The Latest & Greatest: 1994 (E30) 316i Daytona Violet Design Edition Touring
The E30 Design Edition touring is just about unknown outside of Germany, and very little English language information exists on the model (something I will change with another thread in the future).
The Design Edition - called Motorsport Design Edition in the United Kingdom and Canada - was created in 1991 for the E30 convertible in an effort to provide customers with a special model with unique options at the end of the production run. Design Edition convertibles came in two colours, neonblau metallic and neongruen metallic with matching sport cloth interiors, and were produced for the 1991 and 1992 model years.
Due to the success of the Design Edition convertible, BMW created the Design Edition touring to be sold at the end of their production run, sold from 1993 to 1994 - the last of the E30 models produced. Design Edition tourings were offered in daytonaviolet metallic, mugellorot, mauritiusblau metallic, lagunengrun metallic, micascharz metallic and sterlingsilber metallic, with closely matching neon green or blue, or matching purple or red sport cloth interiors (silver and mica cars could be ordered with any of the fabric colour options). Only two engines were offered in the Design Edition touring: the 1.6 L M40 and 1.8 L M40.
Daytona violet is actually the metallic version of the purple found in the original BMW Motorsport stripe, which was changed to a dark navy blue after the partnership with Castrol concluded.
The Design Edition - called Motorsport Design Edition in the United Kingdom and Canada - was created in 1991 for the E30 convertible in an effort to provide customers with a special model with unique options at the end of the production run. Design Edition convertibles came in two colours, neonblau metallic and neongruen metallic with matching sport cloth interiors, and were produced for the 1991 and 1992 model years.
Due to the success of the Design Edition convertible, BMW created the Design Edition touring to be sold at the end of their production run, sold from 1993 to 1994 - the last of the E30 models produced. Design Edition tourings were offered in daytonaviolet metallic, mugellorot, mauritiusblau metallic, lagunengrun metallic, micascharz metallic and sterlingsilber metallic, with closely matching neon green or blue, or matching purple or red sport cloth interiors (silver and mica cars could be ordered with any of the fabric colour options). Only two engines were offered in the Design Edition touring: the 1.6 L M40 and 1.8 L M40.
Daytona violet is actually the metallic version of the purple found in the original BMW Motorsport stripe, which was changed to a dark navy blue after the partnership with Castrol concluded.
Now, on to the specifics of my car:
Type AJ11
Model 316i - EUR
Series E30 (3 Series)
Chassis TOUR
Steering LL
Doors 5
Engine M40
Displacement 1.60
Power 73kw / 99hp
Drivetrain HECK
Transmission MECH
Color Daytona-violett Metallic - 283
Upholstery Violett Meliert - Zs Stoff - 0492
Production Plant DINGOLFING
Production Date 1993-12-01
Options
215 Power Steering, depending On Engine Speed
240 Leather Steering Wheel
288 Lt/aly Wheels
300 Central Electric
314 Heated Windscreen Washer Nozzles
320 Model Designation, Deletion
401 Sliding/vent Roof, Electric
413 Luggage Compartment Net
423 Floor Mats, Velour
428 Warning Triangle
481 Sport Seats F Driver/front Passenger
498 Headrests In Rear, Mechanic. Adjustable
510 Headlight Beam-throw Contr. F Low Beam
520 Foglights
545 Tach, km/h speedometer, analog , EC
650 Bmw Bavaria C
681 Roof antenna
799 E30 Individual Series 92
801 Germany Version
915 No Outer Skin Protection
The story:
September 2016
“WARNING: YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THIS CAR.”
That was the exact message that started it all, sent to my partner from his dad, along with a link to a 1994 316i design edition touring in beautiful daytona violet for sale in Germany. My partner knew I'd grown to love E30 tourings as much as he has for many years thanks to my 1988 320i Touring (you can find my project thread for that car here) and sent me the link. It was an absolutely gorgeous gem of a car in stunning condition. We couldn't believe how nice it was, and the fact that the seller’s asking price was low enough that it might be feasible to import it from Germany. So that left me with a tough question to think over… would I seriously consider going after that car?
After talking it over, we decided it would be well worth the effort. Since it was a ’94, it would be too new to import into the US until it reaches the 25 year mark, but nothing would stop me from importing it into Canada, where we “only” have to wait 15 years. This was my dream car, and there was no way another opportunity like this would come along. My SO was still shocked by the fact that I even had a dream car (it took me a while… you can read the backstory here) and was extremely supportive of the whole idea. ;D He explained that if I was really interested in that car, it would take a lot of work on my part but he knew he could make it happen. The one huge downside: I would have to sell my ‘88 320i Touring.
(That, and I'd become the owner of one of the slowest E30s in existence... but I could always fix that detail in the future. :devil:)I still didn’t know how I was going to get the touring from Germany to Canada, or if it would work out at all, but I would soon find out! I started getting shipping quotes and researching the process, but realized that even if we handled all of the paperwork, we still had no way to inspect the car and get the car to the port without someone helping us on the other side. Handling the payment and communicating with the seller was going to be problematic as well. My SO contacted a local car importer he'd known of for over 15 years, as well as someone in Germany who helps North Americans import cars from Germany, to see if either of them could help us with the process.
The next morning, we heard back from the German importer, who was fully booked. My SO’s contact replied and said he could help with the project. It was already too late, though -- the ad for the car was gone. %$#&. Well, so much for that. :(
The next day, my partner found a listing for another touring that was almost exactly the same, except it was lower mileage and in better condition. I have no idea what the odds of that were, but I was unbelievably lucky to get a second chance! :D
I didn't want to lose out on this car while we worked out the details with the importer, so I contacted the seller directly by email. Since I don’t speak German, I translated my message using Google Translate and hoped for the best. I’d read that most Germans speak English, but it turned out that this seller did not. I explained why I was interested in the car and asked him if he would be willing to sell it to me in Canada. I quickly realized how hard it was to write a message like that without coming off as a total scammer. Styleprojekt on r3v, who imported a Touring from Germany last year, explained it perfectly:
Originally posted by Styleprojekt
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The next day rolled around and I hadn’t heard back from the seller. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Had I just sent the seller a bunch of gibberish? Was the car already sold? I sent a short follow up message, even though I wasn’t sure if it would do more harm than good. Scammers never send well-intentioned, courteous follow-up messages, right?
The seller replied that he had no problem selling the car to me. YEAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! :D He even offered to “help for a few days with overnight stay," though unfortunately a trip to Germany was not in the cards for me. He told me that the car has no rust, the engine and transmission were in top condition, and all fluids including all filters and oils were recently changed. On top of all that, he sent me over 50 additional pictures of the car!
The importer’s associate in Germany inspected the car for us and even took it for a test drive. He reported that it drove great, was very clean, and there was literally no rust on it! We even got to see videos of his impressions of driving the car which was amazing. :mrgreen: He put a deposit on the car, and was even able to negotiate the price down slightly, which was surprising. From what I had read, Germans generally advertise their lowest possible price when selling online, don’t tend to give discounts on the price, and it’s considered rude to discuss the price at the beginning of the transaction.
He identified a few small issues:
1. The rear wiper fluid hose is cracked and detached from the system, so when the sprayer button is pressed it shoots fluid inside the back.
2. The muffler is attached with “hurricane straps.”
3. The trim piece outside the passenger front window is broken.
4. There are a couple of dents (planning to take care of these with paintless dent repair when we get it).
5. Some interior parts are worn / cracked (should be relatively easy to source replacements).
We sent the rest of the funds for the car purchase, and waited for the sale to be finalized - the deposit was supposed to hold the car for a week, which was just about up. According to the importer, his associate couldn’t reach the seller to get him to sign a contract before closing the deal. What?! I’d never had a problem contacting the seller, and I don’t even speak the language!
I messaged the seller, who sent me the whole chat history with the agent in Germany. The seller was getting lots of local offers and was confused about if I was even buying the car or not since the agent was asking him to hold the car for longer than they'd planned. I carefully ironed out the situation (there's no way I was going to lose the car!) and tried to convey in what I hoped was decently translated German that he was my hero for being such a great seller. He agreed to hold the car for a while longer, and a week later we got the signed purchase agreement. It was official! 
October 2016
We were told the car would be picked up on October 11th and was scheduled to arrive in Canada at the port in Halifax, Nova Scotia on the 28th. It could take up to a week to unload the ship that the car was travelling on. The importer would then work on getting the Ontario registration processed, translate the title into English, and get BMW to verify the date of production.
I was hoping that we could arrange to pick up the car in Halifax and drive it back to Toronto, which would make an amazing road trip, but the car has to be inspected and registered in Ontario before I can take ownership of it.
November 2016
Canada Customs released the car in Halifax at the beginning of the month, right around when my ’88 320i was officially sold. We received the original ownership papers and some documents from the previous owner.
At the moment, we're waiting for the car to be loaded on a train once they've assembled a full rail car to ship out. It will take another two weeks or so after that for it to arrive in Toronto.
I can't wait to see it in person! :mrgreen:
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