E30 325i Rag-Top

Hope you had a good one... ..you old fart!!

Old school for me... 1) 507 gorgeous lines and great performance for the time. 2) 328 - the 1930s model, not the E36 3) 3.0CSL Batmobile - so over the top it's great! Honourable mention for the F06 Gran Coupe and F13 M6. Much as I love the E30 M3, I cannot say it is beautiful, aggressive and purposeful yes, but not pretty to look at.

Being an old fart (with an E30 cab), is this good or bad? Does this make me a "hipster"??

Looks good. M135i is a rocket ship you can daily, this looks more aggressive but will probably have about the same performance.. yum.

I take it that is the option list for the Cab at the start of thread? Shame the m-sport steering wheel and cross spoke alloys have been lost along the way. It has gained the 325i badge on the boot as it was supplied de-badged. Looks in pretty good nick apart from the interior, would be good if it found a good home to tidy it up. Go for it!!

Pm me the last 7 of your VIN and I'll double check it, something sounds a little screwy.

Erm, pretty sure the Audi guys were in on it, if they were upset they wouldn't have hidden behind their cars laughing while they were paint-balled.This is Georgia remember, if they were serious it would have been guns and no cameras!

^^ I'm afraid you might as well ignore the numbers on it then, as it certainly wasn't fitted to the car when new. Has been swapped over at some point.

^^If its on the internets it must be true. My first house was a do-up which I rebuilt over 10 years with my own hands. That is what paid for me to live in Auckland. Like the earlier post - not lucky, it's called bloody hard work and sacrifices to get long term pay back. Kids today etc., etc..

Is it coupe or 4-door? I can't tell from the pics ?

You used to work for me at Fruehauf Trailers, long time back. Sorry to hear you've had the big c.At the best there will be a short list of options for the sealant to use, but probably only one.

^^ I need the name, address and e-mail, 1) to buy the car and 2) to get the guy arrested.. that it a crime!!

Hey Quinton - long time no speak, glad to see you are looking to move up from those Legnum's you love so much. Any repair like that will have a "BMW Approved" process for the panel beater to follow, using "BMW Approved" materials, and tools. None of which will be especially cheap, and probably difficult to get hold of from anyone but BMW. My suggestion would be if you want it done properly, which it sounds like if you have taken it to F & R, then do it this way, but try and haggle them down a bit on the price (if they are getting the bits from Jeff Gray then go and speak direct to then see if you can get them cheaper direct).

Nice score, glad you are pleased with it, wonder how long you will keep this one ! Nice colour combo, black on black. Wheels look good, but I think will be a bitch to clean.Checking out the build data for your car , you are quite right it is a "standard" car with a couple of M-Sport options - the suspension and the sports seats. A proper M-Sport has option code 337 M-Sport Pack, which includes a whole list of things, wheels, body-kit, steering wheel, seats, suspension, "M" badge on sill finishers, etc..

I have heard it's down to two things, the quality of the diesel fuel in Japan was not very good until quite recently, second it is perceived as being for commercial vehicles only... dirty, smelly, oily, etc. Japanese manufacturers have always been well behind the Euros, I guess because they never had the same market demands.

Be careful Dan, emissions regs change again on jan 1st 2014 I think.

NZTA Web-site lists all the requirements for importing vehicles. I think the emissions standards are now Euro 4 on both petrol and diesel vehicles. Do your homework, speak to your local entry certifier and it's not too bad. Otherwise could be an expensive paperweight. Used cars, even Bimmers are cheap in UK, especially over about 3-4 years old. Local BMW dealer will check it out for you for about 100 quid.

E30 M3s are over 20 years old, so not a problem as there is an excemption for that category (or there was the last time I looked).Do E39s have many air-bags? That is an issue I can see looming on the horizon, technically air-bags have an expiry date and they need to be replaced to comply. I don't think it has been picked up on yet by NZTA, but it has in the UK MoT testing so it will start to get 'noticed' more around the world.

Looks bloody horrible to me, looks like either a proto-type or home made special. Bloody awful!!

Some of that is deliberate.. in recent times there has been a backlash against flashy shows of wealth, so the idea is for the car to be under-stated on the outside but luxury inside. LCI has cranked it up another notch, with little external differences.

Wonder how long before it gets chipped and mapped...?

From another car dealer... ?? Maybe he doesn't understand the "auto-bid" feature??

Even with the 6-speed manual I think you will be a little disappointed with the performance of the petrol in the E90, especially up those twisty hills. E90 in 320d is much better proposition than the petrol 2.0litre, well worth the extra $$s. Wait until you can find a 320d in your budget would be my 2c Later E90 with the higher spec would be the go, but again price would be $$s Unfortunately 99.99% of the Jap imports will be petrol, for some reason they won't consider diesel in a car, only SUVs and vans.

I think this is because the old SA option info has not been incorportated into the main BMW systems. Anything built in SA before a certain date only comes up with the basic info, even the colour and upholstery codes are missing.Doesn't mean the car had no options from the factory, only that there are no records of it. Should be a good spec car, being SA built 325i.

Look for three things.. Service History, Service History and Service History. Make sure it has been done on time, and properly, not just taken to Oil Changers to have some SuperCheap Oil put in but at a dealer or independent specialist with proper oils, filters and all items necessry changed over. A pre-purchase inspection is also a must. If it's done those Kms and been looked after it's not a problem, if it's been run into the ground and not maitained you will be buying a lot of issues further down the track which will all cost you $$$