrong vin as they didn't verify it. I've seen it happen.

Well E36 M3. That's interesting. I'm guessing it's possible, as 20-30-something year old kid still lives with him. My big concern is that when I go to sell/trade the thing, the damage is going to pop up on carfax. Regardless, I'm driving the motherberkeleyer this weekend, and won't feel bad about wasting his time (and mine) if this is all some big ruse.

The red one is by far my favorite that you've (not that my opinion matters), but damn it looks good with the wheels.

F14s?

poopshovel wrote: Well E36 M3. That's interesting. I'm guessing it's possible, as 20-30-something year old kid still lives with him. My big concern is that when I go to sell/trade the thing, the damage is going to pop up on carfax. Regardless, I'm driving the motherberkeleyer this weekend, and won't feel bad about wasting his time (and mine) if this is all some big ruse.

Seems easy enough to prove. Tell him you had the VIN (or however you know about a hail claim) run and the silver one is showing hail damage. See if his insurance agent can sort it out. Nice car.

Yeesh, how many red flags do you need? At the end of the day it's your time, if you don't mind diving headlong into a pile of E36 M3...

Regarding the diffs: They all whine. Every single one of them. I paid up for a 20,000 mile 2005 that had been babied. It whined on the test drive, and every day thereafter.

The diff issue is overblown. Unless you're drag racing every weekend, then wheel hop will kill it in short order.