Author Topic: John W (Read 6621 times)

John W · « **on:** November 11, 2007, 06:32:07 PM »

last Monday.

Not in bad shape overall. It had a violent shimmy under braking, so I replaced the pads and rotors and it has gone away. I checked out the rest of the front end and it looks OK (but there is still a lil' bit of on-center steering back/forth nervousness under about 50 mph). Also checked the oil pan more closely. Thankfully it looks good and all the bolt are where they're supposed to be.

But I digress. All in all, I think it's a very solid car for $1100. Can't wait to get some work done on it!

Wise Old Dog · « **Reply #1 on:** November 11, 2007, 06:55:20 PM »

Front suspension rubber components are probably in need of replacement, maybe more things like ball joints, tie rods, etc. That's the first thing I replaced, just to get a good "baseline" Not too pricey, then an alignment should fix it. Good deal on the car, it looks like mine. How many miles? If you need any parts, I have a parts car in the backyard. I'm located off of 664 in Chesapeake.

John W · « **Reply #2 on:** November 11, 2007, 07:07:59 PM »

Thanks. It has 130k miles. I have the records from the car and the ball joints were replaced two years ago. The control arm bushings look good (no cracks in the rubber), but if I push hard on the arm you can see the bushings flex. I guess I'm trying to decide whether to replace just the bushings or those plus the entire control arm. In any case, I'm going with the harder offset M3 bushings.

Wise Old Dog · « **Reply #3 on:** November 11, 2007, 07:42:46 PM »

If your ball joints are new, inner and outer, then there's nothing to gain with new control arms. You can get the M3 CABs for $50-$60 at FCPGROTON. Has your car been lowered? If not, you can use the solid CABs non-M3. Offsets help bring the wheel back where it should be after lowering. I don't know if you gain anything by using them on stock height cars. Anyone know the deal with these CABs?

jpod999 · « **Reply #4 on:** November 11, 2007, 08:26:19 PM »

Wait, $1,100?!?!?!

You sir, officially suck.

dude8383 · « **Reply #5 on:** November 11, 2007, 09:55:23 PM »

Quote from: jpod999;37516

Wait, $1,100?!?!?!

You sir, officially suck.

I agree!

I wish my car looked that good for $1100!!!

John W · « **Reply #6 on:** November 12, 2007, 07:06:10 PM »

Haha. Yeah, I got a good deal. The crazy thing is I had been looking all over the East Coast for one of these cars. (I even enquired about dude's ^^^ very cool 318is.) Turns out that the sellers of the car I ended up buying live less than 2 miles away from me.

All that said, the car is definitely not perfect. I need to refresh the suspension and fix some annoyances like the glove box latch that looks like it broke into a million pieces. But so far, I love the car. It's very similar to the '97 318ti I used to own -- but for some reason I cannot figure out -- it just suits me a whole lot better.

PS, jpod, I saw your car in the Reader's Rides section of the GRM Web site. It was one of the E30 m42's that inspired my search for one of these cars in the first place. You have a very nice example.

jpod999 · « **Reply #7 on:** November 12, 2007, 11:34:37 PM »

Quote from: John W;37561

PS, jpod, I saw your car in the Reader's Rides section of the GRM Web site. It was one of the E30 m42's that inspired my search for one of these cars in the first place. You have a very nice example.

Wow, small world. You signed up at GRM, or get the magazine? I would definately do both if the answer is no.

EDIT: How'd you find the thread at GRM? I see in the picture above that you have a Miata...so I'm thinking you are most likely signed up at GRM. Got any pics of the Miata?

asubimmer · « **Reply #8 on:** November 13, 2007, 02:09:32 AM »

looks good. BTW I changed your title to meet our rules

Febi Guibo · « **Reply #9 on:** November 13, 2007, 11:42:29 AM »

hey, did your (very very nice) $1100 car come with the iS lip attached? if you...

YOU ARE THE FIRST EVER!

(congrats and welcome... and congrats on not buying denis' car)

D. Clay · « **Reply #10 on:** November 13, 2007, 11:47:54 AM »

Quote from: Febi Guibo;37590

hey, did your (very very nice) $1100 car come with the iS lip attached? if you...

YOU ARE THE FIRST EVER!

(congrats and welcome... and congrats on not buying denis' car)

Don't know about Denis's car but a used 318is with the is lip defies all laws of the known universe. Besides, it's just not fair!

ezbst · « **Reply #11 on:** November 13, 2007, 12:16:00 PM »

Quote from: D. Clay;37593

Don't know about Denis's car but a used 318is with the is lip defies all laws of the known universe. Besides, it's just not fair!

I bought mine with the IS lip attached! :p

John, that is an awesome deal for a relatively low-mileage example that looks to be in excellent shape. I too searched for mine all over North America and ended up purchasing one that was right under my nose.

Sometimes you just have to wait for them to come to you.

gearheadE30 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 13, 2007, 07:02:09 PM »

For some reason the images aren't working, but sounds like you got a really good deal!

John W · « **Reply #13 on:** November 13, 2007, 09:26:23 PM »

Quote from: jpod999;37574

Wow, small world. You signed up at GRM, or get the magazine? I would definately do both if the answer is no.

EDIT: How'd you find the thread at GRM? I see in the picture above that you have a Miata...so I'm thinking you are most likely signed up at GRM. Got any pics of the Miata?

I've been on the GRM forum for about 4 years and a subscriber for more than 10.

I have a ton of Miata photos, but for some reason everything I try to upload is getting denied. (Maybe because it says "Miata" in the file name ... haha!) I'll try later.

John W · « **Reply #14 on:** November 13, 2007, 09:33:47 PM »

Quote from: Febi Guibo;37590

hey, did your (very very nice) $1100 car come with the iS lip attached? if you...

YOU ARE THE FIRST EVER!

(congrats and welcome... and congrats on not buying denis' car)

Yep, lip spoiler was attached. Actually, it's stupid, but it was kind of a deciding factor for purchasing the car. When I pulled up to look at it, I walked around to the front of the car expecting not to see it. Since it was still there, I knew the car probably couldn't have been abused too badly.

But, as you can see in the photo, it's starting to come loose on the passenger side front.

I wanted to let you all know I'm really impressed with this forum! There seems to be a deep knowledge base among many of the members here. I was expecting something similar to 318ti.org, but this is much more of an enthusiasts forum.