gjm

I like the interior! Some years ago, we very, very nearly bought a Designo-spec Mercedes CLK. In orange. With an orange and black interior. We loved it! Seller never got back to us or we'd probably still have it. The 'M-stuff' isn't rubbish. It may not be original, but it's a sensible upgrade using original BMW parts.

Today is the first day of my 4th week. And I'm working from home - spreading cold germs around the office is frowned upon! It's been quite tough... My boss - the GM of the council, so 2ic - has some strong preconceptions around what needs to happen and the outside agencies that will be used. She could be right, but I'm not being given time to investigate and check. It's all go, go, go. Fortunately some suppliers are being a touch lax about their delivery schedules which gives me a bit of breathing space, and she's on leave for a couple of weeks. I'm keen to make progress, but not having her looking for updates every five minutes is a relief. I'm new, she's ensuring I 'fit' the role I was recruited for - it'll all be fine. In parallel, I've since been offered 3 roles - a BoP Strategic transformation role, IS Program Director in Palmy, and another in Wanganui! Where were these people when I was looking for so long???!!!

Buyer paid $5100 but has decided his existing E34 suits him better, and has a line on another car he'd prefer so has relisted it. This one has some issues, but nothing that sounds too major. I think he overpaid, but that's just me.

17x7.5 is strictly too narrow for a 235/40-17. 8.0-9.5 are recommended widths for that size.

The Mercedes solution works best. Sidelights, headlights and foglights are on one rotary/push-pull switch. Turn one position right, sidelights on. And having turned the knob, you can pull out one position for front fogs, pull out further for rear fogs. Turn to second position right and headlights come one. (Main beam is on a column stalk.) You cannot turn the fogs on unless the sidelights or headlights are on. When you stop, turn off side/headlights, and it turns off the fogs - the knob moves back to the 'fogs off' position. And it makes a helluva beeping if you forget to turn the lights off. So simple. So not used by other manufacturers.

Too hard basket. Guidelines from 'management'. Unshakable belief that speeding is the work of the devil incarnate, and will lead to the extinction of humans as a species.

Errmm... M42 was never fitted to the E46? M43? Or N42?

"Even if sold registered the vehicle may require additional work to get it road worthy..."

Seller will say "Wouldn't cost much to sort." Well, f**king sort it then, and we can talk again!

To be honest, $4.5k max. And that assumes there's nothing nasty hiding anywhere. Let's put it another way. Seats are damaged (although not as badly as many I've seen), mileage and history are unknown. WoF and rego expire in less than 2 weeks. Dash is probably cracked (most are) but a dash mat has been fitted (not quite as common as a cracked dash). Obviously impossible to tell anything about the engine condition, brakes, gearbox, suspension, rear axle, underside, tyres, exhaust, electrics, or what rust may be hiding... Engine is the M20B20 which while nice enough to cruise with, combines the lower power of the 4-cylinder cars with the poorer economy of the 325. It's a good engine - just not an especially desirable one. Some people will prefer a manual gearbox - cars with a manual 'box tend to sell for higher prices. It's a misconception that manual cars are 'better' - they're just different, and typically people are prepared to pay more for them. It's a decent colour. Bodywork looks OK in the pics but it's almost impossible to tell, especially with a darker colour, without close inspection. Could be (with some work) a decent fairly unmolested example. Which would then make it, with WoF and rego, a ~$6k car. But it'll need some work to get there. It's is - categorically - not a $7.5k car.

Unless the PO craned it in an out of the garage and on to a trailer to take it for WoFs, the recorded odo reading would have changed, if only a little. And that would be refelected i the WoF reports. That it hasn't changed at all is a dead cert giveaway that the odo stopped working (as Kyu said - very common in E30s). I'd be adding 100000km to that reading. Have a read through the thread where discuss E30 values. It needs to be a good E30 to be worth $6k. The one you've posted pics of is OK, nothing unusual in the issues that have been spotted, but they do detract from the value. Lots of dreaming E30 sellers out there, sadly presenting a poor case for those who genuinely have an excellent example they're keen to sell.

At least twice what it might be worth. (IMO, etc, etc...)

Do you know Zee? I know he has a set.

We'll be nice to this ^ sales guy !

Depends on the mods, but typically I agree - no resale value in modifying a car. Fancy wheels, brakes and suspension, aftermarket seats, unusual paintwork will add interest, and may improve sale opportunities, but doesn't (normally) translate into more $$$ at sale time. Many mods can significantly reduce value - I won't look at a 'cutties', 'superlow', 'juddies' vehicle. If the owner can't fit decent suspension, what are the chances of them actually looking after the car? And E30s really suffer from this. If buying - check underneath. Stock suspension is often fitted to a "stock motor, mate" car in order to attract more interest.

Abs'lutely no chance of that! ? Some salesfolk are genuine, stand-up people. Many are not - they seem to have checked their souls and morals at the door and will do literally anything to gain a sale; customer service is a distant second to commission.

I don't recall if the rim spec was mentioned in the listing - it is a Style 23, how hard is it to find specs for someone genuinely interested? - but there were a series of very clear photos displaying all the info anyone could ever want. It's simple sheer laziness that leads to questions like the one mentioned. Listing the detail in the text as well would probably help, but then you'd get the question "will these fit my xyz123?" (which would have the wrong stud pattern). It's Sunday. May the good Lord protect us from f**kwits.

Disappointing to hear about the Eonon. Forgot to update! Got it all out, moved one connector from what looked like the correct position to what is the correct position, and all works well. Instructions are no help with that - it does look self-explanatory but as is so often the way, there were two ways to do one connection and I got the wrong one. Only issue we've noticed is that the mic gain on the handsfree is a bit low. Not sure if relocating the mic will help with that but we'll give that a go. Other than that, works as it should. Playing music from phone and a call comes in? Music playback either mutes or pauses and the call can be connected. There's a remote control which is about as pointless as a spare fuel tank in a canoe which could be used but is unlikely to ever get out of the glovebox. Miss M is happy.

People who claim to have 'good' cars but who evidently cannot be bothered to do the most basic of research, like actually looking at the advert. Guy selling Style 23s. One of the pics shows '7 1/2J x 17' stamped on the rim - first question asked is "Size and width?" I stopped reading (I don't want a set of 23s) but I suspect the next question would have been "Offset?" assuming the time-wasting question-setter actually knows about things like that. Of course, the answer is et41. All genuine Style 23s are et41... As the simplest bit of investigation would reveal. Selling stuff these days is more like a war of attrition than a chance to recoup some funds.

I saw a pair of door cards for a coupe being advertised for $250. Just the cards - no trims or similar.

Some readers will know I have a closer relationship with E30 sales and prices than most people do. And no - I'm not a dealer/flipper/valuer! E30s are tricky to price. There are many variables to consider. Many people look at 4 vs 6 cylinders, coupe vs 4-door, cloth vs leather interior, manual vs automatic (and whether it is a factory manual) and use that to come up with their personal) valuation. The truth is that little of that is especially relevant in the current market - condition is ***everything***. The best-specced late-model 325 manual is virtually worthless if it's running in a rusty shell. 4 cylinder cars are often overlooked in favour of 6-pots, when the reality is that they are typically better balanced and nicer to drive. Less power (in most cases) but also far easier to work on because of more space in the engine bay. That makes them, imo, a good buy in the current market. There are a few E30s worth more than $6k. And a few worth more than $10k. But it is a few. Most - the majority - simply are not. Most have significant shortcomings in one area or another which will require love, attention, and significant time and $$$ to correct or even just bring up to scratch. There is a world of difference between a 'good' WoF'd and rego'd E30, and an excellent one. (I'm leaving dead rego cars out of it for now.) Bear in mind also that what a car - any car - is actually worth, and what it sells for, can be very different things.