Fed up with my car

[E30BeemerLad]

Hi all, just wanted to vent my frustrations about my car as it is starting to annoy me as the list of "to-do's" is ever growing.

Really starting to think about other things now, was thinking about a UR Quattro, but that's just a money pit, shame as it's one of my all time faves. Maybe's thinking about S14 200SX or maybe Corrado VR6, nothing is really tugging at my heart strings though. I'm tight when it comes to cars, so Ԛ£5K max budget

If I could sedate the missus, then a frag fest could be on the cards

[eko]

so why not sell the one you have and buy a real mi8nter?E30 that is
M3 for 5k?

[E30BeemerLad]

Had thought about that, i.e a mint sport etc, M3 @Ԛ£5K is a time bomb really IMO and I will soon end up chasing rust around the car and leaks, bushes etc etc, plus it would bankrupt me if the S14 let go and it probably would with me as I live on the rev limiter. Sport not fast enough either, but I do obviously have some morsels to transplant like cam, 6-branch, chip, FSE etc etc
Just don't know if I'm E30'd out or not

[eko]

how about an E34 then?
Maybe a 535i sport or similar?

[E30BeemerLad]

Had been thinking about E34, M5 would be nice but again bankrupt status looms if it lets go. 540 possibly.

Still got a soft spot for a nice late MK2 16V Golf, Ԛ£2K would get a minter and if my old 8V is anything to go by, they can take abuse all day long

[6potWil6pot]

My E30 got on my nerves and it didnt even have any rust, or other problems Theres alot you can get for 5k, even alot of newer stuff. Which is what i went for

[Simon]

Corrado sounds like a nice choice, well built, sound great, and go very well, wrong wheel drive though.

I'd break yours, keep the best bits for yourself, and get a nice one that has had the money spent in the right places.

Like you say, 5k M3 is a no go, unless you're lucky and find an owner that has looked after it and has no idea of values...it does happen!

Same with the ur quattro, unless you can find one that's totally mint (but it will be big money then!) don't bother, and if you think BMW is expensive... and part availability is a big factor when thinking of a ur quattro.

[Jimbob]

Depends what you want for Ԛ£5k really pal, do you want rwd, fwd or 4wd?
As far as the rwd market goes I haven't seen much out there apart from a 200sx (lunchtime at work can get boring..!).
The cars you mention are all high powered, what about a 240bhp 4wd Celica? And you mention a Corrado VR6, what about keeping it old skool with a Golf G60? Again 4wd

[Simon13]

the reason the to do list is getting bigger is beacuse as u say, your tight, always off the limiter, and your not fixing things as they come up. Plus these are old cars now

A bit of mechanical sympathy goes along way on good cars

[E30BeemerLad]

I'm not aversed to FWD at all, 4wd don't really do it for me that much, half the allure of the quattro is the audi KV 5-pot warble, plus turbo rightness.

But 4wd generally scares me in terms of more to go wrong, and I am a hard driver in terms of lots of emergency starts etc.

I want something that's simple but fast. I am all over the place with cars though, from 80's Merc 500SEL's to Jap Turbo

[Adam318i]

As Jimbob says and as you know, for me the 200sx is the next step, I just want something newer and faster.

A 200sx S14 has come up very local to me for Ԛ£2000! and looks very tidy with full leather,air-con etc, all the mod cons really.

So gona check it out next week witha friend who owns an sx.

Only thing stopping me is insurance but even that is better than i thought at Ԛ£1200, so only Ԛ£100 a month, its what im paying now on my bm.

Adam

[E30BeemerLad]

the reason the to do list is getting bigger is beacuse as u say, your tight, always off the limiter, and your not fixing things as they come up. Plus these are old cars now

A bit of mechanical sympathy goes along way on good cars

well said that man, hit the nail on the head

[dazleeds]

yeah as above

cmon lee get the car sorted mate and back to her former glory

plus it could work out cheaper as i know ur mrs has a big softspot for the e30

divorces cost a packet mate

get the bits sorted out and treat the car to a few more mods and im sure you will fall in love all over again mate


ps know how ya feel
my engine dying quick really think its had it gutted
time for a transplant

[Davenotouring]

Decide if you want to spend out the money to sort yours, or if you'd rather sort what you have to all sell.

Then have a look around at what's available for the money.

I'd consider the 200sx S14a for the money you have.

And a Civic VT for the track

[telboy]

intergrale ....its the future

[E30BeemerLad]

now that's the cause of divorce if ever I saw it, just got rid of an Alfa 164 V6 and I bet that's more reliable than the 'grale

[Jem]

The guy who bought my 280bhp S14a is selling it for Ԛ£4500. If I could afford to I would buy it back myself!!

http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=175195







.

[telboy]

but what a way to get divorced

[m-dtech]

quit yer greeting and just deal with the mrs.

you have spent lots of time & money with your e30 it would be foolish to buy something you dont know....

obviously your under the thumb and the mrs wears the trousers. ! ! ! !

[Adam318i]

The guy who bought my 280bhp S14a is selling it for Ԛ£4500. If I could afford to I would buy it back myself!!

http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=175195.

Does look very nice

[Jimbob]

Saw a 'grale last night in Tescos cream corbeau buckets

[johnna]

200sx s14- fine GT, but a bit anodine, much like the e36!

Try a Capri! Serious! Buttons to fix/ modify... but then so is the e30...

e32 GTR Skyline Grrrrr!!! Consider the bills though.

Hmm an e30 then!

[telboy]

you know you want it

[orangecurry]

Still got a soft spot for a nice late MK2 16V Golf, Ԛ£2K would get a minter and if my old 8V is anything to go by, they can take abuse all day long

I still miss my gunmetal grey H-reg 16v - a most excellent car that EVO gives 5*s

Obviously the Jap rally cars have astonishing ability to take abuse (that's one word to define rallying!) and although people on here have a pop at them, they are very very good...however if you make a mistake it's going to hurt because you'll be going so much faster in any given situation

Get the Golf if you must get rid of the E30, and ignore all this 'Front wheel-drive wrongness' nonsense.... I'm alternating daily between a mk1 Golf GTi and an E30 at the moment, and they both give huge grins for different reasons.

[JOSEMI]

Simon13 wrote

A bit of mechanical sympathy goes along way on good cars

I really am with Simon on that one mate, that is the charm of these cars, you break them, you fix them, and you get the money back in value, not many cars for under 5k are going to give you as much fun as an old beemer.

I also have my E30 crisis, so much to fix, I even had to sorn it ! but at the end of the day, you turn the key, listen to it, drive it, and puts a big smile on your face.

THAT is priceless.

Good luck with your hunt chap !

Jose

[johnna]

Wor lass has a BMW MINI ONE and it is a hoot to drive! She once had a Sceicento Sporting which was a hoot too (I'm 6'2" and 16clem). But no good all the time.......

[E30BeemerLad]

Well my Alfa goes Sunday morning so I will be down to 1 car for the first time in a few years, I will also have garage space which will be a first. I am kicking myself for not doing the silly jobs to the car that i should have done in the summer months. Went out for a meal last night and gave it a quick spanking pulling out the place, it really felt like it went and I did have a wry smile on my face.

At the moment, if I did change cars it would either be the MK2 Golf or a S14 200SX. I know where I am with the golf, same rules apply as they do to E30, i.e. keep it looking original, some sympathetic rims (MIMS deep dish) lowered with quality gear and bish-bosh a nice euro-look Golf. 200SX is a bit sterile in the looks dept, both internally and externally, the interiour certainly seems to lack any soul and as with most jap stuf, you know it was built to a budget, no sense of occasion, but excellent reliability. Disappointingly there is a stupid amount of Auto 200sx out there, I mean what sort of a driver's car can it be with a slushbox?

Edit, anyone any Porsche 944 experience, have driven a turbo at Croft trackday twice and loved it, keen power delivery but low steering

[sheldo]

ive had jap turbo stuff before and wouldn't go back in a hurry again. don't get me wrong the noise they make the way the go when you hit boost its all good stuff. Just remember tho if a turbo lets go on you which ive had myself and nealry everyone one of my mates that have had jap stuff then your looking at a grand to replace it.

Talk to people that have had jap stuff and they will tell you it the poodles plums till something goes wrong! My celica was a very well looked after car one owner from new but in the two years i owned it i spent a good 2.5K on it and that didn't include the go faster bits that you just seem to need to buy to get that bigger kick all the time.

[palerider325icab]

This is the car for you,looks good and the price is right.
I was thinking of buying her as she has got everthing you could possibley want for not much money but have bought a 325i Motorsport convertible again lol.I told my mate about her as he will be looking for something to replace his now doomed 525i sport.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %3AIT&rd=1

Cheers
Rhino

[OllieB]

I was goign for an S14 SX before I got my sport. The main reason I didn't get one? According to a guy I knew who had one, if the head gasket goes (Which they do quite a bit) then you are talking about over a Ԛ£1000 JUST FOR PARTS. Fcuk that......

[dazleeds]

when you get here later lee
my goal is to convince you to save the 325 and fit a 3.5

your name says it all mate

e30Beemerlad

now stop all these silly thorts your having right now fella

[TouringMatt]

if the head gasket goes (Which they do quite a bit)

Not a hind of trouble on mine in the 21k I put on it, dead solid car. Just flew through the MOT with no minors again ( not bad for a 6 y/o car )

I asked the tester if there was anything to note, "nope, its clean, straight and at the end of the day - Japanese, they don't go wrong"

My choice? If someone offered me the keys to a fully sorted 325i Sport or a 200sx S14a, the heart says BM, but experience tells me to take the Nissan.

As much as I love my Touring, im tempted to go back to something Jap

BeemerLad, very regrettably its for sale, shame your not closer as you could have a spin in it

Matt

[Adam318i]

you say the S14 is prone to the head going, but isnt the M20 prone aswell?

On sxoc.com, in the tech section there is very little topics on peoples heads going!


In the end tho Beemerlad its up to you, go test drive a few or sit in some.And imaging yourself owning one and whether it would bring a smile to your face each time you got in it.

Adam

[OllieB]

you say the S14 is prone to the head going, but isnt the M20 prone aswell?

True, can anyone confirm or deny the alleged Ԛ£1k for headgasket replacement bits though? You see quite a few S13's going for pennies because they have a blown gasket and it is not worth replacing them. Driving wise, M20's sound better IMO, but boost is too much fun.... S14 in standard trim would eat a fettled 2.7 for breakfast too, but you gotta live with that drab, uninspiring interior.....

[320Touring]

tbh mate Ԛ£5k would get your e30m sorted beyond all belief-it'd virtually be "as new" mechanically and a decent respray would set off the car well.

its a case of Ԛ£5k on a car you know the faults of, and therefore will know its sorted once the cash is spent, or Ԛ£5k on an unknown quantity....

I'd get off to the Jap auction in Newcastle and aquisition myself a skudder of a 200sx for pennies, and spend the rest on the BMW.