Em's buying an E30

[BMW POWER 2]

Hi Guys

As you may be aware i've been on the lookout for '30's for well over 2 months now. I decided earlier on that manual wasnt for me as I couldnt find any decent ones for sale in the S.I. in my price bracket.So auto it is.

After some general discussion with my boss, I found out that he has a 1989 Gazallenbeige 316iA, NZ New, 3 owners inc him, and he's owned it for ages.Being the 2 I.C. of a prestige car dealership he's kept it in mint condition with servicing at work, etc etc.

So its a 316 + Kiwi new- it has no a/c, manual windows, clock instead of rev gauge and a 1.8 block. I've been for a ride in it and its pretty cool.So um we're arranging a test drive and a thorough look over it for Sunday so I'd like some pointers from the E30 crew on here.And i'm going to mail Will aka Topless.

So do you guys have any major pointers for us to look out for? I'm sure it'll be pretty straight knowing the guy who owns it and how he takes care of his cars, but yea doesn't hurt to go over something with a fine tooth comb.

Also whats the business with insuring it under my parents name?Is that a go or a no-go? Apparantly full cover under my name is $500 P.A under State.

First mods are Bimmersport sticker(s) and German plates lol.

Cheers

Em.

[Jazzbass 1]

Em,

I'm not sure. but I think your parents would have to be the registered owners for insurance purposes, if that was the way you wanted to go?

[martyyn 2]

The insurance companies are pretty savvy about this now. They dont care who is the registered owner they care about who is going to be the main driver.

Be careful telling them anything that is not going to be the truth. If you need to claim and they can get out of it by saying that you didnt tell them that you were the main driver they will use it to their advantage.

Accept it as a cost of ownership, getting a car is not just buying the car itself, include it in your budget and you wont notice it.

Ive just had this with my nephew. I am the registered owner of his but as he is driving it they insure it based on him.

Its a 316 aswell with no toys (but manual) and for him to have it third party fire and theft its 250 a year. I figured if 'he' writes it off then he

only has himself to blame and he might be a little more careful. If nyone else is at fault then we are sorted.

Good luck with the weekend drive and have some fun. An excellent first car if you ask me.

[E30stz 0]

- check 4th gear for any noises= worn gearbox

- check for towing eye (often missing), wheel brace and jack

- locks on glovebox not fungled.

- fan works on all 4 settings

- rust behind fusebox - under battery tray - in firewall.

- water in the wheel wells

- check no clunks in the auto

- when you put handbrake on in gear - whether it lurches to one side once it moves down - handbrake needs adjustment.

- check all windows go up and down - sometimes they come off there rails or dont function properly. Also handles break so easily with manual winders so just check.

- check for crackles in the speakers.. they do lose touch after that sorta time.

- check the car doesnt track to the side of the road if you let go of the wheel.

- rust inside the seams of the boot .. (inside of car.. you cnat see it on the outside).

- splits in the seals can lead to rust due to them using aheasive to hold them down.

- check bonnet strut to make sure it holds the bonnet up.

- check for noises at the front of the engine - worn camshaft sucks bollocks .

- send it in to get checked - check engine compresisons (remember this engine is 2 years older than you Emma) - brakes - tyres etc. even if he is your boss you should get this done anyway.

- check foglights for cracks

- check temp gauge sits on or slightly below midway.

-when you first start the car - make sure all the dash lights come on .. if not they have had hte bulbs taken out of them or are blown and may require servicing.

- check there is not excess play in the front seats - they have a stiff upright position.. and dont flex forward on one side (broken frame - common on two doors - possible on 4 doors)

- check fuel flap - rusty ? fuel cap secure - not a unversal locable one.

- check oil cap is not cracked or breaking if you try to take it off. Check for carbon buildup on the inside.

Edited November 21, 2006 by E30stz

[bravo 35]

You are living at home. As long as the car is purchased in your parents name, then there is no reason why they can't insure it for you too. Plenty of parents buy cars for their children - and alot flasher ones than a old e30 316! If you moved out of home, then it would be a bit harder to argue that it was their car and you were just borrowing it.

You will be on the policy as the main driver, and probably will have a much higher excess to pay if you have an accident than if they were driving, and you won't be able to let your friends drive as they won't be insured, but other than that it should be fine.

I've found with most insurance companies, if you are pretty straight up with them, then they are quite happy to be a little bit flexible on certain things.

As far as what to look out for in the car - all the usual stuff:

Good tyres incl. spare.

No rust - esp look around sunroof (if it has one) around window trims and door seals, in the floor, up under the guards around the shock towers, along the sill, around the tail lights and in the firewall esp behind the fuse box where the main loom enters the car.

Oil is relatively clean and topped up - be worried if is a cloudy colour - check under the filler cap.

Check the coolant level and colour. Should be at the mark on the filler bottle and be a bright green.

Check spark plugs for fouling.

Start the car when cold and see how it starts and runs Get someone to check for smoke on start up. Again when hot.

Give the car a really good rev - almost at red line for 3-4 seconds (the current owner will probably wince but you wont be damaging anything if the motor is hot) look for smoke out the exhaust during this time. Go for a drive.

Does the auto change smoothly without clunks? Is the steering heavy or normal? Are there any unusual noises? How are the brakes - try a few emergency stops then fast take-offs on a deserted bit of road. Does the car pull to one side? esp when braking? Are there any vibrations through the steering wheel?

Stop. Test the handbrake by engaging it and then trying to drive off gently - it should hold the car unless you really put the strain on the motor. Leave it engaged and change from reverse to drive and back again listening for a clunking sound. The box should engage smoothly and apply some load.

Find a carpark and do a few tight circles to test the steering.

Test the heater and fan. Check the wiper and windscreen washer operation. Check all lights. Watch for strange check lights on the dash. make sure they come on before you start and go off once the car has been started and the brake depressed.

Get a compression test.

And thats about it.

Edit: Sorry about reposting Martyn and Andy's stuff - they beat me to it while I was posting.

Edited November 21, 2006 by bravomikewhiskey

[Jazzbass 1]

check 4th gear for any noises= worn gearbox

in an auto??

[E30stz 0]

yup - standard 4 speed auto - sometimes the gears are worn and you have sorta a winding / rattly noise when in 4th gear. The only way to check is getting upto about 80 - 100km/h then letting off accelerator or slightly accelerating.

[BMW POWER 2]

Thanks heaps guys - Martyyn,Andy,Graeme and Rog. I'll cross credit those checklists and print it off. Just got a quote from tower: $1500 full insurance.(LOL!) AMI (Parents comany) is $660 with full and under my name.State won't even bother with people without fulls.

I'll let you guys know how it all goes

Thanks

Em

[bimmer boy 21]

Just to add to the insurance thing FYI

When I went to insure my 320 with my parents insurance company which we have all the cars and houses insured with and they still wouldnt cover me as they class a E30 still as a luxury european car and having just turned 17 at the time and that. They obviously wouldnt cover me.

Edited November 21, 2006 by bimmer boy

[Mikal 4]

I also went to get full insurance for my E30 318i on my parents car/house insurance company and it was going to cost around $1200 a year so at the moment i just have third party fire and theft. I figured this was best as after two and a half years what i would have paid in insurance could have paid for another E30.

Edited November 21, 2006 by Mikal

[LemonHunter 583]

The reason its so much cheaper to do it under your parents is they probably have their no claims bonus intact, this gives them a 50 or a 60% discount. You as a new driver who has held no previous insurance dont get this discount initially (you earn it) The issue with the insurance Policy being under your parents name is that when the time comes for you to break out on your own you will need to get your own insurance, and won't have earnt your own no claims bonus. My suggestion is get it in your name, start earning your no claims bonus, so when you do eventualy break out on your own its cheap for you.

Mum n dad can always help out with $$ while you live with them.

You may do what i did with my first car(s) at 15.

Consider starting with only 3rd fire and theft since its not exactly a massive $$ car anyway, if you have faith in your own driving (you wont cause the accident) 3rd will still cover you for somone elses mistake, be WAY cheaper, and when you eventually want full cover the time spent with 3rd cover will still qualify you for no claims with full cover.

[Jazzbass 1]

E30stz, thanks, mate. I'd never heard of that before.

BTW, Em- it sounds like a nice car for its age and in great condition. Good luck!

[CaM 0]

3rd party fire and theft through AMI = always been the cheapest, and best option for me.

Building insurance history is always the go too....

[Cale 36]

Same here.

3rd party, fire and theft and under my parents name.

Only costs about $10 a month.

Edited November 22, 2006 by Cale

[Mavrick 0]

Dont you have to store your car in a garage if you want fire and theft with your 3rd party? Or is that just with AA? Thats the only way i could get fire and theft.

[Cale 36]

You might be right, maybe I only have 3rd party.

[318isCoupe 0]

I've got full cover with State on my 1995 318iS Coupe. around $1450 p/a it worked out as (was expecting around the 2k mark but they gave me around a 30% discount for never making a claim before) I'm 18 and have my full license, paid for the car and insurance myself (just added 2k onto the purchase price of the car and told myself that's what it was going to cost)

If you're going for insurance in a case like this, don't do it over the phone. Go INTO the insurance office and arrange an appointment to organise insurance, if you've got a clean driving record and no previous claims then it doesn't take much sweet talking to get decent cover.

[BMW POWER 2]

Yeah thats all true.But my neighbour had a horror story

Just brought her new car at 15, saved up all her life through part time jobs etc.Some one broke into her car and did something mungy to it.The whole car ended up being trashed and she only had 3rd party.The insurance company wouldnt pay out so she left with nothing.No car, no money, nothing.

Was quoted at $660 - with $300 excess.For me personally. We will go into the office and sort it once i have purchased it.

Test date has been confirmed for Sunday arvo so I'll let you guys know how it goes after then when I'm not busy studying (!!).

[CaM 0]

even now, with only a couple of speeding tickets from years ago, and with amoi for over 6 years, my lowest possible excess, without spending SHITLOADS on premiums, is $1000, for ANY type of claim....

I think females get off lightly.. it's been stated to me a few times that if I was female I'd get off alot more lightly, esp with the vehicles I often own.

FWIW, AMI, full cover, 1995 L300 = $700 per annum. with 60% no claims, fully licenced for over 4 years.

205GTi 3rd party fire & theft, w/ glass cover $250 per annum

1972 Crown, full cover $600ish

I get burnt

[318isCoupe 0]

1996 Nissan Avenir GT (SR20DET awd) w/ Vero Full Cover (17yo, full license) $2350

1995 BMW 318iS w/ State Full Cover (18yo, Full License, Clean Record) $1450 w/ Glass Cover

Wouldn't use Vero again.

State or AMI =]

[Guest Andrew]

Insurance anywhere but akl is cheap as dirt. It's bloody unfair.

I'm by all accounts a sweet deal for an insurance company and half wont' bloody insure me on ANYTHING.

[Jammasterjames 0]

Wassup girl.

Forget the mainstream insurance co's, They enjoy shafting everyone, fo sho.

Insurance brokers'll do your best quote in half, might need to consolidate with your parents car and house insurance e.t.c to get them interested however.

Then theres mo money to keep yo' threads tight, and yo' rims gleamin'...

[bravo 35]

Charlie Fox - not always true. My insurance company let me carry on my no claims from the time I was first put as a named driver under my parents insurance company as I stuck with the same company. In other words I got all the benefits of cheap insurance under my parents name when I first started driving AND I got the no claims when I started paying for my own.

That said, we do live in a rural area and so have much more flexibility and much cheaper insurance than you city dwellers. And not all companies would do that I'm sure.

[LemonHunter 583]

Charlie Fox - not always true. My insurance company let me carry on my no claims from the time I was first put as a named driver under my parents insurance company as I stuck with the same company. In other words I got all the benefits of cheap insurance under my parents name when I first started driving AND I got the no claims when I started paying for my own.

That said, we do live in a rural area and so have much more flexibility and much cheaper insurance than you city dwellers. And not all companies would do that I'm sure.

Noted:

I just like do do everything on my own, being independant, Had my own insurance since 15, and financed my first decent (ie 5 figures) car without needing a guarantor, but thats just me, each to his, or her as this case own i say.

Take the best deal for now, and query for the future (ie. just ask can i carry my own no claims over when i leave home).

[BMW POWER 2]

Thats what I'll do charliefox.

Best deal being $660 and once the vehicle is actually purchased we will concrete the deal.It is a definite quote - the quote number is valid for ages so will go AMI, again, once it has been brought.

Test drive this Sunday.. can't wait.