Whats your most expensive mistake ?? E30 wise.

[m4xos]

I paid US$550 on eBay for a pair of sports seats...they never turned up

what!!! how did you pay?

[Nath325i]

As other people have said buying one. Bought my first one a 325i sport last Novemeber as a project to restore, didnt look that bad until i stripped it down found out needs reshelling.

[djk]

None have been too expensive yet, though I guess tying up a load of cash in 3 of the things when I can only drive one at a time could be viewed as a mistake! I just love em though, I still find myself just staring at them, taking in every detail.

[SUMPCRACKER]

I have put a few items in the oven after spraying. And forgot.
Headlights
Grilles
Kidney thing?

They melt, they smell for a few days and you have to lie to the missis.
I also left a lot of parts i needed in the back of a touring i scrapped.

[robbo86]

They melt, they smell for a few days and you have to lie to the missis.

[bss325i]

Buying a Tech 2 Sport last year, spending quite alot on service parts and alot of time MIG-welding the rust then stoving it into a crash barrier a year later - Cat B write-off

Spunked £200 on a nice Hottuning six-branch for it too, now sitting in the garage with no car to put it on

Still, the cheque from the nice insurance company arrived today, and covers my costs

Sorry to see this happen and as said glad to hear you wasn't hurt.
Another sport bites the dust!

Did the insurance play ball and pay out the true value of a sport and not that stupid £500 they try to offer?

[da4x4turbo]

I've had over 40 E30's and yes they are a money pit.

I've cracked heads on M42's,
burnt out coils and ECU's on the M42 also,
had a timing belt tensioner bearing collapse on a 2.7 cabby once,
crashed a 325i Sport,
Blew a gearbox out of a 325iSport,
Needed a roof on a cabby,
tappets went on several 316i's,
diffs whining in every second one,
Fuel Pumps,
Timing Chains on M42's,
Seven Broken Sumps,
Wheel Bearings,

And the list goes on and on.

Yet here's the kicker: Having owned several different cars over the years the E30 is still my undisputed favourite. I fucking love them.

They're just worth it. No matter what other car you have you just don't have an E30.

[fingerman]

Not lost any money on E30's - did lose a grand loss on a knackered E38 I bought but that's not on subject !

[Speedtouch]

Sorry to see this happen and as said glad to hear you wasn't hurt.
Another sport bites the dust!

Did the insurance play ball and pay out the true value of a sport and not that stupid £500 they try to offer?

Thanks dude, it was a testament to the E30's strength that I was able to survive such a crash without a scratch

Remarkably, the insurer (broker Hagerty, via Allianz) paid in excess of the agreed value (I had it on a classic car agreed value, fully comp policy) so no need to haggle They also paid out in 3 weeks so full credit to them.

They have however retained the salvage and being Cat B, I wasn't allowed to buy it back, which is sad and frustrating but rules are rules I suppose.

[e30_singh]

My biggest mistake was buying another E30!

Money pit... your god damn right they are a money pit Buts this is the woes of owning a classic car. Thank our lucky stars that parts are still commonly available for these lush cars.

[kingcruizer]

throwing 10000k + at this.

its caused alot of heart ache with the mrs and i havent really had the chance to enjoy it as its at a-tech. im now thinking of selling up and moving away from e30's for a while. i just have no idea what its worth. probally a packet of penuts in the current climate

[e30bmlover]

Buying one

lmao lee... i was going to say that! also having a hard on for bmw tuning companies.... its an expensive game!!

[Sanchez]

They have however retained the salvage and being Cat B, I wasn't allowed to buy it back, which is sad and frustrating but rules are rules I suppose.

You are allowed to buy back Cat B as long as you dont use the shell.

Thats what i have done. Bought back my 'is' for £70

[jamie325isport]

As people already said E30s are money pits, sort of like that classic film starring Tom Hanks. My first E30 was back in the day when I first started driving. A orange A reg 323i (sport type thing) it was a complete basket case but I spent a fortune restoring it, then wrecked it. TW*T!

Next was my mates Tech 1 I borrowed for a couple of days, sort of had a moment on the way into work bounced up the kurb, damaged an alloy ( just kurb marks) oh yeah also split the inner wing, so much so the bonnet didnt shut right on the passenger side near the windscreen. He was alright I just gave him a set of alloys as a "sorry" he was happy with that. This was back in the day when you could pick up a nice one for less than £500.

The last and most expensive was in my current Tech 2 sport. While out and about in town I sort of had a tank slapper which put me into two parked up Cossies. The sport beat them both up. The first one I hit you could'nt open either of the doors passenger side and the impact had burst his fuel tank. That cossie then shot forward and hit his mates car. That one had major bumper damage and a fair amount of damage to the boot floor. The sport drove away with a ruined bonnet, broken grill and the front panel was ever so slightly bent. Oh yeah forgot to mention both the guys were working under the bonnet of the 2nd car. I can laugh about it now

[bss325i]

As people already said E30s are money pits, sort of like that classic film starring Tom Hanks. My first E30 was back in the day when I first started driving. A orange A reg 323i (sport type thing) it was a complete basket case but I spent a fortune restoring it, then wrecked it. TW*T!

Next was my mates Tech 1 I borrowed for a couple of days, sort of had a moment on the way into work bounced up the kurb, damaged an alloy ( just kurb marks) oh yeah also split the inner wing, so much so the bonnet didnt shut right on the passenger side near the windscreen. He was alright I just gave him a set of alloys as a "sorry" he was happy with that. This was back in the day when you could pick up a nice one for less than £500.

The last and most expensive was in my current Tech 2 sport. While out and about in town I sort of had a tank slapper which put me into two parked up Cossies. The sport beat them both up. The first one I hit you could'nt open either of the doors passenger side and the impact had burst his fuel tank. That cossie then shot forward and hit his mates car. That one had major bumper damage and a fair amount of damage to the boot floor. The sport drove away with a ruined bonnet, broken grill and the front panel was ever so slightly bent. Oh yeah forgot to mention both the guys were working under the bonnet of the 2nd car. I can laugh about it now

I'm surprised you lived to tell the tale!

And i dont mean from the impact!

[Cook318IS]

Buying an e30 and it nearly bankrupting me on several occasions. Now bought an m50 project, im still not quite on minium wage (im a peasant/apprentice) and i can see me going the same way again oh well, it could be worse - i could be into fiestas!

[Rav335uk]

Letting my wife take the car only to bring it back with 2 badly scuffed Alpinas and a badly scrapped front m-tec2 valance, apparetly "didn't think it would hit the kerb"

[jamie325isport]

As people already said E30s are money pits, sort of like that classic film starring Tom Hanks. My first E30 was back in the day when I first started driving. A orange A reg 323i (sport type thing) it was a complete basket case but I spent a fortune restoring it, then wrecked it. TW*T!

Next was my mates Tech 1 I borrowed for a couple of days, sort of had a moment on the way into work bounced up the kurb, damaged an alloy ( just kurb marks) oh yeah also split the inner wing, so much so the bonnet didnt shut right on the passenger side near the windscreen. He was alright I just gave him a set of alloys as a "sorry" he was happy with that. This was back in the day when you could pick up a nice one for less than £500.

The last and most expensive was in my current Tech 2 sport. While out and about in town I sort of had a tank slapper which put me into two parked up Cossies. The sport beat them both up. The first one I hit you could'nt open either of the doors passenger side and the impact had burst his fuel tank. That cossie then shot forward and hit his mates car. That one had major bumper damage and a fair amount of damage to the boot floor. The sport drove away with a ruined bonnet, broken grill and the front panel was ever so slightly bent. Oh yeah forgot to mention both the guys were working under the bonnet of the 2nd car. I can laugh about it now

I'm surprised you lived to tell the tale!

And i dont mean from the impact!

Lol they were angry but then so was I. Like I said to them it was a accident Im all insured nothing I can do about it now. We all drive fast rear wheel drive cars for a reason I f*cked up sorry. It wasnt quite as polite as that, but along those sort of lines.

[clipper]

My most expensive mistake was leaving my e30 (which I'd just spent about a grand on)parked up in the crime ridden pit hole of a neighbourhood where my abysmal financial situation forces me to live, while I went on holiday abroad. And to come back to find it gone.

But I'm not bitter

[iDreamBeemer]

spending £450 on buying the alpinas, then £280 on refurbs including a one day mission drive to Brum and back from Somerset, then another £150ish on new o rings, new locks, new badges and a whole centre cap to then curb them about 2 weeks later then when I put my car in for a respray they were marked with over-spray! Then sold them for a loss. I really liked the look too.

[csl]

spending £450 on buying the alpinas, then £280 on refurbs including a one day mission drive to Brum and back from Somerset, then another £150ish on new o rings, new locks, new badges and a whole centre cap to then curb them about 2 weeks later then when I put my car in for a respray they were marked with over-spray! Then sold them for a loss. I really liked the look too.

So that was what that red stuff was!!!

[iDreamBeemer]

spending £450 on buying the alpinas, then £280 on refurbs including a one day mission drive to Brum and back from Somerset, then another £150ish on new o rings, new locks, new badges and a whole centre cap to then curb them about 2 weeks later then when I put my car in for a respray they were marked with over-spray! Then sold them for a loss. I really liked the look too.

So that was what that red stuff was!!!

They still going then?

[robsy]

leaving the keys at home to my highly specced E30 which i had just parked up after renewing all the bilstien suspension, brakes and a recent repaint, then to have my scum of little bro take it for ajoy ride, smash it into pieces, then leave it for a scrapguy to pick it up and wiegh it in never to see it again....

and i had just transferred the insurance to another car - so no payout...

gutted doesnt cover it - it still hurts

[Jhonno]

Broken S50 engines...

3k+ on them so far without having a running one

[csl]

spending £450 on buying the alpinas, then £280 on refurbs including a one day mission drive to Brum and back from Somerset, then another £150ish on new o rings, new locks, new badges and a whole centre cap to then curb them about 2 weeks later then when I put my car in for a respray they were marked with over-spray! Then sold them for a loss. I really liked the look too.

So that was what that red stuff was!!!

They still going then?

They are mate

[bss325i]

So that was what that red stuff was!!!

They still going then?

They are mate

When are we gonna see some pics of the wole car then!

[DHFiS]

Expensive? My E30 has to be the cheapest car I've ever had. Paid £2600 for it 7 years ago and its insured now for £2000 on a classic policy. All I've done is service it.

[csl]

When are we gonna see some pics of the wole car then!

Soon(ish) .......it took me all my time to read thru "how to post a pic" and put that one up!!!

[harry_p]

ignoring the rumbling gearbox (they all do that apparently) fine for a year and a half, then turned into a proper banging / knock, and proper gearbox death.

a delay getting the old one out due to trying to get one of the other cars ready for everyday use, eventually buying the compact, not being able to find a secondhand box for decent money, then getting the original 'box rebuilt with new bearing, syncros, seals, first motionshaft and a gear. christmas then getting in the way, deciding to do a few other jobs while it was off the road.

here i am 8 months later with a car that looks worse than when i started, and not much closer to being back on the road

[bss325i]

When are we gonna see some pics of the wole car then!

Soon(ish) .......it took me all my time to read thru "how to post a pic" and put that one up!!!

Cool, look forward to seeing some.

I've just aquired a Blaupunkt Memphis SRQ 88 with remote eq on a stalk! This was in the options when new.

The scorpion wrongness is also going.

[DavieP]

Paying over 200 quid for 4 knackered, 14", supposed bbs wheels from a local wheel trader known affectionately (not!) as Dodgy Ray. Didn't know what I was doing and fooked up big time. 7 months later after a friendly heads-up from eko, I scrapped them and bought a very decent set of 5 for £50 quid less. Brand new tyres too but they're Chinese ditch-finders

[SUMPCRACKER]

I have bought a few sets of duff wheels, its not funny is it.

[SCOTT325SE]

bought a battered 325iSport, fast-approching 5 years ago (sh1t, i hadnt realised i'd owned it THAT long!)
Drove it home and pulled everythign off it then sent the rotten shell to the bodyshop. The rest is history.
ALMOST 5 years later, I want the bodywork re-done, as I wasnt happy with it. It still doesnt have an engine, I havnt got the interior re-trimmed yet, it still leaks from the sunroof drains and the bodywork has started to scab again, despite being garaged for its 5 years.
The cost...... well I stopped counting at £6000..... then started counting some time after..... that was just under £11,000.
I havnt done much to it since then, but I should imagine that the total probably resides around the 11k mark...... for a non-runner.

I should have fragged the bastard!

[DavieP]

I have bought a few sets of duff wheels, its not funny is it.

Definitely not. Can't believe I was that impatient or stupid, but I wanted basket weaves and wanted them fast.

[robbo86]

Bloody hell. For 11k it should be a stunner!!!