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Tab8715 posted:So, what am I as a moderate-enthusiast-newbie suppose to tell all my friend when claim I'm an idiot for wanting a manual-RWD car in a place it snows? My winter beater is an E36 328is manual with a broken ABS/traction control module. I live in Nova Scotia and commute 100km each day. All it takes is good throttle control and a set of good snow tires (NOT all seasons). The only difference with a FWD is the direction you go when you apply too much throttle. Also holy poo poo pass on that E30. 3k for 260,600 miles? That is straight up ridiculous.
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Sep 25, 2011 00:15
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Tab8715 posted:So, what am I as a moderate-enthusiast-newbie suppose to tell all my friend when claim I'm an idiot for wanting a manual-RWD car in a place it snows? There's nothing inherently wrong about RWD and manual transmission on snow and ice.  Peugot 505 2 1024 by Execudork, on Flickr This 1989 Peugot 505 Turbo kicks rear end all winter long. Just get good tires (Winter tires > All Season) and have fun. That's my plan, at least.
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Sep 25, 2011 00:41
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Tab8715 posted:So, what am I as a moderate-enthusiast-newbie suppose to tell all my friend when claim I'm an idiot for wanting a manual-RWD car in a place it snows? Just tell them the truth: that they are bad drivers
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Sep 25, 2011 00:50
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The Third Man posted:Just tell them the truth: that they are bad drivers I'll bet a good number of them have part time 4wd SUVs anyway and leave them in 2wd the whole time.
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Sep 25, 2011 00:53
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Lightbulb Out posted:I would pass on that car unless you could get it for far less than they're asking. For $3k, you should be able to find a relatively clean E30 with 150-200k on the dial. But is that really the case? What region are you in? I ask because I'm in the Seattle area and have been watching CL for a few months now and I haven't really found that to be the case at all. It seems like price isn't getting under 2k unless it's a heap with rust. 3k seems to be the mean for something with a few issues and 4-5k might just have one issue. 6k+ is essentially "perfect". Maybe this will change with the onset of winter? I've actually considered going to California to get a nice e30 since I have family there that could at least do an initial exam in advance, but then I'd have to drive it back which is a bit risky and adds a few hundred dollars in gas and a plane ticket down to the cost. Does anyone have pictures of what the bad head bolts look like? Edit: unofficialbmw.com says that the headbolts were updated after 4/89 and real oem is telling me (based on the VIN) that his car was built in 12/89 Mat_Drinks fucked around with this message at 01:52 on Sep 25, 2011 |
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Sep 25, 2011 01:27
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Mat_Drinks posted:I ask because I'm in the Seattle area I'm also in Seattle and I think our area just has above average used car prices across the board, especially for anything with any sort of enthusiast following. I know the market here for E30s, E46s, W123s, Miatas, anything Subaru, and old Volvos is more expensive than a lot of other places. Seems like anything with a following bottoms out at around 4-5k here for a pretty good shape example. I've done a lot of used car watching/shopping, and for something like an E30 325 without any problems you're realistically looking at 4-6k. Probably doesn't help that we have a big population of affluent geeks and outdoorsmen boosting the markets for enthusiast, AWD, and 'quirky' used cars. Nice thing is that the we don't have much of a rust issue in the Northwest, so most of the cars from the late 80s and early 90s, even the neglected ones, are typically rust-free. It goes both ways, though. If you keep whatever you buy in good condition you can sell it a coulpe years down the road for extremely minimal loss. I had my NA Miata for over 4 years, 25k miles, and some new scratches and dings, and only got hit with a bit more than $1000 (off $6500) in depreciation. I'm obviously going to get hit with more depreciation on my E46 when I inevitably get 'the itch' again in a couple years, but that's just since it's quite a bit newer, but I really don't expect it to be too bad. Guinness fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Sep 25, 2011 |
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Sep 25, 2011 01:53
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Guinness posted:I'm also in Seattle and I think our area just has above average used car prices across the board, especially for anything with any sort of enthusiast following. That's my finding as well, thank you for confirming  .I actually just sold my Miata for a profit (~900 more than I bought it for), which I wouldn't have thought possible at the end of summer. I half looked at getting a older replacement to heavily modify and it seems like even the very rough ones are still in the mid to high 2's.
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Sep 25, 2011 03:19
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Mat_Drinks posted:But is that really the case? What region are you in? I'm located in the Midwest, Iowa in particular. Rust free E30s around here go for between 2000-4000 depending on how nice they are, and usually they all have around 150-200k on the clock. My dad picked up a practically mint 1987 325is with 87k for $3,000. When I was searching for E30s, the midwest seems to have the least amount of E30s and the pacific northwest, California and New England seemed to have the most E30s and for the cheapest.
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Sep 25, 2011 03:25
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Tab8715 posted:So, what am I as a moderate-enthusiast-newbie suppose to tell all my friend when claim I'm an idiot for wanting a manual-RWD car in a place it snows? I have a 540i. I hate driving it in the snow and not due to traction, due to the amount of salt Iowa loves to dump on its roads. I want to ask all these people that say OMG RWD YOU WILL DIE did back in the early 80's, 70's and 60's how they got around. Every one had RWD back then, and the human population is still here.
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Sep 25, 2011 03:51
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Lightbulb Out posted:When I was searching for E30s, the midwest seems to have the least amount of E30s and the pacific northwest, California and New England seemed to have the most E30s and for the cheapest. I wish the "cheapest" part was still true, because unless the past three to four months have been an aberration, it isn't the case any more 
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Sep 25, 2011 06:21
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Mat_Drinks posted:I wish the "cheapest" part was still true, because unless the past three to four months have been an aberration, it isn't the case any more Be patient and troll craigslist, BMW forums, and the newspaper every day. The more places you look the better chance you will have. I was fortunate to be able to find 2 nice ones for relatively inexpensive.
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Sep 25, 2011 14:48
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It also depends on what your definition of "nice" is, and how much you're willing to compromise. My definition of "nice" rules out 95% of used cars in general, so when it comes to something like an E30 I'm shopping pretty much exclusively for one that was meticulously maintained and loved. And those type of owners aren't going to sell their excellent cars for anywhere near as low as $2k. That's why every time I've bought a new used car, it's been after 3-6 months of watching craigslist/autotrader ads daily. Patience is king. Though after going through the used car shopping ordeal several times now, I have to say I fully understand why people buy new. In a couple years when it comes time to replace the E46 I might consider buying new just to avoid the pain in the butt that is used car shopping. Doing it right takes a ton of time, research, patience, and willingness to go buy the right car in a moment's notice, and the smarts to walk away if it doesn't feel right. Guinness fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Sep 25, 2011 |
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Sep 25, 2011 21:32
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I used to catch poo poo all the time from people when I would tell them I paid ~$4k for my E30. When they bitched on FaceBook about being broken down somewhere I would ever-so-politely offer to bring out my Bentley manual and tools to help them get back on the road.  That usually shut them up pretty quick.I am a picky bastard when it comes to cars. I just wish I would stop attracting morons. My previous E30 was a lot nicer.
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Sep 25, 2011 22:18
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Tab8715 posted:So, what am I as a moderate-enthusiast-newbie suppose to tell all my friend when claim I'm an idiot for wanting a manual-RWD car in a place it snows? I'm guessing your friend drives some asian FWD or AWD car? I wish I could afford an E30 right now, but I've got to finish paying off more of my E90. Cojawfee fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Sep 25, 2011 |
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Sep 25, 2011 22:55
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Guinness posted:It also depends on what your definition of "nice" is, and how much you're willing to compromise. My definition of "nice" rules out 95% of used cars in general, so when it comes to something like an E30 I'm shopping pretty much exclusively for one that was meticulously maintained and loved. And those type of owners aren't going to sell their excellent cars for anywhere near as low as $2k. I'm definitely not looking for something that nice, I have a DD for that . I looked at a super clean e30, but the guy wanted $6k. I'd much rather pay $2k for one in only decent condition, depending on the issues, and wrench on it myself. This'll be an occasional cruiser that I'll putz around my neighborhood in and maybe hit the occasional autocross. And yes, it sounds like you should likely buy new or CPOE. If you keep your vehicles a long time it's worth paying to get exactly what you want.
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Sep 25, 2011 23:26
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Mat_Drinks posted:If you keep your vehicles a long time it's worth paying to get exactly what you want. I'm going to repeat what you said to myself until the feeling that I let something slip through my fingers fades.
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Sep 25, 2011 23:47
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Sunroof and cruise control aside the coupe/sedan is a way nicer car than the hatch. Waiting is the right choice.
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Sep 26, 2011 00:11
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dissss posted:Sunroof and cruise control aside the coupe/sedan is a way nicer car than the hatch. Waiting is the right choice. BlackMK4 fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Sep 26, 2011 |
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Sep 26, 2011 00:16
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Mat_Drinks posted:If you keep your vehicles a long time it's worth paying to get exactly what you want. Ultimately that's what it comes down to. Doesn't even have to be a long time for me. My average length of ownership so far is only about 3 years, but when it comes to car selection I'm really bad at compromising on condition/options/color/etc. I usually know exactly what I want in any given model, and if I ended up buying something other than that I'd just regret it and end up selling it and getting something else sooner than I really should. That means I'm usually willing to pay a small but reasonable premium when the 'right' car pops up, and to me it's totally worth it. Of course, the ultimate premium on getting exactly what you want is buying new. I'm excitedly waiting for the new F30 3-series to see how that pans out, especially the M3. If the F30 is even half as much of an improvement over the E9x as the F10 was to the E60 in the styling department, that's going to be really tempting in a couple of years... Guinness fucked around with this message at 01:33 on Sep 26, 2011 |
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Sep 26, 2011 01:28
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Welp, so the E34 goes to my last, best hope for a good mechanic on Friday. Apparently charges reasonable pricing and doesn't mind me supplying the parts. Oh, please oh please oh please :[
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Sep 26, 2011 20:45
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So I recently discovered that I love 'shark-nose' BMW's. However, I have no clue which model/years used that style. Can someone point me in the right direction? And here's a cool pic so everyone should know what I'm talking about  Just look at that front. Could it be more awesome?
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Sep 26, 2011 21:09
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beedeebee posted:So I recently discovered that I love 'shark-nose' BMW's. However, I have no clue which model/years used that style. Can someone point me in the right direction? Shark nose BMWs persisted until the E30 and E34. The latter finished up in 1995. I dont think you can really qualify the ones after that as shark nose. Even the E30 and E34 had a pretty shallow nose.
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Sep 26, 2011 21:16
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Yeah the classic shark nose to me was always the E24 6 series which went up till 1989?
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Sep 26, 2011 21:23
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^^^I would agree on the E24 6-Series, as well as the so-called "New Six" cars (like the one in the picture). That said, all BMWs made between the New Six models and the E30, E32 and E34 had the shark-nose to a certain extent.8ender posted:Shark nose BMWs persisted until the E30 and E34. The latter finished up in 1995. I dont think you can really qualify the ones after that as shark nose. Even the E30 and E34 had a pretty shallow nose. I would say that both the E30 and E34 were the first modern BMWs not to have the shark-nose.
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Sep 26, 2011 21:28
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There was a 2002 on craigslist that seems pretty nice, but the guy had done so much stuff to it. I'd rather have something a bit beat up that something where the guy replaced parts with something entirely different.
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Sep 26, 2011 21:36
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MrChips posted:^^^I would agree on the E24 6-Series, as well as the so-called "New Six" cars (like the one in the picture). That said, all BMWs made between the New Six models and the E30, E32 and E34 had the shark-nose to a certain extent. I agree to a point, but I think they were the transition from sharks to the modern cars of now. Stolen image follows.  This is one of the best looking "shark" cars... E28 M5. Edit, I had to pull find my picture... but e28, e34, e39 together... its like a big happy family. 
BrokenKnucklez fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Sep 26, 2011 |
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Sep 26, 2011 21:38
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MrChips posted:I would say that both the E30 and E34 were the first modern BMWs not to have the shark-nose. Its still there, just a really shallow angle:  Now the models after definitely didn't have a trace of sharknose: 
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Sep 26, 2011 21:38
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8ender posted:Its still there, just a really shallow angle: unf 
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Sep 26, 2011 21:39
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gently caress man we got 3 inches of rain last night and my floorboards got SOAKED. I filled up an entire shampooer reservoir and 4 large towels with water. It had to have been at least a gallon. I didn't realize how bad it was and started driving this morning and caused it all to slosh into the backseat. So now fixing the sunroof has moved from a desire to a need. I have to replace the entire cassette since the shuttle is broke and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be damaging it getting it apart. What a pain in the rear end.
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Sep 26, 2011 23:15
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drat that sounds terrible. My moonroof is doing the same thing. It doesn't fully close all the way so the rubber gasket isn't flush with the edge. Should a good amount of water hit the roof it's game over for the interior. I don't think the entire cassette needs to be replaced though, for me it's just a couple of the overpriced metal brackets. I say overpriced because IIRC they are the size of my thumb @ $15 a pop.
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Sep 26, 2011 23:35
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My E30 sport seats are in pretty rough shape. Does anyone have any experience with putting seat covers over them?
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Sep 26, 2011 23:49
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What leaks on the E46 if you don't have a sunroof? Every time it rains there is water on my passenger floormat.
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Sep 27, 2011 00:03
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Got to be the windshield glue. Try running a hose on the passenger side of the windshield seals.
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Sep 27, 2011 00:12
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That would make sense  Thanks, I will check it out.
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Sep 27, 2011 00:37
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BlackMK4 posted:What leaks on the E46 if you don't have a sunroof? Every time it rains there is water on my passenger floormat. I'm going to ask this question only because I was this stupid once myself. Do you notice the water before you get into the car or after it? I had a similar issue with a car I owned a while ago. All I can say is shoes will track a LOT more water than you'll expect. (Yes, I WAS this stupid. And I spent weeks trying to track it down, too.)
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Sep 27, 2011 01:52
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welp. Somehow managed to thread my gas cap wrong or something. Ended up doing this. Any suggestions? Other than take some pliers to it when its light out and I can see what I'm doing?
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Sep 27, 2011 01:52
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Hahaha that is some classic BMW poo poo right there.
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Sep 27, 2011 01:55
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BlackMK4 posted:What leaks on the E46 if you don't have a sunroof? Every time it rains there is water on my passenger floormat. Check the door gutters. There's a split about a foot in front of the rear edge and everything forward of that tends to creep forward. I have to reset mine about every month as half the clips are broken. If it's more than an inch or so forward I get puddles on the front floorboards.
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Sep 27, 2011 02:37
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wolrah posted:Check the door gutters. There's a split about a foot in front of the rear edge and everything forward of that tends to creep forward. I have to reset mine about every month as half the clips are broken. If it's more than an inch or so forward I get puddles on the front floorboards. Thanks, I will check that too. nitrogen posted:I'm going to ask this question only because I was this stupid once myself. Before
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Sep 27, 2011 02:41
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wolrah posted:Check the door gutters. There's a split about a foot in front of the rear edge and everything forward of that tends to creep forward. I have to reset mine about every month as half the clips are broken. If it's more than an inch or so forward I get puddles on the front floorboards. Are those clips that bad to fix? At least one of mine is broken and I suspect it's the source of a persistent rattle in the cabin.
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Sep 27, 2011 12:19
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