93 BMW 318i

[BrianDM_55]

I looked at a 93 318i today with 145K kms on it. The body s in good shape the interior a little dirty and instead of leather it has cloth. Doesn't have aluminum rims, has steel with BMW hubcaps. The really bad thing is it has a cracked head. The really really bad thing is the owner had the head taken off, but the mechanic who was working on it for him can't put it back together. The parts are strewn all over the place, and nothing labeled. He swears every thing is there including all the nuts and bolts etc. He also said no coolant got into the engine, it was leaking out the side of the head down the block. My son thinks I'm crazy to even think of buying it. Did BMW sell 318's without aluminum wheels or have they been taken off and sold? Are cloth interiors in the318's common? Or is this a very basic model? I'm also wondering, why didn't BMW put VANOS on the 318?
The owner is asking 1000 for it. My son says offer 400 and don't go any higher than 500. Is my son right? Am I crazy to buy this? I can do the mechanical work that isn't a problem it's just whether it's worth it or not.