E21 as a first car

Looked at an E21 this evening as a possible first car for Lil Stampie. Yes he's 10 but you can't start em too young right?  Not running but said it ran a month ago. My biggest concern is while it's a presentable 20 footer there were some rust issues and the PO to this owner did their own paint job. Rust was in the trunk where the wheel well his the floor, both rockers had a pea sized hole at the front edge of the door, bubbling on a 1 inch x 12 inch section beside the sunroof which has been sealed. They're asking $1300, I know they'll take $1200, I'd probably offer $1000. Seller seems like a real straight up guy.  Here's the link.  What should i do?

https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/cto/d/1983-bmw-320i-e21/6643632665.html

Why deal with rust while living in FL?

In reply to MrChaos :

Yeah I know that's what I'm leaning towards.

Looks to me like anything that'll cost more than a few bucks to fix is broken (sunroof, a/c, the rust). Not sure if that'll make that great a project, although you do have a few years.

check the sills under the rear windows. They rust like crazy but it's often hidden by the window frame.

That said, having owned both I'd rather find a cheap early e30 (318i) - also an M10 car - which are simply better cars and way more parts availability. You should be able to find a 4cyl e30 for pretty cheap. 

That said, if you can get that e21 for $1k, it looks to be in decent condition and certainly worth it.

I would look for a nice E30 too. All around better car and easier to get parts for when the lil stampie has this inevitable accident. That E21 might be a good candidate for restoration, but not as a first car for a kid.

Heck, the small engined E36s are cheap.. and a LOT safer

irish44j said:

check the sills under the rear windows. They rust like crazy but it's often hidden by the window frame.

That said, having owned both I'd rather find a cheap early e30 (318i) - also an M10 car - which are simply better cars and way more parts availability. You should be able to find a 4cyl e30 for pretty cheap. 

That said, if you can get that e21 for $1k, it looks to be in decent condition and certainly worth it.

I'll echo this, and I'm an e21 homer. 

E39!!!!!

Rust on the roof kills it. 

Also, let lil stampie lead the decisions. Hell appreciate it more. Also, for my brother and i dad bought the car. We had to earn the money and do the work to fix it. He helped us every step of the way with knowledge, tools, and an extra hand, but we were in charge of the project. 

I think we're going to pass on this one. Two many big projects for a first car. Afraid it'll turn into me fixing everything because it's too much for him. 

I've told him that I'll pay for half the car and half the repairs. He's paying for mods but I have veto on performance mods. 

The search continues. 

Thanks guys. 

That is literally a block from my house...

I don't need any more projects

Ooh, that FOHA front air dam is pretty rare.

In reply to pimpm3 :

I know.  The seller knew of you.  

Even though you’ve already made your decision, I’ll be the wet blanket:

In today’s world, I would not put my child driving in something that old every day. The two exceptions might be a W123 and a Volvo. Fact is, the car with the worst safety records today are about a gazillion times safer than the safest vehicles of 1983. I’m not talking about the nannies either—just the crumple zones, seat belts, airbags, etc. 

Im not sure where the line is drawn exactly—that is going to depend on the child driver, the car, the geographic area (I’m in Chicagoland so likely much more militant about it than the average person, just due to the likelihood of being in an accident), etc., but it’s somewhere between the E21 and E30. 

In reply to mtn :

I agree and that was in my thought process also. Funny you mentioned Volvo because a 240 is on his list. 

mtn said:

In today’s world, I would not put my child driving in something that old every day. The two exceptions might be a W123 and a Volvo. Fact is, the car with the worst safety records today are about a gazillion times safer than the safest vehicles of 1983. I’m not talking about the nannies either—just the crumple zones, seat belts, airbags, etc. 

Hell I'm going on 30 and driving my E28 makes me nervous in certain traffic due to the total lack of side-impact protection.

Side impacts are absolutely horrifying and just about nobody accounted for them in accidents until Volvo came out with SIPS in the 850. Given that the average vehicle in traffic is 50-75% larger than 20 years ago and the people behind the wheel pay about half the attention, I try to stay in a daily driver that could survive a side impact with a given modern crossover.

mtn said:

Even though you’ve already made your decision, I’ll be the wet blanket:

In today’s world, I would not put my child driving in something that old every day. The two exceptions might be a W123 and a Volvo. Fact is, the car with the worst safety records today are about a gazillion times safer than the safest vehicles of 1983. I’m not talking about the nannies either—just the crumple zones, seat belts, airbags, etc. 

 

Im not sure where the line is drawn exactly—that is going to depend on the child driver, the car, the geographic area (I’m in Chicagoland so likely much more militant about it than the average person, just due to the likelihood of being in an accident), etc., but it’s somewhere between the E21 and E30. 

This, I would rarely let my son ride in my w116 or w123 unless it was just around the neighborhood. I dont mind putting myself in "safe 50 years ago" cars but not my child. With that said, I think an e39 is a good idea, like Duster said.