How much should I be looking to spend...

[Raz316]

Hello you lot, since scrapping my last E30 in September I've been praying for the day I can afford to get another one. I had an old clio for a while and even worse since November I've been drivng an old gutless Ford Escort

Anyhoo, after going without alcohol and sticking to 'smart price' food I am now, I think, in a position to be able to afford a half decent E30. So I ask you, how much should I be looking to spend on one?

Could I get a decent 325i for £1500 or is that pushing it? I had sports seats in my old one and I think I'd like the same again, would going for these (and in an ideal situation, in leather) jack up the price alot? At the same time, I obviously would rather not pay over the odds.

I had a 316i before, would the running costs be that much more for a 325i?

Finally, sorry, this has no doubt been posted hundreds of times before, but my search attempts seemed to either find every post, or none at all! Cheers.

P.S. As a side question, has anyone ever driven an old 635?

[Ziggy]

Yeah you can certainly get a nice solid 325i for 1.5k - buy on condition not spec, & if it doesn't have sport seats they're really not much effort to fit afterwards! You should be able to find something for £1k really - leaving you some change for a nice leather interior & maybe some wheels or something too!

[Speedtouch]

I sold my '88 325iSE last January for £1200 - and promptly regretted it! You can get 30mpg on a run if you're careful, though mid-20's average is more realistic.

Not driven a 635CSi, though there was a nice burgundy C-reg one parked opposite my parent's house today. I drive an '88 E34 535iSE manual (same engine as the 635CSi) and it's a beast though a bit juicy with low 20's mpg with even moderately sporty driving, though it is possible to get near 30mpg on a long motorway cruise. It is capable of almost 150mph though!

Good luck with your search dude.

[Raz316]

Brilliant, thanks you two. I think I'll start looking around now, and once I get paid at the end of the month I'll be ready

[mikeyboy]

well mate you should be able to i spent less than £500 on mine and i spent a further £500 on the welding and spraying to bring it up to standard. not a sport but a 325i and i have most of the history, BBS wheels and it it is clean and tidy with black sport interior with red piping!

happy hunting!

[fuzzy]

hello mate, youll get a good 325 for that cash. i got my touring for £1200 with mtec kit,lsd,leather interior,all electrics 1 year mot and 80000 miles on the clock. it is a solid clean example and never welded and doesnt need any underneath .take your time and youll find a good one.

[Raz316]

Great news thanks!

I can't remember if it was from this forum or not, but I remember hearing that the 320i isn't that great, in what sense is that? I used to love driving my 316i, so it wouldn't be that bad... right?

[march109]

320 is a poor mans 325, same fuel economy but not the same performance.

The b20 has its fans, but then so do Leeds Utd you just can't tell some people!

[Raz316]

Got ya, so basically if I had a choice between a 318 and a 320, the former?

[march109]

nah I'd buy a 325 every time!

Gun to my head time I'd take the 320 for sound and the slight performance gain, but if your not a big earner or a member of opec the 320 will break your back compared to the 38 on fuel costs if you tend to do high mileages.

[Raz316]

Haha, well obviously a 325 would be first choice ;) Im just thinking in terms of a 'backup plan'. I think I'd prefer a car in really good condition over engine size to start with.

[blitz877]

theres nowt wrong with the 320, iv had 2 of them, but id have a 325 if i could mate

[Bob_S]

318is, 325i or a 327i if you find a cheap one.. I just picked one up with no rust, sports seats, lsd, billies, 1k needs a bit of work but spent the best part of.. £50 so far? done 3k miles in it now

[Speedtouch]

320i's are generally far cheaper to buy and aren't that bad on performance once you get them wound up, they just lack low-down torque. What's more, they're the smoothest engine of the lot (comparable to a Jag V12 for refinement) and the heads are less prone to cracking than the 325i ones. I owned two of the earlier pre-facelift L-Jetronic ones and they were extremely reliable despite the occasional hammering (both had over 100K miles) and gave around 26mpg average. 325i has noticeably more get up and go however, and is more rorty in feel.

[Raz316]

Cheers for all the responses everyone. Seems like basically I can't lose regardless of the engine.

Speedtouch: I see you're in canterbury, any pics of your car?

[Careanla]

I have a 320i and it's standard apart from a K&N that I got for free. it does suffer low down in revs and that can be annoying but once you get up the revs it sounds fantastic... puts a smile on my face every time, even more now with the deeper tone from the K&N.

Mixed town/country is about 20-25mpg
Long motorway run is about 28-33mpg

I do on average 200-300 miles a week and it is costly to run but sod it lol

[murran]

a sound 320i is considerably cheap, compared to 325i can pick up a 320i for 4-500 quid in good nick with test. dont go 4 cylinder. the smoothness of the 6 pot is well worth the drop in mpg.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1991-BMW-E30-320I ... dZViewItem
this isnt a rusty dog.......

[Speedtouch]

Cheers for all the responses everyone. Seems like basically I can't lose regardless of the engine.

Speedtouch: I see you're in canterbury, any pics of your car?

Your wish is my command!
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z300 ... ent=os.jpg
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z300 ... lowosf.jpg
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z300 ... terior.jpg
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z300 ... engine.jpg