Unless in this case it stands for something else, "CV" normally means "Constant-Velocity" joint......a special type of universal-joint used on the front wheels of FWD and AWD cars so they can both steer and have power fed to them from the front drive-shafts. That would not apply to an M3, a classic RWD vehicle.

 

That sounds like a tough situation to get out of....

 

uh, both E30 and E36 BMW's have CV joints., therefore it does apply.

 

lols funny story "250K guaranteed" lol

 

A sad story in general, an example of why it's often said "the poor get poorer".

 

True CV joints.......or simply universal joints on the driveshafts? RWD vehicles have universal joints, but not CV joints as I understand them.

There are some AWD 3-series BMWs that have CV (constant-velocity) joints in front, but not in the RWD M-series.

 

The big question,though, is do they learn from their mistakes? Most people (including me) have, at some point in their lives (or perhaps more than once) made a poor auto-buying decision. One reason why most of us, here in CAR CHAT, have as much automotive savvy and intelligence as we do is that we have also learned from past mistakes. Even though I bought a few lemons in my lifetime (Horizon, Citation, etc....), though, one thing I was always careful to do, though, was not to bite off more than I could chew financially....I never drove more car than I could afford.

 

Good point, the trap of the "poor getting poorer" doesn't have to be permanent.

 

Yes, true CV joints which are different than universal joints in the model ranges I mentioned above and unique to OP's RWD car (on-topic). Btw, a CV joint is still a CV joint no matter where it's used in the drivetrain.

 

there's a reason high performance cars depreciate like crazy. because the original and subsequent owners generally beat the snot out of them.

so when you buy a used one, if you don't have it thoroughly checked out, or have a great warranty, or expect some repair costs, you're naive or worse.

the only used car i'd buy is one likely to have been driven very gently. and even then i'd still have it thoroughly checked out. AND get a warranty if possible.

 

Update: apparently he's trying to completely rebuild the motor. Considering his financial situation, I'm shocked that he wouldn't have learned by now.

 

Dump him as a friend, he sounds like an idiot and you are who you hang with.

 

Ask him why. Because there's no possible financially sound reason to do so with his current financial situation. Does he have the skills necessary to rebuild a motor? Why is he so attached to this particular car? Is it the color? Is the interior in really good condition or something?

I looked at a 525i in an unusual shade of factory blue once. After driving it, I realized that the engine was ragged out, which completely defeats the purpose of owning a BMW if you ask me.

Buying a car on the spot without having it inspected is the result of "instant gratification syndrome". You should never be in a hurry to buy something like a car or a house without having everything checked out. Don't let yourself be pressured into a hasty decision. Someone who tries to pressure you has something to hide.

Of course, once your friend gets out of mom's house and starts having to be responsible for his own living expenses, he's going to wish that he had bought a reliable hunk of junk like an old Toyota or something.

 

Trust me, I don't really talk to him anymore. He's not really my friend anymore for personal reasons.

Does he have the skills necessary to rebuild a motor? Hell no. He has a decent amount of mechanical knowledge, but not enough to rebuild a BMW's engine. Why is he so attached? Probably because he doesn't want to admit that he was wrong about his BMW and BMWs in general. He also probably doesn't want to give it up because he's dumped so much money into it already and he hasn't heard of recouping his losses. The interior's in pretty good condition. The colour? I think it's hideous. It's that horrible 'Dakar Yellow' or whatever that makes it look like a big, German banana.

I think, partially, he just wanted the status of being 19 and owning a high performance car.

Yeah, he doesn't pay for anything in his mom's house, so he's basically free to dump all of his money into that car.

 

I don't really talk to him anymore. He's not really my friend at this point for personal reasons.

Does he have the skills necessary to rebuild a motor? Hell no. He has a decent amount of mechanical knowledge, but not enough to rebuild a BMW's engine. Why is he so attached? Probably because he doesn't want to admit that he was wrong about his BMW and BMWs in general. He also probably doesn't want to give it up because he's dumped so much money into it already and he hasn't heard of recouping his losses. The interior's in pretty good condition. The colour? I think it's hideous. It's that horrible 'Dakar Yellow' or whatever that makes it look like a big, German banana.

I think, partially, he just wanted the status of being 19 and owning a high performance car.

Yeah, he doesn't pay for anything in his mom's house, so he's basically free to dump all of his money into that car.