E30 Zone

as some of you know i bought this off ebay, from a very nice chap in scotland.

The car has been re-sprayed in Leguna seca blue, the interior is spotless, the exterior needs paint to both bumpers (in the process of doing) and the bootlid as its a different shade for some reason

When i collected it i drove home the 600-700miles with no problem at all, however a wheel bearing has now started to grumble and the thrust bearing is noisy so its been booked in to the garage for next weekend to have these problems rectified.

Im so impressed with the car, it surpassed expectation, i may even go as far as saying its the best car ive ever owned!

Luckily its also fitted with factory cruise controll which made my journey so much easier

hated driving in scotland loads of speed cameras and missed the boat home

lovely motor you got there fella

i really enjoyed it, the roads up there near dundee are insane

Thanks alot mate, few niggles to sort out but all in all deffo worth every penny of the money!

Looks great

Hope the ownership goes well for years to come

thanks i cant stop driving it, every time i see it in the drive i feel like such a kid i cant help but smile

any excuse to go out and im there

i'm glad its agood one, and looking forward to seeing some splits on there

any particular reason for the colour change or did the owner just fancy it ??

Kos wrote:i'm glad its agood one, and looking forward to seeing some splits on there

any particular reason for the colour change or did the owner just fancy it ??

Maybe its had a front smash, I missing fog and pre and post facelift lights.
Theres videos on youtube of it on some track.

Sanchez wrote:

Kos wrote:i'm glad its agood one, and looking forward to seeing some splits on there

any particular reason for the colour change or did the owner just fancy it ??

Maybe its had a front smash, I missing fog and pre and post facelift lights.
Theres videos on youtube of it on some track.

up to 1988 they had early fich eye lights
being F reg thoes headlamp could be the correct ones, but they are different,

ones a smiley ones a bulls eye

looks nice how much of a bargain was it?

Looks a nice car.

Is the thrust bearing in the gearbox if it is more likely to be a noisy layshaft like every other M3.

That would make a distinctive track weapon, fairplay for taking the gamble/massive trek up to Scotland to fetch it. Hope it all goes well.

ive looked all over it for signs of damage ect and all i can think of is the owner in germany wanted to ghange the colour, guess he didnt like red

yep thrust bearing is in the gearbox, it definatly is the culprit too, the noise goes when you depress the clutch

Was a mad trip, lots of fun was had, im pretty glad i went with my bro though!

Bargain wise, 4.3k bargain

nice i was speaking to someone other day and they said theres one sitting in his mum's back garden with rust issues i think it's gotta be a replica though it's being used for a few spares

Retro_wheels wrote:yep thrust bearing is in the gearbox, it definatly is the culprit too, the noise goes when you depress the clutch

Most probably layshaft, most M3's/E30's have this problem.

Seen this at the F&M Cruise in Dundee last month if it's the same one for sale for £5000 very nice mate, so what's the future plans for it ???

Did you get it from Arbroath?

yes i did, of a very nice chap called john

just tidying it up really and using it, got some very nice wheels to go on too

johnny carswell?...used to see that car about all the time..eye catchin colour..she will be missed from these parts

its also got US spec bumpers

yeh i think thats him, he's moved onto motorbikes, i cant say i blame him, th roads up round there are awesome

I was talking to my father about the bumpers, he's a bit of an old skool bmw enthusiast, he reckoned it could have been for the american market but was sold to a soldier based in Germany as it never left Germany apart from when it came to the uk. His main reason for this theory is because it also has factory cruise control (i was pleased of this on the return journey)

I thought it could have just been a replacement bumper, but all the wireing looks pretty genuine i.e the side markers.

Anyones guess though really

Sanchez wrote:

Kos wrote:i'm glad its agood one, and looking forward to seeing some splits on there

any particular reason for the colour change or did the owner just fancy it ??

Maybe its had a front smash, I missing fog and pre and post facelift lights.
Theres videos on youtube of it on some track.

Ive got the front fog in the boot, one side of the securing point has snapped off where the screw goes through

Anyone got any links to the vids

Retro_wheels wrote:I was talking to my father about the bumpers, he's a bit of an old skool bmw enthusiast, he reckoned it could have been for the american market but was sold to a soldier based in Germany as it never left Germany apart from when it came to the uk. His main reason for this theory is because it also has factory cruise control (i was pleased of this on the return journey)

Probably true as there are a few E46 M3's in Germany that are US spec.

well today i almost passed a kidney when the garage told me it was 205 quid for a replacement wheel bearing plus labour

They're having a bubble bath mate! Unless it is the front wheel bearing then yes they are strong money as the wheel bearing is part of the hub. Otherwise, the rear bearing is the same as a standard E30 and is relatively cheap.

Good news if it's the front one, they are very quick to fit. Certainly no more than an hours work

Car looks great BTW.

Hi the car looks nice but i'm not keen on the colour but ha each to there own.It would look a lot better with a chin spoiler awell.Good luck with the car.Tony

yup, knowing how good my luck it is indeed the front passenger side bearing can i not get one any cheaper than 205 pounds?

Retro_wheels wrote:yup, knowing how good my luck it is indeed the front passenger side bearing can i not get one any cheaper than 205 pounds?

nope, i just bought 2 ,but then you have the lock nuts and dust caps on top , about another £20 .

i forgot to add im prob going to change the colour to macao blue (sp?) leguna seca is a bit too brilliant for me. will also be adding the chin spoiler

Kos wrote:

Retro_wheels wrote:yup, knowing how good my luck it is indeed the front passenger side bearing can i not get one any cheaper than 205 pounds?

nope, i just bought 2 ,but then you have the lock nuts and dust caps on top , about another £20 .

looks like im just going to have to like it then, will prob get 2 and replace the 2 rears as well, least i wont have to worry about that

welcome to M3 ownership


i did recon that car would need money spending on it, as long as its all done you will get money back on any major out goings.

does it have marker lights in the rear bumper too, and are they wired up as running lights or linked to the indicators?

the front wings look so much nicer without side repeaters spoiling their bulges, i'm kind of tempted to fit us spec markerlights to the front bumper and tint them so they blend in with the black stripe on the bumper

Send a PM to ZimmerBimmer1, he will be able to beat that price for a front hub I'm sure.

the side markers in the bumper flash with the indicators

Being honest i expected these little niggles i knew it wasnt going to faultless motoring, i mean for a start the car is 19years old and has covered 104k miles id imagine its been driven how it should be too!!

I really didnt expect to make it back from scotland, i bought the car for nearly half their normal market value, so a few bearings and things i dont mind replacing. but there is very very little rust on it, that was my main concern so im more than happy with it

I have got a squeaky injector too

Thanks old_skool_2002 i'll pm him now

I find the best thing to do is say you want a new this that or the other for an E30 get the price then mention its a m3

Thats what I do with my e39 m5 ..... mention the M and it sticks the price up