Big Decision - Please Help! NOW WITH PICS

[Cava]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry to bore you with this but I need help on deciding whether a car that I have bought (as a parts bin for my other two cars) should be broken up and scrapped or kept alive (sort of thumbs up / down - roman emporer style!).

I have already listed this in the parts for sale section as being broken this weekend but now that i have checked the car out, I cant quite decide.

Good points: It is a 1990 318is with 132,000 miles showing, runs well and from checking out the bit of history I was given with the car looks like it has had a full engine rebuild a few years ago (including timing chain etc) following what looks like a profile gasket failure and plenty of other money spent on the car over the years.
Bad points: It has taken a hit on the passenger side which has wrecked the door and back wing (the door pillar has bent in nearly as far as the passenger seat) and generally the car would take a lot of time and money to get it up to decent condition (which i dont have).
Seemed an easy decision a few days ago but i would hate to see another IS disappear - do you think this would be worth the effort for someone? I will try to post some pictures of the car if it would help.

[Kos]

re shell maybe??

[Dan318-is]

picctures would be interesting

why is it always IS' that get shunted?

[telski789]

it saddens me when i see e30's with even less damage or problems scrapped,ive seen them scrapped coz the owner cant afford to have a new clutch fitted,crazy

[Zayyan]

Can it not be used as is?

If I had a car just for the fun of driving it I wouldn't give a toss what it looks like.

Or is the damage worse than I'm thinking?

[Cava]

I'll take some pictures now, but to expand on the story - the rear wing is bent in far enough to show most of the front of the rear wheel. It also has bent front and rear valances and a crooked drivers side front wing. It looks ok from one side but the clouds of blue smoke coming from the back tyre (where the damaged wing was touching every time i hit a bump) caused a few looks!

[andyp]

break it and use the bits you need

[E30Mark]

Sounds like a breaker to me, the cost of fixing the rear wing, door & roof???? will never be recovered.

Sell the engine, gearbox, interior, and recover your costs.

P.S With another iS gone, surly mine will be worth more............

[Dan318-is]

Sounds like a breaker to me, the cost of fixing the rear wing, door & roof???? will never be recovered.

Sell the engine, gearbox, interior, and recover your costs.

P.S With another iS gone, surly mine will be worth more............

How many are actually left? in the last two montsh iv seen at least 5 or 6 die on here and my own also!

[E30Mark]

How many are actually left? in the last two montsh iv seen at least 5 or 6 die on here and my own also!

I've tried asking the DVLA for this data before, but they told me i had to speak to a third party: which i did. The 3rd party told me i had to speak with the DVLA.... after going round in circles i gave up....

[Dan318-is]

Who was the third party?

[Ziggy]

Sounds like a genuinely dead one. It's a shame when they go & they could be saved, but I wouldn't lose sleep over one that's had a big prang. Plenty of money in bits & not worth the effort to repair it.



(it's only a 4-pot anyway! )

[E30Mark]

(it's only a 4-pot anyway! )

[Cava]

Sounds like a genuinely dead one. It's a shame when they go & they could be saved, but I wouldn't lose sleep over one that's had a big prang. Plenty of money in bits & not worth the effort to repair it.



(it's only a 4-pot anyway!

Thanks guys for the feedback, starting to go with the no vote as stated above (except for the 4 pot quip)

I guess if they are getting rarer, I am definately keeping the other two!

[Ziggy]

Sorry, just couldn't resist

I was tempted to save my old 320, and a 4 door 325i SE that got broken... You've just got to be objective; how much is it worth in bits, how much is it worth fixed, & how much will it cost to fix.

The crucial thing is that you've got to put a price on your time too! Maybe you'd make a couple of hundred quid if you bought the bits to fix it up & then sold it (in this case I don't think you would), but how many hours & skinned knuckles would it take?!

If you're willing to work as a mechanic for free, come and change my gearbox

[Cava]

Yeah, your right - i have spent ages doing work on my other cars and i know how much time / effort / money it would take. Maybe someone out there would fancy the challenge, but not me.

p.s. I'll pass on the gearbox job, i dont work on 6 pots

[Cava]

Hi Guys,

Here are the pictures as promised. The photos definitely flatter this car...

In view of the recent number of IS deaths, I've kept this one alive for the last week. I am swapping the only straight panels, but mechanically it seems pretty good. I've looked at the history of the car from the few bits of paperwork that came with it. Seems to have been well looked after in the past with big money spent on an engine rebuild a couple of years ago, including new timing chain and sprockets following a profile gasket failure (currently on 132K miles). Going back to the original question, do you think its worth saving? If so, I'll sell the car on.

[Zayyan]

Unless it leaks, I don't see a problem with just using it like that

[eko]

I say break it.

[ad318i]

break it!!

i want the bootlid lol

[Brianmoooore]

Two weeks ago I bought a 10 ton hydraulic body straightening kit consisting of a hand operated hydraulic pump, a spreader, a straight hydraulic ram and various extension rods and end pieces.
Been playing around for the last two Saturdays straightening out the back end of a rear ended touring I have.
Thought I would need to cut out and replace the rear panel, but with a bit of thought and a lot of jacking its all come out so that a spare hatch fits perfectly and there's just a few ripples in the strip with the hatch release button on it.
You'd be surorised at what a few hours with a piece of kit like this could do to the damage on your car!

[Cava]

Thanks Brian for the positive vote. I would love to see this car back on the road, but i cant house it long term as my other two need the use of the garage. I have replacement parts for everything that is being used or sold (bodywork) but I figure that as the car would need a respray anyway, this need'nt spell the end for it. I am just not sure that with the volume of parts / time needed, it would be a viable repair for someone.

[iDreamBeemer]

Depends on how nice you feel, heart says keep it alive, wallet says breaking for parts will would be easier,

you might struggle to find someone who wants to buy it, spend oodles fixing it when they can buy a good nick one for not much to start with

The question is how dedicated to the cause are you...?

[Dan318-is]

Gearknob please!

[dark_sounds]

i was in a similar pickle,,, however my pocket is not deep enough, hence am breaking mine too



im gonna save an is,,,,, by telling this old fat lady in brixton who drives a red one that most likely dosnt know what shes driving,,, to sell it to me for cheap

[Bob_S]

break it mate cut your losses and all that. you';d get good money for the seats engine, box and wheel

[dobbie82]

Has it caught the sills or is it just panel damage?

If its bent the sill at all I would probably reluctantly break it

If its just panels then:

a) drive as is and look like you park like a woman...

b) find a cheap bodyshop that will knock the panels out for you.

Either its a trick of the eye or it doesnt really look that bad. You can always take it to a few bodyshops and ask for a quote, they would tell you if its knackered

Wherabouts are you? I think my the garage my dad works for charges about Ԛ£25 an hour....

[bigkev]

BREAK IT



door cards please

[Cava]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Just to expand on the condition a bit (the photo's are not that good at showing detail), the door pillar has moved in enough to touch the passenger seat (as well as damaging the sill). The car has also had a front wing replaced at some time which looks like it was colour matched by Stevie Wonder. All told, i think i will now start breaking it, for the good of my other cars and for anyone else who really needs stuff for theirs. Look out for the updated ad in the parts for sale section.

Just to show that I do my best to rescue most cars, check out my main car which I finished tidying up last week after abondoning it for three years - god bless Meguiars!