eurospec e30s aren't worth it.

[Julien]

With euro-spec e30s becoming more common site on the classifieds i'd like to share some euro-car knowledge that I picked up while living and owning e30s in Belgium & France.

Rust:
Any car from a northern european country will be rusted. It's easier to assume it's a rust bucket than hoping it will be clean underneath. Most of these cars will have crack-free dashes, original paint with some shine left but will more than likely have rust.
The fact of the matter is that these cars have probably failed technical inspection (keuring/Contrôle technique/TÜV/etc) in their respective country and have been sold cheap "for export." Now I know y'all northern folks are thinking "rust, that's no big deal." Sure, just be aware of what you are getting into, get the car up in the air and check:

Sedans/Coupes:
- Battery Boxes
- Behind the front wheel wells (basically right below where the throttle pedal affixes to the ground)
- Rockers
- etc
Cabrios
Same as coupes +
- In front of the rear wheel arches
- The body separation of front/rear body section in the door jamb (might have to remove plastic trim
Tourings
- Same place as coupes/sedans
- Just assume the rear hatch is a rusty pos (especially behind the euro lic. plate filler)

That gets me on the next subject of tourings
EUROPE DOESN'T HAVE F150s/Silverados/Rams, THEY USE THEIR WAGONS TO PRETTY MUCH DO EVERYTHING. I want to say 90% of every single touring has, at some point in its life:
- had a hitch on it.
- been driven in a ditch
- been wrecked
- Door dings on every. single. panel. (seriously, have you seen european parking garages?!)
- been lived in/flooded/trashed
- driving through Milan I saw ladies of the night in an industrial area who HAD FREAKING E30 TOURINGS parked across the street (ok, I saw this twice, statistically significant enough for me) as a motel. so, yeah that too.

The point I'm trying to drive home is that you will have to search quite a bit to find a clean e30 touring worth owning. Really, just get an e46 touring and spend that 5k you just saved on a clean 325is.

In terms of cars, 90% of european e30s are stripped down/base model cars.
- 320i has a the weaker getrag 240, smaller struts, rear drum brakes/solid front brakes (save for ABS and some late models), smaller diffs etc.. check realoem to see what you are getting).
- The cooling system we get as standard on most e30s is only available on euro-spec 324td and african cars. Yeah, that's pretty awesome, eh?
- They get excited if a car has cruise control/obc/airco in euroland
- They typically covet US-spec cars
- Those cool cabin-adjusting headlights some of you drool over pretty much never work

As a general rule of thumb be careful with an e30 that originated in Germany and was imported to another european country in the 90s when it was a few years old. That is sometimes an indication it was wrecked/rolled back odo (I know, who cares at this point)/ Chop/weld job, etc. Unless you have specific knowledge otherwise, it's usually dangerous territory as the cars were unable to pass the TUV, and were exported as result.

If you are traveling abroad to go buy your dream e30, it's a great idea to buy one that has passed the (local) technical inspection. The titles/papers of these cars will typically indicate issues with the car (rust/leaks/suspension issues) and mods (lowering springs/wheels/etc). It's like a free PPI. Be weary if the car can't pass and is being sold for export only.

Lastly, some food for thought: germans love our sidemarkers and diving board bumpers.

What I'm trying to say is, don't be a fanboi. Don't buy something simply because you can't buy it here, make sure you use sound reasoning.


Feel free to PM me with any questions relating to Belgian/French e30s, as I'm familiar with them.


One of my euro e30s

/rant


TL/DR: Don't get excited because something is "euro"

[MJCRO]

I believe it. Although I do love the 320is

[AbsorbantNut]

Great post, very informative. Rust spots are key to look for; they can really make the car "not worth it" if you're not inclined to fix it, or willing to pay someone else to do it properly.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Good info there. I lucked into mine, but also keep in mind there may be some legwork for unique parts to the euro cars. I once spent 4 months looking for a good used distributor for a 323i.

[Kevinl]

I agree tourings are cool but you can have a nice e30 and a e34t for less than one e30 touring that is probably a 320i without a/c

[mkcman17]

The point I'm trying to drive home is that you will have to search quite a bit to find a clean e30 touring worth owning. Really, just get an e46 touring and spend that 5k you just saved on a clean 325is.

that's exactly what I did! e46s are tanks and make for amazing daily drivers...cheaper than your average clean e30 too.

[Wega]

Just remember that France and Belgium does not represent the whole of Europe. There is a big difference in car culture, how we use and maintain our cars if you compare say France to Scandinavian countries. So while most of what the OP writes might apply to France, that does not mean that it applies to all European countries.

The part about cars imported to other European countries because they where bad cars, I cant relate to at all. In Denmark we import a lot of German cars for the exact opposite reason: We import all the good ones. I company really close to where I lave have imported nice German cars to Denmark for the past 25 years.

[flyboyx]

interesting thread.

[Mr. Tasty]

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=334335

what sparked this thread.

[Liquidity]

Why do people want a european market car? Is it so they can bring it to a VW event with a "euro plate" on the front?

[BUDNUNTA]

I love the euro cars, I've had 2 now while living In australia.
For me the less options the better, rhd is so cool, euro bumpers, headlights, weird colour combos the US didn't get, In aus the cars are way less rusty but all the dashes are totally cracked. The cars cost the same here too
How much is it to import from Europe? It costs like 4k to ship from aus

It's all what you want but a true euro e30 will always be cool stateside

If I have to move back to the states I'll ship my little 318 home with me

[Der Ruffian]

Yes in Denmark most of the imports from Germany are really nice cars.
I have two imports, this Cirrusblau 318i with 147.000 km's behind it, 1(!) little rust spot that needs to be taken care of, and a flawless original paint.

It sits like this right now, while I'm in the process of making it a AC Schnitzer S3 spec car.


Then I have this Alpinweiss II 320i touring, with two little rustholes, it was checked by a mechanic, so it is as I say.
It is one of the nicest tourings I've seen in a while regarding rust.


Rear hath is imaculate, even under the plate filler.


So not all imports are exported from the motherland, because they're wrecked, rusted away or didn't pass TUV.
Some of them are imported, because they're in really good shape.

[ELVA164]

To be fair, the OP did use the words "sometimes" and "probably" when referring to cars shipped from one European country to another. So he effectively agrees.

Great post, very informative. Rust spots are key to look for; they can really make the car "not worth it" if you're not inclined to fix it, or willing to pay someone else to do it properly.

While true, I found this comment hilarious when placed directly above a picture of your car. :)

[Julien]

Thanks for the support guys!
To clarify some points:
- I'm mostly referring to german/dutch/french/english/belgian e30s that make their way to the united states.

One thing I forgot to add, many of these countries have special consideration for cars older than 25 years old (less road tax, less frequent inspection, etc) so, the nice ones are more valuable there too.

On the german to other european country comment: It's no secret that germany has the largest portion of well optioned-out, biggest motor'd e30s in europe. This is very attractive to many people who will go hand pick their cars there. But, many people got scammed by german imports because of less than honorable importers over the years so just be careful :)


and yes that thread did spark this one, however i've been meaning to write this for a while.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Good Info there. My euro spec got brought to the states in 87 and lived in nor cal and Oregon for 75 percent of its life then it spent 12 years in Wyoming and now its with me. So all the rust mine picked up which is indeed a fuck ton was from the Wyoming winters. I wish I could find where my car was from in Europe.


Edit: Always wondered Do the European e30 guys drool over us spec e30's the same way we drool over euro spec e30's and do they even take the time to import them like we do?