what convinced you to buy an e30?

[e30geezer]

i needed a car,

it looked solid enough

it was Ԛ£300

The zone showed me what to look for

best thing i did joining the zone!!

[e30geezer]

It was the add's back in the 80's that got me.
To quote
"First we hang the doors on the car and then we can hang the car on the door's"
"50/50 weight distribution" (not with a fat git in it)

A friend loaned me his merc 190 a few years ago, nice smooth ride but just wasn't as involving as the E30
I always liked the way you can have a nice smooth 6 and then if you want turn it into a gokart

The ultimate driving machine

i agree 100%

[e30geezer]

A friend loaned me his merc 190 a few years ago, nice smooth ride but just wasn't as involving as the E30
I always liked the way you can have a nice smooth 6 and then if you want turn it into a gokart

spot on m8
a friend has a 190 2.5-16 and its no quicker than a sport, not as comfy and less fun.

sport's are great!!

[e30geezer]

many many years ago when i was schhh 15 i had several e21s and stuck with them for 4 or 5 years but then a mate got a brand new 320ise had a go in that and immediately got a 325 and ever since have had every car under the sun buying and selling which has kept me in a long line of e30s think i have had about 30 since i got the bug and still counting got 4 at the moment and severe obbsession disorder according to the misses

what can i say
i found my 1 true love

now that's dedication!!

[e30geezer]

I was on the look out for a Cavalier convertible - in Red of course.

I was travelling all over the place trying to find a decent one (now i know such a thing does not exist) drove past a Seat dealer that had a B plate 323i convertible on the forecourt. That was in 1991, and i managed to buy the 6 year old BM for Ԛ£4200, sold it on 5 years later for Ԛ£2500 with 170k on the clock. Had to change the water pump and clutch, other than that it just went on and on.

Had to sell it in the end as it needed a new diff and the roof was in need of work, i had just got my first place and was skint so it had to go.

Had some FWD wrongness for a few years before stumbling across the 318iS i know have. It used to belong to my girlfriends work colleague, who took early retirement and sold it on to me

Merc 190 i had one for a short while, was my MD's who lent it to me for 5 weeks. It was $hit. So underpowered lorries would overtake me up hills & handled like the QE2. Never again...

the 323i convert's are proper old skool cool!!

[e30geezer]

always liked teh e30 since i wasa kid
remember watching the m3 racing on tv and just wanted one ever since

cply years of driving got me my 316 spent sold that bout a 320 that crushed was gutted bought m old 316 back spent loads on it then had to get rid cos i lodt my job.

went to fwd wrongness cos car was free bought a few other wrong types namly rover turbo
ok i had a bad pahse lol

bought my rocco then got offered silly money for it so sold it and bought nemo

that's really unlucky mate,

[e30geezer]

hate new plasticy jap lookin cars, parents have had 2 e30s and remember maxpower having a purple 320 i think as a cover car,.. wanted 1 since then, told myself that by the time i was 25 i wanted to own a mk1 & mk2 golf, beetle and and an e-dirty, my mission is complete 3 years ahead of schedule.. bonus

i agree, i had a rivage convertible and a mk2 vr6 conversion golf , but still lusted after an e30 .

[e30geezer]

I always liked the way you can have a nice smooth 6 and then if you want turn it into a gokart

The ultimate driving machine

very true!!

[e30geezer]

I have always wanted a BMW after my step dad had an E31... nice 840, it was GORGEOUS with cream leathers.

Then on the 5th of July 2004 I bought my first BM. It was a lovely E28 520, and I am now on my 4th E28 (520, 520, 535 auto, 535 manual), but my friend Ziggy showed me this site and its this site that got me into E30's and that made me buy Ziggy's old 320 thats going to be my 335... I also blame this site for planting the idea of a 335 in my mind! hehe. My intentions are to have the 335 done ready for the ring next year to go porsche + merc bashing!!!! hehe

cant wait to see it !

[e30geezer]

my dads boss had a 323i when the e30 came out the reg was A53 KRE it was black and i loved the shape i was only eight but i still remember me and my dad blasting down the m6!! got my first 325i sport when i was 21 paid eight grand for it H83 OUY wish i still had that now it was mint!! stuck with bmws ever since had two motorsports and four e36 m3's one 3 ltr coupe one evo coupe one evo convertible and now an evo coupe ac schnitzer!!!

very nice collection sir!

[Turbo-Brown]

Well, I got hooked on RWD when I was about 19 in a yellow Volvo 260 (was a 240 untill my Dad and I converted it to a 2.7 V6 )

Then I got hooked on inline 6 engines when I bought the GT6.

Then I bought some fairly sensible FWD cars culminating in a 205GTi 1.9.

The 205 broke down one day on the way into work so I bought a 325i the same day as it combined the RWD and I6 engine, plus I think they look smart in the same way that a decent suit looks smart

Nothing like logic is there

[e30geezer]

after my dad owning BM's since the late 1980's and ranting on about how good they were, after the lotus, countless fiesta's and escorts I finally decided to see what he was on about, I always liked the e30 shape, kind of almost dateless. I found my example in staffs and fell in love with it on the way home. and the arse end out action is well, something fwd could never offer!

great stuff 100% agreed.

[e30geezer]

My dad was a 2nd hand bm dealer for years and he used to race the old gt
bms in the 70s, so he taught me to drive in a mini and a go kart when i was 7, by the time i was ten i was having ago in 2002s and e21 316s. when i got to 12 i came home from school one day and as i walked into
house my old man throws me some keys and says have a look in the garage, rushed in found a e30 323 stock car. i got used to it at lid air port(disused) then raced it for half a season in juinor stock (it got smashed to pieces) but i always loved the drive and rembered it. got my first 325 when i was 16 made it look good for when i passed my test. an since the every time iv sold my 325 iv got something else kept it for a bit and got another e30. cant keep away!!..
sad i know

what a fantastic expeirience!!

[e30geezer]

Some lovely stories here guys

great stuff isnt it!

[6potWil6pot]

Always loved the E30 as a kid, not any specific memories but just liked em loads. When i was older i saw i could actually afford one, so i did, had 3 infact

Ive moved on now but can mark off owning a childhood dream car now!

[e30geezer]

Well, I got hooked on RWD when I was about 19 in a yellow Volvo 260 (was a 240 untill my Dad and I converted it to a 2.7 V6 )

Then I got hooked on inline 6 engines when I bought the GT6.

Then I bought some fairly sensible FWD cars culminating in a 205GTi 1.9.

The 205 broke down one day on the way into work so I bought a 325i the same day as it combined the RWD and I6 engine, plus I think they look smart in the same way that a decent suit looks smart

Nothing like logic is there

very true!!

[e30geezer]

Always loved the E30 as a kid, not any specific memories but just liked em loads. When i was older i saw i could actually afford one, so i did, had 3 infact

Ive moved on now but can mark off owning a childhood dream car now!

there fantastic to own , i agree.

[Taylor325i]

Didn't need any convincing - always wanted one ever since I got into cars as a teenager. Nearly bought a mates mint red G plate 316 about 8 years ago but he decided to keep it and then sold it when I was away on holiday (tosser). About 6 years ago was on the look out for a car after the wife's got nicked. She wanted a cavalier or an escort but one of the dealers that we went to had a mint metallic silver F plate 325i sitting just begging for us to take it home - so we did. It's now my track car! The wife now won't drive anything that's not a Beemer (she's got an E36 is Coupe) and I've got my red 325i which I will never sell. If money and space was not an issue my collection would always include 2 or 3 E30's in amongst the Porsche 993 turbo, 944 turbo and a Ferrari 355 (and an E46 M3 CSL for the missus) - Wishfull f*ckin' thinking.

[e30geezer]

Didn't need any convincing - always wanted one ever since I got into cars as a teenager. Nearly bought a mates mint red G plate 316 about 8 years ago but he decided to keep it and then sold it when I was away on holiday (tosser). About 6 years ago was on the look out for a car after the wife's got nicked. She wanted a cavalier or an escort but one of the dealers that we went to had a mint metallic silver F plate 325i sitting just begging for us to take it home - so we did. It's now my track car! The wife now won't drive anything that's not a Beemer (she's got an E36 is Coupe) and I've got my red 325i which I will never sell. If money and space was not an issue my collection would always include 2 or 3 E30's in amongst the Porsche 993 turbo, 944 turbo and a Ferrari 355 (and an E46 M3 CSL for the missus) - Wishfull f*ckin' thinking.

fantastic !!

[dikky5]

i were lukkin 4 a renault 5 turbo. then realisedi wanted a more substancial fun car plus id already had a 5 turbo replica. sooo then i saw my 325i cheap on ebay and tort what the hell. why not. now im thinkin what 2 do 2 her n lukkin 4ward 2 usc at the pod where my babys gettin badged as a 316 and ill c if i can scare sum dumb saxo and corsa drivin meatheads. lol. i luv it.

[jmc330i]

always liked teh e30 since i wasa kid
remember watching the m3 racing on tv and just wanted one ever since

Exactly the same here.

Then, when I was 20, my brother bought a 1990 320i touring and I loved it. Just had to have my own - but with less doors and bigger engine.
Found out I could insure a 325i sport so started looking. Took me a year and 100s of miles to find the decent one I was after (that lived about 20miles from my house ), but it was well worth the wait.

[e30geezer]

always liked teh e30 since i wasa kid
remember watching the m3 racing on tv and just wanted one ever since

Exactly the same here.

Then, when I was 20, my brother bought a 1990 320i touring and I loved it. Just had to have my own - but with less doors and bigger engine.
Found out I could insure a 325i sport so started looking. Took me a year and 100s of miles to find the decent one I was after (that lived about 20miles from my house ), but it was well worth the wait.

what a fantastic find mate!!

[e30geezer]

i were lukkin 4 a renault 5 turbo. then realisedi wanted a more substancial fun car plus id already had a 5 turbo replica. sooo then i saw my 325i cheap on ebay and tort what the hell. why not. now im thinkin what 2 do 2 her n lukkin 4ward 2 usc at the pod where my babys gettin badged as a 316 and ill c if i can scare sum dumb saxo and corsa drivin meatheads. lol. i luv it.

no that sounds like fun!!

[JonnyDrift]

I always loved the sound of the 6 cylinder BMW engines because my Dad had a 1990 525i when i was a kid.Then went to Galway in 1997 for the International Rally and saw 3 325i sports doing donuts beside each other in the one car park,so i told myself i would have one when money permitted.And now i do and im that loon in the empty carpark

[jmc330i]

always liked teh e30 since i wasa kid
remember watching the m3 racing on tv and just wanted one ever since

Exactly the same here.

Then, when I was 20, my brother bought a 1990 320i touring and I loved it. Just had to have my own - but with less doors and bigger engine.
Found out I could insure a 325i sport so started looking. Took me a year and 100s of miles to find the decent one I was after (that lived about 20miles from my house ), but it was well worth the wait.

what a fantastic find mate!!

Yeah, I couldnt believe it when it came up for sale.

I think I looked at 13 or 14 Sports all over the country and then this one came up for sale just down the road. Never even seen it around before - not really surprising though, when the guy said he only took it out of the garage at weekends and then only if it was dry. He owned it for 7 years and covered just under 10k.

[e30geezer]

Exactly the same here.

Then, when I was 20, my brother bought a 1990 320i touring and I loved it. Just had to have my own - but with less doors and bigger engine.
Found out I could insure a 325i sport so started looking. Took me a year and 100s of miles to find the decent one I was after (that lived about 20miles from my house ), but it was well worth the wait.

what a fantastic find mate!!

Yeah, I couldnt believe it when it came up for sale.

I think I looked at 13 or 14 Sports all over the country and then this one came up for sale just down the road. Never even seen it around before - not really surprising though, when the guy said he only took it out of the garage at weekends and then only if it was dry. He owned it for 7 years and covered just under 10k.

well done my freind so nice when peiple have their dreams come true!!

[Gwynleym10]

I was living in a ponsy marina flat and me and my flat mate thought it would be a good chat up line to say "yea i live on the marina and own a bmw..."
I then bought my 87 318i on a rather hung over sunday morning....was only 19 at the time... still got the damm thing now 4.5 years later! Sadly the chat up line did work...but only with dum blondes...



Oh and my dad had an early sport until it got rear ended 4months from new.. ..He never bought another bmw.... I liked it though!

Also e30's are damm good cars!

[e30geezer]

I was living in a ponsy marina flat and me and my flat mate thought it would be a good chat up line to say "yea i live on the marina and own a bmw..."
I then bought my 87 318i on a rather hung over sunday morning....was only 19 at the time... still got the damm thing now 4.5 years later! Sadly the chat up line did work...but only with dum blondes...



Oh and my dad had an early sport until it got rear ended 4months from new.. ..He never bought another bmw.... I liked it though!

Also e30's are damm good cars!

totally agree!!

[billgatese30]

well i was looking out to buy something that handled well, went with a little bit gusto and that i could get insured on at 18

was thinking along the lines of an mg midget or something so that i could get the cheap insurance and then go to a bigger engine later.

then started p1ssing around on the web one afternoon at college and realised that there was no end of e30's in the trader for cheap prices. my mam had a 318i when it was new in 1990 and even then i knew that it was such a solid car. unbelievable biuld quality. plus it always looked good and still does.

i then started messing around with online quotes for insurance to see if i could get insured on a 316i/318i. then realised i could get a 320i, then the 318is, then i realised that i could insure a 325i, then i realised that they didn't charge anymore for the sport...........and this was all within 10 quid of premium that i had paid the year previously for a 1.2 clio.

at that point i searched a few forums, got the buyers guide in classic car magazine and thats where i learnt about this place. (or at least the old zone)

and then started my very tiring journey of working Simon down to selling his sport...........which took some doing, thank chrsit he found an m3, otherwise i would still be grinding him down persueding him to sell the bugger.

and the rest is history.

[e30geezer]

well i was looking out to buy something that handled well, went with a little bit gusto and that i could get insured on at 18

was thinking along the lines of an mg midget or something so that i could get the cheap insurance and then go to a bigger engine later.

then started p1ssing around on the web one afternoon at college and realised that there was no end of e30's in the trader for cheap prices. my mam had a 318i when it was new in 1990 and even then i knew that it was such a solid car. unbelievable biuld quality. plus it always looked good and still does.

i then started messing around with online quotes for insurance to see if i could get insured on a 316i/318i. then realised i could get a 320i, then the 318is, then i realised that i could insure a 325i, then i realised that they didn't charge anymore for the sport...........and this was all within 10 quid of premium that i had paid the year previously for a 1.2 clio.

at that point i searched a few forums, got the buyers guide in classic car magazine and thats where i learnt about this place. (or at least the old zone)

and then started my very tiring journey of working Simon down to selling his sport...........which took some doing, thank chrsit he found an m3, otherwise i would still be grinding him down persueding him to sell the bugger.

and the rest is history.

what a great story,

[johnono]

we were about 17 and a fella we knew, who was a bit of a lad like , pulls up by us one night as we were hanging around.

325i sport, full leather, elecs the lot.

gave us a lift down the road to our houses, screamed it all the way.

ill never forget the sound of that car, and im sure it was standard as i hear the same sound now and again and i still get twanged.

[e30geezer]

we were about 17 and a fella we knew, who was a bit of a lad like , pulls up by us one night as we were hanging around.

325i sport, full leather, elecs the lot.

gave us a lift down the road to our houses, screamed it all the way.

ill never forget the sound of that car, and im sure it was standard as i hear the same sound now and again and i still get twanged.

same here bud there addicrive!!

[Lordschleife]

I wanted something to take to the ring, so it had to be german - had problems getting CRX brake pads while out there in the past
I also wanted RWD, and it had to be cheap with a bit of power
Didnt really leave too many options so I got an e30 325i

When that was sadly no more I decided to try an iS as I'd developed a liking for e30s and its not too down on power to the 325 esp being lighter, cheaper on petrol and more chuckable too
Just makes me want an m3 now though

[e30geezer]

I wanted something to take to the ring, so it had to be german - had problems getting CRX brake pads while out there in the past
I also wanted RWD, and it had to be cheap with a bit of power
Didnt really leave too many options so I got an e30 325i

When that was sadly no more I decided to try an iS as I'd developed a liking for e30s and its not too down on power to the 325 esp being lighter, cheaper on petrol and more chuckable too
Just makes me want an m3 now though

that's quite intresting, i also had a silver h reg 318is i bought from wiltshire, i thought it was very chuckable, and great fun aswell!! they are very nippy cars.

[Lordschleife]

I wanted something to take to the ring, so it had to be german - had problems getting CRX brake pads while out there in the past
I also wanted RWD, and it had to be cheap with a bit of power
Didnt really leave too many options so I got an e30 325i

When that was sadly no more I decided to try an iS as I'd developed a liking for e30s and its not too down on power to the 325 esp being lighter, cheaper on petrol and more chuckable too
Just makes me want an m3 now though

that's quite intresting, i also had a silver h reg 318is i bought from wiltshire, i thought it was very chuckable, and great fun aswell!! they are very nippy cars.

Yeah they're great fun for driving hard - just gotta keep the revs up
325i is better for relaxed driving/cruising/motorway mile munching though