Importing Euro Spec E30

[roguetoaster]

Dang a Spec E30 with Euro bumpers? DANG...

That's how you display your F you money in S30.

[moatilliatta]

Dang a Spec E30 with Euro bumpers? DANG...

[cory58]

Basically none of that would be helpful to the Canadian OP unfortunately.

My bad. OP did not state he was in Canada and I did not click through to his profile.

[Zepersian]

A good rust-repair and repaint job will easily cost $10,000-15,000 in the USA.

You can probably drive the car to a body shop in Eastern Europe and refinish it much cheaper.

The M20B20 produces only 127 hp.

https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.php/320i

I have an E46 M3 as well if I want speed. Each car has its own use. Sometimes you just want the top down and cruise.

Not to mention getting a high performance car is a big scam given you can’t even go more than 70 miles/hour on the highway.

If you want a race car best to get a track car, visit a race track and run it turbo there.

Also, spending 10K on a good rust/paint job is probably one of the best and rare upgrades that actually increases the value of your car. Never see it as a waste of money. A waste of money is spending 2K on a magnaflow cat back exhaust.

[Vincenze]

Half of Europe hasn't seen snow since the last ice age. You have to be smart which country/city you're buying from. But yes there's risk with everything you buy overseas. Need to be smart and a bit luck. But like I mentioned before if you have a 35-40 year old car you have to expect to repaint it and do some rust work sooner than later. They become a labor of love (or wallet drainer as your wife would say lol)

A good rust-repair and repaint job will easily cost $10,000-15,000 in the USA.

You can probably drive the car to a body shop in Eastern Europe and refinish it much cheaper.

The M20B20 produces only 127 hp.

https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.php/320i

The 320i is not a desirable model of E30 due to its relatively low power (little more than the 318i) but with fuel consumption equal to the much more powerful 325i. Because of this, surviving examples are usually cannibalized for their shells, or have more powerful engines transplanted into them.

There's not much it shares with its engine stablemates either; nothing can be bolted on to improve performance, and only basic engine ancillaries like the alternator and Starter are common with its M20 contemporaries.

There's not much you can do to improve the performance of a 320i. The engine is strangled from intake to exhaust, and once you start looking at bolting on components from bigger engines, you realize it's cheaper and quicker just to drop an entire 325i lump in.

[Zepersian]

verts are always in better shape here since they don't see the miles or the salt. they use them different in europe than they do in north america, but most will be in a similar situation.
i dunno what you are comparing to. last time i was in europe a decent e30, or really any car was about the same or more than here after exchange.

i know someone who just imported a touring. they actually traveled to see the car in person. it was the second one they brought over, the first was riddled with hidden rust. which is why they traveled for this one. a vert is a usually a safer bet unseen. but i still wouldn't bite without getting my eyes on the car.

Half of Europe hasn't seen snow since the last ice age. You have to be smart which country/city you're buying from. But yes there's risk with everything you buy overseas. Need to be smart and a bit luck. But like I mentioned before if you have a 35-40 year old car you have to expect to repaint it and do some rust work sooner than later. They become a labor of love (or wallet drainer as your wife would say lol)

[Zepersian]

Is something like this?

E30 M3 320 convertible.
https://www.milanuncios.com/bmw-de-s...-398715156.htm

Something is fishy about it.



There are mostly 250,000 km cars for 10,000 €.
---
Here is an original 270,000 km M3 for 79,000 €.
Where are you getting super cheap M3s?
https://www.milanuncios.com/bmw-de-s...-436841561.htm

No it's not a convertible M3. For one a convertible M3 at 20K euros is very fishy. It's either stolen or milage heavily changed. Plus this is an auto. Anybody buying an auto M3 deserves to get scammed lol

[Vincenze]

Is something like this?

E30 M3 320 convertible.
https://www.milanuncios.com/bmw-de-s...-398715156.htm

Something is fishy about it.



There are mostly 250,000 km cars for 10,000 €.
---
Here is an original 270,000 km M3 for 79,000 €.
Where are you getting super cheap M3s?
https://www.milanuncios.com/bmw-de-s...-436841561.htm

[82eye]

I have bought two Tourings from Europe. They are both great cars. One had a little bit of rust and the other one did not. In both cases, asking a lot of questions and getting a lot pictures made it so I had a pretty good idea what condition the cars were in before I saw them.

With both cars, I had them shipped to the port in Baltimore, flew there and drove them back. I had no major problems driving them 650 miles to Indianapolis.

Go for it!

the rotten one was through an import dealer. the good car was a private sale where the buyer dealt with the owner directly before purchase. usually you would expect the opposite outcome.

[twright]

I have bought two Tourings from Europe. They are both great cars. One had a little bit of rust and the other one did not. In both cases, asking a lot of questions and getting a lot pictures made it so I had a pretty good idea what condition the cars were in before I saw them.

With both cars, I had them shipped to the port in Baltimore, flew there and drove them back. I had no major problems driving them 650 miles to Indianapolis.

Go for it!

[82eye]

verts are always in better shape here since they don't see the miles or the salt. they use them different in europe than they do in north america, but most will be in a similar situation.
i dunno what you are comparing to. last time i was in europe a decent e30, or really any car was about the same or more than here after exchange.

i know someone who just imported a touring. they actually traveled to see the car in person. it was the second one they brought over, the first was riddled with hidden rust. which is why they traveled for this one. a vert is a usually a safer bet unseen. but i still wouldn't bite without getting my eyes on the car.

[Zepersian]

European cars generally have more rust than US convertibles as they were usually bought by people in California, Texas, etc.

Could be but E30 convertibles go for much more in the USA than Europe. Convertibles isn't as popular or in demand in Europe as here so there's opportunities there.

And to be honest any 30-40 years old car needs a new paint job and rust work anyways. It's an investment you have to make sooner or later. What you don't want is body or engine damage. Much easier to fix paint or rust than find OEM bumper or engine from that era. Aftermarket body is another thing but lets not get into it.

The way I see it is if I can find an E30 for half the cost in Europe than here it is -EV for me to look in Canada or USA for it. I'll accept the extra hassle with customs but then take that extra money savings to put it in the car.

To each their own I guess.

[Vincenze]

European cars generally have more rust than US convertibles as they were usually bought by people in California, Texas, etc.

[Zepersian]

bringing in a vert is the least of all possible returns. but if you're never selling why not ? that's what it's gotten to be here. especially from manitoba east. there's not much in canada now when hunting e30's

i still would have looked at later US cars first though. i guess maybe some cache a la euro but 320i and yawn when later world cars where all plastic bumpered. it'll be a nice weather day cruiser.

Yes, well there's also the most important aspect which is price. It's a really good price. Half of what it would cost me here. Game theory comes into play here as well (whole other discussion).

You will almost always find a better deal on a European car in Europe than here. You just have to make sure shipping and customs is within reason.

The way I see it is if you want to buy a Euro car look at the Euro market first. I would never buy a 65 ford mustang from Europe before looking heavily in the USA. I have the same mentality with Euro cars. Then you add the fact that these older BMW's are less desirable by Europeans and much more common than here. They go for cheaper and less demand so price drops with time. You can find an E30 M3 in Europe in the 50K range euro. Good luck finding anything under 80K USD here. People just don't want to go through the hassle of customs and shipping which is where the opportunity cost comes into play.

[82eye]

bringing in a vert is the least of all possible returns. but if you're never selling why not ? that's what it's gotten to be here. especially from manitoba east. there's not much in canada now when hunting e30's

i still would have looked at later US cars first though. i guess maybe some cache a la euro but 320i and yawn when later world cars where all plastic bumpered. it'll be a nice weather day cruiser.