E30 325i Rag-Top

“I am trying to sell the car dear, it’s on TradeMe and everything, just not getting any interest”..?

Because you all know Tech I > Tech II

Great question - a few have been sitting in there for some time, I see the flipped M325I Tech 1 is back on again for silly money. Of those which sell its impossible to tell which have sold for asking or near the ask price.

There’s always two sides to every story, and that’s one side. The other side of the story reads quite differently, but no point re-hashing that now. And as the saying goes “the truth is somewhere in the middle”. As someone said above there are no winners in all off this.

The good news is that after measuring up with the trusty eye-crometer it looks like the bolt holes are the same for both the Tech 1 and the lip, so if I’m not happy with the result it’s easy to swap over. My only concern is the Tech 1 will look a bit much without the matching rear skirt - which I also really want but that’s another issue..

I think it went for under $7k in the end, I would put that firmly in the “bargain” category..

Could be great news that it’s been found, fingers crossed for you that there is minimal damage, and it’s covered by insurance. Sucks that no car insurance wants to cover consequential losses for all the stuffing around you have to do to get things sorted. Any word on how they managed to take it? Anything from the CCTV?

Actually got to do some work on the race car today, for the first time in ages! Have cleared a number of other jobs off the to-do list, so the race car is back to the (near) top. First jobs were to move the pile of bits off the top of it, so I could actually get to work on it, and then too vacuum all the dust and sh*t off - it’s amazing how much crap gets under the bonnet, even with it down!

What are your current tyre set-up, how old are they how much tread on them etc? Also, what are all the bushes, etc like in the suspension? Shocks and springs good? I’d be looking at stuff like that before throwing new wheels and tyres at it, and the things M3AN listed above?

Totally agree with Qube, they are fantastic little cars and do so many things so well. I have one at the top of the list for wife’s replacement vehicle in the near future. Some might say they are the newer E87 130i..

Keeps any passengers getting a backie nice and warm in winter 😳

I wasn't sure that the charging time was correct, so I double checked with the fact sheet. iX Charging.pdf The 54 hour charging time is only when using the 3-pin contingency charger, which you would only really do if you were stuck somewhere away from home or a charging network. Using a wall-box charger on single phase you can get 7.4kw supplied to the car (just under 30 amps) which is a more realistic time - as tbh if you have an EV like this you need a home or office wallbox to charge from, without the need to add in 3-phase power. It is possible to open the bonnet, but this is intentionally restricted as you don't really want people poking around in a high voltage area if they don't know what they are doing.

When I were a lad, my Dad bought a Renault 18, brand new. At one point it’s favourite trick was to switch itself off completely, at random intervals, whilst driving along. Very funny to look back on, but bloody scary when you’re in the back seat of a car doing 70mph and it decides to shut itself down.

Wow, 348 whp in an E30 should be plenty fun!!

Auction closed with no bids at $105k (no surprise) and it’s just been offered to watchers at $109k plus change.. WTF? Never understood people that offer at more than the original price.. no one was interested at the lower price to start with, why would they take a higher price on an offer..? Certainly an interesting way to (not) sell a car..🤪

Spent a wee while staring at the arse end of the convertible - decided it needs a little something, namely a boot spoiler. I can’t decide between the Tech 1 or the more subtle “SE” lip spoilers I have sitting in the cupboard. I do also have an M3 Evo III style spoiler from the race car, but thought that would be a bit OTT for a road going ‘vert.

La vie en auto Francais!

… not yet 🤫

Real easy to swap the E46 display from miles to kms or back again, so I think Kees has got it spot on. I don’t think you can change the units in the MVR for a vehicle that easily so the car and the records have gone out of whack. Personally, whether it’s kms or miles I would be looking at the condition of the car and the service work done. Biggest question for me would be the new wheels and non-brand tyres that have been put on. Is this the usual Pearce Bros showroom tidy up or was it the previous owner..? Nice price for an E46 M3 in manual, very interesting that as a vert it is cheaper than most coupes.

Hey Mike, long time no see or hear! How’s things? Are you after 4-cyl or 6-cyl race series springs?

@balancerider there is a little way to go before NZ gets to that position. BMW is one of the few car manufacturers that still offer ICE / PHEV / EV options across most models. Even diesel, which pretty much everyone has dropped like the plague (thanks a lot VW...). What it seems to result in is that for lower volume series (F/G/U series) only a set number of engine models can be offered.. so only 1 G70 version, 1 G42, etc. So things like M2, M3, M4, M5 will still be available just not five different flavours of each. Interestingly not only is the government trying to force people into EVs but the market is moving that way as well, even out side of the electric rebate bribe.

Sharks, poisonous snakes, poisonous spiders, ridiculous heat… or did you mean with the 130i..? Good luck with the move, I hope it works out well for you.

With this new 7 generation there is only the long wheel base (or should that be only one wheelbase?) being made at the factory. After many years of creating new models and body shapes it has now been realised that all the complexity is not a good thing so rationalisation and simplification is now the name of the game. Same for the models offered in each market, if there isn’t enough sales volume to support multiple engines then the options are limited.

Nice vid, always good to see (and hear) David Towe giving his JPS M3 a good work out. The M3 was entered into “the” race in ‘87 but that video is much more recent and not from the actual race. Must have been in the last few years as you catch a glimpse of the new hotel at the chase which hasn’t been there long.

Not strictly today, but took the vert to the cars & caffeine meet at Mount Smart, what an absolute cluster f**k on my part!! Was supposed to be going with the wife, but she wasn’t feeling well so bailed on Sunday morning. It was early start (for me) and roads were damp but looked like sun was coming out so I thought - yup go for it. Need to use the car more. Drive off, top down (as you must in a vert) realise five minutes up the road that I’ve forgotten to wear a hat (as you must in a vert). Now driving towards ominous rain cloud… keep positive thoughts… starts raining “only a few spots”.. more rain “it’ll stop soon”.. now really raining… bugger, stop to put hood up. Get to Greenlane Maccas for E30 pre-meet up, already a few E30s and lots of other cool cars there. Grab drive through beekkie and a coffee, start to feel human. Lots more E30s arrive, lots of new faces and a few familiar ones. Good chats, and smiles all round. Time to go to Mt Smart for main meeting, wagons roll, E30s driving off… mine won’t start. Realise I left my lights on while parked up, bugger. Find Good Samaritan with jump leads amongst group of old Skool American muscle group, and get a jump off the last remaining E30! Starts first pop with the leads, phew. Drive off realising I don’t know exactly where I’m going and no one to follow - hoping to see the lights of the stadium, but no… By watching the car behind and some last ditch lane changes manage to get there, but no chance to park with other E30s. Start to wander around looking a lots of cool cars and start to feel sub-optimal. Find a seat in cafe but still not coming right.. Decide to head off home before things get worse, but put hood down again, as sun is shining brightly. Do the crawl of shame through lots of people to get out and head home… a bit more rain.. but couldn’t be arsed to stop and put hood up. Why do I own a classic car again.. it’s fun they say… yeah right! And even better I now have the cold from the wife (nothing to do with getting wet in the rain, honest.).