KwS

Its been a couple of years now, how has this held up, Dave?

Well, the time has come. I'm keeping the BMW for the foreseeable future, so the only logical next step was to drop some dead weight, and pull out the subs. The decision to keep the BMW wasn't one I took lightly, but I'm not sad or disappointed to be stuck with it. I actually quite like the car. There are a few things that didn't suit me about the car though, and having a bunch of useless weight sitting over the rear axle is one of those things. The boot install looked nice, but it really killed my enjoyment of the car. It sounded bad, and had been hastily thrown into the car. The main issue was that the capacitor on the driver's side wasn't actually secured by anything and was just sitting on top of the battery. This meant that every time I cornered hard (like an M3 should), the damn thing would fall over and go for a scoot along the boot floor, until the power wires restrained it. It was sitting on a block of wood So out it all comes. I'll tell you what, getting the sub box out was a mission. First out comes the floor panel and amp from the spare wheel well. Then the side amp, and capacitor come out. This gives enough room to shoehorn the rest of the trim and the box out of the boot opening. Turns out the box wasn't secured at all and was held in with hopes and dreams. It's a big box, that's for sure. I forgot how big a coupe boot actually is! In goes the carpet from Pick A Part, after a quick vacuum Even though this spare wheel doesn't hold air (buckled and leaks at the bead), I still put it in the boot as it helps to hold the carpet up, and also helps with weight balance. I need to find another wheel at some point. The wheel and tire weigh about the same as the amp that was in there, it was a beast. The previous owner butchered all the standard wiring for the speakers, so unless I want to run a whole lot of new wiring, I'm stuck with running the speaker amp. Thankfully I actually like this one as it looks cool, and doesn't take up too much space. Even the wiring going to this is a mess though. Yes, that is the pair of RCA connectors (usually used as one pair for front, and one pair for rear), split out to fill all four channels, front and rear. I'll rejig the RCA cables that went to the sub amp, and use them for the rear speakers so fronts and rears are split properly. The final result isn't perfect. The carpet needs some fettling to tidy it up, and the battery is the wrong size so the plastic cover on it doesn't quite fit properly, but otherwise, it's now a fully functional boot. Driving the car to work yesterday and the lack of weight is noticeable. It's not major, but it doesn't feel like you're dragging the backside around anymore. I would've pulled a good 20-30kg out. The next steps for the car are in motion. I have a set of BC Gold adjustable coilovers to go in, and a nice Purple Tag E46 steering rack to replace the horrible 3.0 M3 rack, which is the dumpster fire of steering racks. I'll also be rebuilding the vanos, since I already have the parts to do it, just need the time.

Its bloody gorgeous as it is. Im not even usually an E30 fan, but damn what a looker.

It's also not really for sale anymore unless someone wants to pay the full asking price. The E36 video made my winkie tingle. And then I went out and revved mine to 7k and all was right in the world.

Source for new fuel caps? That really sucks about the rack, I cant believe (well, i can really) that autosure weasel'd their way out of paying for it. They shouldn't just "wear" in that sort of timeframe, but hey, that's what insurance companies are for, to get out of paying after taking all your money.

Looking for a good condition low KM purple tag rack. Prefer if it came with inner rack ends, don't need outers.

Finally got around to ripping out the South African show spec boot install, and fitted Pick a Part carpet (needs some more fettling to level it out). Its on tardme if anyone wants it. Also got some BC Golds on the way, and looking for a purple tag rack.

I saw that purple one in person at a show earlier in the year. Looked like a really nice example (other than the tacky M3 badges stuck everywhere). I'd pay 20k for it if i were in the market, knowing what others are going for, and whats actually on the market.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-2042740769.htm Tobagoblau inside and out. Certainly not an "M3" colour AFAIK, but looks nice on E36/E46.

Markets bloody saturated with them. Two at 20K now? Jeez, too common ?

I just gave up trying to sell the M328i. 10k wouldn't shift it, and I'm damn sure you can't buy the sum of its parts for less. It's a buyer's market for sure. I too can't believe how cheap 130i/135i/335i have gotten in the last year or so. Performance bargains.

Likely, but it's not like other M3s are spring chickens either. Most are over 200k and still twice my asking price. Engine runs as good as my old one that had 200,000k on it. No smoke, no oil or coolant use and minimal leaks (damn cpv weeping). Neither its condition or how it runs shows 300,000km, it's literally only the number on the cluster. I could've been like the previous owner and try to pretend the cluster wasn't original to this car and it's really only done 200,000km, but I'm not an a**hole.

Its been a while, for two main reasons, but I'm still here, and for now, so is the BMW. The first reason has been that despite putting some KM on the BMW, it's been pretty reliable and solid. I even ticked over the magical 300,000KM mark the other week. The other reason is that a while back I was offered a car that I basically only have one chance to own in my life. There is a very long story around how I still don't have that car, but basically I have been trying to sell the BMW to get funds and space to buy the other car, but without success. I have had a stupid amount of stupid people wasting my time, which infuriates me, but still no one has fronted up with the cash. This leaves me in a limbo of sorts. I'm reluctant to give up on this other car and keep the BMW, as I likely won't get another chance for one again, but I also can't keep dropping the price and losing my arse just to push a sale quickly. So since I'm still stuck with the car, I'm also limited on spending money on it, or working on it. There are a few things that I will do to the car IF I keep it, but at this point I still don't know what's happening. In the meantime I have picked up a few things from Pick A Part. They had a coupe with a complete boot carpet, which I picked up so at some point I can rip out the boot install and go back to having a functional boot. I also grabbed a few cosmetic bits that were a bit shabby on my car. All cheap bits that aren't easy to get. One of the most important cosmetic bits I got was a new headlight switch. I hated seeing mine every time I drove the car because it was badly worn/scratched/scuffed. It also didn't light up like it should. You can see how horrible the legend around the dial looks, but even the I/O on the vent above is badly worn. These are super easy to remove, with only one screw on the underside of the dash surround, going up into the switch housing. Remove that, and gently pull the switch forward (I hold it by the dial). Its clipped into place in the top of the vent, but it'll come free with some wiggling. The wiring is fairly short for the foglight switch, so take care not to pull too hard or you can break that switch. The headlight switch wiring connector has a collar that twists around and the plug will come out. The replacement I sourced has a broken switch for the headlights, so when you turn the dial it doesn't click like it should. That's OK, my current one works fine, so I will swap them over. First pull the dial off. It's a press fit There are two things to note when that is removed. First, the light pipe in the back, at about 10-12 o'clock position. This is how the bulb feeds light to the notch on the dial, so it lights up. The other is the large plastic nut. I used a set of large needle nose pliers to turn this and remove it. Once removed, the whole switch will come away from the fascia. This is a really good time to replace the bulb, which is inevitably blown. This can be done with the switch still fitted to the fascia, but it's easier to push the bulb out the front, than to pull it out the back. The bulb is in a large plastic holder. If you push on the top of it, it will push out of the back of the switch The bulb is a small "grain of wheat" 286 bulb. Now, I believe the original BMW bulb was 0.3W and about $10 a piece! Madness. In the past I have chosen to use the much brighter 1.2W bulbs readily available on eBay. They do obviously run hotter, but other than a shorter lifespan, there doesn't seem to be any issue running them, but do so at your own peril. I went this route again this time. Now it's time to strip the good switch from the old fascia. With a new bulb fitted, install the tube into the good switch. The end of the tube is keyed to only go in one way, but be careful that the bulb passes clearly through. If the bulb isn't seated correctly, you can smash the bulb inside the light switch.... I found out the hard way. Now install the good switch on the good fascia, reinstall the nut and dial. Plug it into the car (without installing it) and test that everything works as it should. It should light up with the key on. If all is well, reinstall it into the dash and fit the screw. So much better! I couldn't stop there. I had the bulbs out, and I knew one other thing wasn't lighting up in the car; the climate controls. This is another thing I had to fix in the first M3, as that also had neither the headlight switch or climate controls light up when I got it. This is also an easy fix. First pull all four dials off. They are a friction fit. Next remove the two screws (one under the fan speed dial and the other under the vent control dial). Now the fascia can be gently pried forward until it pops off The back of the fascia is pretty cool. It has a series of light pipes to distribute the light from the single little bulb, to all of the areas around the dials that need to light up. The buttons (recirc, AC, demist) are all lit with little LEDs on the back plate. The little bulb lives dead center near the top of the unit. Gently pull it forward and it will come out of its holder. There is some discolouration around mine, and it did have a bigger 1.4W bulb fitted by the previous owner, but no distortion of the plastic or anything. Pop a new bulb in and turn the lights on. Now clip the fascia back on, insert the two screws, refit the four dials and you're done. Bling bling. And with all the other light up stuff The last thing that didn't light up was the ashtray. Turns out the whole bulb holder is missing, but not to fret, I picked up a replacement at Pick A Part today also. A non-smoker package pocket to replace the ashtray. Fixes the light not working, and also gives me somewhere to put my phone. Win. Great success. Now I can see things in the dark. Hopefully soon I will know what's happening with the car. Either it'll go to a new owner, or I will be ripping the boot install out.

Holy wow, that's the most unsaggy glovebox lid i think i have ever seen ?

That's how the M3 gets away with thinner swaybars than lesser models, just based on the different mounting position.

No sound from just radio/FM, or CD/Aux etc also?

i got my Bosch plugs from here. Look to be older stock, but work well. https://www.bindons.co.nz/product/21528-bosch-spark-plug

Ive heard talk of the Y5DDC plugs coming apart, but never seen it happen. Very curious how it came loose, is the crush washer on the plug crushed? There is an NGK alternative, but i dont recall the PN. It was also damn near impossible to find in NZ without being a horrific price, so i went with the Bosch too.

Seller seems to be getting a tad bothered in the q&a now. I still bet though, that despite their insistance that you will see the value when viewing it, it won't be more than a 25k car max. I'd be curious if things like the vanos have been done, but I'm not one to waste time asking.

Translate.google.com or even better, the Google translate app on your phone. Pissing into the wind otherwise, not knowing what the codes are.

Love the half alcantara "cloth" trim on the motorsport seats. BMW has been using it since at least E46/E39 and I much prefer it to the leather.

Also, whats up with the faded badge? Guessing it spent most of its life outside in the UK?

I'm fond of the idrive controller photo, personally.

The thing is, the seller has no intention of "finding out the hard way". They're sticking to their guns. All their listings are significantly over priced. I dont know what the game is, but they aint selling. I even love that the previous owner said its worth about 25k, and the seller claims their "valuer" has told them its price has gone up. For that sort of money i would want the steering wheel retrimmed so its not worn and shiney, same with the gear knob, a glovebox that isnt sagging, and an exhaust that isnt hanging down. The front LH bumper rub strip looks like its marked as well. And thats what i can see from the photos, let alone what i'd point out in person.