What’s the most you’ve spent in one go on your e30?

[e30nerd]

I’m sure it been asked before but with a quick search (+ lack of enthusiasm to read all the hits) I couldn’t find anything obvious!
So how much have you spent on garage bills in one go for your e30? I don’t mean complete re-spray, or over the last 10 years etc”¦although that may also be interesting!

My withdrawal symptoms got so strong I had to get the 325 back on the road, so I started doing the odd few bits myself”¦ cam belt etc. Previously she failed the MOT on rear bushes and brake line t-peace above the diff, I knew they were not going to be easy jobs. I could have probably done them but mechanical patience is not a virtue of mine So I thought it best to take to a local garage and asked them to do the necessary plus a long list of ”˜I’d likes’ .

Anyway, nearly 16 hours of labour later ”¦.. £921, but I must admit the garage have done me proud with the list of things done.
It just made me think, at what point does the ”˜luuuuurve’ of the car become so strong that you’d happily blow the complete value of the car just to keep in running in top condition? I think a lot comes down to how the car is now. The force is strong with mine as the car is still worth saving ”¦ .the mechanic commented how good it was .. mind you for that money I want some compliments!!

[kieran325]

BTB Manifold and full system = £1400.

[e30nerd]

mmmm, that’s good, I have not included parts in mine as I supplied most of them, apart from a wishbone that they had to fit for the MOT which I had not budgeted for)..... for example I got them to fit a new exhaust which I supplied, manifold heat shields etc ... I have not added the 'real' total up yet as I really don't want to think about it.

At least if a few zoners come on and say that’s peanuts I'd feel better about it

[oakey]

Ive spent over 3k on an engine rebuild from bexley motor works a few years ago. Biggest waste of my money EVER!

[knightmare]

BTB3 + custom made twin pipe system £1200

[325isporttech1]

erm £160 for a black leather sport interior and alcantara for the headlining for a e30 touring

Ive found e30's to be the most reliable of bmw's so no big service bills from my 2

[penton08]

BTB s50 manifold £1200, i reckon mr BTB must be minted!!

[mc_hawkings24]

holy crap batman i just worked out what my 16v conversion cost me.

£760

[GemE30]

I'm yet to spend anything on her, I got the wheels free.

I'm paying for my engine in installments if that counts

[Jozi]

1300 dolars on a set of wheels. Next up will be coilovers and depending on work a set of brakes from WMS. I've already exceeded the price of the car with 2 sets of wheels that I bought.

[lowey]

1. £1,100 for "kit off" all round, general repairs, paint etc.
2. Leather re-trim £750
3. Stainless exhaust £450
4. Various bills at Moseley Motorsport - £255, £359, £460 etc etc etc
5. 4x Michelin Pilot tyres £422

I feel queasy.

(oh, and so much at Cotswold BMW I'm going to the staff Xmas do)

[brent007]

i would imagine bootyman would win this one, lol

[Alex]

probably a brand new steering wheel, nothing compared to most on here

[aaronsmart]

£1200 when i bought the car

[spook]

1600 on paint etc.

[Cook318IS]

I just spend fair chunks on mine at a time. About £5k+ on mine in parts and buying the car in the year or so i've owned it.

Going to be alot more soon

[Dezzy]

I just spend fair chunks on mine at a time. About £5k+ on mine in parts and buying the car in the year or so i've owned it.

Going to be alot more soon

What's the plan stan?

[Cook318IS]

vanos seals, chain tensioners, sort the hartges out, going lower, m50 manifold and the good old tax and mot is looming.

Then it might be new car time or respray - i havent decided 100% yet.

[Falkster]

Ive got one invoice for £3700 from Metcalf Motorsport but the most Ive spent was in a couple of weeks where it went from the garage to the paint shop and that was over £5000.

[ajay]

it started out as a £120 diagnostic bill at bexley motor works on my s50 e30,but while there they decided that it would be a good idea to dyno my poorly running motor a few times to max revs 7,350 without telling me,i only found out when it blew up less than a mile down the road. how much that visit to bexley cost well im into the thousands so far on another engine conversion with no sign of of the shelling out ending anytime soon.big mistake,n how much has your e30 cost you? bit of a taboo subject.rant over

[Duke137]

£600 on the WMS brakes....

[Fushion_Julz]

I spent almost £4000 on the engine rebuild for the M3...granted it wasn't all in one go, but near as damn it...Probably about £2500 in one hit (for chains, guides, sprockets, rings, bearings, oil pump and gaskets...
Other than that....£700 ish for 8 tyres (4 Avon ZZ3s and 4 Toyo R888s)

The old girl will be getting a respray and (a little) rust remedial work soon...expecting that to cost £4k ish, too

[Blitz]

£420 on left hand respray and small welding.

[autoalex]

The most I've spent is just over £200 on tax ;)

Luck seems to be on my side, although the rear wheel bearings are sounding past their best...

[Liam554]

£300 welding and fixing it up for the MOT, pretty poor compared to what others have spent on here

[bootyman]

Gosh where do i start!

£15k to £20k on engine
£4k on rims and tyres
£2k on brakes
£10k on ICE

Then retrim, paint etc! I best stop before i make myself sick! I could afford it at the time, but in my wise old age now i would never do that again. Not for a car i drive 4 or 5 times a year anyway

[capri_rob]

Spent about £600 at the start of the Year on re-bushing the rear suspension, new rear trailing arms, wheel bearings, new Eibachs, new brakes, front subframe, new ARB bushes & Droplinks, Rad, water pump, cambelt & tensioner............

At least if the shell doesn't get through the next MOT its all transferable stuff

[bmwsport]

Minor works at beardymatts services when i first got the car - £600

This years service at the local indy was £350 ish - It was a full jobbie inspection x 10000 though. I'm going to refurb the suspension when i can be bothered with a new B12 kit and a new custom stainless steel replica Hartge exhaust system (i've got two brand new original tail pipes in my scrap) when i'm feeling flush again but they will probably last another 5 years before it actually 'needs' doing.

If i add up all my dealer reciepts for new parts and also garage bills i'll be well into the 2k figure i'm sure

[kieran325]

Last year alone I spent in the region of 9k

[bmwsport]

^

It was an epic resto though

[nickso]

£1200 is the biggest single bill. must have spent 4k+ on it last year though, too scared to add all the receipts up.

probably another 1-2k coming this winter too.

[harry_p]

£1300 on wheels, tyres, fitting and balancing about a month after buying the car

[maxfield]

The most I've spent on my E30 was £400, which was for my M20B25 engine.

That was more than the car...

[ImysE30]

About 5.5k but all worth it

[e30nerd]

I feel al little better about that now!!
My car had, up to now, done me well, routine servicing etc that I was doing myself, so was not costing a fortune. The problem is I was more inclined to drive it rather than do serious work on it.
Then, one day, I thought it was time to start giving it some real TLC before things get too out of hand and more difficult to save. It’s a fine line, as once you cross it, it becomes, well, if I replace this, I should also replace that”¦and before you know it your BMW parts department are on first name terms with you.

I just hope that if I spend lots of effort on it now, that it should continue to be a good reliable car for another 20 years! Little point selling it as it now owes more that I could get for it.