1985 325e White M3 Rep

[OttoB]

This is the next batch and although the majority of cars were of the more contemporary variety, e30 Mob had a good presence with their whips...




This was my absolute favorite car at the show - a $100K build by Renner:




This is another Renner creation that placed Top 10 at 2024 SEMA show:




And everyone knows this last one...

[OttoB]

Over the weekend, found out the 2nd replacement dash is now stateside... so, ideally it will find its way to me unlike the previous one stuck God knows where in NY/Customs. I have stepped up my efforts at securing a shop and not thrilled about the candidates but God makes things happen for a reason, and know the work will eventually get done well by someone. Once the dash arrives, the car will hopefully be out of storage.

On Monday, took the other car sharing storage space with my e30 - the blue 5 Turbo - as it found its way to a shop in Miami. Took the opportunity to snap pics of the 3 cars since unsure if/when that may ever happen again... Drove the 325 down the street to buy a new battery for the Renault and man, the BMW drives so well... such a good car even if I had not driven it at all in many weeks!

[2mAn]

What a collection of cars you have!! Perfection

[OttoB]

Pics of the dashboard which speak for themselves - arrived last week, and a big Hallelujah!!! It looks amazing and worth all the time it took to get to me - it is essentially perfect and even smells new!






I am now going full tilt in committing to a BMW specialist in SoFla and I'm pending on estimates from a number of them, so I am relieved to finally be at this point - its been a long time coming and this car deserves to be driven + enjoyed!

I also want to thank Milan Milich, who sold me the dashboard last year. He has been a very thorough, attentive seller at all times and unbelievably responsive as well as communicative. I found his dashboards for sale via FB (he only sells them through there) as others were vouching for how happy they were with theirs. Milan told me exactly what day the order/batch was being sent out weeks before it taking place exactly when he said he would; sent me tracking info the same day; was writing to me to provide me updates on the locations the dashboard was passing through; and ultimately - at his own cost, sent me a replacement one at no cost. Nobody knows why out of the first batch of 9 dashboards from December, mine was the only one not delivered after US Customs released it. But Milan even offered me my money back even though he did not have to... These types of honest, responsible individuals are far and few these days and, I cannot vouch for Milan enough.


He posts on the R3VLimited Facebook page all the time and here is the link to his profile:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/60402947626/user/100001782166938/

Whether it's a dashboard, steering wheel, or ? for your e30 - give him a try as you will not regret it! If the link doesn't work, you can look him up at the FB page and use the search feature for Milan Milich.

[2mAn]

Hooray!!!

[reelizmpro]

MIlan's dashes look excellent. How much did you pay including duty fees?

[OttoB]

Please reach out to him directly, as I have no idea what his present inventory stock is (existing dashes he can redo), whether there have been any changes in associated shipping or materials, or just information not available to me. I can tell you that I spent a considerable amount of time looking for many dashes all over before making the decision to buy his. Posts from existing customers were so common with positive experiences, that it made my decision to get one that much easier, regardless of him being in Russia.

The truth is, that if you have a nice car - you won't part it out. So, the only dashes available in the market for sale come from cars that had seen better decades, ya know? This is a brand new dash and, paid all in for less than other dashes being sold/offered in the market that are being sold as used. There is no comparison between one from Milan like I got, and anything else for sale. Even if it was new, old stock dashboard like one I found in Saudi Arabia or thereabouts - it would have been sitting in a shelf for what, 40 years? Milan makes them to order and I highly, highly recommend sourcing one from him if you need one!

[reelizmpro]

Please reach out to him directly, as I have no idea what his present inventory stock is (existing dashes he can redo), whether there have been any changes in associated shipping or materials, or just information not available to me. I can tell you that I spent a considerable amount of time looking for many dashes all over before making the decision to buy his. Posts from existing customers were so common with positive experiences, that it made my decision to get one that much easier, regardless of him being in Russia.

The truth is, that if you have a nice car - you won't part it out. So, the only dashes available in the market for sale come from cars that had seen better decades, ya know? This is a brand new dash and, paid all in for less than other dashes being sold/offered in the market that are being sold as used. There is no comparison between one from Milan like I got, and anything else for sale. Even if it was new, old stock dashboard like one I found in Saudi Arabia or thereabouts - it would have been sitting in a shelf for what, 40 years? Milan makes them to order and I highly, highly recommend sourcing one from him if you need one!

I know his pricing but what I don't know are the shipping costs and duties nowadays...that's what I'm curious about. BTW, BMW reproduced a new batch of dashes (out of S Africa) in the mid 2000's, made out of the latest vinyl material. Any NOS dash you find today is likely to be from that batch. The problem was, it didn't perfectly match the rest of the interior.

[OttoB]

I have been attempting to place another 4 cars back to where they need to be/I want them to be - all of them in the past 5 months - that have required me bringing parts from overseas. I honestly do not recall anything specific for duties on the dashboard at all, and the price for the dash included shipping. If it had been something significant (like more than $2-$300), I think I would have remembered. But, I apologize as it's been hard to keep track of everything. I am responsible for putting down what I pay for what part (and an invoice/printout) for everything I ever buy but a payment for the importing of the dash is not something I have nor could I have available, unfortunately.

As for how this new one looks in comparison to the original one - I am not a stickler for originality nor will I ever be. The car is at storage and the dashboard is at my office. I will take pictures of them together and everything else once the car goes to get its a/c makeover, which I suspect will be very soon!

[OttoB]

Timing is everything... as we all have heard this saying once or twice before? I have now committed to an old school, experienced, knowledgeable 18 year factory BMW trained mechanic who works for himself, one car at a time... These types of unicorns rarely exist outside the fantasy world of most enthusiasts and my approach was simply to be patient while, showing that I had done my due diligence in providing all necessary parts for the work to be completed, and that way - the work can be done without delays waiting on stuff. I am very happy with this recent turn of events and know the car will be in excellent hands. It was neither immediate nor straightforward, but the quote is very sensible and the hardest challenge when owning an old(er) car, is getting good help to keep it going!

Problem for me is that I will have to make 2 trips (1 with the car itself) since I have so many boxes of parts, accessories, body parts, etc! And, none of it would have been possible without the time, efforts, patience, and help from AWDBOB whose parts stash and professionalism allowed me to get what I believe + hope is everything I need!

These are just some of them - starting with the Condor Racing Evo II lower lip I was fortunate to find at a good price, since it was their last one and had not taken a pic before!







Not pictured is probably the largest box of them all with the dashboard... Good times ;)

[OttoB]

Earlier this week, I packed up the wagon with all the stuff and headed down south to drop them off to the shop, with the understanding there would a spot for the car next week. Today, we are confirmed for next Wednesday and God knows it has been a long road to get to this point... Upward trajectory is my preferred direction and excited to learn the full extent of the mechanical condition of this car. When I bought it from the Seller last year, it came with zero records. And, during its time at Cars & Bids when he had bought it in 2021, no records apparently had been supplied to him with the sale of the car - other than a handful of pics showing the e30 going back to a bare shell when they 'built it up". Whereas I know the car is solid and I am optimistic it will get a clean bill of health, it is also realistic to expect some surprises since it does not seem as if the car has been driven a whole lot these past few years. During the auction, the Seller acknowledged that back in September 2025 (when pics for the BAT Listing were taken) that the license plate registration had expired in August 2024 and had not bothered renewing it! But its not just to rehabilitate the car mechanically that has me optimistic, as much as also making this become from a cool toy (with no working gages, no radio and no a/c) into a fully functional car that could be driven daily.

When the car was sold to me and the ignition key was broken on the trunk lock by the transportation company, is also when I realized that the keys did not lock the doors and that too has impacted my ability to drive it. This is the kind of car that any thief would love to take for a spin - regardless of their age - and although locks would not deter a professional crook, I don't feel comfortable driving any car that I cannot lock it in any way, even if I wanted. So - all of that and more is on the pipeline.

[2mAn]

Love seeing the wagon being used for wagon things...

[OttoB]

The single biggest day since having bought the car, passed this Wednesday when I drove the car about 50+ miles over to Broward County, in order to drop it off at the 18yr BMW Factory Tech who handles all repairs, but only 2 cars at a time. I kinda fell in love with this little car, ya know? The 'ergonomics' of how the driver sits, location of steering wheel, shifter, visibility, quality of the interior materials, etc. The car just feels like it was very well designed and built. Again - keep in mind that it has been sitting in storage for the last 6 months and this drive, maybe was the 8th or 10th time I drove it, so it is still very much new to me!

These are pics from where I keep some of the others in the stable, pictured together with the VQ, GTV-6, and the QP III that morning.




Then at the office before heading out - the car has only been washed once, although the condition of the car is so nice that it's hard to tell it is actually dusty + dirty.

[OttoB]

Some more pics as the car will look different when it comes back, since we are adding a front lower lip spoiler; a rear mini spoiler below the wing; front quarter panel marker/turn signals; front fogs; plus tucking that exhaust in some 3 inches at least!




This last picture was taken while in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way to the shop. Car happily cruised for a while at 160kph (105mph - at least close to that despite the pic below showing 3K rpm at no speed) but apprehensive of 'abusing' it when there is zero documentation as to any maintenance done ever on the car. However, I've said it before and I will say it again - this car is very responsive and more than adequately quick, even with the eta engine... It brakes amazingly well, shifts, turns, handles bumps, etc. - I feel as if I really lucked out, especially having bought the car sight unseen and with an expired tag of 14 months! This last image shows one of the dashboard cracks (by windshield, pass. side) as well as barely able to see some of the many flashing lights and/or inoperative gages - soon to be fixed - woo hoo!

[2mAn]

Im sure someone will be willing to buy the old dash, thats actually really good conditon for an E30 dash haha