bmwe21.net forums

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forum and to the E21 community.
I just recently picked up a 1981 323i and over the next few weeks/months/years will be posting more regularly with updates on the journey of my build and everything else related to the new car

The 323 has a set of 13" rims on. But as a bonus the guy had set of 15x7 BBS Mahle's in his garage which he threw in.
Unfortunately, they are warped (don't know if this is the right term) which has been shown by the marks that a tyre repair place marked onto the rim

I will upload pictures once I figure out how to do that on the forum (can anyone explain?)

My question is, is it worth getting the rims repaired for around $125 (AUD) each? (Roughly; 329.00 pounds UK; $527.00 US)
I have looked around everywhere to find new ones but, especially in Australia, it is almost impossible to find these or any other BBS rims that aren't replicas which are around $1000 aud or $3000 aud brand new/restored ones.

Anyway, it'll be good to get to know more of you over time as I have big plans for the car and would love to get advice from some of the more experienced E21 owners

Sorry for the long read

Welcome here Mr Nameless congrats on your 323i, looking forward to reading more about your car in the Owners Gallery soon

These wheels are pretty rare and even more so down under I guess. I tried a currency converter to check your values and came up with this

If all 4 rims needs to be repaired that would be AUD 500 which is GBP 270, US$ 430 or EUR 358

That isn't cheap, unless sand blasting and powder coating to get them all new is included as well. If not, I'd ask around for a better price. For just straightening them out I think I'd pay (converted the price) AUD 330 max here and that's at the top specialist here in Holland. If you can have them like new again for abt AUD 600 (including sand blasting and powder coating) I think the price is still fair, try buying new ones for that kind of money!

Thanks for the help Jeroen
I'm not sure why the price here is so much more expensive, it could be because a tyre company is sending them off for me as it seems down here no one can do it in-house.
Although, today I called the previous owner to ask where he was going to get them done and he put me in direct contact with the company most mechanics in Sydney use. So tomorrow morning I will call them and get a real quote on the price and see how we go, I can't wait. Hopefully this ends up being a smart choice haha

Regards and hello,
Max

Hi Max

$125 per rim doesn't sound too bad if you consider the price of a new set of 15 inch BBS rims,as Jeroen pointed out! They are pretty hard to find down here in the correct offset for e21s.
Are they the 1 piece 15 inch rims or 3 piece (BBS RS style?)

We do tend to get gouged on all kinds of work down here compared to elsewhere in the world. Part of the price we pay for having relatively high wages, and a relatively small population compared to elsewhere I guess.

They should look good once they're refurbished though.

Best
Luke

These are the rims. Hopefully they uploaded properly.

They are the one piece Mahle's

I completely agree, the more I have to send things off to be done the more I realise just how expensive everything is haha

Cheers,
Max

I'm always on the lookout for e21 wheels and they are hard to find in Aus and always expensive. You can probably get a better price if you shop around, but even at $125, it'd be way cheaper than getting new wheels (let alone BBS).

Good luck.

Pretty standard price for wheel straightening. I think you are in Sydney (although not clear). Try Morton and May wheels at Warwick Farm (Liverpool). I have used them and their work is good. There are other wheel companies you could try depending on where you are.
How about some pics of the car?
It will be good to get another e21 going in Oz.
Cheers

garyw51 wrote:Pretty standard price for wheel straightening. I think you are in Sydney (although not clear). Try Morton and May wheels at Warwick Farm (Liverpool). I have used them and their work is good. There are other wheel companies you could try depending on where you are.
How about some pics of the car?
It will be good to get another e21 going in Oz.
Cheers

I had the wheels balanced the other day and only two of them desperately needed to be straightened. About the other two; one was completely fine, and the other was off balance by around 0.05 from centre. So, luckily that saves me some money. The two straightened ones I will throw on the front to have minimal vibration while driving.

I'll be getting the rims back on Friday and then sending all 4 off to get sand blasted and from there decide the colour for the centres and polish up the lips myself.

Thanks for the suggestion garyw15, and yes I am in Sydney but up North.

Do you have any suggestions for good wreckers/people you know who do parts in Aus? And would be good to meet up when I get the car running and just talk about them. Would love to see both your E21's

More photo's will be up very soon

Cheers,
Max

Not trying to step on Gary's toes, but I used to use ASV Euro parts, They did pretty well on e21 bits. For wreckers, I spent many a fun Saturday out at Pick n Payless in Blacktown pulling bits of old BMWs.

Cheers

Here are some other pictures of a car









Cheers,
Max

That looks great! Did you do the paint?

PeteK wrote:That looks great! Did you do the paint?

No it was done by the previous owner.
It was originally silver in colour, like in your avatar picture.

I really like the colour on the car, I think it makes it stand out nicely

Car looks very good and will only get better as you continue to do the things you want to personalise it to your liking.
By the way, Pete's car is blue (maybe fiord blue) not polaris silver. Being in the right place at the right time will help with parts. Obviously Pete got most of the good parts from Pick n Payless but he is not in Sydney anymore which gives the rest of us a chance.
Keep an eye on ebay and gumtree - it is surprising what comes up. Happy to meet - I now have four e21s (how tragic!)

Aus323i wrote:

PeteK wrote:That looks great! Did you do the paint?

No it was done by the previous owner.
It was originally silver in colour, like in your avatar picture.

I really like the colour on the car, I think it makes it stand out nicely

I personally prefer that blue to silver. What colour is it? doesn't look like an E21 colour but more modern?

Ben

No its definitely not a E21 colour, I haven't got a name to describe it, I'll have to ask the previous owner what they call it.
Was thinking of doing a white pinstripe around the top of the car (like following the side of the bonnet around the entire car) to compliment the white faced BBS Mahle's I'll be throwing on it. Also picking up beige interior tomorrow..everythings falling into place nicely.
No problems, yet.

Max