Everybody is looking for that perfect barn find, a vehicle that’s been sitting for years under a pile of hay just waiting for the right caretaker to come along and dust it off for a spirited drive. Unfortunately, many enthusiasts don’t realize that it takes a little bit more than a Swiffer to fix a derelict automobile.
Jay Emm takes us through the process that he had to go through when he resurrected his own pseudo-barn find, a BMW Z3 from the year 2000. Although to many it wouldn’t be considered a true classic, the Z3 is now 22 years old and has barely touched the road for almost a quarter of its life.
Featuring BMW‘s venerable straight-six engine, the Z3 offers a little more horsepower and engine sound than its four-cylinder siblings. Although in a boring shade of silver over black interior, the safe color combination would be better for resale.
Jay’s Z3 has only had one owner from new, which bodes well for the condition. Luckily, the Z3 was sold to Jay with a full service and MOT, which cost the seller £1,700 ($2,217). Although that declared the vehicle roadworthy, that doesn’t mean it was perfect.
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Paperwork is a huge deal with a barn find, as it’s a literal record of what services were done and when, taking a lot of the guesswork out of what could be wrong. A car without paperwork is more tricky to return to the road because there could be any number of things wrong with it, and a pre-purchase inspection by an expert is usually recommended.
In addition to the mechanical problems that a barn find can have, there are cosmetics. If the intent is to bring the vehicle back to showroom condition, a large portion of the budget will likely be spent at the body shop. For Jay, fixing a few stone chips and scratches, as well as a dent in the rear quarter panel, cost £2,000 ($2,609).
With the brakes looking comparably trashed, he spend another £500 ($652) to bring them up to standard. Altogether, Jay spent around £5,000 ($6,522) to bring the vehicle back to a very presentable shape.
So even though Jay’s Z3 was in quite good shape to begin with, it still cost another £5,000 to bring it back to the level that he wanted. In many cases, a vehicle can be made roadworthy for cheaper if things like cosmetics aren’t a priority. Five thousand pounds (or over $6.5k) seems like a lot of money for a car that’s only been sitting for a few years, but those costs can rise significantly depending on the length the vehicle has been immobilized and how far you want to go with the recommissioning.
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