87 E30 M325i

[3 SERIES 93]

Im picking you E30 whores have already seen this on trade me

Just want to get your opinion on this car. Some of you may even know it?

I think the whole number plate thing sounds a bit dodgy after reading what he says and doing the obligatory carjam search. It looks as thou someone else thinks along the same lines.

What do you think?

87 E30 M325i

[zenetti 0]

something definitely fishy there, he says the car is NZ new but the plate he gives says the car was first registered in 97???

maybe it was deregistered and then re rego'd?

[Mark 178]

This car has been on and off Trademe for years. Last time it was listed with different photos and was a classified advert. He was asking for $10,000

I don't think the plate deal is anything too dodgy. A previous owner (or perhaps current owner) let the rego lapse and wanted the original plate back, they couldn't do so, so got a personalised version as close as possible to the original.

[Braeden320 0]

Could be an excellent buy, Looks Tidy and at least he was honest about the plate in the auction.Its not like he's trying to hide it

[Silver Fox 43]

Something fishy here?

This car was first reged in NZ in 87 as a 325i under plate UX4409, then changed to personal plate NL433o, which as a govt plate NL4330 was a M325. My guess is that the M325 was written off and all the bits changed to this car which is now pretending to be a genuine M325? Someone's gone to some trouble to try to pull this off.

[APT 189]

Sort of looks the same as mine that im trying to sell lol.

[AN E30 Fan 1]

I don't think the plate deal is anything too dodgy. A previous owner (or perhaps current owner) let the rego lapse and wanted the original plate back, they couldn't do so, so got a personalised version as close as possible to the original.

The owner let the rego laps for 5 or 6 years though?!

Doesn't seem right to me.

Something fishy here?

This car was first reged in NZ in 87 as a 325i under plate UX4409, then changed to personal plate NL433o, which as a govt plate NL4330 was a M325. My guess is that the M325 was written off and all the bits changed to this car which is now pretending to be a genuine M325? Someone's gone to some trouble to try to pull this off.

Agreed, something definetly doesn't seem right about it.

First reged in 87 under NL4330, then the rego was cancelled in '91 and never registered again under the that plate. However, a similar car a 1987 325i was first registered on the same date but not as a M325i in '87. Then the plates come up as UX4409, then about a month later they changed it to the personalised plate. My guess is exactly what David said above. Wrote off the ORGINIAL Tech 1 then swapped all the parts over to a standard 325i. Someone has definetly gone to a hell of a lot of effot to pull this off.

and BTW Ollie or whoever put the Bimmersport advertising on carjam. Very cool haha

Edited March 4, 2010 by An E30 Fan

[3 SERIES 93]

Something fishy here?

This car was first reged in NZ in 87 as a 325i under plate UX4409, then changed to personal plate NL433o, which as a govt plate NL4330 was a M325. My guess is that the M325 was written off and all the bits changed to this car which is now pretending to be a genuine M325? Someone's gone to some trouble to try to pull this off.

I think youre getting closer to the truth here David.

So from what youre saying, the car pictured is not the car for sale? Reason i say this is because it has the NL4330 plate. He also states in the auction that the plate is NL4330.

I think he's made a right cock up of it. Things just dont stack up

[AN E30 Fan 1]

I think he's made a right cock up of it. Things just dont stack up

Exactly, the plate NL4330 was cancelled however he says that this is the plate on the car and it is but the plate isn't registered to the car. They have put the Mtech kit etc etc on this 325i, and also set up a personalised plate with the number NL433O, however put on the orginal plate of the REAL M325i.

The odometer reading and the WOF expire are the same on the auction as the details on the plate NL433O.

Sooooo this is a 325i with Mtech kit etc etc, not a genuine M325i. BUYER BEWARE

[Mark 178]

The car pictured is the car for sale. If it was the original plate it would have a strike through the zero to distinguish it as such.

Interesting theory on the car conversion. A quick VIN check should sort that out though.

[Guest Ari Gold]

Dead giveaway is the 2 button digital clock, not a windy one, is it not?

[Silver Fox 43]

I think the car pictured is the car for sale, but, the number plate is not the legal plate for that car.

[Silver Fox 43]

The car pictured is the car for sale. If it was the original plate it would have a strike through the zero to distinguish it as such.

Interesting theory on the car conversion. A quick VIN check should sort that out though.

As it's registered with a pp, I don't think a vin check will prove anything that we don't know. I do think it's just wearing the original M325's plate?I think the stripes thru the 0's came after this plate was issued? Edited March 4, 2010 by Silver Fox

[DRTDVL 0]

report the car to the LTSA and nz police

[Mark 178]

Looks like you're right David I found this on Wikipedia... so an illegal plate on a dodgy car. This is very intriguing.

The issue of permanent registration-plates started in 1964. These new plates had silver letters and numbers on black aluminium plates, and started with "AA100". The LLnnnn system started at this time. Reflectorised white plates with black characters replaced silver-on-black plates in November 1986, officially starting with "NA1", though an earlier limited trial run had taken place during the "MX1-MX999" run some weeks earlier. Personalised plates appeared two years later.

The old silver-on-black plates remain valid and in use, though only on older vehicles. Vehicle-owners in New Zealand do not have to change registration plates when ownership of a vehicle changes, which means one can buy a pre-1987 used car which still has old silver-on-black plates on it. If old silver-on-black plates on a vehicle become irreparably damaged, the newer black-on-white plates may supplant them.

The font used remained the same during the change from silver-on-black plates to black-on-white plates. From "PC1Ø" onwards, zeroes have a slash through them (e.g. PP52Ø9, UO8ØØØ).

[AN E30 Fan 1]

Bimmersport aka Car Detectives

[Silver Fox 43]

The advantage of being old and having a good memory.

[AN E30 Fan 1]

Emailing trademe now, getting it taken down.

It pisses me off when people do this

[uhlsta 0]

Buy this one instead!

M325i

[APT 189]

Or mine for $5500

[antil33t 90]

Heh, He managed to fail at typing in the VIN

WBAAB320X00859252 he had the zero's as 'O'

[3 SERIES 93]

Heh, He managed to fail at typing in the VIN

WBAAB320X00859252 he had the zero's as 'O'

lol classic. The guy's a muppet!

He's got his self in such a tangle he does not know whats going on!

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

WBAAB320X00859252 he had the zero's as 'O'

Interesingly the chassis number for both cars has the same numbers at the end 859252, according to Carjam anyways. Now if it has been re-shelled that would be one hell of a co-incedence? Suggests to me that it could well be the original vehicle, registration lapsed and for some reason the guy went to the lengths of the personal plate to make the rego look the same.Old service or warrant details would have the chassis number on as well, but I think he said he didn't have any of those.

Also both plates refer back to a vehicle first registered in NZ on August 6th, 1987 which would tie up with the build date of May '87 from real OEM (which also links the stated VIN back to a 325i 2 door manual, but doesn't specify the M or not). The first vehicle lapsed the registration in '91 and the second vehicle was re-registered in '97, which again all suggests to me it is the one and the same car.

Seems a lot of aggro for a not very-personal plate? Maybe he just wanted the rego to match up with the old history or something?

Edited March 5, 2010 by E30 325i Rag-Top

[Silver Fox 43]

If it is the original car, and it seems that is the case, then they've forgotten to make it a M325 when it was reregistered. Why anyone would go to the trouble and expense to pp it with that plate I can't understand, unless they were trying to hide something.

It is still possible it was written off and they've cut and welded the vin across to another shell before reregistering it, conspiracy theory?

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

Interesingly the chassis number for both cars has the same numbers at the end 859252, according to Carjam anyways. Now if it has been re-shelled that would be one hell of a co-incedence? Suggests to me that it could well be the original vehicle, registration lapsed and for some reason the guy went to the lengths of the personal plate to make the rego look the same.Old service or warrant details would have the chassis number on as well, but I think he said he didn't have any of those.

Also both plates refer back to a vehicle first registered in NZ on August 6th, 1987 which would tie up with the build date of May '87 from real OEM (which also links the stated VIN back to a 325i 2 door manual, but doesn't specify the M or not). The first vehicle lapsed the registration in '91 and the second vehicle was re-registered in '97, which again all suggests to me it is the one and the same car.

Seems a lot of aggro for a not very-personal plate? Maybe he just wanted the rego to match up with the old history or something?

I think i understand what you are trying to say.. are you saying the rego lapsed for 2 years, and because of this the car was dereged. Then in 1997 someone decided to bring the car back into service and recomplied the car? This sounds like the most likely story yet, followed by the reshell Its the VIN that makes it interesting.

I doubt they would have cut and welded on a new VIN stamp. Its possible.. but thats almost TOO far. Especially for a car like this, which, while rare, isnt THAT rare that you need to go through that. prehaps if only a few hundred were built....