OSCAR

Gosh, thank you Glenn. I acknowledge that the car is pretty much a one off. It is VERY special. It is also quite hurtful that some in the so-called BMW fraternity can be so callous and unintelligent. Thankfully, most of us know that these try-hards come and go and dissappear off of the radar screen before long. Regards to all of you guys. Shame about the crappy weather for your Anzac run. Never mind, Taupo is looming :-)

There is something not honest with this persons comment. I will explain : I have only just driven this E30M3 Cabrio into Jeff Gray BMW Wellington to sell on my familiy's behalf. I drove it in and my wife picked me up in our Volvo a couple of days ago. There seems to be a lot of envy here. Folks who are not interested or cannot afford should please quit making disparaging comments. CamB for whatever reason, which to me does not seem to illustrate BMW club ethos, wants to bag this car. He is out of line. Edit: And I have NEVER offered this car for sale before so I simply do not understand CamB's rhetoric. Anyone that wants to know about me and/or this car can contact most of the senior people in the NZ BMW Club or contact the senior people on this board. I do not appreciate this silly carry on. This is a quality car without par.

Correct...of which you know NOTHING about.

Well, I did say earlier that I would go easy on you......but I am leaning towards an alternative disposition. Where the hell to you get off making disparaging remarks about Ivan's car ? Have you ever owed a mint E30 325 MS ? Have you ever owned ANY E30M3 car ? Quoting the marketplace is a nonsense. Why ? Because you cannot find comparables...that is why. So enough of the silly talk and speculation. Even when you do speculate it will prove false. You are no expert so please stop pretending to be so.

Again, you have no idea. The E30M3 Cabrio is as rare as rockinghorse s..t. The cost of one of these cars new was far in excess of the Evo3 (which I have owned and is known by most senior BMW people in NZ...and around the world). The facts are clear. 1). You cannot own this car. 2) Anyone that wants to own this car will NOT be able to replicate that possibility with another one of same standard in this Country or in Australasia..period. 3) Bring your own one to the table. Go import your own parts (if you have the right contacts). Try and reproduce the same car that cost an absolute arm and leg back in 1989. Far more than a Sport Evo. 4). STOP WAFFLING ON ABOUT SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT AND QUITE FRANKLY, CANNOT AFFORD.

' Retard ' , vb. to delay or slow down (the progress or speed) of (something). {C15:from OF retarder, from L retardare, from RE- + tardare, to make slow, from tardus sluggish}. Reference : Collins Concise English Dictionary, Third Edition, 1992.

Excuse me ? You ' can't look at the resto thread coz you have to register ' ??? You and 1071 other current members sir. I am a moderator on that E30M3 Tech site. You CAN register and then you will see for yourself. However, the board consists of predominantly mature E30M3 owners internationally. Somehow I have reservations about your good self 'fitting in'. But feel free. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you.... Regards.

Correct Glenn. Those E30 325 MS's IN EXCELLENT CONDITION are a great car and are only likely to go up in value once restored.

Firstly, thanks to all for expressing their opinions. Now, turning to CamB....I will choose to be civil to you sir albeit that your 'knowledge' that you would purport to have is significantly lacking. 1) Your assertion that the ' nicest M3 Cabrio in the world (which) is worth about 10k more than being in merely excellent condition....' is at once incorrect and misleading. Moreover, it shows that you really have no comprehension whatsoever of E30M3 values (which if I might add, vary significantly dependant on a plethora of issues). 2) To quote you, ' If you can prove otherwise by finding cars selling for more than that, feel free to do so'.......OK, since you asked, I just sold my E30M3 hardtop for just on $80,000. I have proof of that fact and there are plenty of folks on this board that know me and my cars so referees/ references are not an issue here. So how about you tell us all where you derive your 'proof' and your facts/ assumptions from. Or maybe just be quiet and quit poking holes in other folks cars ? For the record : the only RHD car that I know of (as in from new) is the one referred to in Auckland. However, it was a prototype of sorts, albeit that it was assembled with the assistance of BMW German specialists. it was not assembled at the factory ion Germany so in that sense the 'only left hand drive production comment ' is correct. There were a number of E30M3's brought into NZ new (I owned one back then as well). These were converted to RHD by Road and Track and others for authorised approval for road registration and use on our roads. Similarly, Byrds in the UK converted a number of E30M3's for the same reasons.

Maybe, but that is what it came from the factory with and that is what, for this particular vehicle, it should keep therefore.

Thank you Nic. There's two interested party's at present (well, two that have communicated their interest :-)) , so we'll see. I haven't sold a car to other than car dealers for a while so I don't even know if it has the appropriate market exposure (it's in Dixi as well). I had one particular person who seemed more interested in trying to tell me how to live my life. Suffice to say that we did not enjoy each other's 'company'. I am confident that whoever buys the car will not be disappointed. Quality does not disappoint imho.

Oh...no problem Nic, no offense taken at all. Yes, I know what you mean about the holiday convertable experience. I hired a convertable Mustang in Hawaii some years ago. Absolutely fantastic. Just blew me away how good that was cruising around Diamond Head and around to the famous surfing 'pipeline' in that little convertable. Of course, you wouldn't bother here in NZ in the middle of our winter but then who likes driving in sh*t weather anyhow ...no matter what your ride :-( The Cabrio sits side by side with our Sport Evo. They really are just two very different cars. You are more than welcome to drop in and aquaint yourself with the difference close up. Too many people have misconceptions and stories to tell...but here is an opportunity to see 'beauty and the beast' side by side :-) And again, I have not put a price on the Cabrio. What is important is that I am comfortable with where it goes to and feel confident that it will be looked after. Price is negotiable.

Sort of... every dollar over 57k Aussi you pay a 'luxury car tax' ...10% I think. Then, you get nailed for gst (don't we all...yawn) @ 10%, so say you wanted to send your 1987 E30M3 over there, you have freight costs + vehicle value with gst added and if its over the 57k mark then start adding on. Apparently designed to help there local markets with homemade product (Commodore, Falcon etc.). Actually, imho, good for them. No seriously, at least they are looking after their Country. I guess that is why so many of our Kiwi folk go wandering over there.

Ta for that Spargo . Yes, they are worlds apart :-)

3pedals, I think that you and I are talking about two vastly different things. 'Motorsport' extras, as made available to the public when ordering a new street M car is one thing (what I suspect you are talking about). Real Motorsport gear as used in race cars is another. Take the homologated version of the E30M3 for example. This is but a shadow of what Motorsport backed teams and privateers had as a car. There really is no comparison other than a shell and maybe door cards. OK, so the engine might have had the same cubic capacity but that is about where it stops. You really have to look at the real Motorsport version to appreciate just how vastly different the street M3 and race cars are in virtually every respect. To understand this, just try checking out 'motorsport' parts as listed options on a BMW parts catalogue for cars sold to the public....you will probably find them without too much fuss. Now try finding out the part numbers of REAL Motorsport racing parts. Different ball game altogether :-)

Same ones that Fred Flintstone uses ?

Nice one . Wonder who that naughty boy hiding in the passenger seat of the Cab is....hehehe. And I definately think we should chop those two Porsches ......so sad, they beat us...boo hoo :-( Nah, not really...it was a fun day and everyone put their best foot forward. Not really my scene but glad to help out. I have to say though that I just can't get my head around why they have age points. You know, like if a car is older (starting backwards from 5 years old I think) it gets an extra 1 point per year up to 40 points. Hope I've got that right.....so 40 years back from say 2002 is 1962 so if your car is 1989 and another car is 1962 or older, the way I read it is that that car picks up an additional 27 points by default. Two cars in each team so if they are both 1962 or earlier then that would mean an extra 54 points (pretty sure that is the way it works but feel free to correct me if that's incorrect). That is pretty hard to compete against when you've got 1989 cars up against cars that were considerably older. But well done to all those teams, didn't look like there was much in it at the end of the day.

Agree with Hybrid here. That rear spoiler looks to me like a pseudo mock-up of an E30M3 rear spoiler which imho looks a bit try-hard. Prefer the 325 Motorsport rear like the pics that Hybrid shows. Each to their own I guess but personally I wouldn't bother with a kit (of any sorts) without addressing the overall look of the car once fitted. For example, that car could do with either the wheel arches filled better with different wheels/ tyres or a different spring set that lowers the car by say 30mm or so. Hmmm, and then I suppose by the time one has spent all that money getting it looking right you might as well have bought something that was the business to start with. Maybe I'm being a bit tough on it here.....I do appreciate that not everyone can afford to get the whole bling looking just right :-)

Bump. Anyone got pics of the two cars together in the final judging arena ?

Hmmm, ok, I was going to leave this alone but it seems that I did not communicate my response adequately. I was NOT talking about genuine Motorsport parts (race parts) in the context of race only cars. What I was trying to say is that the real Motorsport parts are a far cry from what is often represented as MS in the general public domain. Furthermore, in response to Nath, having real Motorsport parts in your car does not preclude that car from being entirely street legal and moreover, entirely driveable in a street environment. Perhaps my choice of words was not as good as it could have been ? Here are some examples which hopefully will explain : ok, I can take parts from a DTM or gruppe-a engine/ suspension and fit them in my M3. Can I go the whole hog ?....of course not because the damn thing will be near on impossible to drive in traffic. But can I utilize MS cams, valvetrain, head (WITH APPROPRIATE EMS AND TUNING) , diff (variable ratios), some front suspension items........and still be quite streetable ? Absolutely ! So, I am not in any way, shape or form knocking the factory 'motorsport' versions (hell, I have friends that own them and personally, I really like them...damn, I even said that our M3's are watered down versions). The comment was simply to highlite the fact that the real Motorsport gear is a whole different world....heinously expensive and not what is really put in the street versions.......and that does NOT mean that some of those items cannot be used in a street car. Peace :-)

Thanks Mike. I'll pm you. Now here's the rules : passengers with excessively long dreadlocks must wear a hairnet or ponytail (driver visibility issue)......no duel ponytails allowed as this will look suspect , passengers over 6ft 6in tall are recommended to wear a full face crash helmet (saves getting bugs in ya face), byo umbrella (in case it rains and the roof malfunctions), if the need arise to spit or vomit then please use the bags provided (this saves messing up the back seats which need to be kept clean for more useful purposes :-) ).

No offense, but that whole ' Motorsport' deal is just a marketing ploy. Even our street M3's are just a watered down version of true MS set-ups. Perception though from the buying public is that it is something special......and in some ways that is true....but it ain't no race car, not even close

I honestly would not even contemplate such a mission. Sorry but my two cents is to part it out and pick on something that is not going to reem you upside down financially. Even if you completed the excercise......what have you got and what is it worth ? Moreover, for the $$$$ that you WILL have spent, what could you have bought that would trip your trigger more ?

Do you have a camber problem ? i.e. when did you last have that adjusted ?