E30 Zone

I hear so many people referring to e30s as future classics.

Wot do u all think about this? If i buy an iS and keep it garaged only usin it in dry or even if i just keep it really good nick, is it gonna gain value?

I'm not sayin i wanna buy one as an investment, just interested.

It will be because of the impact alone it had on the BMW company when it was launched. It was an advanced car at the time, everybody wanted one.

If i remmeber rightly, it was BMW's make or break car...

Some E30's are already classed as a classic, E30 M3 has been for a while now, and thanks to the continued work of Ron Parish, the E30 is fast on it's way to becoming a classic, you will probably find that the more exclusive models such as Sport or aplina/hartge's are also under the classic, may be a while yet though, before you can class a 316i auto a classic.

my sport is on a classic policy

So will they at some point increase in value?

WilliS wrote:So will they at some point increase in value?

I wouldn't say any E30, but the good ones that survive, and are kept in exceptional condition will be worth good money in years to come.

WilliS wrote:So will they at some point increase in value?

If i knew that, i would be a millionaire.

People dictate how much something is worth.

my current insurers HIC will not cover 3 series bmws on classics.

"it's a 16 year old beemer mate" the bloke said to me

i said "they only made 2000, and were in practical classics mag a while ago."

"i know, it's our under writers, who won't do it anymore"

So who does a classic policy for modded sports?!

HIC will do limited miles but it's not worth it for the difference in price

please pm me also if any one know of an insurer that does clasic cover.

Off the top of my head I'm thinking Ensleigh Insurance might..

well i need to ring round, but i'm not holding my hopes up.

The best deal HIC could do me would be to insure 2 cars with 2 policys and let me use my no claims on both cars! but this only applies if u have not had a fault claim in the last 3 years and i had one over years ago but not quite 3. Si i'd have to wait a year for that.

So think i'll just keep one on the road for now. till the money tree drops it's leaves again, they have all fallen!

I just managed to get my car covered with an agreed value of 10K with HIC

It's not a classic policy, but they do limit the milage to 8K miles per year. Now I have another car to run about in, this is not really an issue. For a bit more cash they can go to a maximum of 10K miles per year, but I don't think I'll be needing it to be honest.

Ian.

Well i learnt on the last phone call that HIC and Adrian flux are owned by the same person!

Ian well done, did they come out to see the car?

They seemed interested about my car being in a mag!

Simon13 wrote:Well i learnt on the last phone call that HIC and Adrian flux are owned by the same person!

Ian well done, did they come out to see the car?

They seemed interested about my car being in a mag!

Simon,

They didn't come and see it, but wanted at least 6 photo's (4 of the outside, 1 interior shot and 1 of the engine). I also had to fill out an agreed value form detailing all the mods and any restoration work etc. Then had to get a specialist to comment on the car and agree that it was a fair market value for the car etc.

Lots of messing around, but better than risking the insurance paying out feck all if the worst happened. I still couldn't replace it for 10K, but it's a lot better than fighting for about 3K without an agreed value.

I also heard about HIC and Flux being the same company, but they still seem to operate independantly. Flux (my previous insurers) won't do agreed value on BMW's . HIC did agreed value for a few quid more than my renewal quote from Flux.

Ian.

Adrian flux were a bit expensive on classic compared with norton insurance

www.norton-ib.co.uk

who quoted me Ԛ£338 for my 1992 325ic with 7.5k miles

try firebond they insure two of my bm's and one of them is a concours e30 325i sport on a classic policy. well worth a phone call.

p.s. if you persevere you can get a letter from your local bmw dealer certiying that the standard bmw e30 alarm is thatcham approved and this is usually sufficient for most insurers.

lancaster are good for classic agreed value.

My sport is insured with them and thay paid out no problem as well after i bumped it

I've never really understood this "classic" thing...

cars are built to go from A to B safely and realatively quickly. Regardless of the age of car, if its well maintained it should do that ok.

Certainly the e30 M3 is a car worth conserving, and almost bound to increase in value,but thats more to do with the rarity/heritage attached to its creation, than the age of it.

the e30 was, as previously stated, designed as a "make or break" car for BMW, and it deserves recogniton for such. However, it did not advance car design or cost like say a VW beetle (car to carry four for under 6 months wages) or Citroen light 15 (traction avant) one of the first mass produced FWD cars.

My e30 is, to me, a daily driver, adventure wagon,dumper truck and sportscar all rolled into one. It does what i want, when I want at reasonable cost and without breaking down. IMO, "every home should have one "

Although insurers may not class it as a classic, for the mere fact that they are holding the monies so they don't have to pay for costs in case of accident (come on, lets face it, the E30s, all of them, last much more than the average road car and if they had to class them as classics there would be some many to cover...), E30s are now known as modern classics (I refer to the MSN reviews about E30s recently), and everyone knows them as such.

I personaly would class any E30 as MSN did in their reviews, as modern classics, and well respected as well for the large list of plusses that they carry with them.

Jose

although i like my e30 a lot, i dont think i would class it as a classic yet.to your average non e30 owner its just a 20 year old bmw and i think thats how most insurance companies would look at it as well.maybe in a couple of years when all the rubbish ones have gone to the scrapyard in the sky and its just the best of the rest left then yes, id class it as a future classic and although they hold their money now i cant really see their value going way up as an investment.

fuzzy wrote:although i like my e30 a lot, i dont think i would class it as a classic yet.to your average non e30 owner its just a 20 year old bmw and i think thats how most insurance companies would look at it as well.maybe in a couple of years when all the rubbish ones have gone to the scrapyard in the sky and its just the best of the rest left then yes, id class it as a future classic and although they hold their money now i cant really see their value going way up as an investment.

How do you view an old Ford Cortina?

probably the same as the e30, it would be regarded as a classic in the eyes of the owners.how do you define a classic? not all old cars are classics.who makes that decision?

How do you view an old Ford Cortina?

Which model ? Mk1 1200, 1500 GT, Mk2, 1300, 1600, 1600E 1600GT, and on and on and on.Classic cars are imo classic in the eye of the beholder.Take a look in Practical Classics mag and you'll see what i mean .It's become the trend to call a car a classic if it's over 15 year old + .There's not many Mk 2 Cortinas about now and if you consider the amounts produced you'll get some idea of how poor ( metal )cars of that era, were I owned quite a few when they were 8 years old and everyone needed welding no comparision to my 16 year old BM.

It is my point really, and old Cortina is considered a classic...cortina or E30?

Feckin amazing- I found a post without a comment from Stevetigger

personally id choose the e30 everytime

ivqii wrote:Feckin amazing- I found a post without a comment from Stevetigger

Thats because I have no opinion on this subject!

Simon wrote:It is my point really, and old Cortina is considered a classic...cortina or E30?

huh? who considers an old cortina a classic? let me know so i can shoot them!

honestly, the only cortina i have seen that could be classed as that was that delivery mileage one going for Ԛ£12k or whatever a few months ago...an old car past its time was what i thought...surpassed by modern machines. it didn't really seem that special apart from the fact it was un-used! :O

btw there's a 1 page article on e30's in the February issue(yes Feb on sale now) in Practical Classics tiiping them as a buy in general and the tourers and the 318is in particular

ivqii wrote:btw there's a 1 page article on e30's in the February issue(yes Feb on sale now) in Practical Classics tiiping them as a buy in general and the tourers and the 318is in particular

Yup was about to say that - good job I got myself a mint 325i Touring the other week!

huh? who considers an old cortina a classic? let me know so i can shoot them!

Can't agree there, Mk 1 lotus Cortina definatly a Classic , Mk 2 1600e another ,these weren't mass produced and considering that Ford are kings at mass production there was a bit of thought into what they were building IMO

imo i think it depends how old you are, a lot of you would hav grown up with cortinas, mk1 and 2 escorts etc etc might not view them as classics. Being 19 means i was never around when these cars were really common. Thats why i still get excited by a mk2 4 door cortina that lives not far from me everytime i see it, and also a four door mk1 escort on chrome minilites always catches my eye. I suppose a lot of people just view rare cars as classics.

Found this in Thesaurus online:

---------------------------------------------

Belonging to the highest rank or class.
Serving as the established model or standard: a classic example of colonial architecture.
Having lasting significance or worth; enduring.

Adhering or conforming to established standards and principles: a classic piece of research.
Of a well-known type; typical: a classic mistake.
Of or characteristic of the literature, art, and culture of ancient Greece and Rome; classical.

Formal, refined, and restrained in style.
Simple and harmonious; elegant: the classic cut of a suit; the classic lines of a clipper ship.
---------------------------------------------

Not making a point, just giving some info from your online dictionary

Jose

but its still open to individual opinion as to wether a certain car can be included in any of the above

Moofles wrote:

Simon wrote:It is my point really, and old Cortina is considered a classic...cortina or E30?

huh? who considers an old cortina a classic? let me know so i can shoot them!

honestly, the only cortina i have seen that could be classed as that was that delivery mileage one going for Ԛ£12k or whatever a few months ago...an old car past its time was what i thought...surpassed by modern machines. it didn't really seem that special apart from the fact it was un-used! :O

One of the main places people read up a classic car is the magazines, when the magazine features a car in a buying guide, Jo Public takes it as gospel that the car is a classic.

See http://www.classic-car-directory.com/ click on price guide, and have a little read, only E30 featured is M3, and have a look how many Cortinas are on there...

If you have a car that's listed on one of these price guides, getting the car insured on a classic policy will be easy.