I did this writeup for the local BMW forums.. so i guess to take it into context, you guys will havto ignore all the garage and workshop names...
E30tional experience, a continuing journey
Thinking back to the day i first drove the E30, i get buried into a heap of memories sprinkled with regular services and the occasional cock-up lining my road back to the past. It's sometimes hard to remember which part of the car has undergone a form of replacement or repair, and where such work was actually carried out. Perhaps it's due to my lack of a proper memory or maybe there sometimes seems to be so many little things going wrong at all the wrong times clouding my mind.
I've been thinking of penning down my thoughts about the semi-classic car ownership experience but have always stopped short of actually doing so. Totally due to my laziness i suspect. But i have finally decided, enough is enough, it's time to stop procrastinating. Here's is a writeup based on the experiences of an E30 driver.
Chapter One
Truth be told, the E30 was never on the shopping list of cars that was meant to replace the household runabout. Right after i got my license, i was doodling around in a 1st generation Kia Sportage, that failure of a car was heavier then a tank and you'd imagine every trip to the petrol station had a buffet spread for the car to devour. That car drank a lot, and handled like a bus.
It was time for a change, a shortlist of cars came up and top of the list was the Mercedes W201 190E, it was a small car, searching through the international forums, it became clear that this car had a strong following. Dreaming of a full WALD styling kit, the search for the right car was on. Weeks went by and not a proper car could be found, most examples had iffy engines or something else that was irritatingly bothersome.
A warm evening whilst surfing through a certain German marque's forum, i stumbled upon the image of an E30. A beautiful grey 4-door 320i with an M-tech II styling kit with cool deep-dish rims. It looked fantastic. A quick question was posted to pit the 190E up and against the E30. Though answers came in quick, i myself could never make a proper decision. Images of a fully VIP styled 190E still lingered in my head. Have a look though WALD's Mercedes' catalogue to have an idea of the cars they create.
Bad impressions of BMWs didn't help either, my father had an E24 628cs which had the wonderful habit of totally failing in the middle of the road, electronics going haywire at every opportunity. A personal friend of mine also lacked kind words for his E46, with the car inside the workshop more often then on the road, i never really appreciated BMWs much back then. So much so, that i converted that said friend over to the Alfa Romeo marque.
Though, somehow, i kept returning to the forum to look at the grey E30. With the car's image still fresh in my mind, the search for the next car broadened to include BMW's box-shaped executive sedan. A show of support from my father's mechanic with regards to the E30 helped elevate my feelings of disdain with the marque. I guess we can always give the car a chance.
Searching for the right car though, was not easy. Scanning though the papers everyday sometimes proved fruitless as these cars don't turn up in the papers very often. IF you though the 190Es were hard to find, try looking for a proper E30!
One a lazy sunday morning, my father and i decided to take a short walk at Ubi carmart, just to have a short browse around the dealerships. Nothing really tuned up, so we headed home, couple of minutes later, whilst surfing though the local car-ads online, i chanced upon a light blue 316i. Sure looked okay, car was stock, with 14” original bottlecap rims, looked straight as an arrow in the photographs and had a clean interior. It was located where we were that very morning, how did we ever miss it? Car keys out, got into the driver's seat and soon enough, we were back at the dealership taking a look at this rather straight example of an E30.
The car was light metallic blue, with original everything. Interior was extremely clean and the back seats looked as if no one had ever sat on them. Steering wheel was a little scratched up along the rim, but for a 15 year old car, she looked mighty fine. There were some small niggles which we'd have to sort out but nothing big.
There was no deal on the car yet though, we took a day to ponder about it, but the next day, we were back at the dealership. The result? I'm sure you all already know.
Initial D'lights
Collecting the vehicle was as fun as it can be, the car felt lively and nippy. The steering wheel had a bit more free-play than i'd like but overall, it was a great car to pot around in. The 1.6 though being a small engine, was more then up to the task of hauling slightly more than 1000kgs worth of car around.
As with cars this age, there will be some thieving problems to settle. The speedometer was faulty, so a replacement one was supplied and installed at the dealer's expense. Driving the car for the next few days, the air conditioning failed, the dealer again helped us fix it at their own expense. Lucky for us since a brand new compressor would hit our wallets quite significantly.
With lots of time spent polishing and waxing the car during the weekends, the car looked a whole lot better as well. The engine bay in particular received plenty of attention with a full can of engine cleaner being used up in the process. After plenty of persistent washing, polishing and waxing, the car looked spanking.
Shocked and awed
Deciding that the stock car's suspension system was probably too old and needed replacing, after doing some personal research, i placed an order for brand new Bilstein HD shock-absorbers and Eibach Pro-kit springs. Bilsteins were ordered though Eng-Soon and the Eibachs were coming in from ***********. Total damage for the suspension components? Bilsteins, SGD$630, Eibachs, SGD$451.50, grand total, SGD$1081.50
Waiting for these parts sure took a toll on myself, and i found myself itching for something new to hold onto, a simple number “3” keychain from BMW did the trick.
Soon enough, the parts for the suspension finally arrived and an appointment with *********** was made to install the said parts. Total installation cost came to about SGD$593.25. Though not all of it was just to slot in the new shocks and springs, the worn out front brake pads were changed with pads from Ferodo, shock mountings both front and rear were replaced and all 4 wheels went though computerised alignment. The steering coupling was also changed, drastically reducing the 'free-play' steering feel i mentioned earlier.
With the new suspension components in place, the car sure felt different, with the proper lowered stance to match. Because the previous suspension parts were never replaced during their entire lifespan, the addition of new shocks and springs made the car a whole lot livelier to drive and chuck about. It was light, nimble and darted through traffic with ease.
Though decidedly underpowered with it's puny 1.6litre engine thrown in front, the car's lightness and even weight distribution kept the smile on my face every time i drove it.
A new lip-job and some skirts
Having been driving the car for a few months now, the time came to slightly give the car a little face lift and to freshen up it's appearance. Fiberglass bodykits were totally out for me since i hate the sight of any unsightly cracks or scratchlines. The OEM M-Tech II bodykit would have also cost me way too much money for a brand new set and finding a used one in good condition (especially for a 4-door) was impossible. With much research online, the OEM “i.s” front lip and sideskirts were the new additions i decided to put onto the car. With just a slightly deeper front lip and discreet sideskirts, it wouldn't break the simple lines of the old car.
Going for a proper OEM look, i made an order for the front lip and sideskirts from our friendly parts supplier, Eng Soon. Total cost for those parts came to about SGD$663. Shipping wil be via a slow boat from Germany to save on costs. It would take almost 3 months for the parts to arrive, and what a long slow wait it turned out to be.
E30tional experience, a continuing journey
Thinking back to the day i first drove the E30, i get buried into a heap of memories sprinkled with regular services and the occasional cock-up lining my road back to the past. It's sometimes hard to remember which part of the car has undergone a form of replacement or repair, and where such work was actually carried out. Perhaps it's due to my lack of a proper memory or maybe there sometimes seems to be so many little things going wrong at all the wrong times clouding my mind.
I've been thinking of penning down my thoughts about the semi-classic car ownership experience but have always stopped short of actually doing so. Totally due to my laziness i suspect. But i have finally decided, enough is enough, it's time to stop procrastinating. Here's is a writeup based on the experiences of an E30 driver.
Chapter One
Truth be told, the E30 was never on the shopping list of cars that was meant to replace the household runabout. Right after i got my license, i was doodling around in a 1st generation Kia Sportage, that failure of a car was heavier then a tank and you'd imagine every trip to the petrol station had a buffet spread for the car to devour. That car drank a lot, and handled like a bus.
It was time for a change, a shortlist of cars came up and top of the list was the Mercedes W201 190E, it was a small car, searching through the international forums, it became clear that this car had a strong following. Dreaming of a full WALD styling kit, the search for the right car was on. Weeks went by and not a proper car could be found, most examples had iffy engines or something else that was irritatingly bothersome.
A warm evening whilst surfing through a certain German marque's forum, i stumbled upon the image of an E30. A beautiful grey 4-door 320i with an M-tech II styling kit with cool deep-dish rims. It looked fantastic. A quick question was posted to pit the 190E up and against the E30. Though answers came in quick, i myself could never make a proper decision. Images of a fully VIP styled 190E still lingered in my head. Have a look though WALD's Mercedes' catalogue to have an idea of the cars they create.
Bad impressions of BMWs didn't help either, my father had an E24 628cs which had the wonderful habit of totally failing in the middle of the road, electronics going haywire at every opportunity. A personal friend of mine also lacked kind words for his E46, with the car inside the workshop more often then on the road, i never really appreciated BMWs much back then. So much so, that i converted that said friend over to the Alfa Romeo marque.
Though, somehow, i kept returning to the forum to look at the grey E30. With the car's image still fresh in my mind, the search for the next car broadened to include BMW's box-shaped executive sedan. A show of support from my father's mechanic with regards to the E30 helped elevate my feelings of disdain with the marque. I guess we can always give the car a chance.
Searching for the right car though, was not easy. Scanning though the papers everyday sometimes proved fruitless as these cars don't turn up in the papers very often. IF you though the 190Es were hard to find, try looking for a proper E30!
One a lazy sunday morning, my father and i decided to take a short walk at Ubi carmart, just to have a short browse around the dealerships. Nothing really tuned up, so we headed home, couple of minutes later, whilst surfing though the local car-ads online, i chanced upon a light blue 316i. Sure looked okay, car was stock, with 14” original bottlecap rims, looked straight as an arrow in the photographs and had a clean interior. It was located where we were that very morning, how did we ever miss it? Car keys out, got into the driver's seat and soon enough, we were back at the dealership taking a look at this rather straight example of an E30.
The car was light metallic blue, with original everything. Interior was extremely clean and the back seats looked as if no one had ever sat on them. Steering wheel was a little scratched up along the rim, but for a 15 year old car, she looked mighty fine. There were some small niggles which we'd have to sort out but nothing big.
There was no deal on the car yet though, we took a day to ponder about it, but the next day, we were back at the dealership. The result? I'm sure you all already know.
Initial D'lights
Collecting the vehicle was as fun as it can be, the car felt lively and nippy. The steering wheel had a bit more free-play than i'd like but overall, it was a great car to pot around in. The 1.6 though being a small engine, was more then up to the task of hauling slightly more than 1000kgs worth of car around.
As with cars this age, there will be some thieving problems to settle. The speedometer was faulty, so a replacement one was supplied and installed at the dealer's expense. Driving the car for the next few days, the air conditioning failed, the dealer again helped us fix it at their own expense. Lucky for us since a brand new compressor would hit our wallets quite significantly.
With lots of time spent polishing and waxing the car during the weekends, the car looked a whole lot better as well. The engine bay in particular received plenty of attention with a full can of engine cleaner being used up in the process. After plenty of persistent washing, polishing and waxing, the car looked spanking.
Shocked and awed
Deciding that the stock car's suspension system was probably too old and needed replacing, after doing some personal research, i placed an order for brand new Bilstein HD shock-absorbers and Eibach Pro-kit springs. Bilsteins were ordered though Eng-Soon and the Eibachs were coming in from ***********. Total damage for the suspension components? Bilsteins, SGD$630, Eibachs, SGD$451.50, grand total, SGD$1081.50
Waiting for these parts sure took a toll on myself, and i found myself itching for something new to hold onto, a simple number “3” keychain from BMW did the trick.
Soon enough, the parts for the suspension finally arrived and an appointment with *********** was made to install the said parts. Total installation cost came to about SGD$593.25. Though not all of it was just to slot in the new shocks and springs, the worn out front brake pads were changed with pads from Ferodo, shock mountings both front and rear were replaced and all 4 wheels went though computerised alignment. The steering coupling was also changed, drastically reducing the 'free-play' steering feel i mentioned earlier.
With the new suspension components in place, the car sure felt different, with the proper lowered stance to match. Because the previous suspension parts were never replaced during their entire lifespan, the addition of new shocks and springs made the car a whole lot livelier to drive and chuck about. It was light, nimble and darted through traffic with ease.
Though decidedly underpowered with it's puny 1.6litre engine thrown in front, the car's lightness and even weight distribution kept the smile on my face every time i drove it.
A new lip-job and some skirts
Having been driving the car for a few months now, the time came to slightly give the car a little face lift and to freshen up it's appearance. Fiberglass bodykits were totally out for me since i hate the sight of any unsightly cracks or scratchlines. The OEM M-Tech II bodykit would have also cost me way too much money for a brand new set and finding a used one in good condition (especially for a 4-door) was impossible. With much research online, the OEM “i.s” front lip and sideskirts were the new additions i decided to put onto the car. With just a slightly deeper front lip and discreet sideskirts, it wouldn't break the simple lines of the old car.
Going for a proper OEM look, i made an order for the front lip and sideskirts from our friendly parts supplier, Eng Soon. Total cost for those parts came to about SGD$663. Shipping wil be via a slow boat from Germany to save on costs. It would take almost 3 months for the parts to arrive, and what a long slow wait it turned out to be.
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