E30 Owners. Why are we so tight-arsed?

[Simon13]

Nothings rare.......

how do u mean helmet? i thought your cab was rare?

go find one of these forsale



or ones of these?



or maybe one of these cars?

[stevetigger]

Parts, Im on about E30 parts!

[Simon13]

ok that 6 branch manifold is an E30 part? as is that kelleners bodykit in the bottom picture? where are u going to find that in hurry?! Or the Oz turbo alloys on it?

[Taz]

some ppl do take the piss with their prices!....and its mostly ppl who are selling the parts...

i usually go out of my way to help other e30 drivers only because i see my e30 as a hobby and all of us should help each other to keep these cars on the road for as long as possible...not charge ott prices for old parts

i hav noticed in the last few years since more ppl are getting into drifting etc the prices are slowly getting driven up.

also there hav been some greedy ppl in the past who only joined the zone to sell parts and then dissapear from this forum

[stevetigger]

ok that 6 branch manifold is an E30 part? as is that kelleners body kit in the bottom picture? where are u going to find that in hurry?! Or the Oz turbo alloys on it?

I am on about general E30 parts and you know it!

Not bloody body kits made by somebody in the 80's that no longer exists!

And I do believe, no E30 came from the factory standard with a six branch.........and before you go off proving me wrong I am on about run of the mill E30's now!

[Kos]

hmm me tight,,, i hope not, i dont skim on things that are important, and im spending a heck of alot thanks for a certain member. lol....

true

as far as tight ass's go... im sorry zayyan, but you must be the biggest tight ass ever, with the deal at aces.

spot on

i remeber when he bought a bonnet badge and made a comment bout postage and how he didnt want to be ripped off on it!!

spill the beans about the deal at ace, or is the lights he sold to cliffy ??

there are a few tight people, especially when it comes to hagglers, but still, theres a fair few people who spend a heck load.

you got to bargin at times, if you have finance issues fair enough but piss take offers like 100 for a LSD is a fucking piss take
but when it come to parting with cash for parts you need or want, you got to pay the price

[E30Mark]

Like everything in life, you get what you pay for!

OK, simple guide to saving money

1. Ring the dealer and find out the cost of the parts required. Enquire if they run the plus 4 scheme, if they do they might fit the part cheaper than you can buy it for...

2. Ring your local independent supplier, GSF ECP etc, or specialist breaker

3. Get off your bum and trawl the local breakers

4. Put up a wanted add on the 'zone and pay what the seller asks !

5. Stay clear of eBay ! especially after a drink or two

6. Buy yourself a spare car, rip off all the bits you need and then flog on the spare parts to all the other punters here, make your self some dosh at the same time as getting your spares for free...

7. Buy a decent car to start with

[Geeman]

Some of us don't have the money to splash out on cars. Yes, once, I had the money to play with my 2 E30's... now I'm in a position that I can't even afford to buy a 'decent' E30 never mind play with them... which upsets me.

So not all of us can 'splash out' on BTB manifolds or genuine Alpinas. Some of us WILL be cheeky and offer stupid prices... it's the way of the world.

[320Touring]

Ahh, Scott-nice move-gotta love a bit of "lively debate" on the zone...

personally, my 320i touring was bought as a "get from a-b" car. I wasnt even particularly bothered what car it was.

As mark says, I spent some time and bought the best one I could- nevertheless, i've probably spent about 6x what I paid for it on parts/servicing and fuel in the last 18 months.

What I do is operate on the policy that a new ford focus would cost me £300 a month before it turns a wheel (road tax, insurance, repayments and depreciation). As long as my touring comes in at below that magic figure, I consider myself ahead. At the moment, the touring is costing an average of £100 a month in insurance/parts/servicing and £80 a month in fuel. I try to spend a bit each month replacing parts that are getting to the end of their service life.

I dont actually care too much for how the car looks, as long as she's mechanically sound and goes/stops well.

What I fail to understand is folks who get a new e30 and then proceed to buy leathers/pinas/tech2 kits for it before making sure the car is entirely sound. its a 15+year old car-do the essential stuff first, then spend money on extras.

With regards to the 'dub' boys, its not always true-they generally dont spend a fortune, again, its only the "expensive" ones that get featured in the mags etc. Moreover, they spend thier money trying to get 2year old Golf's to handle as well as stock 15 year old e30's

As for the buying and selling of parts, yes there are people who make rediculous offers, but life is full of chancers. as long as the item is reasonably priced and in condition as described, then there should be no problem selling.Furthermore, if you are fair to the buyer, then there is less hassle-eg gary was looking for a central locking controller, but he want sure it was at fault-I let him try the 3 I had, no change, no sale, but at least gary could rule it out.

People are under no obligation to buy what you have for sale-as smithy said, its only worth what someone will pay for it.

On the whole, the zone seems to have a fair and balanced sale section, with many more happy punters than pi$$ed off.

Scott, you have a good rep as a seller, so dont get worried.

[MikeeMiracle]

Overall with spending money on the car, you have to look at it as what it's worth. I had a Civic Type-R and I spent around £3k in mods on it without thinking twice, this was because of the original cost. Even though I have bought a very good considtion iS for a touch under 2k, I don't see how I can justify spending that kinda money again considering the cost of the car.

I bought the iS as I could only afford a cheap car but wanted to have some fun in the process. If it were a "project" car then yes you can spend lots of cash. For most of us though, I would imagine they are just day to day cars so we would only spend a little here and there on some choice, bang for your buck mods.

All depends on how long you expect to keep it too. If I thought my E30 would last 4/5 years then I would probably pump £1k - £1.5k into it.

[Cloggy Saint]

E30 owners, tight arsed??? It never ceases to amaze me how much zoners spend on their E30's! There's no way anyone can accuse me of being tight, but there's also no way i'd spend a grand + on a set of rims or exhaust system etc for a car that's probably only worth about a grand in the first place.

[Morat]

5. Stay clear of eBay ! especially after a drink or two

That one should be taught in school these days. Ebay is my downfall!
(and I've got a Touring on the drive to prove it)

[Geeman]

Ebay's not that bad. I've bought an XR2 & an 525e and sold my 318iS, 316i & MGB GT on Ebay with complete satisfaction.

You've just got to be warey... or bloody lucky!

[dobbie82]

It depends.. with important stuff like engine parts dizzy, plugs etc etc I live on beans for a month and buy BMW I have only spent about a grand on my car in 18 months so not that bad. its only a 318i Lux though.

For panels, interior bits etc I am happy with cheap and cheerful.

Someone offered me £50 for a set of alloys and I accepted, I've sold wings for a fiver, actually sold loads of parts for a fiver each! There is no point trying to make silly money off fellow zoners, What goes around comes around because when i need cheap parts there is always a zoner willing to return the favour.

I don't understand load covers being sold for £50 or BBS caps for £20+

[dark_sounds]

as far as tight ass's go... im sorry zayyan, but you must be the biggest tight ass ever, with the deal at aces.

spot on

i remeber when he bought a bonnet badge and made a comment bout postage and how he didnt want to be ripped off on it!!

spill the beans about the deal at ace, or is the lights he sold to cliffy ??

nah was to do with my leathers, he brought them in the end, i just need rid of the damn things taking up too much room in my garage,, which is a tiny garage for a full house hold of 5 people. hence the ridiculously cheap price,, but then he insisted on going cheaper, and we ended up squabling over 2 quid on what was already very cheap, and he knew it...

rear head rest guide runners... 20£ any day of the week.
leather headrests in very very good conditions 50quid any day of the week,

he brought the whole back bench and the above for 50 quid total fair play he went to grab the bargin, i doubt he needs the rearbench, but tbh i dont care as i just need the space,,,

mind you similar deal was done with pal318is,,, though he DID NOT squabble over the price as much, he knew he was having a good deal, so didnt bother in pushing me, though the leather didnt match lol

if the asking price is at par value, or cheaper,, then max you could ask for is maybe free delivery, 10-20quid off a 200£+ item... i brought wheels of jonb, i have been told i got a good price on them, so why should i take the piss offering aynthing lower then asking price, as especially as he is doing me the favour in doing a good price, as im sure he knows the value, and he even offered to chuck in another 2 bbs centre caps as the wheels were not complealy as stated.

same, another experience with a zoner, back in the day when i could afford a LSD, i know LSD go for 250, should no way be no more, and anything less is a bonus. but for the sake of 10£ the seller wouldnt go down to the par price. fair enough the seller may well have made 10£ extra, though an action as mine shouldnt be viewed as tight, as that is the going rate that i am happy to pay. anything more and i wont feel comfortable, ill feel like a mug.

all this is apparent the world whereaver you go, just on the zone more then any other forum ive been on. its all free market economy, determined by supply and demand, just as the stock market... the kind of buying and selling attitudes i see on here, i can roughly guess who would make successful day traders or not. same principles apply.

[HartgeH27]

Nothings rare.......

try buying the foam stuff under the bonnet then!

someone got some for sale?

Yes - tailormade from USA in the silver finish.

[StuBeeDoo]

I'm with Neil (320Touring) on this.

I bought my Touring as a workhorse. It has to earn it's keep. Much of what I've spent on the car has been through personal preference. If it needs work, it gets the money spent on it, if I need a part to keep the car mobile, then no expense is spared.
Stuff that I've done because I choose to is a different matter. I wouldn't throw large amounts at it just to keep me happy. When I've upgraded, for example fitting Sport seats, I look out for bargains because the part isn't essential. If I don't think I can justify a certain amount of cash on an upgrade, it doesn't get done, but I still keep looking at the for sale's and on eBay for stuff I'd like. Bargains can and do come up as I'm sure you all know.

It confounds me that people put up want threads for parts that are cheap from the $tealers. Just as an example, someone wanted a intake elbow. They're only about a tenner new. A secondhand one at, say, a fiver plus P&P probably won't last long anyway. False economy in my eyes.
......And secondhand tyres "as cheap as possible because I'm broke"! Don't even go there. If you can't afford tyres, walk! I don't want to be anywhere you when you have a blow-out.

Just MHO.
Stuart

[dannosail]

No matter what you say, no person who actually runs an E30 is that skint. They may be cheap to buy and if you get a good one not too much to maintain, the real cost is in petrol and insurance. If you drive a 325i routinely (~10000m/yr) it's never going to match a Peugeot 106 Diesel.

But you buy an E30 cos it's a great car, fun to drive and well built.

As for parts, nobody want's to be ripped off and it's possible to do a deal where the buyer and the seller feel happy. In some cultures/countries vendors are offended if you don't bargain!

[e30bmlover]

I agree with you Scott,

if i want something (an extra) or i need something (broken part) i will just buy it, obviously i wont pay over the odds but am happy to pay the going rate.

What most people dont think of is actually how much the parts are new from BMW!

Tom

here here!