buying one of these bad boys

[syriana-style]

excuse me if i am in the wrong section. im in the process of saving for a 325 for when i turn 19 and get my no claims up.

specifically i want the sport. are these getting harder and harder to find and what sort of problems are best to look for?

in particualr i like white and my origianl idea was to go for one that may come up for sale on here.

it wont be that soon i get the car but i am trying to learn as much as poss for when i do start looking alot more

[Nelly]

There's a good discription of a buying guide on the Zone somewhere - it covers all the areas prone to rot as well as basic machanical gremlins, should be an eye opener for you before you start looking to buy

Also a genral flick around the different sections on here normaly answers a few questions as well.

Neil.

[cliffybabe]

link for buying guide

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... ic&t=22543

[Nelly]

Get to work Neil!

p.s. - saw the beast yesterday on the drive

[cliffybabe]

lol not bad ah, taking it to work today

[liquid-24]

I suggest you check yor insurance on a 325 as could be high, or have a huge excess, or will you have your dad a first driver? just intrested as im 20 and i get punished because im not 21

[syriana-style]

nah on my own insurance. ill have 2 years ncb by then so i will see how it is when iv got the cash saved. if not ill just carry on saving, im in no rush as the 306 derv is cheap atm

[Felix79]

Seriously don't be so confident about the insurance even with 2 yrs NCB. If you look at many of the threads about younger drivers wanting to get E30's you'll see that the insurance always puts the nail in the coffin for them.

One young lad here is driving a 316i Coupe and is paying something like £250 a month on it.

[syriana-style]

im just gonna wait and see. if not buy one and just have it on the drive tweaking etc til i can insure.

never had any trouble insuring cars though. i had a 205GTI before i had my 1ncb and it was no where near £250 a month. infact it was half that and that was 17 on my own policy no years no claims. ebfore that i had a 1.4corsa SPORT for £971

[liquid-24]

Seriously don't be so confident about the insurance even with 2 yrs NCB. If you look at many of the threads about younger drivers wanting to get E30's you'll see that the insurance always puts the nail in the coffin for them.

One young lad here is driving a 316i Coupe and is paying something like £250 a month on it.

Indeed i saw that thread you need to be over 21 really i dont pay to much but i have 3yrs NCB and work pays the rest

[1an]

i would say go for it,

i turn 19 in september and im going to be insuring my bmw, which is heavily odified in insurance terms all declared with no, no claims discount for not much more than i pay now plus it will be in my own name.

[rob0r]

I bought a 325i touring, bog standard. I was going to use it while my E21 was off the road, my current insurer adrian flux wanted £1000 to insure it. Bearing in mind I was 22 (still am actually) and have 3 years no claims. However my E21, highly modified with an M42 engine conversion is about £500-600. Insurance makes no sense.

[HarvyS]

Definitely check your insurance first, when I was going to buy my e30 I was looking for the 325i Sport but i had to be 21 and over to insure it. I'm insured on my 318is and it cost £164 a month. like previously said check your insurance first!

[Nelly]

Jesus Christ - i didn't realize how much it costs young drivers these day.

I've got a 325i manual Touring slightly tweeked

A stripped, caged track 325iauto converted to manual Touring

And a Motorsport 325i auto Cab

All of the above combined are cheaper to insure for me than a single 318 for a 17 year old..............









I now feel old!

[1an]

neil, all of your cars are most likely cheaper than my calypso e30 to insure

[oli325]

when i was 19 i had sport was £1600 a year,now im 25 its only £270.what a deal

[Felix79]

I tihnk one of the big problems with the e30's are they are easy to nick and can be bloody rapid. Mix that with how bad they are at crashing you got perfect mixture for high insurance.

[Nelly]

neil, all of your cars are most likely cheaper than my calypso e30 to insure

For all three together i'm paying £675 - but i do remember the days of trying to insure a 1275gt Mini at the age of 17, it felt as shocking then as it does now.

[1an]

my insurance quote i got is 2.5 times that fully declared

[Felix79]

My cab with everything declaired zero no claims is £260 a year full comp with 10,000 mileage allowance

[Oggy]

I paid £1800 to insure my Cosworth engined E30 320, fully comprehensive insurance.

Just got a quote for a 325 Sport, and they want £1400 as a standard car.

I'm 20 now, was 19 when i owned the E30Cosworth, but i'll be 21 when i'm driving my track weapon.

For comparisson, i paid £1600 to insure my 3.5 V8 LandRover Defender 90, £1800 to insure my Vauxhall Omega 2.5 V6 CDX, and various other slightly lesser amounts for my other cars i've owned!

Now i'm driving a little Fiat Cinquecento that i put a Punto engine in a couple of weeks ago, it's a nice little run around which will sit along side my E30 track weapon in the near future hopefully! I pay about £650 to insure that.

Insurance and such is rediculous for younger drivers these days, it's so bloody expensive to run a car, particularly if you wish to insure anything half-decent.


Oh, syriana-style, anything is possible, you just have to work your ass off for it like i have done!

[suzie650]

As said above, beware of English insurance... They wanted 1.5k for a 1985 1.0 Nova and 3k for an alfa 75 2.0TS from me when I asked for quotes 18 month ago - laughed in their face...

I wouldn't make a fixation on a sport either, as a well specced "normal" E30 will be as good and most likely cheaper (as well as less risk of it being thrashed to death) If the bodykit is a must for you, they sell for about £400 second hand, plus obviously repair/paint/fit

[MarkF]

22 years old paying just under £500 for a 320... A 325 was another £67! Decided against the 325 due to MPG and common head problems. 320 wasn't powerful enough so a 325 lump managed to find its way under the bonnet somehow anyway??? And whats best is that its better on fuel, faster etc etc!

[GrindCulture]

Insurance is odd, next year it'll be cheaper to insure a Volvo 850 T5 than it will my iS...

I'm having horrible FWD 5 cylinder thoughts I can tell you...

[Jon_Bmw]

Insurance is odd, next year it'll be cheaper to insure a Volvo 850 T5 than it will my iS...

I'm having horrible FWD 5 cylinder thoughts I can tell you...

I had similar quotes back in the day. Ended up A LOT cheaper to insure an 230bhp 4x4 audi s4 than a 325i. It was £550 at 19 in my own name TPF&T.

Insurance is a funny old game.

[Cabgirl]

My cab with everything declaired zero no claims is £260 a year full comp with 10,000 mileage allowance

Who are you insured with? I'm 40 years old and live in Hayes, Middlesex and my insurance is £450 with Liverpool and Victoria and I have 8 years NCB. What am I doing wrong, other than living in a "UB4" postcode and not in the country!!

[SHAKEELE30]

So jon, you got an audi , which audi did you have or do you still have it?

[Felix79]

My cab with everything declaired zero no claims is £260 a year full comp with 10,000 mileage allowance

Who are you insured with? I'm 40 years old and live in Hayes, Middlesex and my insurance is £450 with Liverpool and Victoria and I have 8 years NCB. What am I doing wrong, other than living in a "UB4" postcode and not in the country!!

Lancaster insurance

[Cabgirl]

Details please. Thanks.

[Jon_Bmw]

So jon, you got an audi , which audi did you have or do you still have it?

Its gone now. Had it for a year. It was a great, being an Avant/estate it meant I could lug all my uni stuff around at warp speed.

Amazing engine and running gear. It dynoed on sheps rollers at 276 and 281bhp. So it comfortably had at least standard power.

18mpg round bristol was its demise. Totally impossible to stay off boost, as you are probably finding out

It looked like this:



Officially called a s4, but based on the audi 100/a6 shape. Became the s6 with a minor face lift in about 94/95. Very very understated. Perfect

[SHAKEELE30]

Ok, well what it is im looking to get one, maybe 1999 s4 in nogaro blue, 2.7 biturbo, was wondering if thye are any good, in terms of repliability, expensive or not, reliable, you know....

But since ive never driven an audi, cant realy decide

[Jon_Bmw]

Either last months PPC or the one before has a buying guide for this shape one. Might be worth seeing if you can get a copy. I left my copy with ziggy when we went to Le mans.

They reckon you can get one from £3500 upwards. The cheapest I have seen is 5 bags. You would have to be a trader to get it for 3 and a half(part X). 265bhp as standard, although most have been chipped to 315bhp as you'll notice when looking around for one.

They drive superbly, mine was slightly wallowey(on braking and acceleration), but thats because back then they just chucked a powerful engine in a big 'soft' estate car. The newer ones are supposed to be a lot better.

Say goodbye to wheelspins, unless you are ridiculously brutal. Try one, and find out how they drive, its the only way.