Hello + Various E30 questions

[thejenarator]

Hello,

New to the community and recently acquired a 1992 E30 convertible. Not mechanically sound but keen to learn even if it is garages that will be helping out - after all it is a dream car and ideally want to keep it close to OEM, no mods.
It has been looked after and has under 80k on the clock. It has recently had fluids changed, battery, timing belt,

For any E30 experts out there, the main things I would love to get some help with are:

- Dubai based garages that can get the parts and work on this type of model. Janu in Sharjah any good?
- Are there parts hard to get hold of here but can get got easily in the UK?
- It is a convertible (manual control) and in generally good condition although there are small rips in the folding crease areas that will need some future help from a fabricator. Anyone had experience on this? there was an old thread about a who who had his whole interior done for 1,500dhs
- Maybe the one mod would be to switch the bottle top alloys for BBS. Are these available in Dubai and would they fit this E30?

Thanks in advance for your help guys :)

[Makaveli7]

Welcome to the Community - There's a ton of places in al Quoz where you can get help on your new born IMO you cannot go wrong with any of our sponsors Sponsors - BMW Club UAE

[MENTION=2807]Alaa.B[/MENTION] has an e30 Vert with some crazy work done so he can give you some pointers. He also had some rims for sale some time back.

[Alaa.B]

Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to our family. There are quite a few members on here with e30's including myself that will be able to help you out whatever you desire.

Parts should not be hard to find especially second hand parts I can help you with anything you might need. When it comes to e30's they are fairy easy to repair and I'm sure all our sponsors are knowledgeable on their repairs. I don't recommend non-sponsors as we won't be able to support as a club if you should have any bad reviews or complications.








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[thejenarator]

Perfect, well the first hurdle is to transfer the car from an Abu Dhabi owner (nobody in government can answer if to possible to register a car on a Dubai plate but in Abu Dhabi).

Reassuring to know there are places in Al Quoz and form the sponsors, Octane look to be the business.

[Bruno]

you can source some new parts from UAE and some used. But there are parts that will end up coming from the UK such as the soft top if you intend to replace it any point for whatever reason.

if you have issues with the interior cloth you are better off buying the torn parts (the seats can be broken apart to smaller pieces) of the seats from the UK or Europe. i think i know which one you ended up picking up. is your car grey? with this interior?

[thejenarator]

[MENTION=3]Bruno[/MENTION], close, the interior is similar but the car color is green.

I'll hopefully close the deal this week and get all the documents for the work it has had done so far.

The interior isn't going to be as high priority as making sure everything is in mechanical order!

[MENTION=2807]Alaa.B[/MENTION] Which garage do you use for service/maintenance?

[Bruno]

Yes yes it was green. In abu Dhabi I saw it in dubizzle 2 weeks back.

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[thejenarator]

yep that was the one - only had a few pics and the scratches were not visible on the photos!

[Bruno]

btw is it true that it had full service history at the dealer?

[thejenarator]

btw is it true that it had full service history at the dealer?

Nope not quite. first 50,000km were in Japan where there isn't the history. after that all paperwork is there

[thejenarator]

[MENTION=3]Bruno[/MENTION] - mind if I ask what insurer you use? I need to get some quotes and bizarrely the obvious ones are not getting back to me

[Bruno]

[MENTION=189711]thejenarator[/MENTION] i use ADNIC for all my car related insurance since 10 years or more. from my understanding they are getting tougher on older cars insurance.


you are better off finding a broker that can sort it out. try with oman insurance these guys are good.

[thejenarator]

yep Oman were the ones I went for. AlAin Ahli were a bit cheaper but needed payment in person!

[thejenarator]

okay so I now have the car, it was a long painful process but it is safely parked up :)

The good:
- runs smoothly, sounds okay and the ride is comfortable.
- have proof of all previous Tasjeel tests since 2014
- looks so good on the road
- it passed the Abu Dhabu and Dubai testing (annoying that it had to be done twice)

The bad:
- the odometer mileage and the first 2014 Tasjeel test mileage both say 72k. SO the odometer is clearly broke and the realistic mileage is probably closer to 100k. Is it possible to get the mileage from the CPU?
- there seems to be some loose electrics. the windows only open when the door is open. the rear/break lights aren't always working. I see this as a day time cruiser for winter anyway but don't want to get pulled over!
- Abu Dhabi testing was clear, Dubai testing called out some MINOR issues: oil leaks on transmission flange, prop shaft, change hose on steering box.

Anyone with ideas on how 'minor' these are?

...the labour of love begins!

[Alaa.B]

I had a few remarkable moments in my life, one of them was when my E30 test report said PASSED

All the mentioned are minor.

- Oil leak from trans flange is no biggie, only check trans oil to see if its low.
- Prop shaft is probably a bit loose or has a gap, make sure your guibo is not cracked or center bearing is not broken.
- Steering hose always leaks on these cars, no need to buy new ones. You can get one made at one of the pipe shops in sharjah or Dubai for 100dhs. Comes out as news.

With E30's, you should get used to rolling up your sleeves and getting your elbow greased. PM me and I can offer you some help if you need.