One of my first semi-rare BMW sports car was a 1988 E30 M3. One evening on my way home from work I noticed a white E30 M3 parked out in front of my neighbors house. I wanted to stop but I had to get home because of family plans. My dad ended up stopping by later that night so we put my kids in their stroller and went for a walk. The M3 was still sitting outside their house. I told my dad I was going to just knock on the door and ask them about it because I’d never seen one in person before. My dad convinced me to juts let it be and wait to see if they put a for sale sign in the window or something. So, I let it go overnight.

The next morning I took my 1986 325es (that I bought for $100) in to the local foreign car (hack) mechanic because it was having an idling issue. Low and behold, the e30 M3 was there for a quick check-over because the owner was interested in selling it.  The owner of the shop tried to play middleman on me and said he could get it for me for $5900. I told him I lived next door to the sellers and I was just going to talk to them anyways. He was upset and felt I owed him something because it was in his shop. It’s funny how that works.

I went to the owners house and rang the doorbell. The owners wife answered and I asked her if she was interested in selling the BMW. She said “Yes, You made it here quickly” I answered “What do you mean?” she said “Didn’t you drive up from Minneapolis?”.  I answered “No, I live just down the street and have seen the car sitting out the past few days.” I asked for more information on the car and here’s what she said. Her father-in-law bought the car new in Orlando, he gave it to her husband 9 years prior, her husband never drove the car. It had 113k miles on it, it was all original with only the seats being recovered to original/new condition. The paint had a couple chips. All records were available with the car. Here’s the kicker, she posted it on carsoup.com that morning for $3500.00.

It turns out another individual was “On his way” to see the car so I explained to her that I would be willing to pay significantly more for the car but would wait for him to see it. The day went by and she continued getting phone calls from a rude man saying he was on his way. That evening rolled around and I decided to go for a walk down the street. There was a black Range Rover with a dealer tag, dark tint and 20″ wheels parked in front of the sellers house. A guy with a leather mercedes benz jacket was circling the car like a vulture. He was a dealer.

Shortly after I got a phone call from the seller. She asked “How much would you pay for the car?” I answered well I would feel comfortable at $5,000. She said “make it $4800.” I asked if she was certain her and her husband were comfortable with that. I also explained to her that the car, in good driving and clean cosmetic condition would be worth much more. She said that the gentleman who showed up for the car was rude, arrogant and using vulgar language in front of her kids. She would rather sell the car to me. So, I picked it up the next morning for $4800.

The car was incredible. It needed a few things but I was amazed at what the 4 cylinder was capable of. I began fixing on the car. I noticed at about 85mph it would shimmy in the front end. The control arm bushings were dry rotted.

I had enough of the local foreign shop misdiagnosing things, overcharging among other illegal activities that took place in his shop. Needless to say, he’s shut down now. I’m not sure what happened but he’s gone. I decided to do my own work. With the help of the internet forums, bentley manuals and friendly BMW folk you can do just about anything. I started in on the control arms and eventually got them finished. However I would like to share the next phase of the story.

And here are more pictures of the car.

Tags | 1988, BMW, Damaged My Car, E30, M3, Repair Shop