E30 Zone

hi guys do you think uk e30 m3's are worth more than imported ones? i was just wondering because i know a lot of other imported cars like celica gt4's twin turbo supras etc are. i know these uk cars were slightly different to jap spec cars but i also think having a full uk history adds value. thanks.

Nope.

Tbh I think all euro versions go for very similar money. A uk car might be worth a little more in the uk ( no idea why though as they'll still be lhd) but a lot of them are going back to Europe where an original non uk euro might be more desirable.

Us spec is probably least desirable, different diff, box and ugly side marker lights etc. Jap versions are very similar to euro ones so probably not much different value wise. The most important thing on an m3 is the bodywork, a good solid original car is worth good money wherever it's from. Jap cars tend to be rot free, but a lot seem to have had pretty cheap resprays in non stock colours.

Nope. Uk e30 m3's tend to be older.
Dont the gerry's look after there goods better?.
No side indicators in the wings, is a good indication.
The speedo mod is important for checking speed KM/M.
I changed the check computer over. On board is a gerry.

harry_p wrote:Nope.

Tbh I think all euro versions go for very similar money. A uk car might be worth a little more in the uk ( no idea why though as they'll still be lhd) but a lot of them are going back to Europe where an original non uk euro might be more desirable.

Us spec is probably least desirable, different diff, box and ugly side marker lights etc. Jap versions are very similar to euro ones so probably not much different value wise. The most important thing on an m3 is the bodywork, a good solid original car is worth good money wherever it's from. Jap cars tend to be rot free, but a lot seem to have had pretty cheap resprays in non stock colours.

Some good points Harry.
I have been to see 3 No Jap imports.
All have been dogs and likely to have been street raced. Tokoyo drift style.With stickers on the wings, very bad scuttle rust, interior upgrades were nasty. And worst of all total resprays in none standard colours.

Proper council stuff the kind Pete has up his back passage.

thanks for your replies guys!

people selling a uk supplied car always seem to make a big deal of it in the advert , from what i have seen when i was looking for one .
But as stated it makes little or no difference as they are still LHD (as stated) so the only difference as far as i know are a mph speedo , English check control panel (no oil level light so can't really just swop with normal UK e30 one) and a English computer.
Maybe nice to say you have an original uk supplied car but not nice enough to pay a premium for imo
Don't know if it would make the insurance a few quid cheaper as its technically not an import , but the premium would probably go back up again when it came to the "Is it LHD" question

I think the same tbh.

An M3's and M3.

As long as it's in good condition and looked after, and prospective M3 owner will go for the qaulity rather than the country i would have though.

UK cars have side repeaters and for that reason alone. I think they are shite

The benefit of a UK car is that there is less scope for a chunk of history to have gone walkies, and several thousand miles accidentally on purpose wound off the clocks.

My M3 is a uk car, built in December '89.

Rich_W wrote:UK cars have side repeaters and for that reason alone. I think they are shite

What he said!! LOL

mine is a german import and has had side repeaters bunged on in a horrible place.

those without them must have friendly mot stations

I think an M3 is an M3, as long as it drives fine and has solid history and documentation.

don-king wrote:I think an M3 is an M3, as long as it drives fine and has solid history and documentation.

Thing is when i went to insure one (import from Germany) the insurance people wanted more money from me than if it was a UK one. I also went to insure a UK one (Black 215bhp model)and they qouted me a price ,which then doubled after they found out it was LHD !!!!! WTF
This was about 12 years back thou.

being an import didnt make the slightest difference to my policy.

certainly i've found euro imports to have far far less stigma attached to them by insurers than japanese imports.

That is quite strange, they quote you double if it is an import and than they quote you double if is a uk model but is a LHD. You cant win with the insurance companies sometimes

don-king wrote:That is quite strange, they quote you double if it is an import and than they quote you double if is a uk model but is a LHD. You cant win with the insurance companies sometimes

Like i say,that was about 12 years back thou mate!
Having said that, my views on insurance companys have changed since then............they make EVEN LESS sense to me !

csl wrote:

don-king wrote:That is quite strange, they quote you double if it is an import and than they quote you double if is a uk model but is a LHD. You cant win with the insurance companies sometimes

Like i say,that was about 12 years back thou mate!
Having said that, my views on insurance companys have changed since then............they make EVEN LESS sense to me !

They haven't changed a bit in 12 years! They're still robbing !

M3Jim wrote:

Rich_W wrote:UK cars have side repeaters and for that reason alone. I think they are shite

What he said!! LOL

Ooo, you better both steer clear of all genuine MOT test stations in the UK then.

My Sport Evo is a UK supplied car... 1 of 51 apparently. Personally, when looking for an M3 I didn't care if it came from wherever, but I found the Italian ones were best. When my car came up for sale I was more attracted to it being a UK car. It wasn't my 1st M3, I had an Europameister before that which was from Germany and my Evo2 is also from Germany.

Sadly, I believe someone new to the E30 M3 in this country would probably be swayed towards "UK" status and pay a premium over condition. Who knows though.

And one more thing, despite my Sport Evo being a UK car and is LHD from the factory, you still have to tell the insurance company that it is LHD which in turn does put a premium on the policy. If you tell them its a UK car, they ASSUME it is RHD even though they were not built in RHD from factory. Interestingly, I have always wondered if I converted my Evo2 or Sport Evo to RHD if the premiums would come down? It's modified then, so I doubt it.

Why is it more expensive to insurance LHD?

statistically more likely to cause an accident whilst overtaking or pulling out around parked vehicles i'd guess. i actually find i take a lot less risks in lhd cars.

And one more thing, despite my Sport Evo being a UK car and is LHD from the factory, you still have to tell the insurance company that it is LHD which in turn does put a premium on the policy. If you tell them its a UK car, they ASSUME it is RHD even though they were not built in RHD from factory.

As above,this was what i came across all those years back and i remember thinking at the time how many people might be driveing around in their UK M3 without proper insurance cover! (I had only mentioned the LHD fact in passing after i had recieved their quote for a UK M3,so could have accepted their 1st quote and not been properly insured !)

ShepsEvo3 wrote:

M3Jim wrote:

Rich_W wrote:UK cars have side repeaters and for that reason alone. I think they are shite

What he said!! LOL

Ooo, you better both steer clear of all genuine MOT test stations in the UK then.

Well the cars been here for 12 years now. All over the country. I think that what confuses them is that they aren't fitted and not working, they simply aren't fitted. If it ever gets silly and I need to have them. I'll put them in the mirrors. Love a nice clean side, especially as the Gen repeateres are bloody gigantic!

i looked into it a while back as i could do with some new wings anyway. i think i'd be leaving them repeaterless, but keep the old ones to bung on for the mot if the lack of them got picked up on.

i think all cars built after a certain date (maybe 1986) need side repeaters unless the front indicator is a wraparound type and can be seen from a rear 3/4 position.. shame really as they do look so much nicer without.

harry_p wrote: i think all cars built after a certain date (maybe 1986) need side repeaters unless the front indicator is a wraparound type and can be seen from a rear 3/4 position.. shame really as they do look so much nicer without.

You could always do what eko did on his last build - put smoked inserts into the side bumpers so they were virtually invisible - especially on a black car. They solved the problem of having a clean, uncluttered wing and for indicators to show at the side when in use. I think he got them from the US and they looked seriously smart.

DavieP wrote:

harry_p wrote: i think all cars built after a certain date (maybe 1986) need side repeaters unless the front indicator is a wraparound type and can be seen from a rear 3/4 position.. shame really as they do look so much nicer without.

You could always do what eko did on his last build - put smoked inserts into the side bumpers so they were virtually invisible - especially on a black car. They solved the problem of having a clean, uncluttered wing and for indicators to show at the side when in use. I think he got them from the US and they looked seriously smart.

Yes, thats correct!

The genuine M3 side repeaters are smaller than the normal E30 side repeaters and the wings from BMW are actually cheaper for the holed type than the not holed type

I recommend the US spec bumpers are the ones to use and have the side repeaters in there if it bothers people too much.

What Theo 325 said - less scope for dodgy history/clocking etc. with a UK car and also if the car has ever had a bump/insurance claim against it, it would/should still show up on a HPi.

Might be marginal, but it would be enough to sway me if I was back on the market for one, and as mentioned, for a newbie looking at one of these cars, you would assume if the person was serious they would now the general history of the mark and the fact that they came over in droves from Germany in late 90's early 00's - therefore they are bound to be more attracted to a UK model as it's potential slightly less of a gamble.

Obviously, for us old lags or people in the know, no real difference at all, but you can understand why newbies are drawn to them, and potentially prepared to pay a small premium for a Uk car as a result.

I'd personally do the same thing if I was looking afresh, but obviously wouldn't exclude an import, just offer accordingly.

There's many an import out there with a slightly bent chassis after some rear end wipe out I reckon, but these old girls do hide their war wounds well, and when they were being shipped over by the dozen for £4K or £5K a pop in the 90's and sold on immediately for £6/8K - who looked that closely??

Anyway, buy on condition as someone wise once said, but if I were ever selling my one, I'd also make a point of it being UK supplied as it can't hurt and is arguably worth a small premium I'd say (maybe more so once the Yanks can start to bring over Euro cars in a few years time??)

Rgds,

David.

ShepsEvo3 wrote:The genuine M3 side repeaters are smaller than the normal E30 side repeaters

Thats interesting, I was unaware of this, are they the same as E34 & E36 ones then, which are smaller than E30 ones?

so what do you guys reckon an e reg uk model m3 with 80000 miles be worth?

Blitz wrote:Why is it more expensive to insurance LHD?

Because we drive on the left and traffic generally comes from the right in a RHD car you have a wider viewing angle than LHD, simply if your sight is obscured through a narrower angle you cant see as well therefore its more risky. The same applies in reverse for other countries.

There is arguement for modern car designs with thick A, B pillars further increases risk too so typically post late 90's LHD are bit more expensive than pre 90's LHD in the UK.

brettski wrote:so what do you guys reckon an e reg uk model m3 with 80000 miles be worth?

Difficult to say without seeing it or knowing more about its history
the price could be anything from £5000-£12000 in todays market !

brettski wrote:so what do you guys reckon an e reg uk model m3 with 80000 miles be worth?

How rusty is it?

thats a bit bitchy paul !!!!!!

e30m3cabrio wrote:thats a bit bitchy paul !!!!!!

Thats a sensible question!

There are many rusty turds about masquerading as tidy straight cars!

bss325i wrote:

e30m3cabrio wrote:thats a bit bitchy paul !!!!!!

Thats a sensible question!

There are many rusty turds about masquerading as tidy straight cars!

It's a valid question... to be fair, UK M3's fare worse rust wise unfortunately, as I said earlier, Italian M3's are probably the best due to better weather. I am not biased either way, I have a UK Sport Evo and an Evo2 which originated from Germany. I've seen many, many more M3's which originated from the UK and abroad. Usually the UK cars have rust.

Maybe I should have put.... "How rusty is it? "

tomson wrote:

ShepsEvo3 wrote:The genuine M3 side repeaters are smaller than the normal E30 side repeaters

Thats interesting, I was unaware of this, are they the same as E34 & E36 ones then, which are smaller than E30 ones?

Its like the raft of parts you have forsale on ebay, some wont work on a e30 m3. But have m3 in the description. eg Electric sun roof conversion, the header is different on the m3.