No Dumping: The 1-owner 318is

[DEV0 E30]

This was local?! Jesus.

Great read, and congrats on the car Chris.

[FredK]

Awesome story, and the car looks to be in immaculate condition! Congratulations on the find.

The only thing that would make this story sweeter is if that 86 year old man's name was Blunt. :mrgreen:

[dude8383]

What an awesome story! Hell of a deal too, take good care of her :up:

[MazterDizazter]

I'm having a hard time containing my jealousy.

I've been looking for a similar car for several years up here but as you can well imagine, New England weather and salt does bad things to cars. I finally settled on a 98% rust free example that I found up in Maine, but mechanically the car is shot. The car cost me $2k and it will cost me upwards of $6k (including the cost of the car) to have it overhauled and even remotely close to the condition yours is in, and I'm doing all the work myself!

Big congrats! Enjoy her, be smart and keep her stock-ish like you plan, and don't give her up to anyone any time soon!

Oh, and post moar pics!!!

[pilotskillse30]

Its always a good experience running into people that love their cars...Great story, beautiful car.

[evandael]

i love vintage car people (read = the people themselves are vintage haha) they are a different breed. sounds like an awesome husband/wife duo, experience, and car!

[JCarp90]

Nice car. I'd steal that sign.

[SlowThurty]

Awesome story, Awesome deal!

I hope that when im 86 I can tell storys like that lol

[Wild Ride]

Great score! I wish more people would take care of their cars to preserve them for future generations. That's sounds like a similar story to how I came upon my convertible.

[Todd Black 88]

Great story, and Otto sounds like a guy you should keep in touch with. Old characters like him are few and far between, and just knowing them, and thier stories, better our own lives.

That, and he has a 2002 sitting in hi hanger on HIS airstrip!

[Nick_S]

Car looks immaculate and what an incredible story to go with it!

[defaultName]

The best thing about buying E30's are the stories that come with them.

[m3/e30fanatic]

wowowowowowowow.WOW.

[M42Technik]

Fuck, what a price. What a story. I put my face in my hands when I saw what you paid for such a keeper. Shit even the shift knob is NLA.

Amazing find. Don't ever sell it.

[e30Chris]

What a great read!

I was a day late on this car. Once I got through to Otto (found on Autotrader) he mentioned someone was coming to see it the next day. I asked to shoot information to me on it's status and if it didn't sell I was on the next flight out. This was the last I got from Otto.



Definitely immaculate. Congrats!

No way! That's crazy you contacted Otto as well. I contacted him almost immediately after he posted the ad. He was getting a lot of interest from dealers and flakers and was pretty frustrated at the time. I guess I was the first person to come across as responsible to him. It was obvious that he cared very deeply for the car, and wanted it to go to someone that would appreciate it. Which I certainly do and will.

Otto's been pretty hard to stay in contact with. When I picked up the car, he told me he got a new computer so his e-mail address was changing (hey, he's 86, computers are like black magic). I got a few e-mails from his new e-mail address but he responds rarely. He's quite hard to understand on the phone as he has quite a thick German accent and the sound quality over phone is poor as it is. He and his wife invited us back out to visit anytime we're in Phoenix, and we intend to do so the next time they're out there. I'll take photos of him and his compound if we do. It's really a fascinating place.

Oh, and thanks for all the comments guys! I do consider myself extremely fortunate, and recounting the story makes me even more grateful. I'm proud to be the caretaker of such a great little car, and the thought of selling it at this point makes me sick. Any modifications I do are only to replace worn out parts and can be reverted back to stock if necessary. The old exhaust was in pretty sad shape, as were the control arms and shocks. Now they're new, and the car feels so alive. I love it.

Another thing I find to be unique are the options:

Moonroof
CD Changer
Factory Alarm/keyless entry
LSD
Grey cloth interior

Seems loaded for a 318is just with cloth. So cool, and everything works including the alarm/keyless entry.

Also, someone pointed out the NLA shift knob. It's pretty warn, and Otto dug out a replacement insert he bought years ago but never got a new knob to put it on. One of these days I'll get a new knob for the insert, and it'll be back to it's cherry factory-fresh state. Speaking of, I'll get the interior cleaned up and shots of it posted soon.