BLACK DORIS

Hey, have started a new thread as there's a few questions in there that I'm hoping bimmersport members can advise me on. It's titled, noob search update and questions - go figure. cheers p.s. hope it's still in the right forum as it contains more tech type questions.

So, have been looking at a NZ new '86 e30 318i PFL (206,000 ks manual sedan) here in welly. As advised here, had the pre-purchase inspection done by a bmw specialist - Page European, who were very good and did a thorough appraisal and at a very reasonable price. Was $60 cheaper than the only other place listed in online yellow pages. Thanks Veejay/Bo. Report comes back and there's a list of around 19 items which vary from things like cracked bushes (-control and trailing arm), cracked steering belt, worn ball joint, worn rear shock bushes, L/F wheel bearing starting to become noisey, noisey tappets, minor oil leaks, cracked fuel hoses under bonnett etc. The major concern though was a steering fault. Page European were unable to establish the exact cause without getting into steering bracket etc (hope I got that right, I'm dont have much mechanical experience). Symptoms are: Wheel is stiff to turn, poss more so than a car without power steering. Once turn is made, the wheel fails to return to center easily, if at all. Needs to be manually returned to center after turn has been completed. Page European were reluctant to take car on a decent drive because of this fault which they considered too dangerous. As mentioned, this problem cant be identified exactly, without what sounds like potentially major steering surgery! Wondering if anyone at bimmersport has had the same steering experience with their e30's models of around this age, and more importantly - was it expensive to correct!! I still like the car and think that the items that were found are reasonable for the cars age and k's. It has no rust (well not that we saw, and no mentioned of rust was in inspection report). Has also had recon radiator and new clutch last year. PE quoted approx 1500 to get most of the items repaired although I'm not sure if that included the steering issue. - Sound reasonable?? Seller has a copy of report and is confident that he can have most issues repaired, find quotes for some of the other parts that need replacing (excl labour) and will find out and correct steering issue, poss himself. Edit. correct steering issue before sale - may do the repair job himself. Seller had always accepted responsibility for correcting this issue. I guess my question is - is this a specialised repair? It is the steering we're talking about!!! Would appreciate any advice regarding the findings of the appraisal also, What would be a reasonable price for the vehicle in it's current condition? Where to go from here -after all has been said I'm still considering buying if the repairs are sorted? Cheers

Not to offend the 318i owners, but not fussed about badge at this stage. More interested in who's selling/owned the vehicle and would obviously look at it more seriously knowing it's being sold by a site sponsor. Am still looking to buy our first bmw and have had great advice and information through the site already -reason I joined. (registered about a week ago).

haha. Hey, are you/hellbm selling this or were you putting it up as a link? Just saw it earlier tonite while doing a TM trawl... wondered what the deal was with listing then the boot. will add it to watch list. Looking at another couple of cars at mo, but if that doesn't go ahead may see how the auctions goin...

cheers, sorry for the tangent matty231!

Just read Gannetboys post here about warrenties. Is that through dealerships or poss for private sales as well? Apoligies in advance if this is already covered here somewhere else, or a plain stoopid question... p.s. if through an insurer anybody know who has the best rate/cover? cheers.

Best thing about the car was the motor! Moved to welly to study (never left). The bloody louver almost flew off in the first decent storm after I got here! Hahaha. Will hopefully redeem myself soon. Maybe even this week!

^ Was more concerned with the ref to the sunbird!! Should mention it was the box type shape and had a 186 put in, some slight body mods -spoiler, flared gaurds, louver. 225 feet all rnd etc... Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the above! Hope no one gives me too much s**t, was about 15yrs ago and only cost me about 1k. Seemed a good idea at the time! Lol.

Thanks for the feedback - Eddy, S'Fox, Crockett etc. Car will be for daily use and for us to learn the in's and out's of owning/up-keeping an older bmw. Looking to get something that's fairly economical on fuel for now. Have had some progress on a couple of things already and will be checking out a locally owned 318i tomorrow. Have also talked the partner round and we'll be going manual!! Looked breifly at a few e36's but actually prefer the shape and style of the earlier models. Plus if I squint real hard or sit way back from the lap top screen, the shape actually reminds me of my first car - a 79/80 sunbird! lol. Hope that doesn't get me banned from the site!

Lol, well off the topic but I did a quik search and without (hopefully) breaching any T&C's... And at the risk of sounding like a tv salesman. Generally: Plasma -hi res models hav good pic qual, has virtually no motion blur (fast pace/action stuff/sports), can be viewed from any angle, better blacks, richer colours, better pic qual in normal/low lite conditions. Does have cons - internal fan, runs hotter, can damage if layed flat (poss something to do with the gases need to create picture??) Vrs Lcd -gd picture qual, brighter (better in brite rms or daylite), lighter (kg's), no burn in, less power sappin. Not so good at angles, blacks can be dull in comparison, contrast not as good as plasma, etc. I'm no tv sales person or expert, just what i found online locally. Also brands and models will differ. No info detail re sizes. We're still using the trusty tube brick model at mo! Lol. Mainly for dvds. Brother in law has a ridiculous 60''+(??) lcd. Some things look amazin and others look so real that it kinda kills the movie e.g. will go from 'blockbuster' looking image i.e. kinda hyper real - to 'home movie' i.e. soo clear it looks like your watchin someones home/vcr movie footage -all within a couple of scenes! If you have a large clear wall in your place and you dont watch the box during day much, I'd get a projector!! We've just moved house and the new lounge wall is just crying out for it. Plus the previous tenant (our landlord) left his surround speaker system still fixed into cellin corners for us! Not sure of the prices, but i've seen them in harvey norman and they must be roughly the same price as a new 40''+ flatty by now?? Then you'd get the option of some serious gaming action too! Maybe sme on TM? First and foremost though for us is, purchase of our first bimmer!! Hope this is some help.

Have found yet another potential car here in welly from a member of the site! Will keep BS posted on how we go. Yea, it does look tidy, but from the research I've been doing (all 3 days of it, lol) it seems that the 320i is more thirsty for not much diff. Reminds me of the old 186, 202 debates.... Thought this would have gone for a bit more.... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=188344931

Hey, thanks for the advice and info. Def wasn't keen on having to bid without testing and would have wanted to do a pre-purchase assessment... At least I'm getting good advice, and in less than 24 hours! the search continues...

Noted, cheers!

Forgot to mention that the car is primarily for my partner who isn't too confident in driving a manual around the city.... Thanks for the advice!

Cheers, will give them a call today for more info...

Hey to all, Joined up to hopefully get some much needed advice on buying/owning our first bmw!! We have a small budget (3 -3.5k) and weren't even looking at bmw's until we did a quick search for what cars were avail in our $$ range, and to our surprise saw a few reasonable looking bmw's in the list. These are our 3 contenders in order of preference: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.as...amp;permanent=0 http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=189097223 http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.as...amp;permanent=0 What's peoples thoughts/advice, considering age and price? We live in Wellington so will not be able to view or drive the two Auckland listings. Is it too risky to take their word on state of vehicles condition? The second car was previously owned by a bmw collector, wondering if they are members here? There are also these listings as potential choices: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-189223294.htm http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.as...amp;permanent=0 Again, what are peoples thoughts on the above cars? The '91 is appealing as it is from a dealer, at least providing some cover in terms of any potential problems soon after sale. The '89 for the recon engine and buy now price. I read here that the 318 and 320 have little difference in acceleration but the 318 is far more economical...?? We have always admired friends and families bmw's for the way they drive and styling, but had presumed that they would be beyond what we would spend for a 'run about'. Having never owned a European car, we were also under the impression (like many non-owners) that they can be expensive to maintain and service. Although I'm sure that's true of most models that are pushing into they're second decade! Look forward to your informed responses Cheers