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Hey guys I'm recently in the market for a car. I used to drive an E30 BMW which I absolutely loved and it was my dads, and I convinced him after the E30 died to get an E46 330i. So now that I'm in the market I am hoping to stick to BMW but one hangup, my father. He want's me to get a quality car such as a Toyota or something Japanese that will be cheap to maintain. I of course want to go with a solid BMW. I know they can cost quite a bit more for service than a say a Toyota but I need help convincing him that it can be reasonable for me to own one. Then again I could be in the wrong here. That's why I'm asking you guys if it's very hard to find a reasonably priced bmw for under $5000 which won't run me a ton in repairs. I'm leaning towards an E36 with under 100k miles. Let me know if this is a good or bad idea.
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Nov 8, 2010 03:12
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 17:45 |
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Black88GTA posted:Short answer to this question - Can you work on it yourself? Are you the type to keep on top of preventative maintenance? If so, go for it. If not, stay away. I can definitely keep up on maintenance that's not a problem. As for working on it, yes and no. I have done a few things with car's and done some tuning up on my old motorcycle but nothing over complicated. For quite a few things it would require going to the shop. Not that I am not willing to learn, I always wanted to do some work on the old E30 but we sold it before I got the chance. I am definitely on the lookout for an E30 but they seem hard to find in good condition with relatively low miles. And E36 seem to be what I'm going to be looking for as they are cheaper, and easier to find with less miles. The hard part is just convincing my dad it will not cost a $1000 to get minor crap fixed on it. He always hears horror story's on M3's and how they cost $600 to replace the trim, but then again I'm not really looking at any M3's. Thanks for the input.
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Nov 8, 2010 22:01
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I think the guy selling it owns a body shop or something, the car looks to be in great condition. I love the e30, may be my favorite style BMW. I drove one back in high school, and now I'm in the market for a car and I saw this come up. The guy is asking $4500 Or Best Offer. My Dad and I may go check it out and take it for a drive, anything I should look for in particular? 
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Jan 22, 2011 00:57
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I'm in Wisconsin. Does it seem that high? Most of the e30's I have looked at seem to be in pretty bad shape, this one looks amazing. Though I have no idea about how it is mechanically, that's why we where hoping to check it out. If we liked it we where thinking of offering $4000. What do you guys think?
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Jan 22, 2011 01:15
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I'm not saying your wrong I just didn't expect them to be that cheap. At least around here on Craigslist if they are that cheap they seem to be poo poo. What area are you in?
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Jan 22, 2011 01:24
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I've look all over the area in in Wisconsin. Also in the Chicago area, there seems to be no nice e30's and if they are decent there about the same price. Maybe there is just a big shortage of decent ones up here so they go for more.
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Jan 22, 2011 01:37
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Quick question about the 87 e30, can you easily swap out that dive board bumper with the plastic bumper on the later model e30's?
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Jan 24, 2011 00:08
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kimbo305 posted:Can anyone ID the wheel / car above the door card in this picture?: My guess is an X5
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Jan 24, 2011 03:40
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T-Square posted:I'm in Southeastern Wisconsin, and I paid $3,600 for my nearly rust-free '89 325iS. Although the one you're looking at has big ugly bumpers, it has half the mileage mine did when I bought it, and looks to be in a bit better condition. So there's that. Ah ya I hear ya, the winter just destroys these cars after 20+ years. I was originally wanting an e36 but there's not to many nice ones around. I previously owned a e30 and I loved that car so when this one popped up it sounded great. I'm going to go check it out Friday, hopefully it runs as nice as it looks.
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Jan 24, 2011 22:43
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Anyone know about getting a rim repaired? I ended up getting the e30 posted a page back and it comes with a set of ASA 16" wheels which I would like to put on in the summer. But one of the rims is bent a bit, the guy I bought it from asked someone he knew if he could hammer it out but he said it would need to be sent in to ASA to get fixed. Is there anyway to do this on your own? If not is there somewhere I can send this rim to get it fixed?
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Jan 29, 2011 20:39
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CamH posted:Welp, picking up an E36 M3 tomorrow. It's a 1996 M3 Coupe in silver with contour wheels. It has 150,000 miles on it, and it was maintained by a local German car shop / Dinan distributor. It had the engine replaced at 100,000 miles due to low compression, suspension replaced and upgraded to Dinan "stage 2" specs at 120,000, and cooling system completely replaced at 120,000. Mods besides suspension are Dinan intake and tune. The car is completely immaculate inside and out, looks like it just rolled off the show room, and it has a stack of service records over an inch thick. The shop made me very comfortable with the sale, and they're replacing the brake pads and rotors tomorrow for no cost before I pick it up. I'll post back with pics tomorrow evening. Ahhh what a great feeling, congrats! How much did you get it for?
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Mar 8, 2011 06:42
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nevermind, just thought of it.
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Apr 22, 2011 01:18
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So I am stupid and lost my only set of keys to my 1987 325is. I have an idea of where they may be which I will call tomorrow to check. But if I cannot find them, where should I go to get a new key made? I heard about going to the dealer but I have a feeling it may cost an arm and a leg. Anyone know of a place to have this done, or who would be cheaper? Any idea for basic cost?
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Dec 21, 2011 06:37
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So I finally took in my 1987 325is e30 to get the belts replaced they quoted $147 for parts and labour which seemed a bit high but I figured I don't have time to figure it out myself. Went by today and they are saying the crank pully needs to be replaced and a guy is gonna call me back with an estimate. How difficult is this to replace on my model and how much should I expect to pay, they already have the belts off the car? If it is too high can I just refuse all together or should I just replace the belts and not the pully? Sorry for the dumb question but this is my first car I am paying to maintain and go to an auto service to have fixed.
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Feb 28, 2012 21:40
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Cross post from the "Ask which car is right for you, and whether you can afford one" thread. Could use some advice more on the budgeting side of saving for a car. Recent gradate with a new job and finally I have some decent money coming in, I also have no debt. I have set a budget to save $20,000 by the end of 2013 which as long as I stick to my budget should be no problem. I currently drive a 1987 BMW 325is with around 117,xxx miles on it but it is in very good condition mechanically and aesthetically I project to be able to sell it at the end of the year for $3000. I am saving for my dream car that I have wanted for years now, a used BMW M3 I'm leaning towards a 2002ish e46 but am not opposed to an older model (e36, or ideally e30). My issue is what can I expect as far as maintenance/gas/insurance or recurring bills from owning an M3? I know repair on them can get pricey very quick but I hope to get one in good condition and I will take very good care of it. If it helps I am in Wisconsin but would not be adverse to looking elsewhere to pick up the car. Budget: Cash by end of 2013: $20,000 1987 BMW 325is: sold for possibly $3,000 (does this sound resonable?) Total = ~$23,000 My estimate for cost and what I would like to spend at most on the car is $20,000 does this sounds reasonable? What other unexpected purchasing fees can I expect? Also my current plan is to do this with money in hand. Would getting a loan even though I don't need it be worthwhile? I currently have no credit and would like to start establishing some, is it possible to get a loan and then straight up pay it back immediately for some insta-credit? Help a financially clueless goon out! Popete fucked around with this message at 02:46 on Jan 18, 2013 |
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Jan 18, 2013 02:43
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Good advice all around, thanks. My dad owned an e46 330i and I loved driving it when I went home to visit, had great speed and was comfortable and classy as all hell. I've been pining after a M3 since high school and now that I have the means I'm set on owning one in the near(ish) future. I know it's financially a stupid decision to blow 20k on a car to replace my current decent e30 but dammit I just love M3's. I think I'll take the advice to start doing more research well before I plan on purchasing get an idea of what costs will be. I do plan to only get the car when I have the money in hand no loan ahead of time. As far as having 2k as a safety net that's about what I expected and is something I would be willing to deal with for the luxury of owning the car. As stated before I am still living in a college budget mode, so I am actually saving much more than I have originally budgeted at this point. I'm sure that will change as I start adjusting to having disposable income. Any thoughts on getting an older e36? Are they more reasonable maintanence wise? I am semi capable of doing maintenance and am more than willing to learn to do it myself. Electrical stuff shouldn't be a problem for me, and I have taken apart and rebuilt an old engine before so I have a basic idea of whats going on underneath the hood.
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Jan 18, 2013 06:03
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Welp my 1987 e30 325is has a coolant leak and likes to piss all over itself in a few days with a full coolant tank. I hear this is a fairly common problem, any idea what the culprit might be and what I could expect to pay to have it fixed? I'll be taking it in tomorrow to get it checked out but any information ahead of time would be helpful.
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Feb 5, 2013 01:26
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Here are some pictures of the leak as the engine is running, it seems to be coming out of the large hose on top as well as the small black connector to the engine block. 
Popete fucked around with this message at 02:32 on Feb 5, 2013 |
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Feb 5, 2013 02:30
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Potentially going to check out a 2003 e46 M3 with 99k miles on it. I've done some research and know some things to check for on e46's are the VANOS and recent inspection I's and II's. How do M3's hold up after the 100k mile range? And what specifically should I look for? If I do check the car out and consider picking it up I am leaning towards getting a PPI done on it. From pictures the car looks very very clean but I won't know for sure until I see it, for reference the guy is asking close to $14k.
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Jun 6, 2013 04:46
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It's a manual, I am avoiding SMG not sure I would enjoy it as much.
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Jun 6, 2013 18:34
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So although I said I wanted a manual I've found a tempting deal $17k for a 2004 M3 SMG with 57k miles. With that low of a mileage is the SMG still not a good choice do to expensive and imminent repairs? I doubt I would actual go check the car out but the price for that low of mileage seems like a bargain.
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Jun 8, 2013 20:49
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Alright thanks, I'll just stick with the manual like I wanted anyways. I've been looking on Craigslist and BMW forums for awhile now and it can be tough to find decent coupe manual M3s, it seems the majority is convertible SMG. Was SMG the popular choice to get when they first came out? I just can't see myself putting down that kind of money on a new M3 and getting SMG.
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Jun 8, 2013 23:08
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So I've been looking for some time for an e46 M3, but lately I have been toying with the idea of getting a much cheaper e36 M3. I have noticed one locally that has been price dropping on Craigslist for a few weeks. it's down to $6850 with 114k miles and seems to be in well kept condition. I have thoughts of going to check it out and seeing if I fall in love with it. What are your guys thoughts on the e36's? I don't know how good they are for reliability and what the going cost is on them as I have been so focused on e46's they never really crossed my mind. What should I look out for?
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Jun 24, 2013 03:01
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So it has some dings especially on the front grille which is a minus and no e-brake because it sat awhile which could be an issue, but I feel like I could use it to talk the price down. I know a bit about cars and have done some work mostly minor on my 325i e30. I should note I will be keeping my 1987 e30 at my parents during the summer/spring/fall months and then swapping out cars in the winter leaving the m3 at their place. So I am in no rush or need to buy a car at this point. http://madison.craigslist.org/cto/3889605458.html
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Jun 24, 2013 04:01
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Haha good point, I probably should of spent more than a glance at it. The thought was more an e36 instead of an e46 that had be intrigued and I may have to think about it some more. I was budgeting around $17k for an e46 but the thought of having a fun and significantly cheaper e36 is definitely a possibility.
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Jun 24, 2013 04:18
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Look at an e36 M3, the guy is asking $9500 which seems reasonable for a car with 55k miles on it. What do you guys think? http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1995413-E36-M3-Coupe-Fern-Green-FS-11000-LOW-MILES
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Jul 11, 2013 03:10
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Yeah I thought it was a steal for the mileage but I really haven't research e36's much. More in the market for an e46, I shot him a PM with a few more questions so we'll see what happens.
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Jul 11, 2013 03:16
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Found a very clean 1996 e36 M3 on Craigslist the other day, garage kept no mods. I got them to go down to $9500 on the car from a starting point of near $11k, but I'm just not sure about the price. KBB sets it at ~$7,300 though that seems fairly low, I could be way off an be over estimating the value of a 17 year old car. Any thoughts?
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Jul 24, 2013 18:26
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The guys has all the service records though I have not viewed them as this would be an out of state trip for me. I would basically be making the trip after I decided to buy the car. It has 94k miles.
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Jul 24, 2013 19:47
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Yeah it seems like a good deal, I'll of course have to drive it back up from Texas to Wisconsin a 1000 mile trip.
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Jul 24, 2013 21:41
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Originally I was looking at getting an e46 but the e36 has really grown on me in looks and cost comparison. What is the comparison in maintenance cost between the two can I realistically expect to save a pretty good chunk of money on an e36?
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Jul 24, 2013 21:58
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GrAviTy84 posted:not an expert and I'm sorta in the same boat but I've been looking at both E46s and E36s and finding well maintained E36's is pretty hard where I am and they're generally not much less if at all less than E46s of similar quality. ymmv but that's what I've been noticing. Yeah I hear ya, there isn't anything around me worth looking at for e36's. about 90% of the e46's out there seem to be convertible or SMGs but I notice any decent e46 will be at least $15k but I've seen a few e36's for around $10k range.
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Jul 24, 2013 22:37
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Yeah sorry about that I was referring to both e36/e46 M3s. So I got in contact with the e36 owner and it seems we are close to making an agreement at $9500 for the 1997 M3 with 94k miles. The issue is I will need to fly down to Houston (having relatives work for the airlines is awesome) and drive the car back up to Wisconsin this weekend. Is this a stupid idea? Have any of you guys flown 1000+ miles to buy a 16 year old car and drive it back? For reference here is the Craigslist ad, she also sent me a few more photos but overall it looks quite clean. http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/3939491714.html
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Jul 25, 2013 20:47
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Yeah I was just getting a lot of flak talking to my dad about it on the phone last night, he's the kind of guy who would wait 10+ years for the absolute perfect deal to come drive up to his house and then still hesistate. So to him, me flying to Houston and driving back in one weekend sounds insane. But an M3 has been my dream car since middle school so I guess for some people it's hard to relate. For anyone looking for an e46 M3 this beautiful Laguna Seca Blue 2001 showed up in Washington D.C. this week. Seems like it isn't to bad of a deal and that colour is absolutely gorgeous. http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/3949296482.html Popete fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Jul 25, 2013 |
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Jul 25, 2013 21:41
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What a weird day... Got an email this morning saying the e36 M3 in Houston was sold so no go this weekend  I'm sitting at work bummed out but I decide to see if this dealer in Chicago has finally gotten pictures up of a black 96 e36 M3 with 89k miles for $8500. They put photos up yesterday apparently because I have been checking everyday for a few weeks. The photos look great, the car looks to be in good condition so I say screw it I'm taking a half day and going down to Chicago (2 hour drive). Call up my roommate and he is down to come with and drive my e30 back if need be. We get there after some horrible traffic at a little after 4:00 PM take the car out for a test drive inspect it and get to haggling. Talked him down to $7500 as it had a tiny rust bubble near the trunk lid and the glove compartment panel is a bit beat up. Just got home after a long drive in the rain and heavy traffic but it is an awesome car. I have never driven something like this before, I've owned a few e30's but this is a different beast and I love it so much more torque and power. I had to pull over in some very heavy rain as the car felt like it wanted to kick out and was hydroplaning at 40 mph I definetly can't drive it like my e30. All in all I'm very happy with how things turned around today and the car looks and drives killer.
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Jul 27, 2013 04:01
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I'm going to see if I can find a better camera to use today for some photos. Yeah the tires are bit worn and could use some air as well, I may just end up buying a new set pretty soon.
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Jul 27, 2013 15:38
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I've been reading up a bit on having the e36 M3 lowered seems the two options are lower sport springs or getting coilovers. People seem to think the Eibach pro-kit spring set is the way to go and will lower the car ~1 inch and the kit is only $250. I have never attempted something like installing springs but I'm not completely mechanically stupid and I'm thinking about attempting this. How difficult would this be? Or should I just say screw it and pay my mechanic to do it? I wish we had something like the DIY shop around here as well that sounds perfect for someone like myself to tinker around with the car.
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Jul 27, 2013 20:35
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I'm not set on having it lowered at this point just thinking about projects in the future. I'm taking the car this week to a local guy I like a lot and he tuned up my e30 when I bought it a few years ago. Gonna have him thoroughly go over the car and check the OBD codes. The ASC and ABS lights are on which could be any number of things but it seems like the common problem is a faulty wheel speed sensor so I'll have that fixed first. I don't want the car dropped so it's scrapping the ground over every bump but an inch for me would be nice aesthetically, I honestly don't know what that would do to the ride quality so it is just a cosmetic thing for me and if it ended up that it would compromise the ride I would not do it. The guy who owned my e30 before had it lowered a fair amount and I love how it looks so doing the same on the M3 would be nice.
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Jul 29, 2013 00:57
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sofullofhate posted:
Dang that colour looks amazing.
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Jul 30, 2013 05:23
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 17:45 |
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Questions about wheel offset, I found locally a pretty reasonable price on a set of Beyern Mesh 18" wheels with an offset of 30. From what I have seen the OEM wheel offset is 40. What exactly does this mean? From what I can tell it would mean the wheels will stick further out of the wheel well then stock but will it present any problems on an e36 M3?
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Jul 30, 2013 23:12
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