gjm

Quick bump and a shout out (I'm told by my daughter that is the correct term) for Gavin at EuroItalian. Bought more bits and pieces from him - very happy.

The welding on the rise to the tailpipe is a bit messy. Probably effective, but could be much tidier. I think the pie cuts are there to deal with heat expansion and possibly a change in material (different expansion rates). This one isn't perfect, but it's much better.

I have represented this remark.

There seem to be more 320s in NZ than anything else! Or is that just more 320s being offered for sale? They're a perfectly competent car. Just lack the extra oomph of a 325, but have the reduced engine bay space and extra servicing cost compared to a 4-pot.

I was 'chasing' an E21 for several months. Seller was hot and cold on the sale the entire time, and seemed reluctant to share info. It was even difficult/impossible to arrange a viewing. Then it was sold. 'Someone had phoned' and offered to transfer money to his account. Probably best that I missed it.

Sorry Charlie - too many cylinders for me.

I saw that earlier. Looks very nice. I had something that looked kinda similar, about 30 years ago! In the UK, so it had some quite extensive Hydrated Iron (III) Oxide patina. It was 'that' colour beige, which hid rust quite well.

Miss M has bought a 2013 116i F20. She's very pleased with it - it's a nice car. Seems unlikely she would have found a decent E30 for the same money!

Me? Not much. Miss M? She bought a 2013 116i. Really is a lovely little car.

Expensive to live with? No more than anything else. 🙂 The biggest expense for my 500SE is fuel. I've replaced brake discs and pads, and serviced regularly, but no other significant costs. There will be... I plan to renovate it which will mean many $$$ on paint. Again, that's true of any car. The E30 and 190E are different. The 190E is better on road, rides more comfortably, and feels like a bigger, better-built car. The E30 feels lighter and smaller, but more susceptible to imperfect surfaces, is less comfortable and feels smaller. 'Feels' - the actual numbers really aren't so different.

It's been for sale for quite a while. Good engine, good gearbox, should be lots of fun. $16k...? Hmm. Difficult to justify, but standard 190Es are appreciating. If you are keen on a 190E, I have two of them here which will be looking for new homes...

I'm going to have a look at a SL320 later this week. It'd make a lovely stablemate for the 500SE. It's not like I have to do to at the moment! Gotta keep busy.

Looking at it from this angle, it looks as though it may have been. From memory, ABC designed the windscreen surround to support the weight of the car in the event of a rollover.

I was finding cars of similar age! The huge disparity in 'new' purchase price is remarkable given the (now) difference in s/h asking. Pagoda? ❤️ Lovely car to look at, terrible things to try to drive with any sort of enthusiasm. Hasn't stopped them becoming expensive beyond 'normal' pockets - there's one on TradeMe now for $380000. Sounds high... But so do asking prices for E30s. To me, at least. based on playing with them for 30-odd years. The R129 is one which will likely appreciate soon. The R107 which it replaced has already become expensive in some cases, but (like E30s) prices are all over the place. The Mercedes will probably take longer to appreciate in value as they are not regarded by many people as an economic car to own - the E30 is very much a people's car, and one which is fun, fairly simple, reasonably easy to maintain, and in (relatively) plentiful supply. The Mercedes had lower production numbers (although often longer production runs), cost a lot more when new, and has a reputation for being expensive to live with.

That's because the rose-tinted glasses are off. They've been there, done that, and won't pay the premium prices for something which is likely to cost more once bought. E30s are very poopular, as prices show, but most seem to be being bought by first-timers. Generally very reliable. Not necessarily the 'glory days' - that was perhaps 10 years earlier - but they're good cars. The R129 was made for over 10 years so there's lots of choice. Most of the engines are pretty bullet-proof provided they're maintained correctly. The M104.991 in the SL320 does suffer from a biodegradable wiring harness in the engine bay, but sort that and they'll run for a million miles.

E30s selling at $15k+ are now double the price of a slightly newer, similar condition, Mercedes SL320. One of these cars was $270000, new.

I saw a set of sports seats for sale on the south island - needed some work. $1200 IIRC.

From factory with Sports front seats, M-Sport suspension and 25% LSD.