What Are Your Thoughts On Techno Violet E30s?

[E30Kills]

Here is my e30 Touring in Daytonaviolett!

That is a lovely looking car! Are the tourings the only ones that came in TV from the factory?

[82eye]

But what is so special about your 1989 E30 to drop 20k in a paint job on it??? You can get clean E30 with original paint for pretty much same price

as i said before that has been the exact suggestion i have gotten back from a number of shops. i am seriously weighing that option.

the number 1 response i get is a flat out refusal to even bother looking at the car or quote an estimate. those that will look at all quote 10K as minimum start point with prices surging upward from there. most want a deposit in that amount in advance as well.

if you can still get away with it in quebec then do it now, cause stuff is changing fast. i'm also talking to shops on the west coast, thousands of km away. there's better pricing and shops willing to work on it, but doing it at that distance is fraught with danger, and i can't remove or re-install stuff if i do which raises the price a lot.


edit : i would buy a turn key car, but this is the last car i will ever have worked on with my pops. he won't be with us much longer and i want to hang on to it for that reason.

[varg]

But what is so special about your 1989 E30 to drop 20k in a paint job on it??? You can get clean E30 with original paint for pretty much same price

The numbers just keep going up here, I think you guys are getting a little silly. I highly doubt a good external paint job costs $20k even in Canada or California... Let's be reasonable. We aren't talking about show cars here, we're talking about enthusiasts and E30s. You'd be nuts to spend $20k on paint alone for a car you actually intend to enjoy unless you are loaded. Say you strip your car down to a roller, fix all of the rust, and get it painted, spending $20k total. This is a reasonable, even good budget to do that, at least around here. What does a truly rust free E30 with great paint go for these days? Exclude situations involving stupid amounts of luck like a CA/desert barn find.

[ZeKahr]

But what is so special about your 1989 E30 to drop 20k in a paint job on it??? You can get clean E30 with original paint for pretty much same price

I got my 89 325iX with 78k miles and working AWD for $20k. $20k for a just a external respray on a garden variety E30 is total insanity. Levent from Guten Parts told me a single stage black paint job on my old 325e was $10k (my assumption being that it’s a regional show-quality paint job at that price point). This was back in 2020 or 2021. Single stage black is not a cheap color to paint a car in either.

If he’s shelling out $20k for just an external respray, it better be some Pebble Beach quality work in a Pebble Beach color. Otherwise, he’s getting severely ripped off.

[82eye]

If he’s shelling out $20k for just an external respray, it better be some Pebble Beach quality work in a Pebble Beach color. Otherwise, he’s getting severely ripped off.

i literally can't find a shop that wants to take it on. those that do quote rotisserie. nothing in between. no one does a daily driver paint job here anymore. it's a choice of full resto or nothing. the car isn't even that bad. i saved a half years worth of pay cheques just for the body. i'm not rich. if i could do it cheaper i'd be all over it. things have changed here permanent.

the majority of shops won't do import either. doesn't matter if its 20 yrs old or 20 minutes. at least 85% won't do anything but domestic. i'm in the middle of the prairies, they only talk muscle car, diesel truck, and straight line acceleration here.

edit : also 10K US is 12.5K here for equivalent just in dollars. taxes labour etc is also a higher rate than US. there are a grand total of three out of 40 or so shops that have said they will look at it. 2 want a 10k min deposit before work, and quote in the 20k range. the other i'm talking to next wk. if that doesn't fly, i have no choice but to likely take it out of province.

[ZeKahr]

i literally can't find a shop that wants to take it on. those that do quote rotisserie. nothing in between. no one does a daily driver paint job here anymore. it's a choice of full resto or nothing. the car isn't even that bad. i saved a half years worth of pay cheques just for the body. i'm not rich. if i could do it cheaper i'd be all over it. things have changed here permanent.

the majority of shops won't do import either. doesn't matter if its 20 yrs old or 20 minutes. at least 85% won't do anything but domestic. i'm in the middle of the prairies, they only talk muscle car, diesel truck, and straight line acceleration here.

edit : also 10K US is 12.5K here for equivalent just in dollars. taxes labour etc is also a higher rate than US. there are a grand total of three out of 40 or so shops that have said they will look at it. 2 want a 10k min deposit before work, and quote in the 20k range. the other i'm talking to next wk. if that doesn't fly, i have no choice but to likely take it out of province.

Ah ok, now I see what’s going on. Didn’t realize you were in Canada until now. Damn that sucks man. Which part of the Canadian prairies are you in? I Googled “Canadian prairies” and found a Wikipedia article saying the region consists of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba; my assumption is you’re located in one of those states.

[82eye]

Ah ok, now I see what’s going on. Didn’t realize you were in Canada until now. Damn that sucks man. Which part of the Canadian prairies are you in? I Googled “Canadian prairies” and found a Wikipedia article saying the region consists of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba; my assumption is you’re located in one of those states.

i'm in sask. capital of the province. do you blush when you say regina ? .... if it didn't have that name it would be the asshole of the country. it's not big by US standards, 250k people. there were 10 e30's registered inside the city last yr, down from about 14 2yrs previous.


edit : there is not a road here with a curve for about a half continent lol

more edit: as far as import mechanic shops - there are 3 independents aside from the dealers who do euro. aisian now is nearly as strong as domestic as far as support, and there are a lot more mechanic shops that deal with it. paint and body is a different animal entirely though. even my garden variety 2001 vw jetta is hard to get support for.

[Gtfour]

i literally can't find a shop that wants to take it on. those that do quote rotisserie. nothing in between. no one does a daily driver paint job here anymore. it's a choice of full resto or nothing. the car isn't even that bad. i saved a half years worth of pay cheques just for the body. i'm not rich. if i could do it cheaper i'd be all over it. things have changed here permanent.

the majority of shops won't do import either. doesn't matter if its 20 yrs old or 20 minutes. at least 85% won't do anything but domestic. i'm in the middle of the prairies, they only talk muscle car, diesel truck, and straight line acceleration here.

edit : also 10K US is 12.5K here for equivalent just in dollars. taxes labour etc is also a higher rate than US. there are a grand total of three out of 40 or so shops that have said they will look at it. 2 want a 10k min deposit before work, and quote in the 20k range. the other i'm talking to next wk. if that doesn't fly, i have no choice but to likely take it out of province.

By taking out of province, I hope you won’t go west… Shops in Alberta and BC aren’t going to be cheap either. Cheapest place for labor in Canada would be Quebec (outside of Montreal) and Maritimes provinces ;)

[82eye]

By taking out of province, I hope you won’t go west… Shops in Alberta and BC aren’t going to be cheap either. Cheapest place for labor in Canada would be Quebec (outside of Montreal) and Maritimes provinces ;)

good chance if i take it there i'll never see it again. there's some shops out in the boonies here that are pretty well known for muscle car body resto, but still closer, that's what i'm thinking to try next. i wanna get it done while my pops is still around. those shops are not welcoming to foreign generally.


edit : alberta and bc is exactly where i was headed.


edit : as an aside, our local insurance values the thing so high i have to carry a replacement policy valuing the car above 15k, even parked. i'm not allowed to have it in the garage or driveway otherwise. and it's not road insurance. costs about $150 cdn/yr. at least if someone grabs it i get that amount back.

[E30Kills]

good chance if i take it there i'll never see it again. there's some shops out in the boonies here that are pretty well known for muscle car body resto, but still closer, that's what i'm thinking to try next. i wanna get it done while my pops is still around. those shops are not welcoming to foreign generally.


edit : alberta and bc is exactly where i was headed.


edit : as an aside, our local insurance values the thing so high i have to carry a replacement policy valuing the car above 15k, even parked. i'm not allowed to have it in the garage or driveway otherwise. and it's not road insurance. costs about $150 cdn/yr. at least if someone grabs it i get that amount back.

That’s a really unfortunate situation….

My dad lives in Ottawa and I lived in Toronto as a kid. Canada is a fantastic country and will always have a special place in my heart but man, it really does have its downsides.

I thought E30 prices here in Monterey, CA were bad. Guess I have some more perspective now.

[82eye]

That’s a really unfortunate situation….
.

i'll get a pic soon and post. it's like a 5k car where you are from. maybe a bit more. stuff like that is stupid here.

[E30 Wagen]

I hit up a shop that was recommended to me by another enthusiast.

They quoted me $4,200 for a sterling silver repaint with no engine bay or door jambs. Quoted me $5,300 if they change the color and do the engine bay and door jambs.

Single stage paints though, drastically more expensive for a 2 stage job. For the average Joe like me, single stage is probably good enough?

Single stage, meaning no clear coat? What?? Don't waste your money, go for a quality two stage paint job.

Whatever direction you end up going just do yourself a favor and do it properly by pulling all the glass, removing all the trim, lighting, side mirrors, rubber seals, etc. If you've got a sunroof I'd even pull that off so it can be prepped and painted separately. There's really no excuse to not do those easy things on an old e30 if you want to avoid getting tape lines, plus it saves the shop time in masking prep.

The car should be resprayed with the fenders installed with new seam sealer applied in the factory locations if they had to be removed. If also doing the engine bay then personally I'd remove all the old ugly seam sealer on the shock towers and reseal those as well. And if you wanted to go further you could grind off all the grit guard on the front valence and top half of the rear valence so they're nice and smooth (also worth addressing any rust spots in the battery box area) then PPF those areas after. Looks really nice imo, but could add significantly more cost.

[ghrays]

Do it right, remove all trim and glass, two-stage repaint in original color. Sterlingsilber is a very desirable color, the violets are more personalized. I had mine repainted in the original Calypsorot metallic, it turned out beautiful.

[varg]

Single stage, meaning no clear coat? What?? Don't waste your money, go for a quality two stage paint job.

Elaborate. I hear this from time to time, but I also hear that a quality single stage is worth it from some people. To me, it seems a good single stage is FAR superior to an ok two stage paint job, since the price is comparable and who wouldn't rather buff the shine back into faded single stage than deal with peeling clear coat? Peeling clear coat is the worst, I have peeling clear coat on the D pillar of my wagon and it drives me nuts; there's nothing I can do about it. The E30's extremely faded single stage looks better imo, but it has a "look" where peeling clear coat just looks like garbage. So what's the drawback? I'm honestly curious since I don't know a ton about paint or body work, but I do know that a quality two stage job is much more expensive than a quality single stage.

[E30 Wagen]

Elaborate. I hear this from time to time, but I also hear that a quality single stage is worth it from some people. To me, it seems a good single stage is FAR superior to an ok two stage paint job, since the price is comparable and who wouldn't rather buff the shine back into faded single stage than deal with peeling clear coat? Peeling clear coat is the worst, I have peeling clear coat on the D pillar of my wagon and it drives me nuts; there's nothing I can do about it. The E30's extremely faded single stage looks better imo, but it has a "look" where peeling clear coat just looks like garbage. So what's the drawback? I'm honestly curious since I don't know a ton about paint or body work, but I do know that a quality two stage job is much more expensive than a quality single stage.

I'm no expert either, I just remember from the refinishing class I took (around 10 years ago now) that single stage is rarely done these days, and I think it's because paints are water-based? I see how a single stage would be preferred and honestly if I was going to repaint an e30 that was originally a single stage non-metallic, ie henna, then I'd want to replicate that, I just don't think it's possible anymore unless you can get solvent-based, but don't quote me on that. I just remember from my class that a good clear coat offers the best UV protection which otherwise destroys a single stage faster, at least for modern water-based. And I think I remember something about how clearing over metallics is better for wet sanding and polishing to get a really perfect finish, but don't quote me on that either. I assumed that sterling was one of BMW's first "modern" two stage paints from the early 90s so it'd make sense to refinish as such, but maybe they were actually factory single stage?