I'm looking for any owners in the New York, southern Connecticut area. I just bought a 400i 5-speed. Chuck Q.
So Chuck......which one did you buy? (I'm betting it was Peter's car or the silver one thats been for sale forever in CA. The only other one for sale right now is the black one in Houston and I just saw it.)
Does anyone else find it very ineresting that by listing 3 cars I know are for sale; we know that almost 10% of the 5-speeds in the US are up for sale? There were only 76 to begin with and the latest figures show 36 left in the US. The number of survivers is SO small here.
It's an '83 400i, VIN: ZFFEB07B000043665, originally sold in NJ, went Florida and has been in California for the last four years. Needs a new exhaust, which as been ordered, has a few oil leaks, syncros in second are worn and there's a cracked driver-side bolster but for 43,000 miles that makes sense. Deferred maintenance has been the main problem with this model on both sides. (365GT/412). It's had front and rear damage but right now it's a driver and that's what I hope to do.
Congratulations on your purchase! I am so glad that this car has found a good owner. I first drove this car at The Stable in NJ back in 1998 when I was looking for my 400i. At the time, I felt it was a generally good car with a weak 2nd gear synchro and an asking price that was too high ($34.5K). I've followed this car ever since as it has moved from dealer to dealer and owner to owner while racking up practically no mileage (40k miles in Feb. 1998, less than 45k now). I wondered "doesn't anyone love this car?". I'm looking forward to hearing about your ownership of the car and reports as you drive it the way it was intended. John
no problem chuck...just wanted to make sure your valid..so many people come and say they bought one, just to never hear from them again...WELCOME!!!
Yep John, this is Gary's (magnum15) old car. If you remember I started to look at this car. There are a couple of threads on it.
<looking around to see if anyone will have the decency to bolster my ego by acknowledging I was right> not that I NEED a bigger ego LOL
OK Dave, I'll provide that decency role. Great job, good sleuthing of the likely odds, wonderful insight to this sliver of a market. There, is that sufficient? Jeff
BAWAHAHAHA Oh man its great to know somebody else has a dry sense of humor "Yes Mr. Kenedy, that will suffice thank you."
2 minutes in the "sin bin", corkscrew in the back and a 5 minute major for unsportsmanlike conduct. Shame......
Thanks Jeff. I've always liked the looks of the 400 (and 456). I had Ed Niles look at this one and he described it as an "honest car". I've known him for almost 40 years and trust him. As I mentioned somewhere else it needs work. A new exhaust system is on the the way. I'll do what I can and drive the car before my wife takes the keys away for good. Chuck
John, I got the car tow weeks ago. I noticed as the trucker drove backed it down the ramp the is sounded as though it might need a new muffler. I had the fluids changed and while it was on the lift we saw that it was more than a few spot welds were need to fix it. That will happen next week. It has the usual small leaks which will be fun to sort. As you said second gear synchro is weak but it not a race car and it works well after it's warm. The interior is okay except for the driver-side bolster. So the adventure begins. Chuck
Chuck, Good luck with the car. Smart move getting the 5 speed. Just a note: when you change the trans oil, make sure to clean/replace the filter in the rear of the trans. It's hard to reach, so it's often neglected. I'm in NJ around 15 min. west of the GWB if you need a hand.
Thanks. I haven't gotten that far into it but will keep that in mind. Do people swap phone numbers here? Chuck
