Paddy needs some help!!

[nailsgrant]

Hi All,

I am looking for some help.
I have had a love for e30Ôš's for a long time but I am only now in the position to buy.
I have located what looks to be a nice 320ise close to Luton Airport and have arranged to meet the guy on Saturday morning.
It seems fairly straight, the usual bubbles/rust on the wheel arches and supposedly has a FSH.

It all seems to check out but as I donÔš't know enough about the engine and common problems, I am fearful of getting stung the Ԛ£1500 or so.
Is there anyone on the zone that lives in the area that might be around early Saturday morning to pop down and throw an expert eye over it.
Someone that will really know there onions as they say. Thanks in advance.

PS I am really new on the site (2 weeks or so) and I am well hooked !!

[E30Mark]

the usual bubbles/rust on the wheel arches

did you mean to say it doesn't have bubbles/rust on the wheel arches ??

In my mind if it is rusty, then this 320 ain't going to be worth Ԛ£1500 unless it's got a good spec

Isn't a 318iS cheaper to tax over in Ireland? it will be cheaper to run, quicker, and rarer...

Just my thoughts

[Geeman]

I agree with Mark on this one. A rusty 320i is not worth Ԛ£1500.

If it's got leather, OBC, cruise, etc. then it might be worth it, but a 'standard' 320iSE with rusty arches is worth more like Ԛ£1100... Sal just bought a minter for Ԛ£1200...

How many miles has this one done?

Giles.

[nailsgrant]

Thanks for the advise.
She has travelled 116K
Leather interior. Drop me a an email address and I can send you some pics for closer look.

[Guest]

dude, buy a 318iS...seriously. I had a 320 and it sounded loverly but the 318iS is much better and you can get a good one in England for 1500. I bought mine for Ԛ£1700 (about 3k euro) in Belfast 3.5 years ago and paid VRT of 460. I just sold it for 4k euro !!!

Buy a 318iS in England. keep it for a few years and sell it at a profit. Hell, buy 2 and the money you make on one will almost cover the price of your own one.

Loadsa knobs from Cork kept ringing asking if it had a 'Limo' (LSD) 'cos they're looking for an equivalent of a Twin Cam Corolla (which no-one will insure them on now).

A mates brother bought a '90 model for 5.5k !!! Apparently it was mint tho.

All you Eeenglish, if you're looking to make a few quick pound, import your car to Ireland, re-reg it as an Irish car (you pay no punitive VRT if you owned, taxed and insured the car at your english address for 6 months) and flog it for far more than what you'd get in England. You can only do that once every 2 or 5 years or summink.

[Geeman]

Pics look nice. Not quite worth Ԛ£1500 with the damage / rust on the back arch, but worth buying if that's what you're after.

Nice colour, nice leather.

Giles.

[nailsgrant]

Cheers Giles.

I agree. I won't pay 1500 for it but the seats alone are worth a few quid.
I really need to take her for a good spin and suss out if she's straight.
I'll let you know how I get on.

[E30Mark]

Pics look sweet. Looks in good order, as Giles said that arch needs sorting before it gets any worse.

Wheels need a refurb there is a piece of trim missing on the inside of the drivers door. Only a few pence i know, but hey haggle!

Hey i've just noticed, he has got 14" BBS caps on 15" rims! there a few quid off the price... front caps look missing completly

Headlamp wash wipes obviously dont't work, as each side is parked in a different place.

Check to see if the headlamp leveling system is working OK, Ԛ£100 in parts to fix. Most people just convert to manual adjustment for about Ԛ£2!

Make sure there is no rust beneath the windscreen, scuttle panels are a pain to fix.

Leather look really nice in that colour, if it is as good as it looks in the pics, and has good service history then it's probably worth near Ԛ£1200 + maybe a bit more, only had 2 previous owners i see

Best of luck, let us know how it goes!

[Brianmoooore]

Don't buy rust, especially in the rear arch area.
Any other faults can easily be put right, and the purchase price adjusted to suit, but rust is very difficult to deal with.
I have bought four E30s this year, all of them via internet auctions, and all on the strengty of a few general photos of the cars.
One turned out to be very rusty in all the places that E30's rust, another had one small hole on the right rear inner arch, and the other two don't have a trace of rust, except for the odd untreated surface stone chip.

[E30Mark]

rust free usually means free rust!

Brian, i have seen the pics of this car, the rust patch is minimal. Bottom end of the arch near the sill. Main arches look good. In fact the car does look clean overall.

I have spent many years chasing rust / welding / spraying and we all know the only way to deal with rust is to cut it out and weld it up properly. Or buy a rust free car in the first place!

[Brianmoooore]

Haven't seen the pics, but don't forget you only see 10% of the rust.
There's also a world of difference between surface rust going inwards and internal rust coming out.
Have migged patches into inner arches many times, but normally avoid anything with rust coming through the outer arches.

[nailsgrant]

Appreciate all the advise guys.

I have arranged to meet this guy saturday morning so I take on board everything that has been said. I have no problem walking away if needs be. i think one thing taken from all of the above, will be that I won't be paying Ԛ£1500 for it. Anything in the region of 1200 would be good.

I'll keep you all posted on how I get on. If anyone plans to be around the area on Saturday morning. Give me a shout.

Thanks again.
I have been intrusced to the zone by a good friend and am here to stay.
Nails