I'm GUTTED

[e30ftw 396]

MTech2 sides on the doors, can't tell if the sideskirts are tech2 though?

Looks OK, the interior is decent.

I'd take it for a decent test drive.

[jjs 60]

Same seller or is someone trying to make a quick buck?

[*Glenn* 854]

The rust in the roof & sunroof look a little more than just surface rust to me

[dubman 39]

look inside the sunroof space i.e rails and cavity to spot rust spots. Which AA testing station you going to? Take it to a panel beater also, and get a quote for the rust spots. Fixing rust is money down the drain. It's cheaper to buy a tidier shell.

Look at the base of all the pillars (under grommets and rubber seals if you can) and also into the front vents (base of wipers) with a flash light and inspect for rust and corrosion.

edit: take off rear battery cover and look there also, as well as tail light seals.

Edited November 8, 2012 by dubman

[Michael. 2312]

Bugger.

In my opinion an AA check is a waste of time on an old BMW.

They will just tell you the obvious and give it a high chance of breakdown grade. You should really take it to an independent BMW inspection place if you really want a good opinion on the car rather than a generic inspection designed for Corollas and the like.

I find the best thing to have is a keen eye on what to look for yourself and know what can go wrong, and how to fix it.

[Top Secret 2]

Like others have said, cheap E30s used to be abundant. The supply either seems to have dwindled, or demand has ramped up considerably, but they certainly aren't as frequent.

Check underneath the carpets. Bring a screwdriver with you so you can take the right front speaker cover off, and see if you can manoeuvre your hand underneath the carpet to check if it is wet. Being an E30, there will be an interior water leak somewhere. I've just ripped the carpet out of FAL328 again after my fix (unblocking the sill drains) did nothing to stop the carpet getting soaked. Also put your hand under the carpet behind the front seat. If the water has pooled for ages, you can get some nice rust happening there which can require the floor pan to be cut and a new section welded in. $$$.

That roof rust looks similar to what I have at the moment. If it is quite deep, it can be expensive to fix.

Either way, all E30s have some sort of a history, it's about picking the one with the least problems possible

[hybrid 1039]

The roof rust is about a 1k job... just did mine.

[e30ftw 396]

$300 would barely cover a home DIY bog job,

$20 for a tin of bog

$20 assortment of sandpaper

$20 can of primer

$10 grinding discs

$20 "fish oil" / anti rust crap

$210 left for a respray the roof.

[Allanw 1052]

The rust in the roof & sunroof look a little more than just surface rust to me

Oh Yeah! It looks a bit nasty - If there's rust like that there, how bad is it everywhere else? I wouldn't worry about rust in the actual sunroof panel, but the roof is HARD to repair properly.

If it's a jap import, it would have most likely been South African Assembled, as the 325i's tended to be from Japan.

For the money, You might be better off looking at a better condition 318i

[deeveus 81]

I'm buying this car today.

Hmmmm..... Why has it gone up $900 ? Is it the same vendor?

Feedback from the vendor is appalling IMO. I guesstimate that only 50% of bad trades have bad feedback posted, mostly due to reprisal, unwanted confrontation or can't be bothered scenario.

Edited November 9, 2012 by The Diesel Guy

[tmase 19]

Hmmmm..... Why has it gone up $900 ? Is it the same vendor?

Feedback from the vendor is appalling IMO. I guesstimate that only 50% of bad trades have bad feedback posted, mostly due to reprisal, unwanted confrontation or can't be bothered scenario.

Trying to decipher some of his feedback comments that he's made on his bad trades, Google translate can't work them out.

because you are athwal ebin athwal

qoombee lak (stand up with it)

EBNIL KALB

I'd be wary

[Michael. 2312]

Trying to decipher some of his feedback comments that he's made on his bad trades, Google translate can't work them out.

I'd be wary

Those are Arabic insults! http://arabic.desert-sky.net/coll_insult.html

[Etwenty1 45]

This is why your dad insisted on an AA report , so you stop and smell the coffee or in the case the rot.

Once you start visualizing owning it, it is very difficult to walk away.....

It might have made sense at $1700 but whats your budget for a manual conversion - $800? rust $500

For $3800 you might find one already done.

[Etwenty1 45]

Those are Arabic insults! http://arabic.desert-sky.net/coll_insult.html

(howa 3aawiz iD-Darb bi-sittiin gazma.)

He deserves to be hit with sixty shoes.

يا جزمة يا ابن الجزمة (ya gazma yibn ig-gazma)

You shoe, you son of a shoe. Shoes are associated with dirt and connote impurity and degredation, so this is pretty insulting.

classic, a nation of foot fetishers

[wtbdeath 4]

AA check is not important, it is as good as you, or worse if you know what you know what you are looking at.

[KwS 2378]

you really didnt need to dredge this up from the past. although the comment above about Arabic insults is kinda relevant to the open letter situation (shame i cant see who the seller was)