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Featured Car :

1990 BMW M3 2.3 litre 215 bhp 'Late Model'




I bought this car 3 and a half years ago after a two year search around the country for the 'right car'.

I was very specific about the car I wanted. It would HAVE to be either a 215 bhp 'Late Model' or an EVO II. I wanted the extra horsepower over the earlier models but an EVO Sport was out of the question. I didn't feel the extra cost for the EVO Sport was going to be justified for me as I knew the car would never be put on a track.

I specifically wanted a car WITHOUT Aircon or heated seats. This coupled with it's lower engine power put a 'Europameister' out of the frame as well.

I was also quite 'picky' about colour. White was out! Not that I don't like white...indeed I think the E30 M3 looks good in white! However, at the time we had a white M535i, a white 2002 and a white 325i Touring...I was sick of trying to keep white cars clean! Personally, I've never been a big fan of red and whilst I now own a Lachs Silber 735i (and wouldn't have dismissed silver) it wasn't going to be my first choice in an M3. That kind of left Diamond Black or Macau Blue (if it was going to be an EVO II).

I wasn't too bothered whether it had a leather interior just as long as the leather wasn't badly worn...nothing looks worse in my opinion.

I looked at lots of cars and after almost 2 years I found this car. It's English owner lived in Brussels and worked in Geneva. He already owned an E36 M3 and bought this E30 to take back to the Continent with him thinking being left hand drive it would be a good car to use. Only after buying it did he find out that apparently you're not allowed to import a car over ten years old into Switzerland...full stop!

He had also searched for a while and had apparently looked at 13 cars before he bought this one and said it was easily the best he looked at too. He bought it from an English couple who were splitting up and prior to this it had had one female German owner. The paperwork seems to bear this out.

During my ownership the car has always been at most the 'fourth' car (all BMW's)...and at one point the 'fifth' car!...Much as I love driving it I TRY(!) to ration myself and don't use it as a 'daily driver'. We have always had it garaged (don't know about previous owners).

Specifications:

  • Diamond Black with Black Leather Motorsport Interior

  • No Aircon, No Heated Seats

  • Electric Windows, Sunroof and Mirrors

  • Headlamp height adjust

  • Rear Blind

  • 'Big Board' OBC and Check Control


    Modifications/Extras: (All done prior to my ownership)

  • EVO II Front Spoiler

  • EVO Sport Rear Gurney Flap
    (genuine BMW part but affixed to 'normal' rear spoiler therefore not adjustable)

  • EVO Sport 'type' Front Splitter (Moseley Motorsport part therefore not adjustable)

  • 17" BMW Split-rim cross-spoke wheels with 4 BRAND NEW Bridgestone Potenza SO3 tyres

  • E36 M3 Tensioner

  • EVO Sport Kick Plates

  • White Front Indicators

  • Darkened Rear Lights - these are a high quality German product (actually better than the originals - but I also have the originals)


    In-Car Audio:

    VERY high quality system includes:

  • Alpine Tuner/Cassette Head unit with boot mounted Alpine 6 CD Changer (http://www.alpine.com/)

  • 6 Door-mounted MB Quart Speakers - in leather covered, well finished enclosures (apparently just the two door enclosures cost over 2000 Deutsch Marks back in the early 90's! (about £700 at the time!).(http://www.mbquart.com/2003/)

  • 2 Rearshelf-mounted Mid-range and 2 Tweeter POLK Speakers on (http://www.polkaudio.com/polk.html)

  • 2 12" Cerwin Vega Subwoofers mounted behind the rear seats (http://www.cerwinvega.com/)

  • Boot mounted 400W amplifier

  • Kenwood Graphic Equaliser - not connected at present...the Alpine head unit doesn't need it!


    Security:

  • Brand new Serpi Star GR480 Thatcham Category 1 Alarm system fitted at last service (see below). Cost £450.


    History:

  • 141418 km (87,872 miles)

  • 4 Owners - first a woman in Germany, then two UK...then us since February 2001

  • Full Service History - BMW Main-Dealers Germany, UK, Belgium and Moseley Motorsport (http://www.moseleymotorsport.com/Index2.html)

  • Last Service was Inspection II at Moseley Motorsport on 6th June 2003 at 133,338 km (82852 miles)

  • 2 Green lights still showing...annoyingly (as anyone who knows how the service indicators are designed to work on these cars will understand) the service indicator has now come up with it's 'Annual' message of "Inspection" with the small clock symbol showing. This doesn't actually mean the car needs servicing just that it's a year since the last service. I say this is annoying because I could quite easily cancel the message using a reset tool but then this would set the indicator back to 5 green lights again and then you don't know where you are! Anyway, cut a long story short the bottom-line is it doesn't need servicing yet and the next service will only be an 'Oil Service' (cheap!).

    At the last service, in addition to the 'standard Inspection II' the following was also done:

  • New Ignition Lead Set, Distributor Cap and Rotor Arm (original parts...not cheap!)

  • All 3 central locking motors and relay replaced

  • Interior light relay replaced

  • Gear selector bushes and knuckle joints replaced

  • Electric Fan connector replaced (commonly disintegrate due to heat from the thermostat housing and vibration from the engine)

  • Rear Spoiler resprayed due to crazing of the lacquer on the top surface

  • Total bill was £1507

    Both Nigel Moseley and the mechanic reported that it was a very nice example and commented that the suspension and brakes were all in very good order and how clean it was underneath!

    At the previous 'Oil Service' at 127,038 km (78,937 miles) I had the Scorpion stainless steel exhaust removed and original BMW parts refitted. I hated the Scorpion! It was too loud and actually causes a LOSS of power due to the lack of the cross-pipe at the front of the centre section! I hated it so much I just gave it away for nothing!

    Windscreen was replaced by Henry Brothers BMW at 130,000 KM at a cost to me of £393 !

    A new Bosch battery was fitted around the same date.

    Most recently, it has had a new lambda sensor and very thorough engine set-up by Nigel Moseley including all the valve clearances shimmed and throttles balanced. Additionally, we (finally!) managed to cure a very slight cyclical vibration felt at certain speeds...It turned out that the spacers fitted for the 17" wheels were not holding the rims perfectly centric on the hubs. The correct spacers from Germany cost £120 !

    The only fault that I am aware of is the heating temperature control is difficult to fine adjust.

    The car has it's full toolkit (including the all important spark plug tool!), jack, warning triangle and First Aid Kit still in its box...cellophane sealed.

    This car has (as far as I can tell) never had any respraying done (except for the rear spoiler mentioned above) even the sideskirts are still in the original slightly 'satin' finish rather than the 'gloss' one often sees after a respray. Consequently, it does have quite a lot of FINE stonechips on it's 'nose'...I guess black is a bad colour for that. Personally, I've always been reluctant to get this done as the fact that it's all 'original' is somehow more reassuring to the potential buyer. Maybe if I were keeping it I'd now consider getting the 'nose' done. However, as I hope the photographs show the paint and bodywork are very nice?

    The interior is immaculate. The passenger's and rear seats look like they've almost never been sat on...even the driver's seat hasn't got the worn/cracked side bolsters one often sees! I guess all of it's owners have just been careful when getting in and out! Both my wife and I are non-smokers.

    Over the past 12 months I have spent approx £2500 on this car (though I hadn't had to spend much prior to this) and it is now 'on the button' and ready to go! It has never seen a track!

    I am only selling this car as we have 4 BMWs (plus 2 Go-Karts!) and the garage will only accommodate three cars. I want to change my E30 325i Touring daily driver for a more modern car and so logic dictates that this and the M3 ought to go. I'd rather sell the car to an enthusiast who will appreciate it now whilst it's in even better fettle than when I got it! Everybody is telling me not to sell it and that I'll regret it...I know they're probably right...the samething happened when I sold my 1972 3.0CS which I owned for 13 years but I think it's maybe time to 'move on'. I have tried to be as thorough and honest as I can in this description as it is not in my interests or the interests of potential buyers to 'timewaste'.I have owned almost exclusively BMWs for the last 20 years and have been a BMW Car Club GB member for many years. I'm not a 'boyracer', don't abuse my cars and try to maintain them to high standards. Yes, you can get one these cars cheaper than my asking price but I think (hope) this car will go to someone who doesn't need an explanation of why this one is worth that bit more and why I think it's a very fair price. I'd therefore be grateful for serious enquiries only. As the old saying goes: Timewasters, dreamers, test pilots, tyre-kickers and would-be 'experts' are not appreciated! Many thanks for looking and taking the time to read the above. If you think there's anything I haven't included please email me.

    Sorry - this car is not for sale!



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