E30 325i Rag-Top

Yeah, I was going to suggest maybe it was the direct injection, much noisier - almost diesel like in sound. Not sure about wastegate rattle, M135i would be F20 not E82 and I think that's a different turbo configuration? service interval is "condition" based, not purely Kms travelled, so lots of short cold trips and it drops much quicker. Long trips of hot running could work the other way, if it was shorter trips before you bought it.

I got mine off TradeMe, got the mid-price stuff, seems Ok. Lots of sizes and shapes available from what I recall.

Alfa have priced the QV well below the M3 for NZ. Deliberately.

Not content with spending lots of money on die-cast models of cars I dream of owning, I am now getting hooked into paying far too much for the tools and bits and pieces to complete a plastic model kit of the E30 M3 that I stumbled across on t'internet. Going to go broke or be killed by a pile of models before I get near to owning the real thing at this rate!!

I look forward to hearing your opinions on this. in a few weeks I will finally get to evaluate the QV, if it doesn't break first...

Agreed, the level of detail in the die cast models has come a very long way since I was a kid playing with corgi models. There are still the smaller scale and cheaper Hot Wheels type models, but the larger scale collectors types are really finely detailed now - but not cheap. If I could stop buying die cast model E30 M3s then I might have a chance of saving up and buying the real thing!! The latest Scalextric cars are also much much better in terms of the details on the model, but the downside of that is that they are very easily broken when racing - so most of mine have never been out of the box and on the track to race just in case!!

I would say that is a great price for that car looking at the kit it has on it / in it and the pedigree it clearly has. I just wish I could love the E36 the same way I love the E30, so much more bang for buck...

The whole "genuine" M-Sport thing does get over-played (see the multiple threads on here for example) and as you say for a 20 year old E36 it is a moot point, particularly on a car that is no longer original. Unless it is a car where being a genuine M-Sport can affect the value of the car - a collectable early car like an E30 M-sport, E28, etc. in which case i think it is important and often sellers are trying to "over sell" their car because it has an M badge and some wheels. Typed a whole load of other stuff, but was going off on a tangent, so deleted it, meh.

The fit out of a genuine M-Sport does not vary that much - the only thing that can be changed is the suspension, M sport can be swapped out for std shocks and springs. However, some M-sport options such as the suspension can be added to non-M-Sport cars, such as this one, which is why it has 704 in the build sheet. A genuine factory M-Sport will have option code 337 M-Sport Pack, or on older cars 336. This is a "package" of options all bundled into one number, like 704, 710 Steering wheel, body kit, anthracite headliner, 481 Sports seats, plus the trims and badges. This car has obviously had some parts swapped into it during it's life as those look like M3 Vaders which were not an option from factory on non-M3s, plus the rims which could be genuine. Overall it looks good, the swaps are in-keeping with the car and it is tidy overall.

Shame, it is such a great looking car, and such a historic car make that it would be great for it to be a great success. The odd issue here and there and it could be overlooked, but such widespread issues will be very, very, hard for the car to shrug offy/even if they are sorted very quickly.

Yeah, true. Wife's car is also overdue a service and new glow plugs as well, that's outside, and can't get it in the garage - and I'm not doing it in the pissing rain. Oh joy!

Nothing that flash really, bit of maintenance on the 'vert, cambelt and stuff, and playing with a 5-stud rear end on the race car. none of which is happening at any kind of speed really...

Walked into garage - looked at two works in progress and a pile of parts, sighed, walked out again. Anyone know the BMW part numbers for motivation and enthusiasm? I seem to be out of both at the moment.

People that put up a complete quote of the previous post to respond to it, aaaahhhhggg! It makes the thread twice as long as it needs to be, especially on a phone reading it. It it is NOT needed if it is the immediately preceeding post, only if you are replying to a post back in the thread somewhere. Driving me nuts...

Hey, is it manual or auto? Looking for a new daily for the wife, she is fed up of driving a manual E46 330d Touring in auckland traffic.

Actually it's not even that exciting, it's Confomity of Production. Which relates to the homologation and approval of the vehicle for emissions and safety systems. etc. To be able to "prove" that every car manufactured meets the standards passed by the original test vehicle one in every 100 or so built of the same model has to be pulled off the production line and tested to the same regulations. You will be able to see the two option codes 01CA and 8SP which both relate to the CoP which basically show the production team that this particular unit is built under the Conformity rules and can possibly be extracted for testing.

Good idea for a "grass roots" type series, but with the very crowded market place currently it would be extremely hard to get any sort of exposure and profile for such a series. Ssangg Yyong have thrown everything they have including the kitchen sink, into their ute racing series and despite managing to buy their way into some premier events the level of exposure, I would say, is well down on what you would expect from that sort of marketing budget.

A race series... hmm after the amount of money the last MINI challenge cost to run I don't think there's much left in the coffers to fund another one, even with stock cars. Unfortunately, the win on Sunday, sell on Monday is no longer true mainly due to the fact that race cars bear little or no resemblence to the cars on the roads. Homologation specials, like the E30 M3, we pretty much the last of that breed.

You should have kept it Bruce, you need more E30 in your life!!

The whole "the apprentice did it" BS it was really gets me. It's been a while since I been employed on the workshop side and not in NZ, but it always used to be that you had to be FULLY trained and COMPETENT to work on critical safety systems on a car - brakes, ABS, airbags, etc. For EXACTLY this reason. If "the apprentice did it" then the onus falls on the qualified mechanic to double check and authorise the work he has done, at the very least. I know these rules apply for HT vehicles in NZ, not sure about passenger vehicles, but it should do in my book. Too many cowboys out there that don't give a sh!t, need to be forced out of the industry.

As long as his ineptitude doesn't kill anyone in the meantime Glenn! For my 2c those wheels are 10 times better than any ACS, never been a fan of them, even in the 80s when they were fashionable.

I respectfully suggest you read up a bit more on the E30 M3 and get an understanding of the various models, editions, etc. From what you posted it would appear that you are referring to the White RHD M3 Evo that has been listed for a long time on TradeMe. Which is covered on another thread in here, I think I said "the seller is confusing an Evo with an Evo3" due to the price. Is it possible you are doing the same?

Hello and welcome to Bimmersport. True there have been a few more examples come on to the market in recent months to ride the price wave. Haven't seen any sitting for too long though, with the exception of the dubious car in the USA. Many have sold without coming to the open market, including the black one now gone from NZ. Yes there are possibly better "bang for buck" cars out there for driving, but do they have the same rarity / history / collectibility of the M3 SE3? In some ways it is a shame they have become the possessions of investors and collectors rather than drivers and enthusiasts. That is the downside of being such an icon.

depending on which exchange rates you are working off the price is a little below the international market for LHD examples in similar condition and mileage. E30 tax applies 10 fold on M3s and about 20 fold for the Evo3. The conversion would certainly have a negative effect, but it is still a genuine Evo3 and fairly easy to swap back to LHD if you can track down the parts. Fingers crossed it will stay in NZ and not go overseas as we have lost one glorious Evo3 recently already.

There is already one, the 2 Series Grand Tourer, F46, its just not offered for sale in NZ currently. Although strictly speaking it only adds two seats in the third row, not the three you ask for.