ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE

[Estoril-5]

Guys,

As you know im looking for an e30 cab, im located in Birmingham and this one near wolverhampton has cropped up.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... Track=true

he said he wont take any less than Ԛ£1400 for it. is that good/bad??

i know about e34s but not a lot about e30's, so i need your help.

what do i look for? what offer should i make him? does it look like a good buy or not?

i said ill try and view tmrw morning so i have until then to find out what i need to ask and do and what kind of offer i should be making him.

he said, 107k, some history, hpi clear, i said im happy to make a cash in hand offer tmrw, he said bring the cash and well talk.

thanks guys

[sheldo]

just look out for the usual really. Rust on all arches and try to get underneath it if possible. Make sure if the hoods electric it works. Check for smoke, accidnet damage and make sure she feels solid enough on a good long drive to get it up to temp, (check for over heating).

Apart from that its jsut the obvious things like overal condition and dont get blinded by the thought of summer crusing with the top down if she aint what you really want.

Others on here will be able to offer more advise and im sure they will

[Estoril-5]

i do like the colour, i prefer cabs in a darker colour than a lighter shade.

its had some engine components replaced, ave milage and only 3 owners.

on the downside, its an auto, no mtec kit or wheels and cloth upholstery which i believe will need some attention.

thanks sheldo!

muchos gracias amigo!

[orangecurry]

all usual rust problems aside,

bonnet shut-lines look good - boot shut-lines look bad, but photos can give odd impressions; run you fingers along ALL shut-lines - gap should be the same and not vary as you go (this is a BMW remember)

extras to look for on the cab....

watch out for accident damage at the rear - look along the body from the back - look carefully ABOVE the rear wheel arch - there should be no ripples. Under the bonnet near the windscreen where the scuttle meets the front wings there should be a SINGLE line of factory filling compound, painted with the rest of the car; if there are two lines of filler, and/or this is not painted this indicates front wings have been replaced.

Make sure the top goes up and down smoothly. Look at the condition of the rubber seals - torn and/or hard means you'll be bailing out a great deal . Is the interior damp? Is there a parfume smell-generating device (Magic Tree) in the car? Means carpets are damp and the underlay is rotting. For all E30s look in the boot-wells at each side - they all seem to get damp in here but check anyway

IMHO a 2.0 auto is the worst cab to get - cabs are heavy, and IMHO again you need a 2.5 or late 1.8 (nearly as much power as the 2.0 but nowhere near as heavy - 1.8 handles better than 2.5 or 2.0 as well)

but a 3 owner (means they all liked it!) 107k is a good bet

go and see it, but be prepared to walk away - good luck

[Estoril-5]

just emailed the seller, he says mileage is 124k.

still going to view and see what happens.

look at the passenger door card - does that look like water stains? infact look at the passenger seat - is this not a good sign?

[sheldo]

could just be as said above bad seals on the roof. Go have alook and also as said above be prepared to walk away. Dont do the old trick of heart reuling the head m8

[orangecurry]

as sheldo says, do the head not the heart - it might not seem like it, but there ARE lots of cabs out there - it's just that they are so good that people hang onto them - be patient

if the stains are to do with just leaking seals, you can put it right, but it takes time and money - more importantly it means the previous owner(s) have been lazy/careless/possibly not serviced the car at all ..... you have to change the coolant every 2 years on these engines IIRC, otherwise all kinds of nasty things happen

and the mileage creeping up as well - my advice is always go and see a car, and then when you walk away, you go and see another one you have something to compare it against

[orangecurry]

yes - that is water staining on the passenger seat, but before I replaced the front seal on my cab I had a leak with consequences just like his; During the day I left the top not locked-down (lazy or what), and got caught out by a sudden shower.

As I said above, leaks are not a reason to walk away, but this car does not sound like it has generally been looked after IMHO (without ever having seen it ), and there are plenty which have - it's just getting the owners to part with them that's the problem

[Estoril-5]

cheers guys much appreciated

[Estoril-5]

didnt go to see it in the end, from teh pics that i saw on closer inspection put me off.

however you shouldnt judge a book by its cover!

i want to see how much it goes for on ebay, if it doesnt sell i could view and see what he says.

btw, ive seen a minter in brum, foned the guy at 7.30am this morn when i saw the ad, his fone was sqitched off tho

[sheldo]

keep trying m8 minters are hard to find