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Surprised a Mod hasnt shut this thread down already...... I for one am getting tired of the private messages and emails about warnings about this thread This garbage is why forums are dying and I dont come on here much anymore, less often post. Hope everyone is well Thread closed.

Fair enough. Curiosity satisfied. I guess I struggle with the pricing because I have had so many E30's. And I just don't see them being worth more than about $15K. Well I feel sorry for those that missed the good old days when they were sub 10K.

I think an E28 is a great buy in comparison to an E30 especially considering the prices are very reasonable for them.

Besides the pricing, E30 technology is quite old these days. Can be great from a cost and reliability standpoint, but for learning things the E36 is the far better car for your requirements.

I have never attempted to advertise, just clarify. If you think I’ve been vague, check out the info on our site, including our entire timeline on where and how Autoport was created. Several interesting points have been raised… Regarding pricing, more and more people find a fixed price model refreshing as they don’t like the haggle. They also like online as find car yards intimidating. Also, there are plenty of moving pieces apart from the price with buying and selling cars which usually affect the end price. Regarding ownership, it seems good business sense not to own the depreciating and costly inventory but have full rights through an agreement to sell it. And while on that, there are plenty of dealers in NZ who have cars sitting on their yards they don’t own – it’s the supplier that still owns the car until it’s sold and the supplier is often a Japanese company. Another thing I like about our model is that we aren’t motivated to sell cars based on margin or how long it’s been sitting on the yard (with turnover aims and cash flow implications of that). We are motivated to help clients find the best car they can, from a wide range, that fits their budget. Challenging the traditional model means we do things differently, but with the same end result and most people who contact us understand that. If they don’t like how we operate, there’s plenty of choice!

Can you please make up you mind? I did point out that advertising was not allowed and that was why the post was deleted - as it would have been if it was any other vehicle dealer, importer or seller other than private sales in the for sale forum. Then you and another user decided to get involved, and this is where we are. Quite happy for the company in question to clarify, rather than advertise which is why the posts are now visible. You do realise this is a totally not for profit web-site don’t you? And no-one is paid to post or administer or moderate on here? So I’m not sure how I’m supposed to be “unprofessional” and just so we are more than 100% clear here - these are my own personal views being represented, so please don’t read more into it than that. I was not questioning the ethics of said company, if you have read it that way then I aplogise that was not the intent. I am asking them to clarify and be transparent so any users reading this thread are informed. I am not aware of any questions raised about anything I have posted, I’m sure the other admin or owners would have mentioned this if it were an issue. My conscience is clear, and I would go so far as to say a press release is not advertising (where is the call to action? Pricing? Terms & conditions? Details of who to contact to purchase said vehicles) and I am 100% confident that I have never posted any information that is either above the line marketing material not below the line offers, ie advertising. Strangely enough, as this is a BMW Car forum, I thought users would be interested to hear some of the latest news from said car company. It is all freely available from a wide number of sources, so nothing deceitful or Mis-leading there.

Preferably factory manual, but having a feel of what’s out there. PM me or reply. Thanks!

E34 touring would be so good. But again, getting expensive.

E34s are looking like good value to scratch the quad headlight boxy BMW itch too. Can’t imagine they are as fun to throw around a few twisties though.

Even an E46 is a better all round car. A nice 330i manual coupe is cheaper than an E30 and so much more car. There is something to be said about the simplicity of the E30, but prices are just to the point of being stupid now and it doesnt make financial sense unless you wanted one for certain reasons (M3, sentimental value etc)

@Driftit Mate, don’t worry, you’re not the only one struggling with the pricing 😅. I wish I had a change of heart 5 years ago rather than now. But it is what it is.

Do you know if your car has had the EGR cooler/valve recall done on it? If it hasn't it might be worth checking if it's due as they'll replace it for free. If it has had it done they may have not done properly hence the codes.

Is it a case of supply versus demand? More and more E30s have got to the point where they are beyond keeping road-worthy, either in accidents or rust / wearing out and gone to the great wreckers in the sky. And there’s no new ones being made. At the same time, the interest has spread from the core group of E30 fans out to a far wider group, to drifters, boy racers even hipsters looking to get some old school cool. Yes, prices seem to have rocketed recently, but they have been climbing noticeably for a long time. Now there is a very, very small pool of good examples of desirable models, being chased by larger numbers of eager buyers. Existing Fans who had a 320i before are now maybe looking to “move up” to an M325i or M3. The knock on effect is that then even poor examples of desirable models (US$20k for a rusted out M3 roller..) and trickle down to other models as buyers can’t find / afford what they really want and settle for something a little lower down the pecking order. All of which then fuels the feeding frenzy.. sounds familiar? Would I pay big money for an E30? yes, if the right M325i or M3 came along. As an investment? No, to drive, and fix, and polish and look at.

I’m correcting your comment that Autoport is just an “agent”, who takes no risk or responsibility and just runs a currency converter! We’re a full service RMVT offering cars online direct from the source. Also, no attempt to advertise here - just advise what is included as standard for Autoport, since that was in question. I’m sure you know the answers to your questions given your position, but happy to answer for the community. All those questions and more are answered on our site. We offer cars for sale from our network of authorised suppliers in Japan and the UK and we have companies setup in both those countries for quality control and admin efficiency. We have a physical office in Auckland for clients to visit and collect cars from - clients only deal with us. Cars are complied, serviced, registered, prepared and valeted by us. Being online means we can be mitigate any issues at the inception of any deal with several inspections prior to shipping. It also means we avoid depreciation and the cost of funding an inventory – both usually add to the cost for the customer. Clearly there’s no option to test drive, but that’s why there’s a robust process and a money back guarantee. While some see a test drive as important, some can’t be bothered and see it as a way for the salesperson to get some one-on-one time with the perspective customer to see what makes them tick and get closer to selling the car. We are challenging the traditional dealer model by being online. Clients pay no more than the agreed price at the inception of the deal, and secure the car with a 10% deposit. As for negotiation, Toyota and Honda stopped that years ago and from next year I hear that will be the case for Mercedes Benz. Do you know when it will be the case for BMW? And while our service isn’t for everyone, there seems to be a growing number who are quite interested. Hope that helps.

I do hope not, the classic car market has always been fraught with danger as an investment idea, with many “crashes” leaving investors well out of pocket. Any vehicle with an internal combustion engine in it is an extremely risky proposition right now, I can foresee the lunatic greenies only being happy once all such cars are totally banned from use. The ban on sales of such new vehicles is only the first step. I have seen E30s and other classics converted to electric, but this is not a cheap process and takes away from the classic feel for me. I have been thinking about a possible ethanol (or similar) conversion on a petrol engine but as this still produces CO2 emissions I don’t know if this would be allowed either. Pretty sure this would have a massive effect on the value of classics, as even if they are garage queen’s, driving them now and again is still part of the point. There are very few cars that could be considered as art and hold value just to be looked at.

PS: because the 80's are in again, and who really wants to be seen driving an Audi.