E30 325i

[AN E30 Fan 1]

Well my little brother has decided that he wants to buy an E30 for his first car, he went and looked at THIS one yesterday.

Everything looks really good about it but there's a few things I'm unsure about.

1. Its registered as 1986 even though its a facelift.

2. Its supposedly NZ New but the dash, speedo etc is in Miles

3. The huge drop in odometer reading from that's stated on carjam, could just be that they've had to swap the dash over from another car.

Anyone know this car or have any information about it?

[tobester 9]

Well my little brother has decided that he wants to buy an E30 for his first car, he went and looked at THIS one yesterday.

Everything looks really good about it but there's a few things I'm unsure about.

1. Its registered as 1986 even though its a facelift.

2. Its supposedly NZ New but the dash, speedo etc is in Miles

3. The huge drop in odometer reading from that's stated on carjam, could just be that they've had to swap the dash over from another car.

Anyone know this car or have any information about it?

Chrome bumpers. Looks like an '86 like my old one, not a facelift, to me.

[tobester 9]

Chrome bumpers. Looks like an '86 like my old one, not a facelift, to me.

I take it back. Was looking at the photo on your post, not the linked Trademe listing. Carjam data in miles? Donor dash?

[Guest Ari Gold]

It comes up as a Sable Brown Pre facelift auto when you run the chassis number, sounds dodgy enough to walk away to me.

[AN E30 Fan 1]

Figured it out, turns out a mate from my flying school use to own it.

Engine + Front seats were swapped over from a Cab and put into the 4 door which is a UK import which explains the dash in Miles but the plates saying its an NZ new car.

Buyer Beware.

Edit: Have more info if someone is interested in the car. PM me. Would make a great race car for someone. Pulls like a freight train.

Edited August 15, 2012 by AJ_D

[Allanw 1071]

Yep... I spied that one a few times, and it looks dodgy.

I feel sorry for the poor bastard who buys it and has no clue about them. It's probably been re-registered at some stage with "plates and tags" from another car added.

The car itself looks like a South African assembled one, anyway.

RUN!

[Top Secret 2]

Why is this such a bad car exactly?

It's more than 20 years old, it's bound to have had a history of some kind. If all the mechanicals are in good order, I wouldn't stress. It would be pretty good buying at that price

edit: I do remember this car being for sale a couple of years ago, where the owner converted it to facelift. However, how the hell would you convert the rear of it to facelift? Look at the rear guards to see if it used to be a prefacelift.

Edited August 15, 2012 by Top Secret

[Guest Ari Gold]

Why is this such a bad car exactly?

Because it's being misrepresented, not that there is anything particularly bad about the car.

Its definitely a FL shell, look at the height of the rear arches and the mounts for things in the engine bay, the coolant overflow tank in particular.

It's relatively easy to swap the metal panel that houses the lights on an E30 - it's stitched to the unibody in the same locations if it's a facelift or a pre facelift, and it's cheap too, $220+GST from BMW NZ last time I checked. Were I to build a balls out E30, I'd start with a pre FL shell because they're lighter and have the more advantageous taller rear arches, and stich in a facelift light panel because I hate pre FL tail lights.

There is a facelift black 325i Motorsport Facelift running around Auckland with pre fl tail lights, it's obviously had a smack in the arse and they've repaired it which the first available panel they could get their hands on - so the whole idea isn't entirely unheard of.

Okay, coming back to the car - the plates on the car say it's a Sable Brown automatic 325i pre facelift with a beige interior - the only thing of which matches the current car is that it's got 4 doors and it's a 325i.

Another person says the engine and seats came out of a 325i convertible - which seems fishy as convertible E30's have their stitching going horizontal like the E30 M3's, not vertical like the rest of the hardtop range.

And to further muddy things, it's clearly a delphin grey 4dr facelift with a mph speedo, stoppers on the headlight surrounds for the headlight wash system (which appears to have been removed, but note the washer bottle with dual pumps in the engine bay) and asbestos stickers in the engine bay, which lead me to believe it's a UK import.

TL;DR - you're buying three cars here, not one.

[BM WORLD 1283]

i know the car , local guy here , but he brought it like that , didn't know much about it came up from wellington i think or someone down that way.

i ran the chasis number when i saw it , as i was puzzled about its looks and age etc.

but i think the car itself is ok , from memory.

[Apex 693]

Polax = expert.

Looks sh*t to me. Funny you could buy a nice 325i for 4k a few years ago and now jokers want 4k for sh*t like this??

Sure some 20 year old cars will have history but this one has more baggage than a 30 year old single mum with three kids to three different father's... You know she's a rooter and might be a bit of fun but you would not marry her, especially at full asking price.

[MD13 494]

Love that metaphor!

[deeveus 81]

Polax = expert.

Looks sh*t to me. Funny you could buy a nice 325i for 4k a few years ago and now jokers want 4k for sh*t like this??

Sure some 20 year old cars will have history but this one has more baggage than a 30 year old single mum with three kids to three different father's... You know she's a rooter and might be a bit of fun but you would not marry her, especially at full asking price.

Agreed, but she'd be ok to drive every now and then but you wouldn't sign the ownership papers and inherit 3 random kids. Are you able to provide a picture of this single mum you speak of?

[Driftit 2078]

Sure some 20 year old cars will have history but this one has more baggage than a 30 year old single mum with three kids to three different father's... You know she's a rooter and might be a bit of fun but you would not marry her, especially at full asking price.

Haha gold. And I know someone who is Marrying someone just like you have described.

[Allanw 1071]

Polax = expert.

Looks sh*t to me. Funny you could buy a nice 325i for 4k a few years ago and now jokers want 4k for sh*t like this??

Sure some 20 year old cars will have history but this one has more baggage than a 30 year old single mum with three kids to three different father's... You know she's a rooter and might be a bit of fun but you would not marry her, especially at full asking price.

HAHA! Awesome!

Plus, you only find out the truth AFTER the cops come knocking on your door because she's actually an illegal russian immigrant called Boris who was actually the FATHER of the 3 kids, before the op.

That car could have enough history for someone to have legal "issues" over. The shell could be stolen, the shell could have debts registered on it, anything. I was under the impression that changing the identity of a car was fraudulent. If the papers don't show the change, ANY current owner may be the one accused of the fraudulent activity.

Run away. It's not worth the possible grief! It's not so different to buying it registered as a Mitsi V3000 - it's just less likely to be noticed.