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Thread: 1995 Alpina B3 Edition 30 in Oregon

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2020
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    E36 Alpina B3 Ed30 #0001

    1995 Alpina B3 Edition 30 in Oregon

    Hi all, I’m new here and I’m interested in selling my 1995 Alpina B3 3.0 Edition 30. This is the first of 20 Edition 30 B3s, and it’s been officially updated on the Alpina Archive as of March 2020 that it is now located in Oregon.

    Here’s the page for it on the Alpina Archive: https://www.alpina-archive.com/?p=24...-3-0-Coupe-301

    Now as you will immediately notice, it does have BBS wheels instead of Alpina wheels. It’s a side project of mine to acquire the original Alpina wheels either via trade or just selling the BBS wheels and using those profits to immediately buy the Alpina wheels, but it could also be up to whoever ends up with the car. They’re great on it, and I personally like the green and gold look since it complements the overall feel of these cars as something more exclusive and special.

    The headlights and blinker light housings of course are also aftermarket. To be quite honest, whoever used to own this back in Japan was likely very eager to make it their own.

    It also has an aftermarket steering wheel with paddle shifters, which means yes, itÂ’s an automatic. The automatic in this and one other B3 I’ve been in feels fantastic though, and the only gripe I have with it is that it does lag a bit, but it’s not a buzz kill by any means.

    Just passed 100k km, and that will be slowly going up as I drive it now and then every couple of weekends. The engine is very healthy and you can tell it wants to play, and when it comes to passing emissions standards in your state I’m pretty sure that’s none of the government’s business if you aren’t in Washington/Multnomah County in Oregon or California since this is a 1995 (25 year old) import.

    In regards to what is wrong with it, the issues are only cosmetic. Some abandoned cables sit inside the car from whatever creature comforts the previous owner had in it, I am personally not interested in possibly tearing parts of the car up just to get them out. The headliner on the sunroof, like on any E36, is unfortunately peeling and it’s somewhat unsightly and annoying for taller drivers since it’ll tickle the top of your head. My solution so far has been to just push the sunroof cover back since I don’t really use the sunroof to begin with. The electronics for the sunroof work just fine though.

    Previous owner may have scored a few points off the right side of the bumper. The plastic trim on the bumper is snapped off, but the damaged pieces came with the Alpina which is nice to have. Fender liner on the right side is hanging a bit too, just enough to where it rubs loudly when you make tight slow turns. With my time spent driving it, it really isn’t something that ruins the overall performance. It’s just heartbreaking to see that as much as the previous owner wanted to enjoy and personalize their car, they also didn’t really do very much to keep it safe.

    The car comes with Drone security/ignition system. I put that in myself just to keep track of battery health, where it is (in case it somehow steals itself), and just to prevent anyone from stealing the car if I’m ever parked somewhere vulnerable. You can keep track of it from your phone too, and it works as a backup remote in case the one on your keys gets low on battery.

    The sound system is aftermarket, I put in an Alpine unit since I thought it would be worth a chuckle and the Alpina didn’t come with one when it landed stateside. That’s pretty much it on that end, music sounds good coming from the speakers. The OEM unit is nowhere to be seen, and I’ve noticed that the digital clock gets confused because it doesn’t recognize the Alpine unit. Not that big of a deal though, I’d worry about it as a final touch on a restoration project.

    It comes with a neat radar detector/speedometer which I believe detects signals within a 360 degree radius, it speaks Japanese. Date and time is incorrect, the time is in sync with Japan’s time zone. Also provides coordinates in case you somehow end up in the middle of nowhere. You can remove it and hook it up to a computer, I’m assuming that allows you to tinker with the settings and whatnot.

    Since it’s already been imported and registered stateside, buying it becomes a much easier process for anyone taking it after me. It would be registered as simply a 1995 BMW 2D (2 Door) and my insurance agent with State Farm mentioned that someone could insure it as either an M3 or a 325is if they for some reason don’t have access to a daily driver to get classics insurance. Otherwise if you’re like me and DO have a daily driver on an insurance policy to your name, go to Hagerty or another classic car insurer and they’ll give you a policy better fit for a car like this.

    I’ve checked in with official BMW dealerships and specialty shops in my area and none of them turned the car away for maintenance or repairs. Please double check with your local dealership or shop first though, I would hate for someone to end up with this car and not have someplace to keep it happy and healthy.

    The only other thing I can really say about this car is that I’m really enjoying it. Its performance is on par with an M3 (from the states) if not better from what I’ve observed. The staggered setup stands out on nice curvy roads, while the acceleration puts a smile on my face every single time. Whoever used to own this, despite distancing it from its importance as the very first of a special line of E36 B3s, definitely knew what they were doing when they tinkered with it. Whether or not you would want to send it further down the performance route or restore it instead is up to you.

    As far as I know, this was the model shown on the floor of the 1995 Geneva Motor Show to establish the Edition 30 line of E36 Alpinas. This was to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Alpina, and so officially they are numbered “3XX”with 3 indicating that they are Edition 30 models, meaning my Alpina is #301. The documents provided shows that the car did originate in Germany’s market, but the Edition 30’s history indicates they were all first sold in Japan. My guess is that the mention of Germany is a clue that it spent some time in Europe, hence why I trust the story on it. I’m not really valuing the car on that possibility though.

    I’d be happy with $16k USD, but I am open to reasonable offers. I’ve noticed healthier examples that aren’t necessarily Edition 30 models, and those would run you about $20k USD. I acknowledge that a car this interesting and special should not be in its current state. However, I also know by experience that this Alpina runs great and it offers a wonderful driving experience. People ask all the right questions about me and the car, and once that happens the cosmetic setbacks begin to matter very little. Once this B3 has its little blemishes taken care of, the fact that this is the very first of the commemorative Edition 30 models will begin to matter much much more. So I feel $16k is a good price point for what it should be worth after discounting its cons but giving credit to its pros.

    I have more pictures that I will provide in a bit. Reach out to me if you want to see anything specific, thanks for your time.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Location
    Los Angeles California
    Posts
    4
    My Cars
    E36
    Hey man !! I would be truly interested in purchasing or atleast giving you a reasonable offer to take this off your hands !!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,694
    My Cars
    S54 Roady, LS1 & LS2 E36
    This car was selling for 12k in Seattle just a few months ago.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    The Atomic City
    Posts
    692
    My Cars
    X5 328i 325iT Z3
    Sweet Alpina!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Posts
    16
    My Cars
    1999 M3 Coupe
    Love the car! I might be interested in the BBS's actually - what are the official sizes/model?

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