Breaking an E30
Moderator: martauto
Hey everyone. How much do you reckon someone competent in England would charge for breaking an E30 ?
I'm talking gutting the engine bay completely and removing everything / exhaust / axles/ interior -basically just leaving a bare shell.
Reason i want to do this is because we have a 4 year limit on used vehicle imports and they are very stringent with this , but no limit on parts.
I want to buy a complete working E30 in England and have someone reliable take it apart and have the parts shipped to Barbados. I dont want the shell , would sell it to help offset some of the labour or shipping costs , failing that i'd just give it away.
Just want to have an idea of the cost of breaking it down , i know its not an exact science any ideas would be welcome.
I'm talking gutting the engine bay completely and removing everything / exhaust / axles/ interior -basically just leaving a bare shell.
Reason i want to do this is because we have a 4 year limit on used vehicle imports and they are very stringent with this , but no limit on parts.
I want to buy a complete working E30 in England and have someone reliable take it apart and have the parts shipped to Barbados. I dont want the shell , would sell it to help offset some of the labour or shipping costs , failing that i'd just give it away.
Just want to have an idea of the cost of breaking it down , i know its not an exact science any ideas would be welcome.
Could they just throw everything into random boxes or would you want it all labelled up.
What about parts that are a bit grotty?
I reckon I could strip everything down with a mate in three or four days but the parts coming off wouldn't be very organised and most of the nuts/bolts would be rounded off. And anything old and plastic would be snapped.
What about parts that are a bit grotty?
I reckon I could strip everything down with a mate in three or four days but the parts coming off wouldn't be very organised and most of the nuts/bolts would be rounded off. And anything old and plastic would be snapped.
It sounds like a total nightmare to me. I'm out.
Penton's offer is very fair and he's very well qualiffied. I would be snapping his arms off.
Penton's offer is very fair and he's very well qualiffied. I would be snapping his arms off.

Co Founder of CR24vTM By Invitation Only. Absolutely no riff raff!!!
On topic please Jim. Tut Tut.Jim320i wrote:Thats not a very nice thing to do Dezzy... He is only trying to hel the guyDezzy wrote: I would be snapping his arms off.
You should know better

Co Founder of CR24vTM By Invitation Only. Absolutely no riff raff!!!
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DanThe
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£150? for a bare shell? I think not! How many specialists do you know that accept scrap metal as payment?m8782538 wrote:Well the person stipping it could keep the shell a weigh it in, that £150 (ish) then cash ontop for the labour for doing it. probably a few hundred plus the shell thrown in i would guess.
£300 Penton, your welcome to it!
are you talking like wheels, glass,bumpers,engine and every bay part,exhaust ? running gear ? complete interior,carpets and all internal/external trim ? 100% of the wiring ? everything ? all stripped,labeled, packaged, stored up and loaded in to a courrier van ?
nightmare sounds like a weeks work or more to me, what would the postage cost ? 
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daimlerman
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A car in bits takes up a heck of a lot of room...
I would suggest that a deep sea container is the answer,carefully packed,perhaps any space left over could be sold to some-one else?
So ideally,we need a zoner with enough space to break the car and stand a container,thats me out,then!
I would suggest that a deep sea container is the answer,carefully packed,perhaps any space left over could be sold to some-one else?
So ideally,we need a zoner with enough space to break the car and stand a container,thats me out,then!
Youth is wasted on the young.
We are geared up to do a job like this, it is what we do, all day, everyday. I was thinking a day to strip it, and a day to wrap it and pack it into a Truck/container. £150 a day is fine by me
Also a free bin to fill with all our crap.
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cecotto479
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£300!?
My mate runs a visual technicians business. He pays his casual window cleaners £80 a day. That's less than 4 days work. There's a solid week in that for one man. Plus the space and hassle, Tyres etc. Bare shell is barely worth the hassle of weighing in.
£750 - £1000 would be a commercial price. Plus shipping.
No point in biting Penton's hand off though - he couldn't do the job then.
My mate runs a visual technicians business. He pays his casual window cleaners £80 a day. That's less than 4 days work. There's a solid week in that for one man. Plus the space and hassle, Tyres etc. Bare shell is barely worth the hassle of weighing in.
£750 - £1000 would be a commercial price. Plus shipping.
No point in biting Penton's hand off though - he couldn't do the job then.
1981 E23 735i
1989 E30 325i Motorsport Convertible
Bavarian Retro - Classic BMW Cars, Parts and Accessories - 12.5% discount for forum members on E30 parts - use voucher code "E30zone" at checkout
1989 E30 325i Motorsport Convertible
Bavarian Retro - Classic BMW Cars, Parts and Accessories - 12.5% discount for forum members on E30 parts - use voucher code "E30zone" at checkout
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cecotto479
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One man on his own won't get it to a bare shell in a single day's work. Not keeping what he took off useable.
1981 E23 735i
1989 E30 325i Motorsport Convertible
Bavarian Retro - Classic BMW Cars, Parts and Accessories - 12.5% discount for forum members on E30 parts - use voucher code "E30zone" at checkout
1989 E30 325i Motorsport Convertible
Bavarian Retro - Classic BMW Cars, Parts and Accessories - 12.5% discount for forum members on E30 parts - use voucher code "E30zone" at checkout
I have stripped many e30's to a total shell in less than a day without cutting or ripping anything off, If two of us are on it we have have a record of 4 hourscecotto479 wrote:One man on his own won't get it to a bare shell in a single day's work. Not keeping what he took off useable.
F*ck me its an E30 not an E65 seven series.
With a ramp and all my tools i could have an E30 to a bare shell in less than a day with no damaged parts.
On my own.
With a ramp and all my tools i could have an E30 to a bare shell in less than a day with no damaged parts.
On my own.
£300 .. i 'd happily do a deal for that amount if i can find the right E30 at the right price.
Just need to check a few shippers and find out cost of shipping. If its too much i'm better off coming up to England myself and finding everything i need and have it shipped here on pallets.
Just need to check a few shippers and find out cost of shipping. If its too much i'm better off coming up to England myself and finding everything i need and have it shipped here on pallets.
Was given an idea from a guy here. He said instead of breakign the entire car the best way to circumvent the restrictions here would be to find a good E30 with a good engine and do a front body cut and send it as a partial car. i.e cutting it from the front section and loading it into a container .
How much would it cost to do a job like that? I reckon i could find a 10ft / 20ft Container , Half cut a car and load the entire front section , engine included then add the rest of the interior and rear wiring and voila , job done.
How much would it cost to do a job like that? I reckon i could find a 10ft / 20ft Container , Half cut a car and load the entire front section , engine included then add the rest of the interior and rear wiring and voila , job done.
I will look for someone who can do the cutting job for me when i come up, probably in late August. I'll be in Kirkstall area so will look for someone around Leeds / Huddersfield area to get that bit done.All i need to do now is to find a good E30 with a solid engine / clean interior and i am good to go - thanks for your help so far every one.
to be honest, i'm not sure that you'll gain much by chopping the shell.
you're going to have to remove all of the interior that you'd want to save anyway, and you'll end up hacking through poetentially usefull spares (hoses, heater matrix wiring loom etc) if you still want those removing and keeping then you may aswell strip the whole lot.
once youve got all the drivetrain bits you want to save out of the way it's hardly any more work to remove the engine and gearbox as a whole, which would save you work later on too. remember the gearbox extends quite a long way back into the cabin, so your front cut is still going to be an awful lot of waste metal which is only going to take up more space in the container. it only really makes sense on a transverse engine fwd setup where everything is crammed into a neat square in front of the windscreen.
you're going to have to remove all of the interior that you'd want to save anyway, and you'll end up hacking through poetentially usefull spares (hoses, heater matrix wiring loom etc) if you still want those removing and keeping then you may aswell strip the whole lot.
once youve got all the drivetrain bits you want to save out of the way it's hardly any more work to remove the engine and gearbox as a whole, which would save you work later on too. remember the gearbox extends quite a long way back into the cabin, so your front cut is still going to be an awful lot of waste metal which is only going to take up more space in the container. it only really makes sense on a transverse engine fwd setup where everything is crammed into a neat square in front of the windscreen.
cheers,
harry
harry
Understand what youre saying , but i'd rather chop it and fit in in a 20ft container with other spares and other things i want to import from England. The main thing is the legal bit , if we were allowed to import older vehicles i wouldnt have to chop it at all. In any case i was thinking a bigger cut than a front cut alone i.e a cut which leaves the dash and consoles etc intact. As for the engine / box etc i can get my bro and a few of my mates and get that out here without paying anything. A few drinks and a good bbq will do
In my mind it seems easier to cut it , and then strip the interior bits i need and load it all into a container, rather than have someone strip it down completely for me which is an extra cost.
The laws here are too strict , previously you could ship a car in container with the doors and panels all removed and get away with it but now they only allow a bare shell - no wheels , no interior/no engine/no box/no drivetrain/no exhaust fittings/ no axles / minimal wiring.
The way i am thinking , i could get the cut piece of the car with engine / box intact - then get the seats and rest of the interior /wheels and tyres / other extras and load em all in. IF i can i'll even find other BMW parts for newer models and stick em in there as well , sell them here and make some money back, since parts prices here are ridiculous to the point of insanity. For example in point a radiator for an E30 here costs the equivalent of £288
In my mind it seems easier to cut it , and then strip the interior bits i need and load it all into a container, rather than have someone strip it down completely for me which is an extra cost.
The laws here are too strict , previously you could ship a car in container with the doors and panels all removed and get away with it but now they only allow a bare shell - no wheels , no interior/no engine/no box/no drivetrain/no exhaust fittings/ no axles / minimal wiring.
The way i am thinking , i could get the cut piece of the car with engine / box intact - then get the seats and rest of the interior /wheels and tyres / other extras and load em all in. IF i can i'll even find other BMW parts for newer models and stick em in there as well , sell them here and make some money back, since parts prices here are ridiculous to the point of insanity. For example in point a radiator for an E30 here costs the equivalent of £288
how popular are e36s over there?
over here theyre just about at their lowest point, spares are dirt cheap and breakers are full of them! you'd probably fill any spare space with e36s bits for not much cash at all.
over here theyre just about at their lowest point, spares are dirt cheap and breakers are full of them! you'd probably fill any spare space with e36s bits for not much cash at all.
cheers,
harry
harry











