Rusty E36 M3

Here I am browsing CL and an unusually low priced M3/4/5 pops up.

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4197930394.html

It appears to be mechanically sound from what the sller is telling me and it looks like he has most of the big ticket maintenance items done.

How rusty is too rusty...The more I look at these pictures the more I'm leaning towards---too rusty but it appears to be otherwise in good condition

Run? What say you grm?

No way to tell until you look underneath, preferably on a lift. Coming from the northeast when I see what you've shown here I think "This is just what I can see. How bad are the hidden parts"?

Plus is that side skirt held on with wood screws? If so it may be a clear sign that the factory metal it attaches to is no longer there.

Good luck.

The maintenance is what's throwing me.

That strikes me as a LOT of rust and I'm doubling JYD's sentiments. I'm guessing that undercarriage is a nightmare.

We're now at the point where these cars are on their third-fourth owners and haven't been garaged for 7+ years.

Mine's been outdoors it's whole life (West Chester PA '98-'07, MD '07-now) and it's clean underneath w/o a speck of rust. Remember that for every bit of visible rust there's way more underneath.

They're not rust-prone cars, so that would eliminate that car from contention for me. There's better cars for just a bit more money.

I don't think thats worth it. I rather spend more for a clean shell.

Underbody rust will fight you on every project you undertake. Definitely look for a cleaner example, you'll pay a little more but your resale will be higher if you decide to sell...

Thanks guys, I realized it doesn't make sense to buy this car at all. I'd be better off buying a minty one for 10-12k since they've been holding steady in terms of price for the last few years.

So in the end it really was rusty E36 M3.

Living in the NE that thing looks MINT. I don't see any rust. That is just normal aging of a vehicle up here.

gamby wrote: So in the end it really was rusty E36 M3.

Yea. I had to look, too.

If it's less than $3k and the motor/trans is good you can get your money back parting it out.

It's odd how rust has changed in perception over the years. It used to be that any hole smaller than your hand was 'minor', now a couple dime sized holes=RUN!

Yes, things are tougher and more expensive to repair now and perhaps our expectations are higher. I often groan at tv resto shows that cut OE 1/4 panels off a car rather than patch a 6" hole, if they save the car at all....

F rust. Any modern car was produced in sufficient numbers you can find a clean one. It takes less time and money to drive across the continent than fix just about any rust issue.