E30 325i Rag-Top

But it’s not an EV, how did it catch fire?? And just think of all the emissions from that.

Not anymore it’s not, all new BMWs are filled with Shell and all BMW franchise dealers use Shell now. That said Castrol would have been the factory fill for that car. Top of the range Penrite and Shell would be valid alternatives.

Welcome back, when you say “we” does that mean you’ve brought Jack back with you..?😆

I’d take the 325i Sedan on TradeMe as a guide and add approx $4k for being manual and not being green on beige. A lot depends on condition, colour combo and options fitted. It does tick a lot of the right boxes (325 manual low kms NZ new) those finer details determine the exact price in the market. Photos would help..

Engine porn from BMW Classic today.

The extra metalwork in the body to allow for a rear door opening on a sedan is what usually gives the extra stiffness. The strengthening added more than compensates for the metalwork skin that is removed. Seems odd that we are discussing the body stiffness of a nearly 30 year old road car as being an important factor.

Wow! That is “compact” in there.. be such a mission to try and get to anything to work on it.

“Is there any structural damage to the chassis..?” The big crease in the sill shown in the photo would suggest a yes to this question.🤦🏻

Yes, it’s a VERY nice car, really well styled and the execution of the idea is fantastic. The best ever though… that’s a big call.

Whilst I’m no E36 expert, only the M3 ever really appealed to me, I seem to recall that the 318iS coupes in the UK all came with the full M-Sport kit, half leather interior and decent sized wheels? The end of production run with the funky colours for the sedan was called something on top, like 318iS Sports Edition or similar. Yes they are different models and scarcity which I guess has a big impact on the resale values.

Give Ray at HellBM a call, he has done a number of SMG to manual conversions, not sure about the 650 though.

I think that is a commonly held idea here in NZ. Having owned both a Subaru and BMWs here I wouldn’t say there is much difference. Labour rates and pricing for most franchised dealers are pretty much line ball, and genuine parts for Japanese parts can be up there as well. If it’s a used car, I guess the servicing would be at a reputable Indy garage, ring around and get some indicative pricing for him to compare?

@hugo_nz nice spec, looks great in the configurator images.

This black 323i coupe ended up going for $6,350 in the end. Pretty good price for no WoF or rego. Luckily, it got up to more than I could risk without viewing.

Most $$$ = strip it and sell parts yourself = most effort / hassle Middle $$$ = sell complete on BMW groups = some hassle Lowest $$$ = sell to wrecker, they want to make a buck and are taking a risk = least effort for you. No idea what it’s worth sorry, either as a whole or in bits, I’m not across 528i market.

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.

As I understand it, the lithium ion reaction creates a runaway heat situation, even without the oxygen to burn. As soon as any oxygen gets in it flares up into a fire again, and takes ages to cool down. Whereas old fashioned petrol engined cars go whoomph, burn out quickly and then go to the scrappy. I’d be pretty sure there’s more emissions from ICE fires than EVs, mainly because there’s more of them. Yes, an EV probably chucks out a few more nasties, but less of them.

Hot oil leaking onto an exhaust. Not sure about that, I was always told all fires need three things: fuel, ignition and oxygen. The latest hi-tech equipment that’s being deployed to fight the anti-christ that is the EV fire… the good old fashioned fire blanket! Great big car sized ones. Cuts off the oxygen.

Of all the 7er I do like the styling of an E38, in this case the kit and wheels make it look worse than a factory M-Sport to me. The wheels look to be an M-Par copy to my untrained eye. Reason to pay less for this one, not more.

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.

The first of many ICE engines to be cut from the range, with the next level of Euro 6 (e?) emissions coming into effect it’s impossible to get the performance engines to comply. Combined with fleet average CO2 targets in most OECD countries they don’t stack up any more. The M760Li engine is crammed into the engine bay on a G12 7er, it would be a TARDIS like effort to get it into anything smaller. I’m not sure it would be worth all the effort tbh, unless it’s a kit-car / replica of something V12 and you need that sound a boosted 6 or V8 would probably give better output and weight balance?

If that wasn’t so true, it would be very funny.

Will be interesting to see where that ends up price wise, a bit of a risk with no WoF, but it looks to be a solid and pretty tidy 323i Coupe. Luckily it’s well down south or I might have gone to look at it and ended up with 3 E30s in bits!

@runtothehills yes there are M2 manuals in NZ, not many, but there are a few and they come up for sale very rarely - with a price premium. There are also a few M2 Comp in manual, and the ONLY NZ new M2 CS is a manual (and was up for sale fairly recently). If you only want the manual, patience will be the key. I suggest trying an M2 Comp with DCT, I don’t think you will be disappointed.