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217,700km Fuel filter replaced. Probably should have paid someone to do this as it was a real PITA on my back in the driveway..but anyway. Replaced the soft hoses too, feel good item that I've been wanting to tick off for ages. upon the start up test before I put the cover back and dropped the car I had fuel pissing out the front hose as the clamp hadn't been done up tight enough...what a smelly mess. Original looking filter. I replaced it with a Mahle one i got from FCP....should be good for another 200,000km

If you're on the Shore I can help with refreshing of stuff you're not comfortable undertaking yourself. I kind of specialize in repairing and restoring these e30's

Sadly, asking price is no guarantee or even guide of anything. Adverts are often sparse on detail, folk don't know what they re selling, wouldn't know an iS from a SE (or an ordinary spec), and then are 'extravagant' with the truth. I've seen remarkably good cars at lower prices, and truly horrible examples at megabucks. Buying sight unseen isn't necessarily a bad idea, but there needs to be rapport between buyer and seller.

First WoF in my ownership today; held breath for the whole thing, flew threw 😰. First time I had a look underneath properly and found source of occasional oil drip (loose oil filter / sump plug seal). No rust, breathing out!

I bought a mobile table / bench to dump all my sanders and reno gear on so I could just move it from room to room. Always measure twice .....FFS!! it's 50mm wider than the doorways. So the shed gets another bench

Through renovating 3 places i have been adding to my list of things to ‘not screw up in a new build’ and near the top is 1000mm wide doorways. These are the largest standard sized doors offered by most manufacturers and cost $24 more each vs the 810mm standard last i checked.

@Sammo It really depends - if it’s modified then I’d be questioning the who/where/when/how/what and is it certed, or has it been serviced at all - any records, I’d look at the WOF sheet to see if it failed on anything or any warnings, list of question goes on. I’d be wary of the “no known rust” statement. Some people are just happy to be ignorant of these issues because they know they’re going to sell it off eventually anyway. Whereas, I would actively look for them as I’m a bit more pedantic about a car I want to keep tidy. I’ve viewed several e36s and e30s before buying mine and honestly, I can say that all of the people who said “no known rust” or some kind of iteration of that, I found rust within the first minute of inspection. Granted, some were surface but I’ve found some to have corrosion as well. I’ve even found on an e30 the left side tray in the boot by the antenna filled with water without the owner knowing. Personally, the higher the price tag, the more I’d actually want to check in person as I want to be sure that the car is worth the price. That’s mostly because I don’t have a lot of expendable income and only starting to wrench. If you’re neither of that, I would probably approach it as @BMTHUG would, as long as the seller doesn’t seem dodgy, and has recent WOF and reg. If it’s from someone here that actually posts, I’d buy it sight unseen as most of the members here are enthusiasts and seem to be more trustworthy than the fb counterparts. You could potentially ask a favour from the seller or someone here to have a PPI done, and/or maybe ask them to get you a new WOF with vtnz. In saying that, I missed out on a very tidy one as I was hesitant in buying sight unseen - albeit at the time it was priced relatively a bit on the higher side than market value. So at the end of the day, it’s your money and decision so do your due diligence and go with your gut.

Cheers man! Will hit you up for sure once I do 😎

I would buy it sight unseen as long as you're aware of the associated risks with doing so. I have bought plenty cars sight unseen and was prepared to take into consideration work that I may have to potentially do before buying the cars. E30's are only going to rise in value as the years go by so unless you're planning to buy a vehicle for pure driving pleasure, I would buy it sight unseen.

+1 for Gavin. Have had the pleasure of dealing with him for the last 10 years through my business and it's been seamless!

@Sammo Depending on where it is located there is most likely a bimmersporter that would go have a look at it for you. If it stacks up with records and receipts and isn’t going for top $$ then it wouldn’t be much of a risk I reckon.

Oh yes, a really enjoyable job on ramps 😂 not a whole lot of space under there although I did manage to avoid investing any premium unleaded

Think mine is even less since I bought it. Now at 162xxx

Cheers - definitely budgeting plenty of refreshing, regardless.

No, facelift slicktop so ‘lower risk’ - apparently ‘no known rust’ for what that’s worth…

I am sometimes risk averse but after a couple of wines bought my E30, but I had seen it in the flesh and driven it. Also drove that red M Tech2 that went for $62k before settling in to bid with a wine in hand, then being greatly blown out of the water, made for entertainment at least. Reckon there’s enough Forum members around the country to go have a look for you, assume it is out of Auckland otherwise you’d be able to have a Level 3 “picnic” and view while socially distancing. I am not mechanically minded, but the experts here tell me they’re easy to work on if you are, so does it come down then to the “price v rust”? equation as if the body is sound and it’s cheap enough, does the mechanical stuff matter AS much? I can sell you a lovely 4 door 😉 but suspect you’re after a manual and a coupe, which I am now too. @Olaf and @_ethrty-Andy_ and @Ghost Chip what does your experience advise @Sammo?

Question for the wiser E30 heads: Would it be foolish to purchase an E30, sight unseen? Or is it an acceptable risk in today’s market / buying a 30+ year old car? While the car in question does look clean and has had the same owner for 5+ years, I am planning / prepared to spend plenty of money on maintenance/ restoration of anything I buy anyway so niggles won’t be a major factor. Necessary evil or shall I just wait until us filthy Aucklanders can leave the region (2022/2023😬) ?

I've found a satisfying pastime. Go on Google reviews and find car parking companies who have incorrectly given you a ticket, then taken 3 months to tell you 'they aren't taking the matter further' without hint of an apology after you've written a letter, filled out their dispute forms, scanned bank statements, signed your privacy away, etc... 1 star.

I'm in the Nope crowd. It looks like a race car. But has no cage and just isn't one. Has a $100K price tag. But doesn't have a big HP motor like you would expect. Instead a $1000 M60 (probably with a ton of work... I hope). The seats look like they are from a Ford Falcon with cheap leather covers. The Ebay rear lights... It needs to be a fraction of the price. And saved by someone who turns it into what it isn't. A race car.

Worked til 11 last night. Modifying exhaust to quiten and completing...again 6am till 8am to go for re inspection...

Gosh, it's been a while since I've updated this. Not that much has really happened in a while to the E30 anyway I sold the Blue Ti I sold the E36 328i I installed some coilovers briefly thinking they'd give me better performance on the track. Drove around town. Hated them. Pulled them out the following day. They did sit nicely though. Lost a few door trim pieces (but have ordered some replacements) Did another track day, different wheels this time I can't recall why, but my times were great, but within the ballpark. No coolant puddles though, which was a bonus Then did a Motorkhana up in Pukekohe, which was great fun. And then got another set of wheels And then got my ACS wheels straightened and repainted. Stripped: After: There is quite a bit of dips in the paint, but that mostly seems to be due to them being powder coated previously

I think we are at 'Devil you know' territory now haha I knew its first proper service wasn't going to be cheap but the front ADS shocks were an unpleasant surprise indeed ($1200 each)

I think 300hp would be enough to have a balanced drive. Any more would start to become too fast for a fun NZ countryside outing.

However a car of that calibre @E28E30@E28E30 I'd put on TradeMe on a longer auction, with an advertisement on the e30/bmw Facebook pages. Looks amazing!

Hi Smithy yes agreed, there are a lot of silver white and black... Yes i think its a real bargain , not as smooth as a 5 series as you would expect but a lot more of the fun factor!