Jay Emm, from the UK, found a 2000 BMW Z3 on sale in a ‘barn-find’ condition and decided to brush it up slightly for everyday use. He ended up spending around £5000 ($6500), roughly the same as used 2000MY Z3 roadsters cost nowadays.
The 22-year-old automobile sat for the past five years or so in a garage without maintenance and motion. The seller threw in a £1,700 pre-sale maintenance to prepare it for road use, but it turned out insufficient.
The body had dents and scratches on it from rocks, and one of the quarterpanels was bent slightly. Detailing these defects off the Z3 cost around £2,000. Another £500 went into replacing the worn brake pads. The rest went into miscellaneous minor repairs and replacements that pre-sale service failed to address.
As you can see, even buying a vehicle with a few years of idle time and some pre-sale maintenance on it, you still have to pay utmost attention to the smallest details unless you are prepared to invest large sums into it.