Buy it, or don't?

[waldowin]

OK, so I've found an E30 325i that's got all the bells and whistles I'm looking for. It's a drop-top. It's that sexy charcoal color. It's got under 100k miles (holy cow!). It's got thorough maintenance receipts. It has LSD. It's unmolested.

The catch? It's an automatic (DOH!)

Now, I'm hoping to autocross this car at some point, but it's mainly going to be a daily driver. The asking price is reasonable ($3250, but flexible I think), and of course a mechanic will check it out for me to make sure it's the real deal before I make an offer. How much of a PITA is it to swap in a manual transmission somewhere down the road? And is an automatic transmission just going to kill my acceleration (I don't know if it's the 4.10 rear end or not)?

I'm beginning to realize it's *very* difficult to find an E30 as clean as I'm looking for, and I'm thinking I might be willing to settle for an automatic if it's got everything else. Assuming (fingers crossed) I find a wrecked E30 with a good transmission/driveline, would it be worth swapping them out, or am I asking for a world of hurt?

Should I hold off on buying this car, and hope a 5-speed comes along?

[benDASHDASH]

I've got a sweet 5spd black cabby for you.

[waldowin]

I've got a sweet 5spd black cabby for you.

Tempting...
Mileage? VIN? Service history? Pictures? Asking price?
Shoot me a line at ThrottleOversteer@gmail.com
Do it soon, I see this other car on tuesday, and make my decision then :)

[benDASHDASH]

haha its got 202k miles. I actually wasnt going to sell it for another 2-3 months, as its my daily. Good luck finding one though.

[Jparkr]

no way it may be awsome with the milage and records. but your gonna wanna 5spd in no time. i say just keep waiting for "your" car to come along, it may be tough but its worth it in the end, thats how i got my Is, i was sooo close to going back to a E36 plenty of times.

[waldowin]

no way it may be awsome with the milage and records. but your gonna wanna 5spd in no time. i say just keep waiting for "your" car to come along, it may be tough but its worth it in the end, thats how i got my Is, i was sooo close to going back to a E36 plenty of times.

Basically, the question here isn't a matter of me sticking with an automatic forever, but more a matter of is it worth the extra work and expense to buy this car and swap in a manual, or is there a realistic chance that I'll find a car this good with a manual?

(ninja edit)

[BMWguy]

I waited 2 years for my car once I KNEW I wanted an e30... I also flew 1200 miles and drove the car back home... when you have found the one that you want you will KNOW it... there wont be any questioning it...

tranny swap is a bitch and is pretty costly... ask TJ (Digitalwave) about it... he has done the swap... not worth it IMHO... find a manual...

BTW... if you're looking at 325's it doesn't really matter how many miles it has on it... it matters what has been done to up-keep it.... my M20 has just over 100k miles on it (102,565 yesterday) but its my second motor... easy to find/easy to replace... I'm making SURE this one is kept PRISTINE so it will go 400k miles...

get the color schemes you want, the tranny you want, the year you want and dont worry about the rest...

Describe to us what E30 you are hunting... I'm sure we can help find you one...

Nate

[Court M3]

I'd get it and just swap to a manual later.

[Dave]

That price, those miles, if its clean and unmolested, its a good deal.

Research the work on the swap and see if you can live with it - it is a lot of work.

[ColdAccord]

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=63857

buy that

[nando]

I would just buy it. 5 speed tranny's are easy to find, clean unmolested E30s are not.

[mikeedler]

i would say it depends how much you REALLY like he car. doing the swap is all about how much you know. I am sure some people here could do the swap for themselves, if waiting for the parts for less that 400.00- and in a weekend. buy it if its really that nice, trans. can always be changed later.

[Digitalwave]

I personally don't think its worth it, I've done the same thing. My car was automatic and I wanted to keep it so I did the tranny conversion. By the way, it's A LOT faster than an automatic. The automatics are slow as dog shit.

The swap cost me about $1,500 and almost 4 days of straight labor (with help). You can get the used parts for less than $500 but whats the point of putting a used clutch in your car? I say hold out and be patient.

[Axxe]

4 days of labour TJ? How much were you guys drinking?

I'd say it depends on whether or not you like the car. Like nando said, it's easier to swap a 5-spd later than find a mint car, so if this one is mint, go for it.

[Digitalwave]

I'd say we were taking our time but ran into some snags and I don't think we could have done it in less than 3 days.