NutStrikesAgain

It hadn't been listed anywhere by the owner yet, they just happened to message me after I posted a E30 question on a Facebook page

My main concern with that sort of ownership number is that I assume that the car must be a lemon or have had a weird history... Currently it does run but has a some electrical wiring issues that needs re-doing/re-assembling for everything to function (its in a project state, so reg on hold, no wof etc.) So I am just wondering whether it's possible that the car might have an inherent electrical problem that no one can solve and therefore it keeps getting flipped???

I was interesting in buying a E30, which I went to see today, however the number of owners in NZ is 27... (since being imported in 1998) So me that is a massive red flag of a car with problems - would other people on here agree?

Transcript of what BMW found last week

It would be I suppose. But I’m just going to sell the car...

Final update - BMW's conclusion is that it is most likely an internal leak inside the transmission that is casuing low oil pressure or possibly clutch slipping. But they couldn't confirm without stripping down the gearbox...

Okay so BMW's verdict/diagnostic is that the issue is most likely a vaccum pump or brake booster leak that is causing the idle to fluctuate. Found that the brake pedal was quite hard to press.

Manukau

Any recommendations on places to go in Auckland (not North or West)? Other than BM Workshop or BMW themselves

Hi everyone, Got this issue with my car - been doing it since I got it about 18 months ago. The idle is really rough and keeps dropping until the engine warms up. Once the engine is up to temperature it is completely smooth - see the video that I recorded on my phone a while back below. I used to get random occurences of bad idle even when the engine was warm but this stopped after I replaced the PCV oil seperator and breather hose. Replaced since I've owned the car: sparkplugs, rocket cover gasket, eccentric shalt sensor gasket, VANOS o-rings, PCV, intake manifold gaskets, vaccum pump gasket. Where should I start to try and work out what's wrong? Throttle body was clean last time I checked it

2003, its what you refer to as the ball type one. Feels like it should do (i think) - had another E46 years ago and the shifter feels about the same

Do you mean the soft leather around the gearstick? If so, no its 100% fine. I have had the cover off to swap the trim around that once a while ago though...dunno if that could be anything to do with it?

On cold starts, my 318ti does not want to go forwards when you put it in drive - if you accelerate a bit it just revs in neutral (that's what it sounds like anyway). However if I put it into tiptronic manual mode and force 1st or 2nd gear the car does move forward and drives normally. Once the car has warmed up, it drive works normally. What could the issue be??