Olaf

I like your use of "" around investment.  All classic cars are speculation.  Some have reasonable odds, but it's still not an asset, nor is it one that produces a return during ownership.

Much as I love my e30, I'd not mention it as an asset in any statement of position.  It's clearly a liability, soaking up coin for storage and maintenance [edit:  and insurance]  It's a Hobby - the kind of dirty secret the Govt currently has our bankers running around digging up the dirt on.  "what's this $200 worth of lube every six months?  Kinky."

5 hours ago, gjm said:

Already planned.

As is a hydrogen facility in Hastings. However, in the usual bureaucratic way, they 'plan to start' that in 2025. Bit fuggin' late, in my opinion.

Given their performance with Kiwibuild, that'll be conveniently swept away from any media briefings, and the bought-and-paid-for press won't question it.

18 hours ago, polley said:

The only thing ideal about is the abundance of electricity available. The rest of the logistics, like compressing it into tanks and sticking it on trucks and carting it around the country and to the north island, not so ideal.

we seem to manage that very well with LPG, and we used to with CNG as well.  We just need to solve the problem.  Perhaps the issue is that this govt will have racked up so much debt bankrolling hermitville lockdowns and wrecking the economy, investing a little in a distribution network will be viewed as "too costly".  And they laid their bet on electric cars (pssst - do we have a distribution network to support the additional load?!, or the generation capacity?).

Toyota have been making it work very safely thank you for about a decade, with the Mirai on sale since 2014.  Many manufacturers were researching (to the prototype stage) hydorgen fuel cells in the 1990's/early 00's.  Great to see them heading back that way, far more sensible than bloody lithium batteries!

If I could buy and run a Mirai in NZ tomorrow, I would.

14 hours ago, E28E30 said:

Agree.  I dislike the red number plate surround: Reckon it would sell easier if it had a black Euro-spec one, the side skirts and rear spoiler, and pinstripe and monsoon shields removed… oh and if was cheaper.

But E30s are a broad church with a wide range of interested followers and owners who like varying things.

That's a Euro Heckblende - a very desireable and costly item.   You're essentially saying "if it looked exactly like I expect it to, it'll sell well".  Do you manage to put aside your prejudices when buying a house?  Or do you say "oh I don't like the colour of the bathroom.  It'd sell easier if it was black.  No, onto the next one".

You really need to see the detail work on this one.  

On 2/3/2022 at 11:58 AM, gjm said:

These are the considerations I've been mulling over with our Baur.
It's not a manual, kms aren't especially low (but not silly high), and it's not NZ new.
It *is* is good/very good condition, is a desirable colour, has a full list of options, and is rare.

Pricing is a nightmare - many swings and roundabouts. Fortunately we're not in a hurry!

no need to worry mate, you've been chanting that e30's are over-valued for ages now (while the market's moved more than $20k), so set your concience free and list it for $4k.  Easy! 😎

On 1/25/2022 at 5:01 PM, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

Wow that’s a flip and a half! Pretty obvious as well with the supply and demand for these so limited.

Apparently was built in the “Motorsport Factory” 🤣

New CCCFA rules have really pulled back lending, so would be much harder to finance an E30 investment now as opposed to a few months ago. 

Would people actually borrow money to buy 30 year old e30's?  Wow.   Nearest thing to financing a car I've done - since 1989 - is extending my mortgage a little, and haven't done that for a car for 16 years.  Usually pay cash for cars.  If I don't have the cash, I can't afford it.

On 12/6/2021 at 9:38 PM, adro said:

219,000km

Much needed wheel alignment. Didn't get the sheet but he said it was very 'out' . Tyres pumped up to 40psi up front and 36 in the rear, cars feeling great.

40F/36R - are you driving a Passat wagon?  That's a very FWD setup (FWDs usually run higher pressures in front).  Try 36F/41R - it's more in-line with the placard you'll find on the door frame.  Adjust in 0.5 psi increments up and down (independently) to arrive at your ideal.  HTH.

PS:  Love the photos!  

the red mirrors are cool.

I go all the way to Marton to continue with Jon of Auto 38, at Begley Motor Works.

You could try Peter Craigie at All European Service in Fifeshire Avenue, if you need to go local.

I don't recommend Page European.

And I wouldn't bother with VTNZ, they're not useful for PPIs, and barely adequate for WoFs.

@treone sister car 

On 12/31/2021 at 10:19 PM, Sammo said:

Turns out JB Weld ‘Black RTV’ is a solid match for E30 dashboard

I reckon a 'how-to' would go down really well.  Mine's "a bit" cracked beneath my dash mat.

1 hour ago, GorGasm said:

I don't plan to buy any time in the near future but my next car will almost certainly be electric as fossil fuels are going the way of the dinosaurs our coal-burning power plants to keep grid capacity up with EV demand!  I might keep my weekend toy for a while though.  If I was buying now I would probably just get a cheap petrol car to last a year or two as I think we'll start to see cool stuff then.

I live in a city which isn't a complete disaster from a transport perspective and also have very little need to commute or travel more than a few km's at a time.  I encourage everyone that can to move out of Auckland and work remotely.

Auto manufacturers are coming up with some real next generation cars these days.

(somewhat cheekily, I acknowledge!) - fixed that for ya 😎

22 hours ago, NZ BMW said:

I think at a hair over 110km the implication that I’m somehow passing the can is questionable. If you like putting money into depreciating cars as a labour of love because you are keeping them long term, that’s a choice you can make. To spend thousands on a car that you’re not going to see the money back out of or be noticed by the new owner, I can’t come up with a good reason why someone would do that. 

The way I look at it is this: I’ve picked this car up at 3-years or there abouts, it’s now 6ish years. It’ll be about 8 by the time I move it on. You really think the 3rd owner is likely to maintain it that well, an 8yo 3 Series which will have about 140km on the clock? They’ll probably struggle to get it serviced or put good tyres on it - I’ll see if BMW recommend I change anything - given all the work done on the front end I’m sure they would have said something by now if they were concerned. 

I can't help you with your denial!

11 hours ago, KwS said:

Is that US or NZ octane? If its US 91, its about 95 in NZ.

I was thinking the same thing.  There's RON, and something else ==> US number is lower for NZ octane rating.

Having done shocks on eight of my own cars since 1994 (in one case two sets in 2.5 years), you'd have to be flat-lining not to recognise the improvement over worn out/ailing/or just old shocks.  I've driven many, many cars in the mean time with shocks that are buggered or just plain beyond their useful life, and wonder why the owners haven't woken up and replaced them.

53 minutes ago, NZ BMW said:

 I doubt the shocks will get done unless I keep the car really long term, will have to see. 

And therein lies the root of the issue:  deferred maintenance passed on to the next poor sap. 

On 12/30/2021 at 7:46 PM, Gaz said:

The f31 320d is probably the most complete car around. Has enough torque to keep you happy whilst maintaining comfort. Plus the interior is a much nicer place to be over the e91. F31 all day.

^^ This!

Also agree with @E30 325i Rag-Top's point about not bothering with the remap.  You can extract more HP, more Torque, better economy... but something's got to give.  How's the emissions or long-term reliability after the remap?  

Shocks?  Yep, 100-125k kms and they're best replaced along with all the bushes, spring seats etc.  OE Sachs are great value, and where the genuine item is alloy bodied, the Sachs are too; Bilstein Touring usually close to price yet steel bodied.  Sorting the suspension provides long term enjoyment, better braking and steering, increased tyre life, increased safety - especially for the shopping trolley.

loggin in this morning OSX treats Bimmersport as un-trusted, tells me the cert has expired. 

On 12/12/2021 at 1:01 PM, Palazzo said:

Enjoy, they can be a real mission in the wet, I’ve slid around at 15km/h. An older BMW mechanic told me once that they used to get regularly damaged on mechanics test drives in the rain, so only the foreman was allowed to take them out.

that's more to do about a lack of skill from the mechanics test driving the cars, than any failing of the car.  And perhaps QC from the foreman - making sure that an e30 is returned post-service feeling as it ought to.  If you're talking late-90's on, most of the apprentices wouldn't have RWD experience.  In the same way that more e30's are going to the great wrecking yard in the sky each year - often due to the ruthless combination of a damp road, and little-to-no RWD skill behind the wheel.  Add cheap tyres, and worn-out suspension, and there'll be tears before bedtime.

If you're sliding - without serious intent - at just 15 km/h in an e30, there's something wrong with your car, your're on a skid pan, or there's a diesel spill beneath you.  They were the car all others in the class were judged by when new, and if they were that wayward, people realising a few extra bucks from the stockmarket in the 80's (pre-crash) would have bought something safer.

EDIT:  sorry, deleted reposts. D'oh!

sure is, well spoted @Sammo and thanks

I've had such a busy time with renovations, little time to drive my e30.  Had a little time up my sleeve this morning, met up with @adro and we made some images.

+1, it's looking very classy.  Great work!

that HDD-SSD trick sounds very interesting to me.  I wonder if that'll work in my 2011 F25?

PPS - can bring jumper leads!

cool car, but *how much*?!  Hell, I can lose my license in all my other cars and still have money in my pocket and in the bank.   I'll leave that one where it is.