£3k Madness?

[Hakkera]

Hi All.

I originally signed up here when I was looking for my second car, some six years ago, however times changed - I bought a few other toys and moved on.

Currently I'm in a situation whereby I'm going to buy my first property, and my current car is a little impractical as well as being pricey to run and service. Due to this, I'm considering downsizing and scratching the e30 itch, which has never really gone away entirely.

I'm having a cursory look around at what I could buy, and really I'd like to spend up to 3k. What would this get me in terms of e30 ownership these days? I'd be after a 3 door, with a roof. I'd much prefer a 325, but, a 320 would probably work as well. I want a six, either way.

So, is a perfectly usable daily driver in my grasp, or am I just being a bit too optimistic?

[Hakkera]

2 door* Been a long Monday!

[Brianmoooore]

£3k should be enough to buy a tidy 325 2 door non sport in a perfectly usable condition, but don't buy without an inspection by someone who knows where and what to look for. Just because you pay £3k, doesn't mean it's worth £3k.

[Hakkera]

Thanks Brian, are there any garages in the Hampshire area that you would recommend for the purposes of carrying out such an inspection.

Out of interest, what does 'tidy' mean? I'm guessing the idea of having no rust what-so-ever is a little optimistic?

Also, again, purely out of interest, what should I be looking to pay for a sport?

Thanks!

[jimbom30cab]

I'm from Hampshire. I don't know any garages but i know a lot of people who know about e30s in the area. I will drop you a PM.

[Simon13]

one that isn't rotting from the inside out which is what is happening now is preferable. Just because you can't see any rust doesn't mean there isn't any!

E30s are not a cheap car to run now due age, scarcity of parts from the aftermarket forcing you to the main dealer and age mean really they need a dedicated owner for daily use. Someone who'll wield the spanners every other weekend doing jobs to keep her ship shape

[anothere21323i]

one that isn't rotting from the inside out which is what is happening now is preferable. Just because you can't see any rust doesn't mean there isn't any!

E30s are not a cheap car to run now due age, scarcity of parts from the aftermarket forcing you to the main dealer and age mean really they need a dedicated owner for daily use. Someone who'll wield the spanners every other weekend doing jobs to keep her ship shape

+1. This is why I'm not using my 325i Touring as a daily driver any more, and I've moved to 'the dark side' (E46 Touring).

You can use an E30 daily, but you do need to be prepared to do a lot of preventative maintenance on a regular basis.

[Hakkera]

Thanks Jimbob, I'd appreciate that.

Rot is the primary and most terrifying issue for me. I can't weld, and good, trustworthy metal fabricators/body-shops are hard to find.

That's not particularly good news either. I am looking for something to tinker with and fix myself, rather than my current car which has to be shipped off to a specialist every time it throws a wobbly or needs a service.

Fortunately enough I only use the car at the weekends, so it's not too much of an issue if it's out of action

[Brianmoooore]

With a modern MIG welder, and an hours practice, YOU can weld. Once the thing is set up, and as long as the steel is shiny, it's like colouring in with a felt tip pen.

[jimbom30cab]

Don't worry about welding too much, there is an EXCELLENT mobile welder in Gosport who we all use in the area called Nick. He is a proper old school fabricator also. I'll send you his details. And, he's not expensive either.

[Hakkera]

Oh that's really good to hear. I'd be up for giving some of the basic stuff a go, maybe on a couple of panels I found from the scrapyard to play with.

With the preventative maintenance, where are the costs in what I'd likely have to replace?

[darkchild]

one that isn't rotting from the inside out which is what is happening now is preferable. Just because you can't see any rust doesn't mean there isn't any!

E30s are not a cheap car to run now due age, scarcity of parts from the aftermarket forcing you to the main dealer and age mean really they need a dedicated owner for daily use. Someone who'll wield the spanners every other weekend doing jobs to keep her ship shape

+1. This is why I'm not using my 325i Touring as a daily driver any more, and I've moved to 'the dark side' (E46 Touring).

You can use an E30 daily, but you do need to be prepared to do a lot of preventative maintenance on a regular basis.

The E46 I had must've been the most expensive car I've ever had to run. The Bl00dy thing cost me well over £100 per month in unscheduled maintenance. That and plenty of paint to repair rusty wings and arches. A joke on an alleged prestige car.

My old E36 and current E30 are the best cars I've had. The E36 was nearly new and only ever needed tyres and brakes in addition to regular servicing over 80K. The E30 has really surprised me as you would think older cars would be more problematic but its been a paragon of reliability and only failed to get me where I've wanted to be once. It was a low mileage pampered minter when I bought it though and had clearly been looked after. Most will require the odd weekend of fettling to be reliable transport but chances are you're prepared to do this if you're driving a 25 year old car.

[Simon13]

An e30 is a bulletproof reliable tram IF its up together and its been looked after in the right hands before you buy it - and theres the problem for 99.9% of them now. An e36 is a much cheaper prospect as they are a tougher car mechanically with less maintenance needed and they don't rust/rot anywhere near as bad. Theyre nearly like a modern car to drive in alot of ways and far less complex than an e46

The e46 gets a hard time on here, which isn't entirely justified imo. My e46 is so much more exciting/fun to drive compared to the e36. e46 is like a big e30

Saying someone can weld after 5 mins is all well and easy but the skill is in the setting up of the machine, the hard part is good fabrication of the plates. Understanding of how the car is made. Its all experience,

[German-Whips]

An e30 is a bulletproof reliable tram IF its up together and its been looked after in the right hands before you buy it - and theres the problem for 99.9% of them now.

THIS!

[anothere21323i]

The e46 gets a hard time on here, which isn't entirely justified imo. My e46 is so much more exciting/fun to drive compared to the e36. e46 is like a big e30

+1. I bought a 46k, one owner from new E46 330i SE Touring a few months ago and love it. It's been very well looked after from new and is in immaculate condition. It was cheap to buy and hasn't cost a penny other than tax, insurance and fuel. As with any car, if you find a good one to start with then your ownership eperience will be all the better.

[milescook]

With a modern MIG welder, and an hours practice, YOU can weld. Once the thing is set up, and as long as the steel is shiny, it's like colouring in with a felt tip pen.

(Sorry quick Hijack)

Quick Q on welders, as I've not touched one before and beginning to think it's a good tool to have in the E30 armoury these days...

Is something like this up to the job? Looks relatively beginner friendly having looked on youtube.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-MIGHTY ... 1e6f123f7d

Cheers.

[Grrrmachine]

Is something like this up to the job? Looks relatively beginner friendly having looked on youtube

No, gasless welding is shit - utterly useless for car stuff.

It's not high amps you need but low amps. I did my entire resto with a second-hand Snap-on 135a welder, running a big bottle of Argon mix.

[pony]

The Sport is my daily driver and is even cooler because of it rather than stored in garage

[Brianmoooore]

Certainly wouldn't recommend a gasless MIG (not that I've ever used one!), and I wouldn't recommend a DIY type welder in general. I replaced my DIY welder (originally bought new) a few years ago with a second hand semi professional model off of ebay.
The wire feed and general performance and adjustability of the ebay one, plus the fact that it uses a full size gas bottle improved my welding dramatically and reduced the costs massively.
a few years ago, the only way you could get your hands on a full size bottle of the real gas, as opposed to 'borrowing' a CO2 cylinder from the local pub, was to hire one at an exorbitant monthly cost, but nowadays you can rent a bottle for around £55 refundable deposit, and pay a few pounds for refills when needed.

[milescook]

Ok, so no-gas is out.

Something like this then...?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-SUPERM ... 1e85906609

[Brianmoooore]

Better, as long as the wire feed mechanism gets good reviews, but for that price you'd get a much better 'pre owned' machine, with a professional torch, and more adjustability and versatility.
Just make sure you but one that a) will adjust to a low enough current, and b)will run on the electricity supply you have available.

[milescook]

Cheers!

[darkchild]

An e30 is a bulletproof reliable tram IF its up together and its been looked after in the right hands before you buy it - and theres the problem for 99.9% of them now. An e36 is a much cheaper prospect as they are a tougher car mechanically with less maintenance needed and they don't rust/rot anywhere near as bad. Theyre nearly like a modern car to drive in alot of ways and far less complex than an e46

The e46 gets a hard time on here, which isn't entirely justified imo. My e46 is so much more exciting/fun to drive compared to the e36. e46 is like a big e30

Sadly a decent E36 is nearly as rare a commodity as a decent E30. Most that are left are badly modified rotten rubbish. Loads appear to have disappeared overnight.

Still lots of Compacts and Convertibles about but I hardly ever see a saloon, coupe or touring nowadays.

I liked my old E46 and it was a pleasant thing to drive with a surprising amount of poke considering it was a 318ci. I think it only had 59K on the clock when I got it but needed a lot of maintenance over the 2.5 years I had it - numerous bits for the aircon, lots of gaskets/seals for oil leaks (thats the N42 sh!tetronic for you!), coil packs, new door handle, new door rubbers, new boot lock mechanism, minor rust blistering on the front wings I got sorted before it got any worse... I daresay its been faultless since I sold it! The interior was lovely but I'd say the E36 was the more robust car. E46s were built to a cost, hence the matt paint finish in the shutlines and crappy carpets compared to the previous generations.

[Simon13]

I hear you, i'm going to keep my e36 B3 touring as much as i look for stuff to replace it with there isn't anything out there that doesn't cost 10 grand or more. a manual 335i e91 is about all i can think of or a 330i but that won't be any quicker, just newer with more toys

I'm at a bit of a cross roads in a way as its on 224,000 miles, its bullet straight but its going scabby all round the edges, rear arches, doors and tailgate. Do i bother? It still goes like the clappers and i get about 25-28 mpg out of it all the time. I interior looks like it covered 70,000. I do have to get the spanners out every few months and its hard using it everyday and trying to keep everything working, i'm currently without a working alarm fob again! And i've just repaired the a/c so it needs a gas up and should go again. I suppose thats a good list now i think about it

[Hakkera]

Mmm, interesting. I'm currently dropping about £300 a month on scheduled & unscheduled maintenance, so errr. With hope, it's gonna be less than that. Especially if I can do some (ambitiously, most) of the work myself.

I'm not going down the e36/46 route; they're just not cars that appeal to me. About the only things in the BMW range that flick my switch are the Z4M or 135i, however the issue with those is similar upkeep costs to what I'm paying at the moment.

From what I've taken in so far, anything like a rusted roof or scuttle panel is a no-go?

[Brianmoooore]

40mm hole at each end of the scuttle isn't anything serious to worry about, as long as it hasn't spread. There's a reason why these rust holes form there.
Similarly, expect the front carpets to be wet from rust holes in the front (not) jacking points.
Rear carpets can be wet from rusted/dislodged blanking plate under the front seats, which is another easy fix.
Examine the RH 6mm stud on the front bulkhead which holds the hinge for the glovebox. Any sign of a rust stain running down from this stud, then walk away - it indicates serious rusting of the front bulkhead. Check the big rubber grommet that takes the wiring through to the engine compartment while you're down there. It has often been dislodged, and rust spreading from it into the wheel arch is fairly common and difficult to deal with.
Rear wheel arch rust is the other thing I'd walk away from. Expect the odd hole where the brackets are up in the RH arch, but it's nice to have something solid to weld to.
Sills, inner and outer should be OK, apart from a bit of scabby surface rust around the (real) jacking points.

[Rtaylor2208]

Mmm, interesting. I'm currently dropping about £300 a month on scheduled & unscheduled maintenance, so errr. With hope, it's gonna be less than

That's £3600 p/year at that kind of money you can lease a brand new 135i on a fully maintained lease.

I would hate to drive anything that cost me £300 a month just to keep it working.

[Hakkera]

It's annoying; everything that goes wrong with it/requires maintenance costs either 3, or 600 quid.

It's not been like it for the past 12 months, but 6-8, certainly. I can live with it prior to having a mortgage, but in getting such you pretty much commit yourself to financial chastity and forego such fun and frivolities that a modestly quick car provides. Plus, I miss tinkering about with cars on the weekend. The idea of something I could pretty much do all the work on appeals; I presume M20s are pretty simple engines..?

Thanks for the advice there Brian. Rust seems to manifest itself in areas that I wouldn't expect, so that's good to know.