Half rant half Q: Are E30's unreliable or is it just mine?

[MrDazzle]

Hi,

Just been dropped off from the garage. I got dropped off 'cause my car decided it didn't want to take me home.

I only took it in there to get the tracking re-checked (free check 2 weeks after it's set). The guy started it up to drive it off the lift and there's a suprisingly loud 'BOOM!'...part of the cooling system breaks and starts leaking. It's only a plastic connector bit that probably costs £5, but still...it's enough to leak a load of coolant out. Since I'm not familiar with what purpose this particular part serves, I thought it best to find out before attempting to drive the car home...gotta go back tonight and collect it somehow.

It wouldn't be that annoying, if it weren't the latest in a line of problems.

I can't be bothered with going into a list of problems with the car, but basically since I' bought it in Dec 2006 it's had a total of 2 months off the road, and in all the time it's been on the road I think it's had about a week with everything working perfectly.

Now...it is an 18 year old car. Maybe I'm being unreasonable in expecting everything to work all the time. To be fair, when things need fixing or replacing there's generally a minimum of fuss involved. I.e. nuts don't get seized etc. However, it would be nice to have at least a little bit of time when I'm not thinking about the list of problems with me car.

Am I being unrealistic? Is this part of E30 ownership...?

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Like any cars, there's good and bad about mate. Though you're more likely to have bad with these old turds, not only by way of age, but because the probability increases that it's fell into the hands of cretins at some point.

[Simon13]

how old are E30's now? running one everyday can get very boring. I've just stopped after 6 years and am relieved!

[MrDazzle]

I think part of the problem might be that as I was growing up my parents always had brand new cars...my first car was a 2001 Ford Focus too. Maybe I'm expecting too much from a car that's only a little bit younger than me!

Still...seriously thinking about chopping it in for the first time. Unfortunately I don't have space to keep 2 cars and I need something more consistant.

[pacerpete]

Well maintained good E30s are extremely reliable user friendly cars but scrap or gold plated turds will carry on biting you until you get serious and go through the car systematically or sell it. Alas most peoples idea of maintenance /servicing is addressing the MOT fil sheet !

[MrDazzle]

I think you're right...

However, it's whether or not you have the time/space/skills/money/patience to go through an do everything that's the issue. If the E30 were my second car I wouldn't worry about it, but having it as an only form of transport is another matter.

[Grrrmachine]

Having any car over, say, 10 years old means either having time and tools to put it right occasionally, or having the cash to let someone else do it for you. All I can say is that a BMW will cause headaches after 20 years of faithful service, unlike a Ford which will bleed your wallet dry after 8 years.

Take your time and get it right; better the Devil you know, after all.

[jimmyspeed]

from my experience you generally get what u pay for with them, unless you are lucky or search for a long time!!!! the first i had cost 400 went for a few months then blew up whilst going up a hill, second one cost a grand has been perfect over the last 10, 000miles !!!! only things gone wrong are blown bulbs !! wouldnt have a new car even if u paid me the amount it devalued!!

[darkchild]

Well maintained good E30s are extremely reliable user friendly cars but scrap or gold plated turds will carry on biting you until you get serious and go through the car systematically or sell it. Alas most peoples idea of maintenance /servicing is addressing the MOT fil sheet !

Spot on Pete. Buy a decent one to start with and it will treat you very well. Mine was a low mileage (62K) example that has clearly led a pampered and garaged life. In 2.5 years of ownership its cost me 4 tyres and a cambelt in addition to regular servicing. I can't argue with that.

[Jhonno]

ive never had any none self induced issues with any of my e30's

[capri_rob]

Mine is 21 Years old with 131k on the clock - gets used sometimes during the week and most weekends, recently did a 500+ mile weekend round the lakes including some very steep mountain passes - never missed a beat.

My previous 3 E30's never let me down either. I think they're great cars.

Buy the best one you can and spend money on decent parts and you won't go far wrong.

If you think E30's are unreliable you could always try a 20 Year old French turd and see how you get on - thats if you can find a 20 Year old French turd that hasn't turned into a pile of rust.

[MrDazzle]

People are saying 'buy the best one you can' etc...

My car wasn't exactly cheap and the previous owner got it featured in Total BMW magazine. It's only ever received genuine BMW parts (unless they're uprated). The things that have gone wrong have been things I've not touched. Maybe i'm just unlucky.

[capri_rob]

Sounds like you have just been unlucky then mate - thats of course assuming that you don't rag the nuts off it every time you use it

Got any pics ?

[Theo]

from my experience you generally get what u pay for with them

Here we see how that generalisation isn't true

[MrDazzle]

Sounds like you have just been unlucky then mate - thats of course assuming that you don't rag the nuts off it every time you use it

Got any pics ?

Well maybe not rag...but then I don't drive like an old lady either. However, I'd be very very suprised if I drove it anywhere near hard enough to explain the problems.

To be fair, it's only suffered catastrophic failure once. ALl the rest is stupid stuff...broken speedo, no electric windows, interior lights gone, new front wishbone etc. Little things that aren't really that important, but just annoy me. I've probably only spent <£750 on it in the 2 years I've owned it.

EDIT: whoever owns it after me though, will probably get the most reliable E30 there is, simply 'cause of all the common problem bits i've replaced!

[DavieP]

^^^ Wot they've all said. Buy cheap, treat cheap and you get cheap. Mine has never let me down, although there have been a couple things that needed replacing. It gets serviced as necessary and I like to think that I look after it well and treat it with respect. As a 'daily driver' it's far better than quite a few brand new cars I've had in the past and I can't think of anything else I'd rather have. Considering it is 20 years old it's a great motor.

[capri_rob]

£750 in 2 Years isnt that bad - just think If you had bought a new car you would have probably lost that much in depreciation in less than 6 months.

Sounds like typical old car faults as well. Stick with it mate

[oze30]

I've had endless problems with mine. But I think thats due to different engines doing different things to my car!

So far:
2 rads on the E30
2 rads on the V8 (hopefully this will be the last!)
2 PAS pumps (v8)
1 Diff back plate (V8)
Broke down 3 time to put the driveshafts back onto the diff output 1 in MK, 1 on the M1 in peak hour and 1 when I was faffing around and desided to check it. Shaft was held in by 3 bolts! Yes you do have to swap the cups over from Z3 to E30 diffs!

numerous little problems -
Tacho dies/works but reads wrong
Shifter has a JB weld fix on the lengthened shafts
Brake leaks (Rear MC resevoir leaking)
Snapped handbrake cable losing everything on that side (munched!)
possible wheel bearing now or lower arm (wheel moves front to rear but not top to bottom)
Fuse blowing on the AC rad fan as it tries to cool the M30/M60
Lights . Don't even go there!




A car is a car. If it's a daily driver, get a newer one that won't give you grief.


OR

If your like me and like tinkering, get an E30 and do stuff to it. I know which one i would have!!

[oldroydsr4]

my old 325i, was used mainly for track/ drift and general abuse. It never let me down and just begged for more, it was bullet proof. Unfortunately the dreaded tin worm claimed it.

Obviously you have to maintaine it accordingly tho.

[e30bmlover]

the 320 never let me down!! ok the m20b20 pissed out oil... but the engine oil light saved my ass every time! the 87' B25 dosent lose a drop......... i check the oil in her regardless... she will serve me well... 320 converted 325's ftw!

[maxfield]

Starts first time every time!

Gets me everywhere on the redline.

Gets me to London and back everyweek.

Hasn't missed a beat.

M40 FTW.

[fingerman]

A lot of the time it's down to luck I guess

I've never had any of my E30's break down on me or have drastic engine problems, only one of my E34's broke down as the battery went and alternator - quite a cheap fix and the car only cost me £130 !

Anyway the newer the car the more problems I've had - my first e39 had no end of problems and cost me a small fortune ! My second one had a great service history etc etc but when I had it, it broke down 3 times so I got rid !

Just before I got out of the company car scheme I had a 52 plate focus diesel and that had no end of problems - fuel pumps etc, what a bag of sh!t

E30's (and E34's) are great little cars - cheap to run and fix and it's it's to bad a problem then get another, they're cheap enough!

[goosiegander]

My car was an absolute turd when i got it (aside from the lack of rust), i've spent the last few years now slowly working through to bring it back to a semi respectable state (except the interior which is skip like at best).


In fairness i bought a car with no history and 16 years of apparent neglect, but i enjoy a challange and its been very rewarding so far, stick with it!

[fuzzy]

only 2 months of the road in nearly 2 years? try fitting a ford engine and that would be a good result.

[snoops]

I had a 316i m40 and the head gasket went

then I had a 318i and the head gasket was on its way out and it was burning far too much oil as it wasn't leaking any, dropping below the minimum level every couple of days

then my 320i had an engine fault which I didn't bother to check as I scrapped the car

now I'm onto a b25 and lets hope it serves me well

[dimebag_from_hell]

My m20 hasnt given me any problems, but then again it hardly gets driven, mostly admired and used for crusing on hot days. Well my mate bought a sport recently, sold it 6 months later and said he will never touch an e30 ever again

[Morat]

Find a garage that knows e30s and get it up on their lift for a good inspection/sort out session. They are pretty simple cars to work on so they shouldn't be charging the earth.

[Felix79]

I had 3 E30's and they all been pretty good. I just had a heap of stuff go wrong on my cab and it's cost a fair bit to fix but it's still a quality car.

Imagin driving a Fiat or an Alfa of the same age, they would be a million times worse than your E30 experince.

The key with any older car is making sure you keep up the matience , don't take short cuts and just teat the car with a little bit of respect and it will be as solid as a rusty rock.

When I drive my E30 I always have a smile on my face and it still get alot of respect on the road which a 2001 Focus just wouldn't do.