E30 Zone

now it has not escapred my attention these are getting nice and cheap to buy now so im considering one very seriously, im 21 in january and can finally afford to insure something silly-fast instead of just the moderately fast stuff i have had before.

What are they like to live with everyday? are they dangerous when its wet? how available are tuning parts? what are they like to work on?

Also what are the thing to look out for when buying one?

bit juicy for a long commute but a great everyday car.

I used mine daily and it averaged 22 mpg, she was decatted and chipped though....

easy enough to work, some parts carry the ///M Tax though so be warned ! brake discs are £££ on the EVO models too.

Ignore the miles, dont buy anything with a chequered past, look for noisy Vanos on both the S50B30 and the S50B32 Evo engines, idle should be smooth as silk too, anything less willl need looking into(intake boots/plates)

Insurance is not cheap either.

I'd love to drive one. E36s aren't my thing, but they slightly grow on me. Its hard to believe the age of E36s. They do still seem like such modern cars! May think about a 325i as a daily in a few years, garage up and calm down on the E30.

Btw Gibson, quality sig!

Ant wrote:bit juicy for a long commute but a great everyday car.

I used mine daily and it averaged 22 mpg, she was decatted and chipped though....

easy enough to work, some parts carry the ///M Tax though so be warned ! brake discs are £££ on the EVO models too.

Ignore the miles, dont buy anything with a chequered past, look for noisy Vanos on both the S50B30 and the S50B32 Evo engines, idle should be smooth as silk too, anything less willl need looking into(intake boots/plates)

Insurance is not cheap either.

i walk to work so the commute isnt a problem. plus after a 2.8i capri and a 3.0i supra the petrol will seem cheap to me
i only got 21mpg out of my 320i E30 anyway!

what does a noisy Vanos sound like? im normally a very good diagnoser by sounds and feel as i am a car salesman and valuing cars is a case of getting hold it for twenty minutes and in that time i have to see if there is anything thats wrong by just driving listening and looking, so i have got that down to a fine art!

insurance isnt too much of a bother to me either, i know its gonna be expensive but i can afford it so never mind. really i just want to know its gonna start when i use it every couple of days and how strong is it for taking to the ring in april?

I'm thinking the same as you. E36 m3 will be my next car. I've noticed so many adverts stating "recently new vanos unit" that it's now something i look for.

yea i know because you were threatening it when you were raping my 320 for parts! you found one then? i know what im like if a nice looking black one turns up i will buy even if it is a shady one

i get the red mist of "its pretty must have it" far to easily

lol - yeah.. If I could sensibly lay my hands on the cash and had already finished that fucking supercharger project then I'd buy a really nice silver coupe that's in twickenham. It's on pistonheads and autotrader but wouldn't surprise me if it's gone already.

im gonna get a real cheap shady one. gut the thing of any excess weight and then its coming to the ring with me in april...

I'd be wary of what Ant said with regards insurance. These are not cheap to insure at all. You also have an at fault claim which probably isn't settled yet I guess? The difference between 20 and 21 will be less than you having no claims, and now a claim!

I have the best category postcode, 22 years old, 4 years NCB and I don't think I could get under a £1000!

Nice cars, I definatly want one at some point.

Jon_Bmw wrote:I'd be wary of what Ant said with regards insurance. These are not cheap to insure at all. You also have an at fault claim which probably isn't settled yet I guess? The difference between 20 and 21 will be less than you having no claims, and now a claim!

I have the best category postcode, 22 years old, 4 years NCB and I don't think I could get under a £1000!

Nice cars, I definatly want one at some point.

Your right there but i have been doing some quotes and the insurance is coming out around £1500 fully comp. which for me is an acceptable amount to insure such a quick car. its alot i know but fuck it you cant take it with you....

i bought a 1999 t-reg m3 3.2 evo convertible.

the car was amazing when it worked!!!

the things to look out for these is the fact they got the double vanos units.
they always go wrong!! always!!! even if they have been changed they will still mess you around.

also i had the SMG tiptronic gearbox, AND that is also a big no-no!!

my advice as owning and running one for as year is, buy a 1994/1995 m3 3.0 in manual!!

much better, not alot performance difference but you can pick them up cheap nowadays.

They love kicking out in the wet, but iv found my e30 325 kicks out alot more.

parts for my m3 were quite expensive too.

yea i was going for a mid 90's 3.0i manual for sure. dont like auto and the 3.0 looks like a more solid engine for me to hurl my adolesent brand of abuse at.....

£1500 is just about bearable on a £4k car.

If you go for one, put some pictures up

Personally I wouldnt go for an M3 because of insurance costs, Im 28 with 5 years no claims but 6 points and I cant find Insuance under a grand....This is what puts me off buying one, I started a thread a few months back because id be offered a part ex with my old golf tdi....It was a P Reg Evo in red, I was put off by the insurance costs and things people on here told me.

If I ever got one it would be a 3.0 litre but I hate spending stupid amounts of money on insurance.

fook paying that much for insurance. £500 is enough for me for my expected 370bhp
im glad im old and sensible.

Jon_Bmw wrote:I'd be wary of what Ant said with regards insurance. These are not cheap to insure at all. You also have an at fault claim which probably isn't settled yet I guess? The difference between 20 and 21 will be less than you having no claims, and now a claim!

I have the best category postcode, 22 years old, 4 years NCB and I don't think I could get under a £1000!

Nice cars, I definatly want one at some point.

Jon, Ant said . Insurance is not cheap either.

insurance on M cars isnt cheap! I've been quoted 1300 on my M3 21 with 2yrs no claims and owned the car a year
e36 is more. I would double check that insurance

No i meant, I was in agreement with him, although re-reading what I wrote, it wasn't very clear.

Have you thought about the Alpina equivalent B3 3.0 or 3.2. Much rarer and much cooler.

Blitz wrote:Have you thought about the Alpina equivalent B3 3.0 or 3.2. Much rarer and much cooler.

what kinda wonga would you be looking at though?

There was that one that went on the bay for just under 3k. There's a thread about it somewhere - jon bmw put it up - something about that vs a sport.

hoshy wrote:There was that one that went on the bay for just under 3k. There's a thread about it somewhere - jon bmw put it up - something about that vs a sport.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... NA:GB:1123
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-Alpina-B3-4-D ... 240%3A1318

I drive a e36 328 as my daily drive and a much more friendy car to repair, cost wise and insurance is alot cheaper and they can be picked up for silly money at the moment. Must say in the year i have had mine has cost no money at all

I'd love an e36 M3, but seems a little pointless after my e30...

I refuse to pay over 1k for insurance these days.. I can insure one for just under 900 odd FC at 24 with 4yrs NCB!

In that ebay advert he says it's better than an M3 but what actually are the differences. Is it more HP, suspension as good? brakes upgraded? (disregarding the autobox for a minute)

Hi Gibson I have owned 4 M3 evo's. I think they are great solid cars. 3rd gear is amazing!
ADVICE: Don't buy, boston green, imola red, alpine white, dakar yellow, fern green or an individual colour as you won't be able to sell.
Buy: estorill blue, arctic/titanium silver, techno violet, cosmos black II!
DON'T buy a convertible they can't corner! Buy a coupe! Look for rear quarter replacment welding marks, leaks, bad resprays, AND out of line pannels. Again any of this and you can't sell!
Good service history with reciepts. Don't expect alll FBMWSH as the evo has been with us since late 95'! Not to mention the fact that inspection 2 is £765! You can service these cars for next to nothing but as another zoner has said brake discs and pads come to around £450 fitted.
The most important thing! VANOS unit has been recalled, u can identify this by a red paint mark covering the largest vanos screw on the left side of the unit. If they don't have the red paint than ask the owner if they have had the vanos screws done? Or if it had a vanos replacment.
Don't be put off by this though! Two of these engine's were put In the Mclaren F1 together!
I love E30's but the M3 evo is different gravy in my book- 5.4 secs to 60 and 183mph german autobahn!
Also try and get P 97 ONWARDS as this is facelift! P' 96, N'96 is not facelift. Don't by SMG 1 it is awful!
Garaged if poss, older owner, seals replaced and not perished, nice tyres as they cost alot.
Finally- spec- duel climate aircon/sunroof, front centre arm rest, leather, auto dim rear view mirror, rear boot spoiler but not essential, Upgrded H/K stereo, passenger airbag, heated seats and electric seats are rare! Rear electric pop out windows very rare! Of course you can also get headlight washers, alarm/tracker, cruise control, SMG 1, and bmw cd changer.
I say buy a 6 speed M3 3.2 litre 321bhp evo not a 5 speed M3 3 litre 286bhp. Iv'e driven both and I think there is a big difference.

Apparently you need to change many suspension components for it to handle properly for the convertible.

Not sure matey? Would thing so. The E36 M3 unlike the E30 is more of a touring type car. Its not renound for its hadling but it is still an amazing machine. You just can't feel the speeds! 110MPH seem's like 60MPH in an old E30 325I.

been doing insurance quotes all day, buy playing around with named drivers, excess's and stuff (complete honest truth just different combinations of of adding my mum, dad, etc on onto the policy) i have managed to get the insurance down to £1056 fully comp!

i have an estroil blue evo coupe at the mo, had it for 2 years and wow what a car, cant ever get board of it!
they are expensive to keep on the road as in servicing but they never go wrong. every one moans on about the vanos on the evo but its all over rated bull*&^% tbh.
ive had all the bushes done underneath and fitted coilovers and strut braces and it feels so tight on the road now, like its on rails.
pulls like a train in every gear too. even in 6th at say at about 75-80ish just put your foot down and off it goes!
get one you wont regret it!

I already have lol, pick it up tuesday, 3.0 manual coupe in Cosmos black, decent history, not many options but has the boot spoiler and vadar leather. decent history, no prang record, looks straight. £2500

very nice mate although i would of gone for an evo
enjoy it and be carefull in the wet

Much easier to drive than an e30, esp in the wet.. Nice cars!

I'm looking forward to seeing that in the flesh some time mate. at 2.5k it makes it a lot more realistic for me.