Advice on buying a BMW E30 316 1989

ZZ Topless

Hi all,
I've been hoping to get my hands on a decent BMW e30 for the last few months. After a lot of looking around and losing my patience I've come across an 89 316, 1.8litre which needs a bit of work.

Took it for a test drive today and was hoping to check out a couple of things, so any advice much appreciated.

The car starts fine, but when it's idle there's a knocking/rattle from the engine. This also continues when driving in first, not so much in second.
They guy said it was probably the camshaft.

Any ideas? If he is right and that's what it is, anyone know how much it would cost roughly to get it back in good running order?

Cheers

jhegarty

How many miles has it done ?

ZZ Topless

its over 120,000. Fairly sure of that anyway.

mike65

This query is so vague as to hard to answer, to be honest I'd walk away and look a bit more. The 316 is the absolute basic model and hardly worth the trouble to buy, never mind fix. If it is a camshaft-related matter then walk away now!

Whats your budget to buy and are thier any particular insurance issues which force the small engine option on you?

Mike.

ZZ Topless

I take it that a camshaft issue is an expensive fix then. Thats fair enough. Thanks.

I'd like to keep it 1.8 litre max to keep insurance manageable, which i've been quoted just under 1000euro per year third party with Quinn Direct for a car like this.

I personally like the unmodified 316 and 318 models, which i've found are hard enough to come across - which was why I was going to try and get this running and looking good - body original and already in fairly good condition as it is.

budget would be 2000 at very most. I know it's not a lot to go on, but living in hope here!

RoundyMooney

ZZ.

I'm selling one at the moment on www.adverts.ie/22223

Have a look and see what you think. In my experience the 2 door models seem to be in greater demand. The M40(?) engine as fitted to the post 87 models is known for camshaft issues, and many folk prefer the previous M10 (which mine has), a version of which, I believe was used in indy car racing at one point :eek:

mike65

2000 is suprisingly tight, e30s are getting more expensive by the day it seems. kbannon is an e30-head and may be able to point to towards enlightenment.

Good news is that you don't have 10k to play with, you might have bought www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=521534

Mike.

Alfasudcrazy

Nice 320is here. I would not recommend the 316 but I suppose you need one for insurance purposes.

Would be interested in this myself if I did not own a Golf Gti of the same year.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=697941

ZZ Topless

Very nice car you have, looks like its in good condition - I'm surprised it hasn't been snapped up.

Insurance Company wont cover anything over 20 years though, so realistically 88/89 is the oldest I can go for if I want to get a couple of years use out of it. Otherwise I'd be tempted...

Its an M10 engine that's on the 316 I viewed today, I'm almost 100% on that. Checked it out beforehand, and asked the guy when looking it over. I'm thinking of leaving that one at this stage though, I dont want to get stung for a huge bill to get her healthy.

Thanks.

ZZ Topless

I came across that one in my search, Mike.
what a beautiful example...

Out of interest Alfa, why wouldn't you recommend the 316? Reliability?

RoundyMooney

ZZ Topless wrote:

Insurance Company wont cover anything over 20 years though, so realistically 88/89 is the oldest I can go for if I want to get a couple of years use out of it. Otherwise I'd be tempted...

I'm pretty sure that most companies will insure, but am open to correction from someone who knows better? Happily my days of negotiating with companies are behind me! It's an age thing

ZZ Topless wrote:

Its an M10 engine that's on the 316 I viewed today, I'm almost 100% on that. Checked it out beforehand, and asked the guy when looking it over. I'm thinking of leaving that one at this stage though, I dont want to get stung for a huge bill to get her healthy.

Thanks.

I'd keep my options open tbh. If that engine is an M10, it's probably not original either. The beauty of E30s is that they're a quality build, and easier to work on yourself than many other cars. That's a saving you can probably factor in to any potential purchase that needs minor work.

Oh, check arches, battery box, and front and rear valances for rust. I believe that facelift (i.e. post '87s) were galvanised from new, so should be more resistant to rot.

edit: On the insurance front, car is in the other half's name-with Quinn Direct-and the issue of age never came up. They're supposedly competitive enough too from what I hear.

Best of luck with your search anyway.

RoundyMooney

mike65 wrote:

Good news is that you don't have 10k to play with, you might have bought www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=521534

Another modder with money to burn (21k spent!)

ZZ Topless

That car is something else alright!

The only reason I think that about the insurance is because I tried to get a quote on a 20year+ car before with Quinn. That was over a year ago, so might be worth giving them a call again next week to make sure.

Hopefully I'll come across something before the end of the summer anyway.

Thanks for the advice all.

Alfasudcrazy

ZZ Topless wrote:

I came across that one in my search, Mike.
what a beautiful example...

Out of interest Alfa, why wouldn't you recommend the 316? Reliability?

No - just from a driving enjoyment point of view. The 1.6 sounds horrible and it has no power and is not that economical either. But of course if you need a 1.6 for cheap insurance then I suppose there is no way out of it.

mike65

Does a 1.6 even have power steering?

Mike.

ZZ Topless

I've gotten used to not having power steering on my current car, so thats not a huge issue. It's also a 1.2 litre, so a 1.6 or 1.8 would be a huge difference for me, driving enjoyment-wise!

green-blood

www.e30owners.com

irish based e30 forums

If you're asking for advice on this car, I think you already know its not for you, keep looking you'll be better off in the long run

some good bmw specialist indy mechanics about, much much less than BMW but still not exactly cheap.

that red carzone 320 - its not a 320IS....dealers tutututut

8~)

As stated already, sounds like a worn cam. Not worth the bother trying to fix it. Brother had a E34 518 with M40 engine and it sounded horrible. Now has an E30 318 and the engine is lovely... pity about the rust.

Re insurance... most companies will insure once the car has an NCT cert. Ring around.

RoundyMooney

That's a fact. Although the M40 is a newer design, and has a couple more horses, the older M10 is a lovely smooth unit, and in my opinion, a better engine.

Gerry

ZZ Topless wrote:

I've gotten used to not having power steering on my current car, so thats not a huge issue. It's also a 1.2 litre, so a 1.6 or 1.8 would be a huge difference for me, driving enjoyment-wise!

If your 1.2 litre car is relatively new, a 1.6 e30 will struggle to be any faster, and probably would be behind it up to the speed limit. You have to consider that its a much heavier car. Save up the money needed for tax/insurance, and go for a 1.8 at least, if not a 2 litre. Otherwise there is no point, sorry.

2cv

If anyone's looking for a 320, let me know, i know where there's one for sale for reasonable money....

commited

If you're going for a 318, get the 318iS - a far better car and costs no more on insurance

bucks

commited wrote:

If you're going for a 318, get the 318iS - a far better car and costs no more on insurance

Ill second that!!

I posted on a duplicate thread about this in the motors section but anyway...

The 318iS will have far more features and will be the same litre as the 316 you are looking at ( 1.8 ) plus with mtec suspension, rear disc brakes, sports interior and other options.

You could find one within your budget over in the UK, i brought home one last year and inc all expenses and VRT it cost me about 2800 i think... VRT is 340 euro on them.

Its worth splashing out the extra cash because it is a far better car.

To be honest with a max budget of 2000 you might be hard pressed to find even a decent 316, also these cars will need regular jobs done etc.. so that will be further expense.

bucks

Alfasudcrazy wrote:

Nice 320is here.

Would be interested in this myself if I did not own a Golf Gti of the same year.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=697941

Another example of mis guidance from dealers in this country, that looks like a standard 320i.

The 320iS only came in left hand drive and has the same S14 block that came in the E30 M3. It was sold in Portugal and Italy.