1990 BMW e30 325i

[AndeeG]

I've always liked BMW e30's for some reason. I think they look cool and from what I've heard they drive well. About a week ago I saw one on craigslist for $2300. It seemed to be in fairly good condition with a few minor problems that would need to be resolved. I checked again today and the guy selling it has lowered the price down to only $1500. As far as I can tell this is a great deal considering the car's condition.

The car has about 120,000 miles, which seems a bit less than average for an e30 of this age. Under pros he lists almost new tires, a very recent transmission service, a top end rebuild 2 years ago, and a few others. However, problems include a "pretty slow leak" from the transmission input seal, rusted sunroof, no glovebox, the gas gauge stuck on full, and a thermostat that needs to be replaced. From his description, it sounds like I would be able to fix the gas gauge and thermostat myself for relatively low cost. All things considered, is $1500 a good price for this?

Also, for anyone that has experience with e30's, what do you think of them in general? This would be my first car and my first stick. Right now I'm driving my parents' '94 land cruiser but I'd like to get something of my own that's smaller, gets better mileage and is more fun to drive. As for driving a manual, I've practiced a few times on my friend's Mercedes and I think it'd make driving much more interesting.

 

[996GT2]

Can't comment much on BMWs in general, but I do know that European cars from the early 1990s were generally pretty reliable, even almost 20 years later. A friend of mine has a 1990 Audi 20V Coupe, and it has almost no major issues despite being 17 years old. When he bought the car, it had a few issues, just like the BMW you describe, but he was able to get them all taken care of without major expenses and the car is a joy to drive (I tried to learn stick on it lol).

I would, however, take along someone experienced with cars to check out that BMW before you buy. The price is very attractive, but it's worth inspecting it to make sure that the "pretty slow leak" isn't caused by some major problem with the transmission.

 

[AndeeG]

I just got an email response from the guy answering a few questions and this was what he had to say regarding the transmission leak:

"- The transmission just had the fluid changed and they figured out the leak was coming from the input shaft. By my understanding the whole transmission would have to come out to replace the seal so I opted to keep a close eye on the level. If you were looking for a daily driver it would definitely need to be fixed, not the hardest 3 series repair ever, but definately time consuming. "

He also has a wrecked '86 325es, from which he'd be willing to give me a non-rusted sunroof of the same color and the glovebox if I wanted it.

 

[alkemyst]

late 80's to mid 90's BMW 3 series were great. Lots of my friends and their parents had them when I was in high school. They have a nice tight feel and the seats were really supportive.

 

[woodie1]

I had a 1993 325i and it was a good performing car. This was back in 1993 so I cannot vouch for their dependability today from personal experience but at that price you can do a lot of repairs and still not have a lot of money tied up in a great car.

 

[Colt45]

Does it snow where you live? Winter tires might not be a bad idea.


Does it have the ugly chrome bumpers that stick out 6", or the later ones the are more like the european ones?

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: Colt45
Does it snow where you live? Winter tires might not be a bad idea.


Does it have the ugly chrome bumpers that stick out 6", or the later ones the are more like the european ones?

That was the e21 and e28. Gotta love the diving boards.

 

[luckysnafu]

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: Colt45
Does it snow where you live? Winter tires might not be a bad idea.


Does it have the ugly chrome bumpers that stick out 6", or the later ones the are more like the european ones?

That was the e21 and e28. Gotta love the diving boards.

Early e30's (84-86) had the aluminum diving board bumpers. I had an 84 318i that had them and my dad's 86 325e has them as well.

As for the car, $1500 for only 120k miles sounds like a pretty good deal. If you need to fix something, chances are there will be a junkyard around you that has multiple e30s in it. The e30 is a very reliable car, at least mine was. It never let me down or stranded me anywhere. It lasted well over 250k miles and is currently being parted down since it went through a flood at my parents house. If you have more questions, I would head over to these websites:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com.../forumdisplay.php?f=20
http://www.bmwe30.net/

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: luckysnafu

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: Colt45
Does it snow where you live? Winter tires might not be a bad idea.


Does it have the ugly chrome bumpers that stick out 6", or the later ones the are more like the european ones?

That was the e21 and e28. Gotta love the diving boards.

Early e30's (84-86) had the aluminum diving board bumpers. I had an 84 318i that had them and my dad's 86 325e has them as well.

As for the car, $1500 for only 120k miles sounds like a pretty good deal. If you need to fix something, chances are there will be a junkyard around you that has multiple e30s in it. The e30 is a very reliable car, at least mine was. It never let me down or stranded me anywhere. It lasted well over 250k miles and is currently being parted down since it went through a flood at my parents house. If you have more questions, I would head over to these websites:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com.../forumdisplay.php?f=20
http://www.bmwe30.net/

Oh yeah they did. Whenever I think of those bumpers, e21 and e28 come to mind.

The E30 is probably one of the best BMW every built; reliability wise. This was in the day where they'd take the parts' expected strength and longevity and multiply it by threefold, and put parts of that caliber on the cars. Compared to the E36 or E46, the E30 is a tank.

 

[shocksyde]

I loooooove the late 80's/early 90's BMWs. GET IT!

 

[AndeeG]

Originally posted by: woodie1
I had a 1993 325i and it was a good performing car. This was back in 1993 so I cannot vouch for their dependability today from personal experience but at that price you can do a lot of repairs and still not have a lot of money tied up in a great car.

I'm pretty sure if it was a '93 then that would have been an e36, the next generation.

Originally posted by: luckysnafu
As for the car, $1500 for only 120k miles sounds like a pretty good deal. If you need to fix something, chances are there will be a junkyard around you that has multiple e30s in it. The e30 is a very reliable car, at least mine was. It never let me down or stranded me anywhere. It lasted well over 250k miles and is currently being parted down since it went through a flood at my parents house. If you have more questions, I would head over to these websites:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com.../forumdisplay.php?f=20
http://www.bmwe30.net/

Thanks for the info and encouragement. I've already posted a thread on bmwe30.net and those guys have been pretty. I'll definitely check out the other forum too.