woohoo... finally picked up M3!

[Jonmurgie]

Well, finally picked up my E30 M3 last night after waiting for about a month!

Gave her a wash when I got here and was stunned at how straight and clean the panels are. Not a single scratch or dent/ding. Only things are a few spots of rust beginning to come through on one rear arch, the tailgate and the sunroof but should be easy to get sorted.

One BAD point the wash highlighted was a leak somewhere that means the drivers foot well is pretty damp (well, wet actually) which isn't good. Is there a weak spot on these cars that causes them to leak like that? Any way of fixing it?

I also have a few other basic questions and would appreciate it if anyone could shed some light:

1. Is there supposed to be no interior light? What are my options for fitting one?
2. How much of the instruments light up? On the heater panel the sliders and the fan speed are totally not illuminated, is that common and is it fixable?
3. The boot lock/push mechanism is very stiff and when it's pushed in it doesn't pop back out, you have to push it out with your finger form the inside. I had an old 320i that did exactly the same so it's obviously a common fault, is there a cure/fix?
4. I don't much like the Orange illumination on the dash, can it be changed and how?

Think that's it for now, sorry for the barrage of questions! Other than that it was FANTASTIC fun to drive last night and my friends are WELL impressed

A happy grinning happy happy Jon

[m3evoii]

good luck with the motor.
check the rubber seal around the windscreen, it's most likely the cause of the leak. if you have a sunroof it might also be the culprit.

[Cone]

The little drain on the passenger side is probably clogged, you should pop that off and clean it out.

The interior lights might be burnt out or maybe they just don't work. Only one of mine work, one got shorted somehow. The lights are above your head.

The lights in the heater controls are burnt out. You need to take out the radio to acess the bulbs.

You're not really goin to be able to change out the dash lights to make them a different color. I thought you owned a Bimmer before? I thought all Bimmers had orange lights. Plus they're cool, I wow all the ladies with em.

[Bryan]

In the motor bay, on the passenger side firewall, there is a little drain that looks like an elephant trunk, it is about the same level as the air vents in the car. Pop that off and see if it is clogged. It is the most common cause of leaks. If that isn't the problem, it could be the sunroof drains. Get some weed-eater line (the flexible stuff) and poke it down the tubes of the sunroof to clear any debris. There are four drains, they are at each corner on the sunroof.

The interior lights are located on the side of the roof near the b-pillars. If they don't turn on, you probably need to replace the bulb. There are also map lights on the inside mirror.

The lock mechanism is probably jammed or stuck. There is probably a way to take it out and lube it.

You really can't change the red illumination. It is there for a reason, and you will get used to it and you will come to like it after a while. What is cool is that no other cars have it. The red is the lowest frequency and lowest wavelength light of the visible spectrum. It doesn't hurt your eyes at night, and it lets your eyes dialate more eaisly, allowing you to see the road better.

[Nick]

Congrats on the car.

the interior lights have 3 position switches on them make sure its not in the off position first, then check to see if the light bulb is not burnt out, then check to make sure plastic pieces of the light aren't broken (causing bad contact).

lastly hook up a test light to make sure you are getting power to the lights.

BTW the mirror has 2 map lights on the bottom of it.