Where to find an E30 (Teesside)

[reddevil]

Hi Guys, this is also posted in the WANTED section for obvious reason, hope this is cool?.

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Hi Guys, I find myself with no car at the moment (last one has just been written off through theft) and decided I would try to make a dream come true and buy myself an older shape BMW. In the past I have owned a newer E46 320D SE and loved it, sadly this car was damaged in an accident and my local dealer (Preston Hall) managed to screw me over a period of 3 months which resulted in me handing back the keys and walking away. My first taste of BMW cars was amazing, but totally ruined by their bad dealers and BMW GBÔš's lack of concern. So I would like to buy a car that can be serviced either by myself or an independent mechanic, something that allows me to be a BMW owner once again but with no need to return to their dealer network.

The E30 has always been a favourite of mine and I would especially love a 318iS but am finding them hard to find, does anyone have any advice to offer on where best to start my search?.

My budget is Ԛ£1400 (could stretch to Ԛ£1500 depending on my wife opening her purse further, but no more). I live in Teesside (Stockton) and will be relying on the car for a daily runabout so it needs to be ready to go.

Am I being unrealistic given my budget or is it possible?, my only other concern is the time involved, I have survived without a car for many weeks but itÔš's getting harder and so I need to purchase one sooner rather than later.

To date I have checked forums (this being the main one), autotrader, ebay and fish4cars but have drawn a blank. I would prefer to stay as close to home as possible rather than driving for hours to get too see a car thatÔš's unsuitable (been caught out in the past).

Also (one last quick question) what are these cars like on insurance?.

Thanks for any help offered

Red Devil UK

Ps. I am flexible on the 318iS (the dream for me), but any E30 is better than none so 316 also considered, but would rather stay clear of 325Ôš's due to the fuel costs (wife would kill me)