Thanks for your good and kind words, folks. Out of the 4 kids in the family, I am the fattest with the thinnest wallet, enjoying life too much.
Ovr, which town were you from? I am staying in Red Deer. It is growing very fast, tons of money flowing around, very good opportunities right now. The hardest part for any business is finding employees right now.
You did mention previously that you are a CA, if you don’t mind, I will PM you about a business opportunity and would like your opinion and advice from a third party point of view.
BB, KentThe Fiero was a LOVE/HATE relationship. I would love to have that car back, the t-tops can stay off all the time, and definitely put a Small Block V8 and a decent 5 speed in it. Still have the keys for it. Me BAD!
Though about importing the Tierra back here, resale value for used cars in Asia is horrible, less than 2 years old, showroom condition, 30K, I could only get about 50% of original price on the market. The Product Manager at Taiwan Ford was willing to do whatever documents I needed to bring it home. But Canada Customs wouldn’t allow it. Have to wait another 13 years or so.
Kent, have to ask you questions on music and its listening hardware later ...
Bob_Defly, the hair was such a 80’s thing. I still love 80s ROCK. Karaoke is such a big thing in Asia, and most people love to sing love songs. But here I was, 50% under the influence, mumbling words to the songs of Def Leppard, AC/DC, Aerosmith, U2 … Yikes.
Traingirl, my dad retired in the mid 90s. Sold the restaurant. He worked hard, and made some wise and low risk investments. The picture of the Taurus was taken in one of the houses he bought in Vancouver before the Hong Kong Effect in Vancouver; more importantly, he sold the houses before the market took a dive. He is happily retired now, 72 years and very active.
MD, I was listening to 3 Doors Down, that’s where the 3 houses down reference came from, and you did mention previously that you are in that area. No more new houses for a few years, but one can make a little bit of money from some hard work building –living – selling new houses on current market condition. But next house do havw finished basement, front and back yard, fences all done. Oh yeah, red is definitely a good color for E30s.
Davidm, there isn’t much common problems on the iXs, just a few key components of the car one has to keep an alert eye on. The CV Boots don’t seem to last very long, I replaced both after 1st year, and the one on the driver side is cracked. Need to replace it soon. The parts are very reasonable, the labor is about 1 to 1.5 hour, depends where you go. I will have to learn how to change them myself.
With a passive mechanical AWD system, proper lubrication for all moving parts is the key for longevity. You really have to keep an eye on leaks, especially the front drive shafts. The grease could dry out and can do damage to the teeth / gears of the half shafts. The center and rear diffs are in a closed case, they are OK. Also the front Ball Joints could be a problem area (just like FWD cars). Although my car has a small leak in the center VC, it isn’t a big concern. Replace the gasket / seal and the fluids. Parts are reasonable, but have to find someone who knows a thing or two about them.
My car isn’t a good example for finding trouble spots. First, it originated from Nova Scotia, and has already developed some bad rust areas. It wasn’t a concern for me, since I am gonna drive on gravel / dirt roads anyway. Plus the fact that I made changes to the suspension, shifter, and ECU, which could very well start trouble for already worn parts. The ride height of the iX / Xi is too tall, so changes have to be made if you are keeping the car. I think HR is the only one make lowering springs for the iX, and shocks can be bought from Koni / Bilstein. I have the Koni ones, very easy to adjust, just pop off a cap on the shock mounts, put on the Knob, and turn. Also added rear sway bar, front end negative camber is about 0.2 degrees more, under steer is almost gone. Of course, excessive tire wear on the inside, 60 % tread left, inside is down to the BONES. Can’t really have the cake and eat it without a price. After market wheels are easy to find, they are different then those on the regular E30 325s. The iX wheels have an offset of 41mm, the 325i has an offset around 30mm.
Not sure what to tell you, so here is what I would check if I was to consider another E30, along with a regular PPI, this is for the final decision after a car is found.
1: Shampoo engine bay and under body, drive car for an hour or so, hoist it up, check thoroughly and carefully for all leaks and unknown dirty spots.
2: Check engine for compression and spark plug condition. The M20 I6 does have a few small issues. Small things like this could tell a lot of potential problems.
3: Let car idle with AC on for at least 15 minutes, check temperature gauge. E30s are known to have weird cooling problems, and insufficient cooling at times,
4: Check AC unit and type freons used. Can’t get the R12(?) anymore.
5: Front shock mounts, very easy spot to develop rust. See Pic below.
6: Rear brakes / Hand brake: another area for Hidden rust.
I did notice there are more E30 wagons available for sale, neat looking cars. BMW Canada only imported 4 doors, 2 door models are from down south. The iX wasn’t a big seller, only 30,000 were made between MY1986 and MY1991, and only 3,000 made their way to NA every year, even fewer in Canada. The E30 M3 was only $6-8G more when new. Happy hunting.
