WTB: E30 M3 - found one/want feedback

[itomic]

I'm new to this board and had no idea where to post this, but anyway found the car on ebay (I'm sure many others have seen it); do you guys think it's worth it?
btw I live in Vancouver and am planning to go see the car on Thursday.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-M-Series-M3-E30-1988-BMW-E30-M3-Racing-Dynamic_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6131QQitemZ4611443004QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[itomic]

Ok, the link doesn't work but it is the 1988 black M3 with a $12,000 reserve.

Thanks

[athayer187]

"Rebuilt performance motor with new bearing and seals. Just broken in with 500miles" - sounds a little shady, ask for details (yellow tb caps are either original or someone sourced replacements, as replacements from the dealer now are blue)

"2003 18" M3 Stock wheels with 85% 225/40/18 Front & 255/35/18 Rear Continetal Sports Contact tires" - ugly

valve cover looks silver, same with oil cap, so someone has either done some cosmetic work to the motor or had it apart and rebuilt it like they said

high miles, but drivers seat isn't very worn (means that the car hasn't been gotten in and out of too much, so may be mostly highway miles)

Racing Dynamics badges are ugly too, so is the eyelid

new paint, may have been in an accident that wasn't reported to insurance, check for VIN #'s on body panels.

That's all I've got - other than that the 12K reserve isn't too bad

[itomic]

^ Thanks for the reply. The guy mentioned the work done on the motor as stated in the ad, was done by his friend's shop and therefore he has no receipts, which is very, very shady.

I agree the wheels are ugly and with 18s the acceleration must suck. As for the new paint, he said there were a lot of paint chips on the bumper so the whole car got painted, which also makes no sense.

He is the third owner and the previous two have been from the US. I think there are too many negative things about the car for me to buy it but I'll probably go see it for the hell of it.

[petro]

just a couple of details...

- missing fan shroud, wrong valve cover cap...
- missing strut tower plastic covers

heres the thing that bugs me... missing shift boot. why does this happen on a car for sale??

these pics look familiar. reminds me of one for sale in FL a few months ago? not sure...

[petro]

correction:
not missing shift boot, just messed up..

[jdbunda]

$12k for a 200k mile car with an undocumented rebuild is too much to pay, you are assuming a lot of risk if the rebuild wasn't done right. 200k miles could indicate a lot of other maintenance items coming due. The cosmetic taste items are easy to remedy - other than maybe the wheels/tires. Why does someone repaint and rebuild the engine of a 200k mile car, then try to sell it? This one could be ok, but it does have a lot of red flags.

[e30_m3]

I saw that car for sale awhile ago, unless someone bought it and is reselling it. I never took a look at it but i think i few guys at www.bimmerclassics.net have.

[ogi///M3]

itomic, just a suggestion...if you ever buy that car or any car at all that's out of province, make sure everything is in working condition,like from the bulbs to the front seats moving freely and I know, BC province is pretty strict on cars with no cat. otherwise you'll spend a lot of money before you get it registered. I almost bought a m3 fron Van. that a guy bought from states and his selling it co'z it won't pass the inspection. so just be aware of that. and I think there's a nice white e30 m3 forsale in Kamloops. not sure if he sold it yet. good luck.

[itomic]

Thanks everyone for all the input, as I said I am seeing the car on Thursday since I've never sat in an E30 M3 or looked at one in detail. Aside from the concerns that go along with buying this kind of car, I want to make sure that I can fit into one with a helmet (for autox/track days). At 6'2" I am touching the roof with the top of my helmet in a civic with 38.6 inches of front head room, unfortunately many cars come with less than this. Either way, I'll go see it although I'm nowhere near wanting to buy this particular one.

[atan888]

the owner must know if the car is as perfect as he says, its worth a lot more. why only 12k?

[Mmark]

Originally posted by itomic
Thanks everyone for all the input, as I said I am seeing the car on Thursday since I've never sat in an E30 M3 or looked at one in detail. Aside from the concerns that go along with buying this kind of car, I want to make sure that I can fit into one with a helmet (for autox/track days). At 6'2" I am touching the roof with the top of my helmet in a civic with 38.6 inches of front head room, unfortunately many cars come with less than this. Either way, I'll go see it although I'm nowhere near wanting to buy this particular one.

Famous last words
As soon as you sit in it, the trap is sprung....You'll feel this need to rescue the beast and that it isn't in tooo bad of a shape.
m

[LachSlvrE30M3]

i have one for sale with 166k miles. The car has a salvage title but still has all original vin stickers on every body panel other than the drivers side front fender. The car runs sweet and is in good shape. also, if your planning on tracking it, it already has racing seats, harnesses, short throw shifter, evo 2 lower air box, cat back supersprint dtm exhaust, stainless steel break lines, suspension is upgraded and is a great car......all of that and you'll save a good 4 grand from the price of that car......... let me know if you are interested.......

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jprsvr4/album?.dir=ebc4

862-849-6357

[pre-hop]

following up on itomic's fear of height issues... i'm 6'5"... i've driven a friends 98 Z3 and my head rested against the soft top (without a helmet... just my head)... i've been in my father in laws 03 350Z and my head touches the roof there as well (also a convertible)... these are the only sporty, small-type cars i've driven... should i drop my e30 m3 fascination based on my height?

[itomic]

Just came back from seeing the car and I have to say...I love this car even more than before. That said, this looked like a very "tired" example of an E30 M3.

When I got there the car was already running, which sucked 'cause I wanted to hear it run cold but even so it idled pretty rough (the owner said the timing was a little off).

The body looked extremely good, all joints between the pannels were even, no rust anywhere as far I could tell and no dents.

The engine bay wasn't too clean but it is a 17 year-old car, however, the owner didn't know why the valve cover was different color, he claimed that it was stock. There were also a bunch of other imperfections under the hood that I'm sure hide a story of their own, but at this point I just wanted to sit in it.

All I have to say is that the car felt simply awesome inside, it has a feel of a small Japanese car with great visibility and a feel of lightness and agility. Anyway, the car definitely has a leaking problem; there was water (condensation) on the door pannels of all places, also behind the clear plastic of the gauge cluster, which is super inconvenient since you can't see the gauges. Aside from that the interior looked OK at best.

^ pre-hop I'm not sure how much headroom you'd have at 6'5" but this car reminded me of VW's, there seemed to be lots of headroom, I think I could even fit a helmet in there.

All in all I'm glad I went to see it.