Hi there,

First of all I am appealing for help of the expert kind. I have found an M3 which I so desperately want however, to keep the missus happy and to justify the expenditure I would like to get an expert to cast an eye before I buy.

At the moment the car is advertised on an online auction as well as elsewhere and is located near Aberdeen. I have spoken with the seller and have arranged for a viewing this Friday at his home or on Saturday in Dundee prior to him going to the footy in the afternoon.

Unfortunately I cannot get one of these independant inspectors in time for them and am appealing for someone very kind and helpful to perhaps come along and give an experienced verdict. I am not ignorant on this front in the least and have done some research into these cars. I have had word from a work colleague that if it is as good as it looks then it definately is worthwhile purchasing.

Yours hopefully,

Kevin.

Hi Kevin

welcome to the forum.   Buying an M3 can be a very disappointing at times. I was in this boat last year and looked at many a car described as mint only to find it had been a dog tarted up for sale. As the cars are approaching 20 years old they are prone to rusting (have a look through the old threads Uwe's *need expert opinion*) this will show you what can happen.    Have a close look around the rear number plate lights for signs of rust, also around the front windscreen, bottom of the doors these are all known rust spots. Remove the spare wheel and the jack and inspect inside the boot as they do leak at times. A good or full service history is always a good sign. I would come and help you out but i live near Brighton   Spend a bit of time browsing the old threads as i mentioned earlier and you will get a good idea of what to look for and expect. I hope this is of use to you and good luck in your search

Andy,

Thanks for the info will bear it in mind. I did find a thread with a link to e30 zone with a guide for a 325 which also proved useful too. I also got this months BMW car which has a couple points in it too all very good info here. I am loving it!

Kev.

Welcome Kermitt

You should buy this months BMW Car magazine - Rather fortuitously it contains the E30 M3 Ultimate Guide, you couldn't have picked a better month to ask the question!

In the abscence of an expert opinion, go to look at the car armed with this, having read it 3 or 4 times!!!

Good luck! 

Nico,

Have read this front to back several times already (well need something to amuse while resting on the porcelain throne ha ha!). I should be armed with more than enough information when the time comes just better remember it all.

Cheers,

kev.

Andy,

It is indeed G212 JWE, anyone know history of this one?

The seller bought it in Oldham a place called Just Sports Cars only 4 months ago in but I cant seem to access the site for some reason.

What have you got and where are you?

Kev.

Kermitt,

I looked at this car over 12 months ago (July 05) when it was for sale in Oldham through Just Sports. It was having a service done at Williams BMW in Rochdale and I pestered the Service Receptionist to have a quick look round it whilst in their service bay.

I asked one of the mechanics of their opinion but "we don't see any of these now - it looks ok!" was pretty much his reply!

The car was advertised for sale at £10k which on balance seemed too steep, mileage was about 90k if I remember correctly. It had Alpina wheels on too, which I didn't really care for, don't know if they were replicas.

It also had slight panel damage on one of the rear panels. Interior looked like a very nice cloth interior.

After a quick inspection I decided it wasn't worth £10k and bought a much nicer example privately for less money. In 12 months this car didn't cost much to run at all (just a new waterpump & clutch) and I got back exactly what I paid for it when i sold it a year later. A good persuader for the missus!

My car has just arrived at it's new home in New Zealand and is the only Europameister in New Zealand!! It's been bought by the President of the owners club in NZ.

Take your time looking for the right car and I'm sure you will be ok.

Mark

Mark,

Thanks for that, yeah mechanics are not what they used to be! I think its got a little dent at the rear and couple of stone chips apart from that I don't know of anything major. Interior wise I have been told by the seller that there is a small tear in the driver's bolster material and that he has been quoted £60 to have this fixed, I would think a bit more but have not seen the damage yet.
I also think I can get it for around 7k as it has not had the tensioner or shifter upgrades but we will see what I can talk him down to.

Would you say around 7 is a fair price for this.

Guys,

Thanks a bunch for all this it has been very helpful and very supportive. Will be going tomorrow to check it out and then sleep on it overnight.

Lyndonbuck,

Regarding, the prices for the parts you mentioned who is the supplier? 

Kev. 

hi kev. much as you may be droowling over an M3 (we all do!!) if this is the first you have looked at make sure you remove those rose tinted sunglasses. this is certainly no put you off as I have had quite a few and love them but you must be careful and dont be forced into a quick decision as its better to miss than buy trouble.

this said it may be a good car/ buy but there are others out there which are known ie concours winner £12k or silver one at Tatton £9-10k plus the one above.

usually these M3s are known by someone in the club and with chassis no speak to munich legends or nigal moseley for details of car when new. plus speak to all prev. owners even if this means some leg work.

M3 ownership can bring you anew lease of life so take your time.

best of luck skh 

Don't do it! They are rubbish really!  

Only Joking. As above really look out for rust. You can have a mint looking car which can actually be full of fibreglass and filler. Wax-oil and the factory sealer actually does an excellent job of hidding a rust bucket too, so POKE ABOUT!

If the car has hard suspension fitted, take a close look at the bulkhead and front inner wings for cracking too. Check the carpets for wetness (and damp) If they are wet, then I think unless you intend a project where the dash and engine is removed to weld up holes, walk away.

Obviously, all the mechanical checks. The S14 is pretty noisey, but a nice maintained one can actually be reasonably quiet too. Make sure it idles ok, throttle response should be pretty sharp. Make a point of changing down the gearbox for slowing the car down - without heal and toeing the throttle, this will highlight any syncromesh problems.

A drivetrain vibration from about 45mph to around 70mph will most likely be the propshaft UJ's, this is not a cheap repair either. The car should be ultra smooth at these speeds.

Also do a search here as there are numerous postings/topics about advice in what to look out for.

Best of luck.

Well folks,

Spent a good few hours checking the car out, good news is its all original, full service history (majority BMW) no signs of filler (went over the whole body with a magnet) original scuttle etc and mechanically sound and still got 9 mths MOT.

Only bad points I could find was a small bubble of rust underneath the rear number plate light, tiny bit under the drivers door (not flaky or anything) and the usual stone chips here and there along the front.

Only major things I spotted was in the front of the front wheel arches the trim was cracked and a bit bent on both sides like the underneath had hit a speed bump but everything else around the area seemed fine and there was no other significant signs of damage.

Other than that there was a slight leak coming from either the sump or it was power steering fluid that I noticed underneath on the drivers side noticeable on the steering bellows and around the sump, but it wasnt dripping just damp.

Interior wise, the bolster foam was fine just needs a bit of new cloth and there was a crack in one of the dash panels underneath the radio but I can probably get that froma breakers.

Road test no nasty noises, braked straight & went like stink no gearbox problems either.

So now its a done deal got it for slightly less, and the car will be mine when the money clears so thanks everybody for all your help has been very supportive. Hopefully see some of you at a meet in the future.

Oh one more thing any tips for classic insurance companies, so far I have to look at Performance Direct, Lancaster and Heritage.

Try Classis Line Insurance 01455 639000 may not be the cheapest but one of the few that would give me a quote, most didn't class my car as 'classic' enough.

Good luck and enjoy

Almost forgot there are a few of us meeting up on Nov 19th at South Mimms at 2pm, so depending on where your located might be worth coming down, or up as the case maybe.