BMW 3 Series (E30)

greenmachine88

I'm on the look out for this particular car, anyone know if they are any good?

TherapyBoy

Good as in..?

I have a 91 e30 cab and I absolutely love it. I love driving it, washing it, looking at it even, I always get comments about it wherever I go. Drives fantastic and it's great when the sun decides to shine, and there's a good community of e30 owners in Ireland.

However, it drinks petrol, eats my wallet and takes up a lot of time keeping it the way I want it. Taxing & insuring it aren't much fun either.

If you're a car fanatic you'll love it, just take your time finding the right one

mickdw

A good one will be very good. IF you get a nice example in factory trim & not abused by some boyracer, you could have a lovely dateless car.

DF1

TherapyBoy wrote: »

Good as in..?

I have a 91 e30 cab and I absolutely love it. I love driving it, washing it, looking at it even, I always get comments about it wherever I go. Drives fantastic and it's great when the sun decides to shine, and there's a good community of e30 owners in Ireland.

However, it drinks petrol, eats my wallet and takes up a lot of time keeping it the way I want it. Taxing & insuring it aren't much fun either.

If you're a car fanatic you'll love it, just take your time finding the right one

Thought the 320i could get around 40mpg if driven correctly ?

Stevie Dakota

DF1 wrote: »

Thought the 320i could get around 40mpg if driven correctly ?

Define correctly. With that silky engine 'correctly' is visiting 6000rpm frequently and kissing your mpg goodbye. 40mpg is dreaming in any straight 6, 2liter BMW really.

DF1

DF1 wrote: »

Thought the 320i could get around 40mpg if driven correctly ?

No chance I'd think in reality. Hard to get a good E30 now, unless you settle for a 4 door and even them have been bastadised now.

rebel.ranter

Just bear in mind that most will be over 20 years old at this stage (OK I know there are '91 coupé/Saloons & up to 94 Tourings, but you know what I mean).
I had a 316 (1.8L carb) & a 325i e30. I thought they were both brilliant in their own way. The e30 drives very well even by today's standards, they are very easy to work on from a DIY point of view. Parts are readily available from the dealer & the independent specialists like GSF, Eurocarparts, Otto, etc.
Also there is a great following for the cars too, loads of enthusiast forums, etc.
Check out:
http://www.e30owners.com/forums/

You will get loads of advice on what to watch out for, heck you might even find the one you are after advertised in the for sale section!
Also for a more global view:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20

Like any other car you should ensure that the following are looked after:

Cooling system preventative maintenance:
- Thermostat replaced
- Water pump replaced
- Radiator pressure tested & re-cored if required
- Flexible hoses checked/replaced
- There was also a recall on all radiator caps from BMWs of that era. Worth getting a new one just for peace of mind

Suspension
- Inner & outer front balljoints checked
- Front wishbone rubbers checked/replaced
- Rear subframe bushings checked/replaced
- Obviously tired shocks & springs should be checked/replaced too
- Rear top shock mountings seem to be an ongoing multi-generational BMW issue

Electrical
- The batteries in the dash clocks can corrode causing issues with all the clocks. Check for any problmes with the Service Light Indicatiors
- The electrical connector between the door & the car can get corroded causing issues with the central locking, electric mirrors & windows. Most e30 have central locking as standard, check the operation of the central locking.
- Central Locking control unit can also suffer with corrosion.
- check for water damage on the ECU, just to ensure you don't suffer any problems with the ECU in the future.

Body
- The rear tail light if not properly sealed can let in water (to the boot).
- The front rain drains can block causing water to go into the front floor wells. Check the carpet for staining.
- Perished seals on the headlights can let water in too
- Check for rust around the bottom of the windscreen, notorious spot for it.

Brakes
- The pedal can feel strange because of the linkage that runs from the right to the left of the car. You might need to replace some parts of this system.
- I also remember having to replace the master cylinder in both of mine

Gearbox
- They all leak from where the selector shaft comes out of the car, replacing them only lasts a short while too
- Put the car in 2nd gear & apply a bit of acceleration to check that it doesn't pop out of gear.

316 non-fuel injected model was dead enough, I would avoid (had one myself). The 316i/318i are slow but not as bad a people make out, 318iS are fetching big money, nice engine but have to question wheter it is worth the premium in asking price, 320i is not much faster than a 318i but as thirsty as a 325i. For me the 325i is the one to go for, best fun! (I ignored the 323i & 333i, probably not really as readily available). I also left out the M3 too, THE nicest but €10k-€20k is the run of these now.

Here is a nice honest looking example of a 318iS:
http://www.bmw-driver.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20472

Or a Touring resto project?:
http://www.bmw-driver.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22120

No doubt you will have to do a lot of searching for a good one.

The list above is not exhaustive but it will give you some idea. I think the e30 should give you some cheap, fun motoring. Best of luck if you get one.

Muckie

Had a fine 1985 320 for three years great car to work on.

Great piece of German engineering.

They still look good even today, the trick is finding a nice well

minded example. Bring a mechanic when your going on a viewing.

Get it and it'll last you for years.

andyseadog

what to look for?

welded diffs!

any signs of boyracer treatment, just walk away

Seth Brundle

DF1 wrote: »

Thought the 320i could get around 40mpg if driven correctly ?

Having owned one, all I can say is: not a hope!

Anyhow, I still miss mine having sold it about 7 years ago. I replaced it with two different 5 series which both had more power on tap adn were more refined but nowhere near as much fun.

MagicMarker

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/1381518

mondeo

I see a good few not very nicely modified boyracery 316 318's knocking about. Probaly had the sh!t driven out of them! I'd say going for the bigger engines will probably guarantee it never had the boy racer treatment. Nice old cars though I'd love one but it would have to be a proper 6 cylinder one.

Seth Brundle

that seems like a nice example!

kdevitt

DF1 wrote: »

Thought the 320i could get around 40mpg if driven correctly ?

It'll probably get around 25MPG if driven correctly - they are thirsty. The last 320i I had got significantly less.

Great car - but I wouldn't buy one unless you're slightly capable mechanically. They all suffer slight issues at this stage, and it'll hurt having to pay someone else to do everything.

They're prone to rust - in reality you need to get the back seats removed, front carpets out, to check some areas of it too.

TherapyBoy

DF1 wrote: »

Thought the 320i could get around 40mpg if driven correctly ?

Maybe when it was new, anyways mine is 325i :cool: