eurospec e30s aren't worth it.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

qft

I remember the time top gear drove a hummer in london the looks they got haha there streets arent meant for vehicles 5 feet wide haha and hummers drive around here in the us like meh

[Kevinl]

considering these are german cars they are meant to be left hand drive

[Der Ruffian]

I've only seen one US spec E30 here in Denmark, and it's not desireable here in Denmark.

[nando]

Rhd is awesome. Idk how it's a fad here when you rarely see it... And people want euro spec cars for the sake of not having a car like everyone else's. If I had a choice between a 323 or us spec 325 both with euro goodies I'd take the 323 just cause it's a 323. Idk I'm just a euro spec freak. I wanna own every euro spec I find....

no it's not, RHD is retarded in a LHD country, just like LHD would be lame in a RHD country. Especially with german cars that were never designed to be RHD in the first place.

I suppose there's still quite a few people who think BMW means "British Motor Works"...

the only car I'd consider importing would be something special - ACS, Alpina, Hartge, M3, 320is. regular E30s? you can do better here, we didn't get the totally stripped out, gutless POS models here in the first place.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

no it's not, RHD is retarded in a LHD country, just like LHD would be lame in a RHD country. Especially with german cars that were never designed to be RHD in the first place.

I suppose there's still quite a few people who think BMW means "British Motor Works"...

the only car I'd consider importing would be something special - ACS, Alpina, Hartge, M3, 320is. regular E30s? you can do better here, we didn't get the totally stripped out, gutless POS models here in the first place.

All it would do is make driving interesting haha. Anyone that thinks bmw mean britsh motor works should just do us all a favor and die in a hole. I'm with you I'd never import a car unless its one that you listed. Now if someone already did that work for me and its here thats a whole different ball game.

[nando]

I think you mean annoying.

[rturbo 930]

Yeah. Any kind of drive-thru, passing on a 2 lane road, etc. It would be fun for a week or so, but really just annoying otherwise. And you'd be shifting with your left hand... which never made sense to me since most people are right handed.

[mr2peak]

Right hand corners with a wall on your right is just plain scary, very limited visibility around the bend. Think canyons, hillsides, etc. Scary to commit to a corner when you're tucked way on the inside.


Having just done 100 quick miles in a RHD car, I would never recommend it. Cool for the novelty alone, actually driving it sucks.

[Hooffenstein HD]

no it's not, RHD is retarded in a LHD country, just like LHD would be lame in a RHD country. Especially with german cars that were never designed to be RHD in the first place.

Exactly this. LHD sucks over here and RHD would suck over there. Converting the E30 to RHD ruined the feel of the brakes with funky ass linkages and threw off the Left:Right weight distribution too. When E30's were new and being raced in our local touring car events, they were indeed LHD.

Only good thing about Euro E30's over USDM models is the aluminium engine mount arms and no ugly bumpers/trim.

[lgb240]

I read through this entire thread with great interest ... I have an e30 touring that I bought about 8 years ago. It was a German import to the west coast of Canada. I bought it in Vancouver and had it shipped to Southern Ontario.

It seems to differ from all the negative generalities of the first post ... it's rust free (including tail gate, rockers, wheel wells) fully loaded (working a/c, all power windows, locks, mirrors, cargo cover, dog net, ect, ect only options it didn't have were heated seats and cruise) and low miles (it had less than 150,000 km when I bought it)

I think the difference is that I bought it from a person who actually bought it in Europe, used it there, then brought it home with him. It wasn't a broker or flipper or shady used car hack pushing sh1t.

There are great, well equipped and properly maintained Euro cars out there. Like buying any domestic market car, you have to sift through the crap to find the good ones. Best of luck ...

[Pete_E30]

Exactly this. LHD sucks over here and RHD would suck over there. Converting the E30 to RHD ruined the feel of the brakes with funky ass linkages and threw off the Left:Right weight distribution too. When E30's were new and being raced in our local touring car events, they were indeed LHD.

Only good thing about Euro E30's over USDM models is the aluminium engine mount arms and no ugly bumpers/trim.

I've never understood why BMW occasionally takes the worst route to do things. Case in point is the 325e cooling system. Why use 2 hoses when you can use more. While you are at it, make your radiator fill cap of a different plastic to the expansion tank that you fill the radiatore with and then go mad bleeding. None of your "fill the radiator through the radiator" rubbish thank you.

The RHD conversion is as bad. Nissan made their cars modular so that the body would take Right hand drive and Wrong hand drive by adding a covewr plate for the un-used side in the 1970s or Honda simply made two center sections - one for RHD, one for LHD. BMW: Nope, we'll make a new dashboard and steering system but lets use linkages for that not so important brake system. Because: Bavaria :D

Much as I love my E30s - I'm not convinced that BMW is always sane - that or they gotr a dose of the British Leylands now and then.

[MikeDE]

Julien, for the most part, you have a point. At 30yrs, a vehicle deemed in original(and naturally, safe, serviceable, and aesthetically-pleasing)condition can get 'H', or Historic plates, they're known to the Germans as 'Oldtimers'. The tax & insurance are cheaper, but not many Germans don't want to drive them even on a limited basis.

I would say that those who 'find' those e30's on very good or better condition, are in the know. Mostly they trade hands to other enthusiasts long before being put on sale to the 'general public'. Partly b/c the general public would scoff at paying the proper prices for such e30's, and enthusiasts don't really want them to fall into the wrong hands.

You're conclusion is actually a little superficial, go look on Mobile.de, autoscout24.de(there is an english option) and see what 'proper' e30's go for over here, it's getting a bit ridiculous but they're all getting nearer to the 'Oldtimer' status l mentioned before.

BTW, check the iX's too



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[ThatOneEuroE30]

Like I said euro e30's are 100% worth it given the fact that you know what your getting into. The point of a euro e30 is to not have your run of the mil e30 but to have something completely different.

[petrolhead]

Quite a few "interesting" statements in this thread.

[Scywrath]

Any car from a northern european country will be rusted.

...an e30 that originated in Germany and was imported to another european country in the 90s when it was a few years old. That is sometimes an indication it was wrecked/rolled back odo

This perfectly describes my car. It is now on rust repair for the second time, having the practically non-existent sills replaced. It is a '87 exported in '91, being a (possibly rear-ended) 325e from the rear seats forward and a (red, repainted poorly) 325i from the rear seats to the back. When I was rear-ended, the insurance inspector told me the only surface with factory-spec paint thickness was the left rear door.

Also where I live, it is common for people to pay the inspection guys off, so many cars will stay on the road until they fall apart for some reason...