E30 M3 values.....

[fergus]

Has anyone seen any genuine ads on the web recently for any (relatively un-modified) early E30 M3s (not evos ideally). My car was stolen about a month ago, and the insurance company have just offered me a derisory valuation , "based upon the aggregate of cap, glass' guide and general market prices". Auction price of a Lada Riva more like....

As many of you know, most guides (incl. 'trade' guides) put the E30 M3 around £2-3K!

Any links or URLs would be most appreciated! Thanks. Feel free to PM me with details if you like.

[AC79xxx]

Fg insurance companies, always quick enough to take the premium but never want to pay out

Have a look at the classifieds section of the owners club. Prices should be sufficiently high enough for your needs

www.bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Are you going to buy another?

[sohlman]

If i were you i would look at as many clasifieds as you can and find as many e30 M3's in the same colour and spec as yours as you can. None will be at the 2-3k price. Then should pass on this paperwork to the insurance company and say that this is how much i will need to spend to get a like for like car. Alternativelty have a look at what Munich Legends has and get a price from them as they sell the best, but most exspensive M cars.

[iguana]

I viewed a 1987 car a few days back, 83k, fsh, clean & tidy in & out, engine a bit noisey tho but it drove ok- priced at £6.2k.

Seemed fair to me, personally I was pretty dispointed in the performance- or rather lack of performance on offer. (but its the 1st E30 M3 ive driven so I need to drive a few others to compare)

Infact on that note I'll start a thread about it

[chippy69]

Fergus, your nightmare continues, please either PM or post the spec and condition of your car and I will see what I can find out for you. The obvious problems with these types of cars is it really is only worth what someone is willing to pay. When I bought mine he had it for sale at £12.5k but could not sell it at this price. Also for example there is a black Sport Evo for sale at the moment for £17.5k which I think is too expensive, it has been on the market for quite a few months and has not sold, but you never know someone rich may come along and not care what he pays.
The other alternative is to ask the insurance company to then find an M3 close to yours and buy it for you, they will then realise that they are talking total bollocks!!

[AC79xxx]

chippy69 said:

Also for example there is a black Sport Evo for sale at the moment for £17.5k which I think is too expensive, it has been on the market for quite a few months and has not sold, but you never know someone rich may come along and not care what he pays.

That was my old car and was sold within 2 weeks of it being advertised at the wrong time of the year (between xmas & new year) for the asking price

Judging by the enquiries I'm still getting a fairer price (to me anyways ) would have been £18.5k/£19k.

These cars are all about condition, history and, to a certain extent dependent on what 'edition' it is, milage. Plus people tend to pay over the odds for sport evos but in actual fact there's little or no difference in performance between a solid, well maintained evo2 and a fresh sport evo.

[Mags]

Fergus,

Take a look at the one Independant are selling (nr Reading)
Its an '87 D, v.clean body externally, Lachs silver, v.quiet engine, FSH, A bit of rust opposite the header in the engine bay.
Black leather and otherwise pretty clean and un-molested. No add-on spoilers or air-con I think, only 15" wheels. Some clown removed the headlamp wash wipe but left the motors in place.
I remember it was some silly things that put me off as well, dodgy fitting dash or something, but at £6,750 it might help your insurance company.

Mags

[Mags]

Also, should have added, saw a car nr Guilford with awesome rust on the w/screen post, I think that was well over £6K!!

The guy assured me it wasn't rust 'coz they are aluminium

Mark

[AC79xxx]

Mags said:

The guy assured me it wasn't rust 'coz they are aluminium

[fergus]

Cheers chaps,

The c*nts at the ins co want private ads, not trade (i.e. garages). Why - I don't know! If an E30 has any ally body parts, they're not original. Some people really do talk crap. Any rust on the windscreen post, or wrinkles in the bulkhead near the fuse box don't sound good to me and spell 'motoliner'... (jig).

Iggy - the M3 is not a quick car. You have to thrape the nuts off it, but it does reward being smooth.

£17k for an evo sport is getting a bit toppy. Unless its a MINT unmolested low mileage UK car, then some somewhere has their head on the pillow and is in the middle of a dream. A good non-UK example can be had for around 12k. Nigel Mosely has/had one that was taken in part ex for a debt from a guy who I won't name in B'ham - which he paid 7.5 for - with rebuilt engine...

The ombudsmans address is now firmly lodged in my favourites list. Allegedly as soon as that chap gets involved, it costs the ins co about £700ish - regrdless of the outcome. They may as well just be sensible in the first place.

The other tack to take is - pay me what you think the premium I paid you each year was worth.

Apologies for the rant. 2 official complaints to the police complaints authority , now the ins co playing silly buggers. I just hope the valve clearances on my new Honda CRF450 don't abruptly close up and mash the head! (service/valve clearances every 6 hours & a new piston every 15 & it's a 4 stroke (with attitude) - suddenly evo VIIIs don't look too bad!!!)

[chippy69]

AC79xxx said:

chippy69 said: Also for example there is a black Sport Evo for sale at the moment for £17.5k which I think is too expensive, it has been on the market for quite a few months and has not sold, but you never know someone rich may come along and not care what he pays. That was my old car and was sold within 2 weeks of it being advertised at the wrong time of the year (between xmas & new year) for the asking price Judging by the enquiries I'm still getting a fairer price (to me anyways ) would have been £18.5k/£19k. These cars are all about condition, history and, to a certain extent dependent on what 'edition' it is, milage. Plus people tend to pay over the odds for sport evos but in actual fact there's little or no difference in performance between a solid, well maintained evo2 and a fresh sport evo.

oooooopppps! well there you go it was worth that much, I only said this as it is still up for sale on the BMW Car Club website, I will say it did look and obviously was in mint condition and I wanted it but my lovely wife forbade it (as she squeezed me under her thumb once more)with the immortal comment 'you are taking money away from your child!'
also I was kind of hoping you would not be able be able sell it and reduce the price so I could buy it!!!
could not agree with you more regarding special models although I have a special model when I was looking all I was thinking was get the best condition one you can and as it happened it was a limited edition, although that does beg the question:
do people with the special editions keep them in better nick due to this?

[AC79xxx]

chippy69 said:

oooooopppps! well there you go it was worth that much, I only said this as it is still up for sale on the BMW Car Club website, I will say it did look and obviously was in mint condition and I wanted it but my lovely wife forbade it (as she squeezed me under her thumb once more)with the immortal comment 'you are taking money away from your child!' also I was kind of hoping you would not be able be able sell it and reduce the price so I could buy it!!! could not agree with you more regarding special models although I have a special model when I was looking all I was thinking was get the best condition one you can and as it happened it was a limited edition, although that does beg the question: do people with the special editions keep them in better nick due to this?

My fault for not informing them it's sold.

It was a big decision to let it go but I couldn't justify keeping it and buying a 993 considering I only do 5k a year max in it. If I do find another £17.5k down the back of the sofa I know who's door I'll be knocking on.

Re the editions - I've been informed there was a sport evo at Rockingham last w/e which was rusty as hell. I s'pose it's all down to how enthusiatic the owners are but these days you can't be too choosy otherwise you'll never get behind the wheel of an e30.

[M3BOB]

if youve got photos, get a bmwcc valuation and see if thatll help, or a decent valuation from a specialist

[iguana]

Mags- same car I looked at, yeah it seemed a reasonable example for the price at a dealer (was reduced to £6.2k from £6.75k) must say tho that I though the engine was pretty noisey.

I know e30 M3 engines are renowned to be a bit clattery, but this seemed to be above the level I was expecting.

[fergus]

if you've got a noisy one, put the E36 (not E46) cam chain tensioner in (about a £20 job) and run it on a slightly thicker oil. Mobil 1 and catrol RS, etc are too thin for these engines and just p1sses out past the rings and valve guides, etc. They shouldn't clatter though. You can replace the timing chain itself (and probably the top two cam timing sprockets) for about £200. It should be able to idle around 7-800 rpm, with NO misfires. Lots of them have small misses when idling. Walk away from these, as they are often hard to completely rectify. The clutch release bearings and spigot bearings in the g/box are also noisy (even if they're in good nick).

[Mags]

Fergus, the dealer price for the E36 tensioner is about £70, do you know a cheaper way of getting this?

Mags

[iguana]

Fergus, some private ads spotted for you-

BMW E30 M3
(York)

1987 bmw m3 - diamanteschwarzmetallic, imported by munich legends, 10 months mot, 8 months tax, 200bhp not cat, 124k miles (had new timing chain), Full black heated leather, Top tint windscreen, Electric mirrors, Manual windows and sunroof, Original bmw sound system (not inc. headunit) but pioneer cd/mp3 head unit provided, 16" bbs bmw x-spoke alloys (documented change on German logbook), Cross drilled front discs, All original panels (no side repeaters fitted), Original km/h clocks in car, Many new parts inc. front strut inserts, dizzy cap, rotor arm, front pads, crank sensor, dme relay, undertray... all genuine bmw.
reduced to £5495 ovno
mail me for full spec + other info or call 07736042911


Posted by Dominic kidd (11:12 Wed 18 Feb 04)

1990 BMW M3 2dr [LHD] Saloon
H-Registration,Brilliant Red With Black Leather,Comprehensive BMW & Munich Legends Service History Including Cam Chain Replacement,All Previous MOT's,3 Owners,16" BMW BBS Alloys With Additional Set Of Winter Use Alloys,Tax & MOT,CAT 1 Alarm/Immob,Air Con,Heated Seats,Kenwood Multichanger,Just Serviced,Complete Tool Kit,Totally Genuine, Absolutely Immaculate E30.More Pics Available Via Email. £7950 .


Tel: [phone] or 01403 822453
Email: Email Advertiser
Distance:
Price: £7,950


1989 BMW M3 COUPE E30, 1989,
82000 miles, Lachs Silver, sports interior, sunroof, e/w, 16 split rims, immobilizer, garaged, used for only 1000miles per year, for last 6 years. £8,500. o.n.o.


Tel: [phone]

Distance:
Price: £8,500 ono.

10/Mar/2004 - 1987 BMW M3 - 1987 BMW M3 in Daytona Violet (german import), 81,000 miles with FSH and orignal handbooks etc from new. e/s/r, e/w, e/m, c/l, pas, ABS, OBC. 16" BBS deep dish rims, `E30....` number plates, Full stainless exhaust system, Motorsport cloth interior, 6 months MOT & Tax, beautiful car in excellent condition. Must go to good home! READVERTISED DUE TO TIMEWASTERS. £6,600 or near offer Email: [e-mail] Tel: [phone]
[e-mail] - -
Ref Number: 6483 - Maidstone - (Private seller)

09/Mar/2004 - E30 M3 - 1988 E reg, MOT & Tax till 11/04, 120k miles, Unmarked 16" Hartge alloys with nearly new tyres. Electric windows and sunroof. Full stainless exhaust (no cat). CAT 1 remote alarm. Cam chain, oil pump and radiator replaced. Recent major service with the following items replaced: front discs and pads, suspension bushes front and rear, anti-roll bar bushings, new battery, front screen, gearbox linkage bushings, distributer cap + rotor and spark plugs. Full German and UK service history with old MOT`s, loads of money recently spent. Very good condition £5,295 ono Tel: [phone] or email [e-mail] for further details or additional photos
[e-mail] - - na
Ref Number: 7620 - Aylesbury - (Private seller)

09/Mar/2004 - 1991 E30 M3 - diamond black,cloth interior,hlww,rear blind,big computer,18"bbs rc alloys,bilstein suspension,engine tuned to 234bhp,strut brace,induction kit,new discs all round,ebc pads,superchiped,new radiator,alternator,timing chain,8000rpm rev limiter,titanium valve springs,new induction blocks,adjustable anti-roll bars,evo sport suspension bushes,scorpion exhaust,illuminated gearnob,never even had a new windscreen,still has running in insructions,very sound car.very quick,,phone for full details details 01582 415129 07973 631085 No email enquiries £7500.pbmw featute car feb 02.
[e-mail] - -
Ref Number: 1617 - luton - (Private seller)

01/Mar/2004 - BMW M3 E30 - VERY HIGH SPEC INC CRUISE CONTROL & AIRCON,80000M,THREE OWNERSFULL HISTORY,VERY GOOD CONDITION,ONE OF THE LAST MADE,£8495,0707909995185.
[e-mail] - - 01293421714
Ref Number: 7775 - CRAWLEY - (Private seller)






>> Edited by iguana on Friday 12th March 09:42

[iguana]

Oh and a couple in the PH classifieds too-

BMW E30 M3 1987

Reference #20336

Details

80,000 miles. White M3, Black leather. LHD german import. 200bhp. Runs fantastic. 129 killometres. FSH with recent main dealer inspection(£650). Car is immaculate. New stereo. Two sets of alloys. Sought after car.

Advert Age: 7 days
Price: £6,500
Location: Cumbria, United Kingdom
Contact: Garry Kennedy
Phone: [phone]

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BMW E30 M3 1987

Reference #20305

Details

81,000 miles. BMW service history with £1000's of receipts, 'E30 .....' number plate, 16" Deep Dish polished rims, Motorsport Cloth interior, Full stainless exhaust, Cat 1 alarm and immobiliser, electric windows, mirrors and sunroof, ABS, PAS, 2 UK owners since '98, Beautiful condition, maintained regardless of cost. Never tracked, NO MORE TIMEWASTERS PLEASE!


Advert Age: 9 days
Price: £6,600
Location: Kent, United Kingdom
Contact: Chris
Phone: [phone]


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Low miles E30 M3 1987

Reference #15880

Details

67,000 miles. German import, Timing chain, oil pump etc completed already (£2000).
Rare honest car metallic dark grey in colour, cloth interior, 16inch wheels.
No boy racers just enthusiasts wanted.



Advert Age: 51 days
Price: £4,995
Location: Essex/London, United Kingdom
Contact: Henry
Member: yearoneracing
Phone: [phone]

[fergus]

Iggy, you little motor trader you. thanks mate. Got any cheap sources for a decent 964RS?! (I think I could fit if I fitted a smaller wheel on an extended boss, with a sparco Evo2 seat mounted directly onto the floor).... heres hoping anyway. Dom has promised me a look around the baron when he's got it back...

Mags, try the badgers at GSF, should be cheaper. 70 notes from a dealer sounds about right though. Make sure you've 'bled' the air out of the part before you fit it though. It will effectively auto bleed itself any way, but at least that way you won't get any momentary lash in the chain until the hydraulic action starts to work. From memory there is also a small key (as in cam key) that you need to ensure gets seated ok. Make sure that the spring doesn't end up in the corner of your garage as it flies out of your mitts!

[Pistonheader101]

I’d pay that 6k for a E30 M3