E30 Zone

Hi,

I have just recently purchased a beautiful E30 318i tourer LUX after many years of adoring them. This whole area is very new to me so i had a few questions that i hope you don't mind me asking.

1. Where is the best place to get spares & parts? I need a brake light bulb
2. There are a few spots of rust, nothing to major, but would like to nip them in the bud sooner rather than later. What's the best cure?

Thanks

Hello!

For parts I go to GSF,though many zoners also use ECP.

As for the body work...it really depends on how talented you are and how bad the rust is.

Depending on your blagging skills you could try and get yourself a Halfords trade card. Pretty cheap with the Card and ideal for things like bulbs that you'd rather have sooner rather than later.

ECP (Euro Car Parts) and GSF are very good, of course you've got the Zone and eBay for those really hard to find bits, or if you're feeling brave, the Dealers!. E30 parts are pretty easy to come by in the grand scheme of things

Don't ignore the dealers - sure a lot of stuff is frighteningly expensive, but you'd be amazed just how often it's not. Asking for a price in the Genuine Parts section on here costs nothing, and could be a godsend.

Otherwise GSF are generally very good, depending on the quality of the staff at your local branch!

Rust depends on exactly where it is and how bad. Get yourself a wire brush, some Kurust or similar rust treatment and zinc primer if you just want to slow th progress of surface rust deteriorating into holes. How far you want to go after that is up to you and your budget. Genuine corrosion on structural areas will require serious investment of time and money - but posting pics on here in tech help or photo gallery will often get you an idea of how frightened your wallet should be. If you can weld yourself, or know someone willing to do 'mates rates', you're on to a winner. The only way to get rid of rust completely is to cut it out and replace with fresh metal, but pragmatism has to make an appearance somewhere in most cases!

Get bulbs off ebay. Dirt cheap for a box of 6 brake light bulbs...

Don't think I've ever bought a car bulb in my life, new or otherwise! That's what scrapyards and breakers are for.

or fuses/relay's^

Nice to have another member of the 4 pot Touring club, and another 318i Lux as well. Welcome.

I tend to use my local dealer or ECP for parts.

welcome!
I'm a bit new here too, found a lot of good stuff on here. Seem friendly enough . I'm slowly bringing my touring back to decent shape.

sihooker wrote:Hello!

For parts I go to GSF,though many zoners also use ECP.

As for the body work...it really depends on how talented you are and how bad the rust is.

thanks, will check them out

djk wrote:Don't ignore the dealers - sure a lot of stuff is frighteningly expensive, but you'd be amazed just how often it's not. Asking for a price in the Genuine Parts section on here costs nothing, and could be a godsend.

Otherwise GSF are generally very good, depending on the quality of the staff at your local branch!

Rust depends on exactly where it is and how bad. Get yourself a wire brush, some Kurust or similar rust treatment and zinc primer if you just want to slow th progress of surface rust deteriorating into holes. How far you want to go after that is up to you and your budget. Genuine corrosion on structural areas will require serious investment of time and money - but posting pics on here in tech help or photo gallery will often get you an idea of how frightened your wallet should be. If you can weld yourself, or know someone willing to do 'mates rates', you're on to a winner. The only way to get rid of rust completely is to cut it out and replace with fresh metal, but pragmatism has to make an appearance somewhere in most cases!

thanks for that, really useful. I will get some pics once the snow has thawed. cheers

massive thanks for all your help, gonna get some pics up so you can see the damage. Cheers

got an immaculate black leather interior if your interested

how much for leather?

Not to mention Chris Warburton. Drop him a PM if you need other bits (trim, bits of engine, gearbox crossmembers) and check out his website. Cant fault the chaps service.

http://www.chriswarburton.co.uk/

right, its TOURING <------ ING

tourING



not tourer.







ok, im done now.

im sure you have a local independant car shop, just pop in there and get some bulbs, i always use mine for the little stuff as it helps a lot to got your face known as sometimes they can be very useful for things. you wont pay any more there than you would at gsf or halfords often as well.

GC318 wrote:Nice to have another member of the 4 pot Touring club, and another 318i Lux as well. Welcome.

Ditto...