E30 Zone

Im currenty looking for a 318is, ive found a really nice one, tidy bodywork, no rot and mint interior but its done 165000 miles, should i let this put me off, the owner is looking for around £1600.

I dont mind swapping the engine in future should it pack in but would an engine swap devalue the car?

Over 183.000, cos thats my latest buy

I dont think an engine swap will devalue the car if it is done well. The cam chain should be changed at some point, from memory its 140k. Has that been done?

You can spend a few hundred pounds fixing an engine and £1000s on bodywork so I'd go for it if the body and trim are good.

Is the price negotiable?

over 200,000.........

as long as its running nice and as above the bodywork is in good order,thats probly grand

any pics?

Baffles me,all this pre-occupation with low milage cars!
We have a fleet of '07 Mercedes trucks at work,they have run 600,000 klm now,still drive almost like the '59 plate one's that arrived last week...
OK,a car is somewhat different than a truck that is built to munch miles on the motorway,but...
Proper maintainance that can be established is far more important than low miles IMO.
A 30,000 mile E30 could just have been used by a GP doing house calls for 10 years,constant cold starts,constand getting in and out across those seat bolsters..
A 200,000 mile one may well have sat on the motorway at 65mph all it's life,I know which I would go for..

my old astravans passed 210000 miles and is still in good shape. maintenance is the key. my van wont be the norm but its been well looked after from new by the fireservice so it shows it does make the difference.

Thanks for the speedy replies, i cant confirm if the chain has been done, so i would do this straight away. What sort of cost would i be looking at for this?

i work it out over the average 12,000 miles a year, so my 1988 316 with 67,000 on the clock has only done 3223 miles a year, so well under, in theory a 21 year old car thats covered average should be 252,000 miles, so anything under is low mileage, thats how i always justify buying a car with alot of miles on it,

daimlerman wrote:Baffles me,all this pre-occupation with low milage cars!
We have a fleet of '07 Mercedes trucks at work,they have run 600,000 klm now,still drive almost like the '59 plate one's that arrived last week...
OK,a car is somewhat different than a truck that is built to munch miles on the motorway,but...
Proper maintainance that can be established is far more important than low miles IMO.
A 30,000 mile E30 could just have been used by a GP doing house calls for 10 years,constant cold starts,constand getting in and out across those seat bolsters..
A 200,000 mile one may well have sat on the motorway at 65mph all it's life,I know which I would go for..

Or 30000 miles by sitting in the garage most of its life.

I have owned many high mileage E30's and none were anything remotely like my sport which had 32k on it when i got it 3 years ago.

Low mileage comands a premium, always has, always will and that goes for any car/van/bike etc.

I had the pleasure of working on a '95 840Ci today that had 16k on it. It was like a new car! The same could not be said for a 200k+ one!

most average e30's ive seen had around the 150-180 thousand miles on them although they were all 6 pots.

smithysmith wrote:Thanks for the speedy replies, i cant confirm if the chain has been done, so i would do this straight away. What sort of cost would i be looking at for this?

Chris Warburton lists it at £250, are you anywhere him?

On the flip side, my Mrs E36 323i saloon has done 172k and is still on the original clutch, the engine box and diff are bone dry and have never leaked any fluids in its life. Still drives very well but has had most of the suspension replaced as it felt like it had done 150k when we got it.

My 325i touring today turned over to 223,000miles, its newish to me (posted pics earlier in gallery) and i am so surprised how well it has worn. Exterior/interior in really fab condition, aswell as the engine, so as others have said if well cared for and there is little rot, i'd go for it and wouldn't see much to worry about.
Andy.

Chris warburton is to far for me unfortunately, i'll have to find an e30 specialist nearer to oxford.

CW is in cheshire.. not so close

My Touring,a 1991,has covered an average of 14,032 miles per year

It's had a busy life,used daily for all manner of things,i've had it 6 or 7 years and cover 99,500 miles myself.

Still love it.

Mileage shouldn't be a factor buying an E30 (or any other old car),servicing and condition rule here

Smith - B & N Motors in Cave Street in St.Clemants are the place to go in oxford.


Good luck

milege is but a number!

the mileage on mine reads 187k, but due to breakages / upgrading / general messing, none of the original drivetrain or suspension remains apart from the ARB's and front subframe!
in fact, it's had new wings, bonnet, front panel, bumpers, drivers side doors, tailgate, 3x screens etc etc etc

i think that leaves the interior, loom, shell, some glass and two doors

at the age of thes old tanks, mileage is only 'special' if it's very low and truly mint. otherwise, value is based on nothing but spec and condition in my eyes

Simon13 wrote:milege is but a number!

How many times have you posted that!

gareth wrote:the mileage on mine reads 187k, but due to breakages / upgrading / general messing, none of the original drivetrain or suspension remains apart from the ARB's and front subframe!
in fact, it's had new wings, bonnet, front panel, bumpers, drivers side doors, tailgate, 3x screens etc etc etc

i think that leaves the interior, loom, shell, some glass and two doors

A bit like Triggers broom!

I inherited my grandad's old yard brush.He bought it new in 1930.It's only ever had new brushes and the odd handle....but it's still grandad's yard brush....

RM2186 wrote:Over 183.000, cos thats my latest buy

what have you bought now

I consider over 150k high mileage with e30s

under 110k low ish and under 80k low mileage

depends how they have been looked after though and rust

I know this is going to show my age but I can remember a three year old Mini (when Mini's were still something) that this old girl had only used once a week to travel 2 miles each way in to get her shopping.
Everytime it came in for service the rocker cover was full of condensation. I'm not talking droplets, it looked like expanding foam! Stuff that should have been coated in oil was actually going rusty.

I'll go for maintained high miles thanks.

My loley M40 which is not in the same luege as the M20's has done 163K and its still quite and strong engine.

Mileage is quite a vague indicator. The truth is, the very best cars are even better if they have been lightly used - there are a lot of wearing parts that never get replaced as they are non essential, but drive a well maintained sub-80k e30 and compare it to a well maintained 170k example and you will tell the difference immediately. But in the normal run of things, it is just a number. Lower miles can suggest better condition, but it shouldn't stop you checking the car thoroughly, just as higher mileage shouldn't put you off viewing a car. A shed with low miles is still a shed. Also bear in mind that anything less than full history makes the odo reading meaningless - many, many, many cars have had their clocks changed due to failure, and a great deal were clocked when they were near new.

318iSes are pretty rare - being picky about mileage will just make your search longer. I don't search exhaustively, but I haven't seen an iS with warranted sub 125k miles for thebest part of a year - a genuine low miles 318iS will likely be an expensive thing to buy, and may be no cheaper to run in the long term.

My 76k 1-owner, serviced every 6-months, garaged until I bought it 320i has started to get a bit grotty in 18 months and 7k of my ownership - in a lot of ways, it's the luck of the draw.

Oh, and iSes never rust as they were fully galvanised from the factory, including the glovebox

djk wrote:drive a well maintained sub-80k e30 and compare it to a well maintained 170k example and you will tell the difference immediately.

Couldn't agree more!

bss325i wrote:On the flip side, my Mrs E36 323i saloon has done 172k and is still on the original clutch, the engine box and diff are bone dry and have never leaked any fluids in its life. Still drives very well but has had most of the suspension replaced as it felt like it had done 150k when we got it.

Crazy innit considering the E36 is such a shite car
My 98 323i is well over 240K now and had its first clutch 1k miles ago.Still original engine/box and uses no fluids whatsoever.Runs like its done 60k and drives just aswell.
Only front edge of bonnet is rusting.Interior has kept itself together extremely well with only minimum bolster fade on drivers seat but no bits falling off or rattling loose.
Admitedly like yours the original suspension and bushes showed signs of mileage but ive changed the main bushes now which improved it no end and have fitted(regrettably) cheap coilovers which have stiffened it up too.
Good cars E36`s(later models) and anyone who begs to differ is full of shit,IMO of course

eko wrote:

bss325i wrote:On the flip side, my Mrs E36 323i saloon has done 172k and is still on the original clutch, the engine box and diff are bone dry and have never leaked any fluids in its life. Still drives very well but has had most of the suspension replaced as it felt like it had done 150k when we got it.

Crazy innit considering the E36 is such a shite car
My 98 323i is well over 240K now and had its first clutch 1k miles ago.Still original engine/box and uses no fluids whatsoever.Runs like its done 60k and drives just aswell.
Only front edge of bonnet is rusting.Interior has kept itself together extremely well with only minimum bolster fade on drivers seat but no bits falling off or rattling loose.
Admitedly like yours the original suspension and bushes showed signs of mileage but ive changed the main bushes now which improved it no end and have fitted(regrettably) cheap coilovers which have stiffened it up too.
Good cars E36`s(later models) and anyone who begs to differ is full of shit,IMO of course

The quality issues that the E36 are known for stem from early production issues circa '91,'92. E36's have the edge on E30's in many respects and are generally a better car (BMW wouldn't make a worse succesor!) its just the dont look or drive like an E30!

bss325i wrote:

eko wrote:

bss325i wrote:On the flip side, my Mrs E36 323i saloon has done 172k and is still on the original clutch, the engine box and diff are bone dry and have never leaked any fluids in its life. Still drives very well but has had most of the suspension replaced as it felt like it had done 150k when we got it.

Crazy innit considering the E36 is such a shite car
My 98 323i is well over 240K now and had its first clutch 1k miles ago.Still original engine/box and uses no fluids whatsoever.Runs like its done 60k and drives just aswell.
Only front edge of bonnet is rusting.Interior has kept itself together extremely well with only minimum bolster fade on drivers seat but no bits falling off or rattling loose.
Admitedly like yours the original suspension and bushes showed signs of mileage but ive changed the main bushes now which improved it no end and have fitted(regrettably) cheap coilovers which have stiffened it up too.
Good cars E36`s(later models) and anyone who begs to differ is full of shit,IMO of course

its just the dont look or drive like an E30!

Not always a bad thing

mines on 166k, had major service and cambelt done 2000k ago and is fine. It also has the z3 shortshift too so that makes the box feel nice and tight. Mileage never bothers me, i buy on condition

I've only had 2 cars with more than 150k on the clock ( Mk2 Golf GTi and Audi Coupe 2.3GT ) the Golf was shockingly unreliable despite vast amounts of service history - the Audi was better but still broke down more than once in the 12 months I had it.

Touch wood all the BMW's I've had have been very good - my E36 Touring has 93k on the clock and drives like a new car

i have a 50k 318i and its so tight its unbelievable!! compared to my 110000miled one its a different car,

saying that e30s will go till 250k - 300k maybe more. it just will never feel like a low mileage one.

go look at it and see what you think, if it runs good and sounds quite, no leaks etc go for it.

i beg to differ with the right person maintaing the car the milege becomes a number, my pina touring has done 183k and drives as well as any 80k E30. It feels anything but a saggy high milege car

Re the e36 thing they are better in many respects over an E30 but they'll never be the drivers car the E30 is.

high milege to me is 250k plus, to many people are hung up on milege and need to get over it. On an e30 they've all done plenty of miles now and someone WILL have been there fixing/bodging it before you owned it!