Feeling the lure of another E30..

Sat Aug 10, 2013 5:47 pm

I only had a brief fling with a 325i, cut short when I emigrated. But I loved it..

Am now thinking it might be time to have another stab at it, this time finding myself something unmolested and (relatively) rust free..

Turns out that most in my US state are not cheap, not rust free, are molested and have slush-boxes..

But further afield there are some options (this one happens to be too far away from me, sadly.. and still an automatic)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-3-Se ... 563wt_1165

but $400 bidding for a rust free, unmolested car with AC..

Sadly a 9 hour journey each way.. I shall keep looking.

Neil

Sat Aug 10, 2013 5:55 pm

the economy 2.7 is crap anyway mate .

Sat Aug 10, 2013 6:52 pm

Get it, swap the head and ECU, stick a 320 gearbox on it and the rest is cosmetic.

Sat Aug 10, 2013 6:54 pm

When I say cosmetic, I mean burn those bumpers.

Sun Aug 11, 2013 6:31 pm

those bumpers look stupid, whats that about

Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:12 am

Okay, a few months on and a few more quid in the bank...

I find myself thinking that this one is very interesting..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131036727816?ss ... 1423.l2649

But i suspect that the bidding will go a bit beyond my price range.. Btw the 325is was about as interesting as (non M3) E30s got in the US..

Not sure how good some of these mods are, any comments?

Mon Jan 27, 2014 3:46 am

I got bored and I think I'm getting old. I bought an E39 instead.

Had too much internet access & time over the Christmas break And decided I needed a 2003 (last year of the E39s) 530i with the sport pack and manual transmission. Preferably in silver with perfect black leather, with working AC and recent tyres.

Most here in the US have automatics, and there seem to be more earlier ones available that 2003s, but I found one 150 miles away. And bought it. It's great. It may not be light, nimble and intimate like an E30 - but when you've been driving a land-yacht V8 yank-tank that must have been designed in the early 80s, like I have, it's enough like an E30. But with a bunch of really comfy luxuries too..

I'll see if I can find a nice, manual, rust free 325 soft top next year..

Mon Sep 15, 2014 1:19 am

So the E39 is still mine, and is an excellent antidote to most of the American cars I've tried.. But I wanted an E30 again. I decided that a convertible would be good this time as I do now have access to some sunshine (most of the time. Crappy winters though..) But it needed to be a manual, and I wanted to get something cheap but rust free.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ebaymotors/1990-B ... _500wt_924

This is a mere 4.5 hours drive from me, it failed to get many bids on eBay so I am planning a trip next weekend with some cash, with a a view to drinking it back. The interior is trashed, but if I'm patient I should be able to get a cheap second hand set of seats, and I'll need to get rid of that US spec airbag steering wheel.. Having exchanged some emails with the owner, I'm hoping it's as rust free and mechanically sounds as promised..

Thoughts? Advice?