E30 Zone

Afternoon from a wet and windy coventry !

In the process of finding myself a decent E30.. Currently tooling about in the mother in laws L200 Mitsi Warrior pickup, desperatley wanting rid of my *YAWN* VX Vectra diesel and getting myself a PROPER car !

I have looked at a few 'sheds' of the E30 variety, and still on the hunt (I feel this quest may take up a lot of my time going by some of the *cough* VGC ones i have seen)


I am torn between the looks and 'rarity' (sp) of the 318iS or if funds allow a good 325i.....

the missus has an E36 M3 Evo that I get to play in every so often, and I am being drawn towards the badge of the beeeemer !

Apart from the 'tin worm' what pointers can you give me to look at on either of the above motors ?

Thanks Gents (and ladies)

(Good site by the way - looks like i could spend alot of time here mooching about)

StuartG

Welcome to the zone fella.

There is a what to look for guide by andyboy which will tell you all you need to know..

I'm sure someone will post the link up soon enough.. Enjoy you stay and good luck with the search.

Welcome Stuart.

Common problems with e30's:

-Rust - Front and rear scuttle, sunroof trays, rear arches inner and outer, front 'jacking points,' bulkhead near the fusebox, any area there has been an 'insurance(read cheap)' repair.

Central locking issues, easy fix usually depending how far the owner has let it get.

Rear subframe bushes wear at some rate, cunt of a job

Rear brake lines are nasty

Fuel leaks from rusty filler necks(read inner arches likely to be fucked and write off the car)

Headlights are just poor. Need HIDs which are easily obtainable now at about £35. Easy job.


Being German they are nice and easy to work on though. Unlike french things were they don't think about what they are doing when they make them.

325 specific problems:

Cracks head for fun if they overheat. Headgasket gone usually means the head is scrap as well.
Rockers can go, but with only major rpm caining all the time on miley examples.
Cambelts need changing more than a chain
Oil leaks, you name it, it probably leaks. Sump gasket is particularly sad.

318is specific problems:

Lack of power
Profile gasket which is a sad job. Head and chain off.
Rattling chains at +3000rpm. Sometimes an easy fix with an e36 tensioner. Again depends how long its been neglected.


A few things to get you started anyhow.

Jon

Excellent !!

Thanks a million for the info - VERY useful.. heard about the head / overheating issue and obviously the rust issues ;)

will try and dig up the "what to look for thread" too

Thanks people..

There was a buying guide based on the sport which was largely relevant for all models. Was in the Technical Seciton, but I think it's been hidden on some wiki page or some crap.