Texan E30 Touring on Ebay

"duurtlang" (duurtlang) 09/21/2014 at 17:39 • Filed to: ebay

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At the moment I'm watching !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . There's 90 or so minutes left. It's a right hand drive 1989 BMW 325i Touring. It's got Texas plates and is obviously located in Texas as well. It's got a little bit of rust, but I've seen worse. Before clicking the link, what do you think this car is worth in the US?

I'm curious because my rust free 325i Touring with proper left hand drive will be on Texan plates shortly as well. Mine does have an automagic transmission...

Dsscats > duurtlang 09/21/2014 at 17:41

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$8k with minor rust, $9k without.

Klaus Schmoll > duurtlang 09/21/2014 at 18:09

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I cheated, and clicked the link first :( No idea what they are worth in the US. But what I saw pleased me. Maybe this was really worth your time?

Doug DeMuro > duurtlang 09/21/2014 at 18:12

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I just bid — already outbid at $8k. duurtlang any idea on value?

Doug DeMuro > Doug DeMuro 09/21/2014 at 18:12

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Thinking of going to $8.5. RHD isn't ideal but this car is pretty sweet otherwise...

Frank Grimes > duurtlang 09/21/2014 at 18:17

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I just saw one of these out on the road it had e36 m3 wheels and was RHD I lusted.

duurtlang > Doug DeMuro 09/21/2014 at 18:28

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That's what's interesting to me, to what extent does RHD impact the value of such a vehicle? I'd imagine it's a big negative, but others seem to like it. Luckily both of mine are LHD.

duurtlang > Klaus Schmoll 09/21/2014 at 18:36

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Don't underestimate the cost of buying a good one in Europe, fixing it a bit, shipping it and dealing with the bureaucratic mess in the US. If we were to sell the first car for the current price ($8600/€6700) I'd run a very marginal profit which is not worth the time/effort/risk. Having said that, the second one, the one I recently bought in Germany, that one is rougher but significantly cheaper as well. I've also learned from my mistakes and have streamlined the process/cut costs that have nothing to do with the quality of the car. For example, I legally imported the first one into the Netherlands, had its inspection done, taxed it and had it insured for a few months. All of that cost hundreds of Euros combined. The one I've bought recently has a recent inspection, but I'm skipping all the rest. It's in a shed in the Netherlands, 9 km from the German border. The downside is that I can't drive it in the Netherlands and can only drive it in Germany on a Kurzzeitkennzeichen (€85 for 5 days).

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > duurtlang 09/21/2014 at 20:08

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wow I'm kind of glad I missed this, totally would have bid on it. Now I am having dreams of importing one of these.

Doug DeMuro > duurtlang 09/21/2014 at 22:16

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It apparently impacts it a ton— this is an otherwise excellent car but that's a huge negative. $8600 is nothing. I bid a few times but had a dinner thing and couldn't put in my final number which would've probably been $9,300. I suspect the reserve was well over $10k.

Wish yours wasn't an auto.

duurtlang > Doug DeMuro 09/22/2014 at 02:57

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Since when has an auto stopped you from buying a wagon? But all joking aside, I do get what you're saying. What I don't really get is why many Americans import these cars from the UK and thus with the steering wheel on the wrong side. Language barrier?

My second E30 Touring is a manual, but is only 24 years and 9 months old now and it has the smaller displacement straight six. I won't be buying a third until the one in Texas is sold, I've got too many cars already, including a 1988 Peugeot 205 GTI I bought last month that I was thinking about exporting as well.

duurtlang > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 09/22/2014 at 03:01

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I can imagine, they're great cars. I've got two, but left hand drive, one in Texas and one still in Europe. In your opinion, is that vehicle being RHD a problem?

Doug DeMuro > duurtlang 09/22/2014 at 09:25

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Can I place an order?!?!? :)

I really want a nice iX...

duurtlang > Doug DeMuro 09/22/2014 at 13:06

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You can. They're rare, especially with a manual apparently, and pricey, but they can be had. I've seen one (with 140k km) for an absurd €15k ($19k) in Germany. I think I could ship the pictured one (11-1989) to the US east coast for $10.5k, if you take care of US based bureaucracy. Obviously you could choose to take care of shipping as well. I could also ask my Texas based contact to title it there, but that would increase costs. Prices for the car as is. This is the cheapest one I could find which looks good. 217k km (135k miles). Comes with a lot of paperwork (original purchase bill, maintenance records), manual, tools, CD player the age of the car. No dents or scratches and a little bit of repairable rust (just quoting the ad here). Located in Germany, close to Denmark. Currently in use as a winter car (sacrilege if you ask me). Owner offers more pictures at request.

Or did you want A/C and power windows as well?

Doug DeMuro > duurtlang 09/22/2014 at 13:18

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Couldn't care less about windows. A/C would be nice — this car actually has none? Or it's just non-functioning?

duurtlang > Doug DeMuro 09/22/2014 at 13:28

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It has none. The majority of these cars were offered without AC, it was an unpopular and expensive option at the time in Germany (and my native the Netherlands). It can be retrofitted with original parts though, my mechanic has with his own E30 325iX (sedan). I bet those parts are cheaper in the US though.My two E30Ts don't have AC either, and neither did the RHD one from the Ebay auction.

I just did a quick German wide search for a 1989 or older E30 iX Touring, and only found half a dozen. They are very rare, so if one wants to be picky he needs to be patient as well.

Doug DeMuro > duurtlang 09/22/2014 at 14:28

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Do you mind e-mailing me off-site? dougdemuro at yahoo. I'm actually pretty serious about this — the big hangup has been finding someone trustworthy to take care of things on the Europe side.

Reborn Pyrrhic > duurtlang 09/22/2014 at 16:57

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RHD is a novelty in America. Looks cool, looks different, but after a while it becomes a pain in the butt: every drive through, every toll booth, every parking garage, etc, every single one will have you reaching over an empty seat to pay for what you need. If you have a passenger it is less of a hassle, but if you're alone then...

For a car that seldom gets driven, like a weekend cruiser, it's not such a big deal. It's the people who try to daily drive a RHD car that end up facing these problems.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > duurtlang 09/22/2014 at 20:14

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Not at all. My e30 is a 3rd or 4th car though (depending on my wife's mood that day) between two of us. I don't think it would make a difference if it was my DD though. Did you import yours? This post has me thinking about doing that now...

duurtlang > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 09/23/2014 at 01:39

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I exported mine; I'm Dutch, living near the German border. I know someone in the US who I knew would appreciate one, so I shipped him one.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > duurtlang 09/23/2014 at 21:53

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Any interest in helping me? No idea what it would cost but now you've planted the seed

duurtlang > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 09/24/2014 at 03:19

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I'd love to help! I'm drowning in work today so I'll have to get back to you with specific details, but I could give a head start.

Cost depends on a lot. It depends on the car; rusty high mileage 318i versus pristine 325ix to name the extremes. It also depends on what you're willing to do yourself. Do I only deliver the car to a local (to me) shipping company of your choice and do you arrange everything from there, do I ship to a port of your choice and do you take it from there or do I have to have my Texan contact register the car in Texas? Shipping itself varies on where you live as well, which is logical I presume.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > duurtlang 09/24/2014 at 10:28

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I think I could figure out everything else if I could just get a nice one delivered to Texas. Probably would want a 325i, maybe a diesel? Definitely a later model. Doesn't have to be mint condition as long as its nothing that can't be reasonably repaired. also this isn't anything I'd be ready to do in the next few months. First thing would be getting another spot in the garage open, I'd have to decide which vehicle(s) to get rid of. That will probably be the hardest part...

duurtlang > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 09/24/2014 at 16:54

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When you're ready you could contact me. I'll insert a picture of my email address (spam prevention). Do keep in mind that shipping alone will take a month, with the addition of picking, buying and preparing the right car it will take even longer even if we start today.

A few weeks ago I bought an E30 Touring from December 1989, which means this car will be eligible for import into the US starting December 2014. It's a 320i, meaning it's got the same M20 straight six engine as the 325i, but with less displacement (2.0L versus 2.5L). I've written an article about that car on Jalopnik . To give you an estimate: that car, including a minor tune up, fixing the idle issue, installing a matching non-worn drivers seat, an original steering wheel and the side skirts would cost $7k including shipping to Texas (Galveston), excluding US based bureaucracy or shipping within the US. Another US port is possible as well, this can impact costs. Some parts are slightly cheaper, west coast is more expensive. It won't get significantly cheaper than this though, this car is in a decent and great driving condition, but it's far from low mileage and not in immaculate condition. It's at the lower end of cars I'm willing to ship, I'm not going to invest in basket cases. I'm naming this car merely as an example, there are nicer (and far more expensive) vehicles available as well. And in different colors too.

A diesel version has been made, the 324td Touring. Availability is very limited. A later model? The E30 Touring was sold from 1987 (realistically 1988) until 1994, with the later ones being far too young for import into the US as they're not 25 years old yet. At the moment it's all about 1988 and 1989 vehicles, in a few months January 1990 will be possible as well.