E30 factory 325i vs M20 swapped 318i

[Runic]

Hi everyone,

I live in Australia and recently I purchased a 1990 E30 318i manual coupe in Weinrot (wine red).

The car has had an M20 B25 engine swap completed by a specialist company who also completed all of the necessary upgrades for it to be a performance oriented 325i. The upgrades include lowered suspension, with Koni shocks and pedders springs, slotted brake discs, a custom exhaust, chipped engine, m3 castor bushes and a 3.91 LSD. I paid $11,500 AUD for the car and I am very happy with it as it handles beautifully and has plenty of power and torque (although a bit thirsty).

Reflecting on my purchase, only one thing bothers me, that is the fact that it is not a factory 325i. The car has power windows, but it lacks an onboard computer, check control panel and a sunroof. Although I can live without these features and the car is more or less a genuine 325i based on appearance and performance, I'm just curious to get some opinions/advice regarding my purchase.

One of the main reasons I purchased this car is because factory 325i manual coupes are quite rare in Australia, and very expensive when they occasionally pop up for sale. Will my car have as much resale value as a factory 325i? And how does this sort of vehicle fare with collectors and classic car status?

Looking forward to hearing your replies, and maybe some feedback from others who have completed M20 engine swaps!

[bab-91]

Hi everyone,

Will my car have as much resale value as a factory 325i? And how does this sort of vehicle fare with collectors and classic car status?

Looking forward to hearing your replies, and maybe some feedback from others who have completed M20 engine swaps!

In short, no. Your car will not have the same resell value as a similar condition/similar mileage original 325i. The car is modified, that will put off many collectors.

If you wanted a collectiable classic, you should always go for an unmolested original type. If you wanted something to Hoon and enjoy? It doesn't matter?

[ross_jsy]

It will never be as valuable as a factory 325i, at the end of the day it's a modified car. Again, someone purchasing it for collecting/investing is unlikely to be interested. That's not to say a converted car is worthless though, especially if done to a good standard.

Welcome to the zone, sounds like a nice turd. Get some pictures up

[Runic]

Thanks for the replies and the warm welcome. I am certainly no collector at the moment and I didn't buy it for investment. I bought it for fun and it delivers it in spades. I just want to know if it still has any classic status, in other words is it still valuable since all the work has been done to a high standard? Also, is it wrong to call it a 325i? The previous owner actually advertised it as a 325 because the specialist company did the conversion to a high standard and actually changed the car from a 318 to a 325 under the Australian registered vehicles database. When the vin is searched in the database, it comes up as a 325, however, it shows up as a 318 in a BMW vin decoder. I will upload pictures soon.

[maxfield]

Awaiting pictures, I used to have a weinrot and I know over the years there hasn't been many on here.

[ross_jsy]

It's still a classic and it is still an e30, it just won't be worth as much as a genuine 325i. I don't know much about the Australian e30 market, so can't comment on how much it well effect the value.

Strictly no, it's still a 318i. Over here you wouldn't be able to change the log book to state it's a 325i. But it's your car, call it what you want

[Runic]

Forgive me for the stupid question, but I am new to the zone afterall, how do I upload pictures?

[Brianmoooore]

Forgive me for the stupid question, but I am new to the zone afterall, how do I upload pictures?

Instructions are in a 'sticky' at the top of the 'for sale' forums