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Only value in it is the engine really so would be <$1000. You probably couldn't give away the rest of the parts. Id just low reserve it on trademe or maybe BMW facebook groups if you use it.

A small update. The car has been behaving itself, aside from the drivers active seat starting to squeak when the side bolstering was moving in the bends. After some cursing, I managed to remove the rear panels from the drivers seat giving access to the gears which needed some lube. Over the holidays with another mate in his Lexus GS450H we did a small trip up to Opononi thru the Kauri forest on highway 12, the M5 went really well in the tight corners and I can't say enough good things about the PS4s's.

Not going to lie, no way would I read 240 pages on why we shouldn't burn our toys

Wow that’s a flip and a half! Pretty obvious as well with the supply and demand for these so limited. Apparently was built in the “Motorsport Factory” 🤣 New CCCFA rules have really pulled back lending, so would be much harder to finance an E30 investment now as opposed to a few months ago.

I think so too. But the demand is still there and will be in the future. I get plenty of young people (in their teens and early 20s and even kids) ogling at the E30 and E28 on a regular basis. So when these people hit their 30s and 40s and have some disposable income… but I am speculating. I think that silver Mt1 one was a steal at $46k. Even if the dealer now sells it for $56k, that’s still a decent profit.

Silver MT1 for $70k… https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-3445082787.htm Was for sale in Christchurch late last year for $45k-ish IIRC? Appears to have done nothing to it since then?

Awesome, this will be a great project with plenty of learning on the way.

Basically all wrapped up now trim assembled Not usually a fan of chrome or amber lights but this colour combo really works. Found a nice set of 18" reps for it that suit perfect. Camera really doesn't do this color justice.

Hi all, Apologies if this is off topic... I have an 1996 528i that I want to sell and I need some advice - should I try and sell it for parts to a wrecker or is there a chance someone out there might want to buy it as is? I have no idea on how to value it (for parts or intact), it's done approx 170k and the only mechanical issue is with accelerating (it does it, but might take a few seconds....) There are also various cosmetic issues (wear and tear - some damaged internal trim, broken cup holders, sagging ceiling upholstery, dashboard screen doesn't work, leather cracked/damaged etc etc ) - but it's registered and warranted till March... A random online tool said it's worth $4500 (yeah, right!) Any advice on a decent parts place to approach in Wellington/Wairarapa or a good place to advertise it for sale (TradeMe I assume?) appreciated, Cheers

Funny you mention it,

Use some thin copper behind the butt welds, makes life easier with heat dissipation You can achieve results as good as any with a crappy flux core set up on panel steel. Just takes practice and a huge amount of patience

@E30 325i Rag-Top didn’t even repair the minor panel issues that stop it being outstanding eg surface rust on rear bumper and ding in front valance. I know the fabric is hard to source but those patches look disappointing on a $70k car

You can't call yourself a BMW enthusiast until you've replaced a sump and subframe by yourself! 😂 I am not a BMW mechanic but don't mind getting my hands dirty, happy to help if we can come to terms. Having said that, I don't do early mornings and I'm lying low for a bit to see whether half of Auckland (NZ?) gets this f'ing covid thing in the next few days. 🙄 As for the coolant hose, was it new, where's it leaking? Have you checked the o-ring? By coolant fan I assume you mean radiator fan? If so, unless you disturbed something I can't see how that would affect it?

Or “bloody awful”?

Wow, that's ^ weird.

Oh oops @Sammo Sam I didn’t see the above posts. If we are talking “buying at peak E30”, I have the SE garage ornament lol

Few posts above - sold on 13th December for $46,100 - basically the reserve. I recall there was only one or two bids as well - I was surprised as I thought it might push $50K. Still got the patched up bolsters. I'm not sure what they are trying to do with the plates - was NND548 last year now under NZT846 in Carjam (with no other plate history on carjam despite being re-registered at least once) but has a plate registered to an Audi in one of the pics? I think they've mistimed this a little, judging by the 4 very very nice E30's on TM for $30k plus starting to gather dust, I have a feeling the E30 market has plateaued for now (as soon as I bought mine of course haha).

They aren't a slow car but do accelerate weird with the CVT, usual rev holding and switching thing at different points. Gives the impression the car is broken. Would be a nice cruising car I guess.

Proud hillbilly here, whats the problem? I enjoy being backwards. I'm just poking fun anyway duh

Whoa this is a blast from the past! Good to see it still kicking about

Use BMW E-sys with Enet cable for coding

We pray for you. You’ll be ok ❤️

I know you’ve got a thing against EVs, but the really funny part around that post is the fact the fire had nothing to do with the electrical elements of the car. How many petrol or diesel vehicles catch fire compared to EVs? Even as a percentage? How many petrol tankers or petrol stations catch fire compared to EV chargers? Moral of the story from the post above - if you pay peanuts for servicing you get monkeys working on your car, and this is what can happen. In general Don’t believe any scaremongering, do some research and make an informed decision.

An update for anyone that's interested. Been ticking a few boxes off on the E39. Alot of the work that needed doing, just needed time and some fiddling. Headlights polished and ended up being the retrofitted Hella kind. The sunroof drains were loose, letting the water in through the a-pillars. A bit of RTV and some weed-wacker-wire to clear the drain and it's good as gold. New number plates ordered to replace the beat up ones, a $23.50 bargain. Got a new front guard from pick-a-part. Rear cup holders and vent replaced. Rear window regulator replaced (swaged portion on the cable had come out of bracket). Leather cleaned and looks great. Found and fitted a rear cargo cover and net. New tailgate liner (still need to fix locking issue). Wheels cleaned up quite nicely. The oil burning and dropped cylinder ended up being a tired CCV. Replaced it and it runs mint. Has a new radiator, thermostat and water pump. Just going to replace the hoses and the expansion tank. Money saved from not having to swap the engine will go to the roof repair. All in all, happy ish with the car once I got over the initial shock. Realising now how hard a black car is to keep clean lol.

Looking for rust in an E30 is usually only bad news, but by doing this you can find it, fix it and stop it becoming terminal. Much better than ignoring it / hoping it’s not there. For that boot seal area, I would suggest the best way is to cut back to bare metal and weld in a replacement section (possibly from a wrecked E30 - worst case should be a simple fab job as it’s 90 degree bends and straightish). I would suggest that with bog it will only keep bubbling up over time - even if you treat it with rust cure.

The official requirements are here: https://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/infosheets/LVVTA_Info_07-2016_Drive-shaft_Safety-loop_Requirements.pdf Basically, if you've only done a manual swap, and used factory parts for it, you shouldn't require driveshaft hoops. "Interchangeable drive-shafts: In the case of a vehicle which has had a bolt-in OEM (original equipment manufacturer) model variant engine or transmission conversion, or a bolt-in OEM model variant turbocharger/supercharger addition, a driveshaft safety-loop is not required provided that documented proof is provided by the vehicle manufacturer or their agent, verifying that all drive-shaft components are identical between the two vehicles, and that the drive-shaft remains unmodified."