Price check.

[coolngroovy]

Please satisfy my curiosity.
There is a 85' M-series bimmer for sale locally.
Recaro interior ect. It started at 8k, but due to lack of local interest, has been reduced to 3.5k.
Would this be a worthwhile investment?

[the]

Is it a 5 or 6 series?

A low budget mid 80s M car can become a financial disaster very, very quickly.

[coolngroovy]

The advert says : BMW 323 Ei motorsport '85. % speed, mags, a/c, p/s, sunroof, recaro int, vgc.
I know nothing of bmw.

[Steve Carlton]

That's a gray market car. If you're not experienced with that sort of thing, I'd steer clear.

[Danny_Ocean]

Yeah...a gray market car that's been in the country more than 20 years. Any gray market "bugs" have already been worked out. For $3500, it's OK. Check for the normal things (rust, compression, leakdown) etc.

I wouldn't consider it an "investment", though. Repairs are just as costly as our P-Cars.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

I sold my '83 3-series with spare engine for $300.00 of field work. I was VERY happy!!!! Car started, was exterior 4 of 10 (only because of no rust issues showing), interior maybe 2 of 10? I NEVER want another bmw....

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by Steve Carlton
That's a gray market car. If you're not experienced with that sort of thing, I'd steer clear.

Guys,

He lives in Australia. Its not a "grey market" car for them!

The 323 is a good model, just check it out and check out the history. If its been stolen or wrecked then be careful, otherwise see if you like it.

After all, we are all different and you may love the car!

Joe

[Noah930]

My copy of "Unbeatable BMW" by Jeremy Walton is in storage, so I can't check this info exactly, but are you SURE that it's an "M" vehicle? At least here in the US, 1987 was the first year the E30 series M3 was available. Also, US values are around $10-15K for one of those original series M3s.

[coolngroovy]

As i said, i know nothing of BMW.
I had heard that M series bimmers were the ducks guts & were good investments.
I just thought for the $$$$ in may be worth while purchasing & putting into storage.
Thanks for the feedback. Cheers, Col.

[the]

a 323 is NOT an ///M car.

[tonypeoni]

I believe he means this....

[the]

No.

That's an E21 3 series Alpina. The E21 stopped production in the 1983 model year.

An '85 3 series would be an E30, a completely different car.

In addition, his posts say nothing about the car being an Alpina. If it were a genuine alpina, and it is complete and can move on it's own power, it would be sold in an hour at $3.5K.

[Noah930]

Originally posted by the
a 323 is NOT an ///M car.

Right. Though the E30 M3 did have a 2.3 liter motor (again, at least in US trim). IIRC, ROW models might have had a different displacement.

[tonypeoni]

Im probably wrong but it cant be a 323 then the E30 bodies were renamed 318.

[the]

Well, at least you were right on the "Im probably wrong" part.

"E30" is a chassis designation.

"318" is a model designation.

For the ROW, an E30 could have been a 4 cylinder car, like a 316 or a 318, etc., or a 6 cylinder, like a 323.

[tonypeoni]

Originally posted by the
Well, at least you were right on the "Im probably wrong" part.

"E30" is a chassis designation.

"318" is a model designation.

For the ROW, an E30 could have been a 4 cylinder car, like a 316 or a 318, etc., or a 6 cylinder, like a 323.

The E30 323 is a odd ball model that was never sold in North American markets. US markets only handled 318, 325, M3.

BTW This car is 22 years old and they want the equivalent of $6600 US dollars Australia must have a high cost of living.

[coolngroovy]

Sorry, i should have noted that i am in australia.
[note thaT I DIDN'T USE A CAPITAL a IN aUSTRALIA]
Is it worth while going to check this thing out?
Perhaps i could take some pics & have the forum identify exactly what the dude is selling. To see if it is worth while.
Btw, It's now down to 3k. By the way the Aussie $ is going, that's about $4k US.