E30 Zone

Hi fella's, i'm looking for some honest opinions from people in the know (you guys!)

I'm a student in bournemouth and i'm looking at buying either a 325 sport or a 318is and i want to know what the yearly running costs of each car would roughly be.

I'll be spending in the region of 3-4k.

Will this be enough to secure a nice well kept "showroom" quality car?? if not how much would i need to stump up for a mint condition one???

I owned a 325 a few years ago and didn't spent more than hundred quid to get it through the MOTs and about Ԛ£250 on some welding on the footwells. I know i must of been lucky and i wanted to know what i should be spending.

Any help/response would be very welcome.

Cheers.

You probably already know this but 325i will absolutely guzzle fuel. Can't comment on the iS because I don't know anyone with one. One thing though, I'm pretty sure if you spent Ԛ£3-4k on an iS it would be showroom spec, never seen an E30 iS asking for that kind of money. 325i sports seem to be very cheap at the moment too though.

Look in the cars for sale section mate, beautiful Dolphin grey sport for sale, and Geeman's track beast iS is absolutely stunning and going very, very cheap......

Having owned a 318is and 327i I can safely say the difference in fuel isn't exactly that massive (well, I can handle it and I'm 19!).

I noticed that I would probably do about 75 miles from a tenner in the 318is, in a car with another 65bhp on top I do about 60 miles to a tenner roughly. Also would have a problem with the engine in some way every 6 weeks or so!
An M42 engine isn't exactly the most common in an e30, which could sometimes make parts harder to get hold of, even on here - I had a cracked head, and could I find one? No.

The price difference lately in a 325i Sport and 318is has been getting closer, I can think of 2 318iS' in the Ԛ£2000-Ԛ£2500 bracket in the Cars for Sale section, and I can also think of a few Sports in the Ԛ£2500-Ԛ£3000 region.

Like you said, you spent no more than Ԛ£100 getting a 325 through the MOT, the availability of parts is great thanks to this place, and GSF (near Ringwood Road, not far from Halfords in Poole!).

At the end of the day it depends what you're gonna be using the car for, if you desperately need economy then go for a well cared for iS, although I reckon running costs in general on 325i are far less - or at least in my 1 year experience of both cars has shown me.

I'm in Bournemouth and so are a few others, if you need a hand with viewing a car or something let us know on here

Jimbob wrote:Having owned a 318is and 327i I can safely say the difference in fuel isn't exactly that massive (well, I can handle it and I'm 19!).

I noticed that I would probably do about 75 miles from a tenner in the 318is, in a car with another 65bhp on top I do about 60 miles to a tenner roughly. Also would have a problem with the engine in some way every 6 weeks or so!
An M42 engine isn't exactly the most common in an e30, which could sometimes make parts harder to get hold of, even on here - I had a cracked head, and could I find one? No.

The price difference lately in a 325i Sport and 318is has been getting closer, I can think of 2 318iS' in the Ԛ£2000-Ԛ£2500 bracket in the Cars for Sale section, and I can also think of a few Sports in the Ԛ£2500-Ԛ£3000 region.

Like you said, you spent no more than Ԛ£100 getting a 325 through the MOT, the availability of parts is great thanks to this place, and GSF (near Ringwood Road, not far from Halfords in Poole!).

At the end of the day it depends what you're gonna be using the car for, if you desperately need economy then go for a well cared for iS, although I reckon running costs in general on 325i are far less - or at least in my 1 year experience of both cars has shown me.

I'm in Bournemouth and so are a few others, if you need a hand with viewing a car or something let us know on here

You genuinely think the 325 isn't that expensive to run? That's good news!
As soon as I buy one my plan is new plugs, new oil all round, new filters, few tanks of redex then a mild zone chip and that should sort me out if I get a good one.
Did you ever see 30mpg out of a 325? And how are you on a 327 at 19? Insurance must be a joke... 325 at 19 is about all I can get hold of.

I have 2yrs NCB, live in a 'good' area - insurance has a massive difference depending on postcode, and insured by a local firm with friends/family discount, and still paying an absolute fortune!

At the moment I'm seeing 24mpg, I only really use it for transport to work which can be up to 27-28mpg. A 325i can be economical when it wants to be, unless you thrash the pants off it and you'll see sub 20mpg easily.

If something does go, then I'm sure you'll find the required part on here pretty quickly.

I'm getting old.... hence my insurance on my 318iS is Ԛ£200 fully comp, but limited miles.

On a regular run my iS returns 37mpg, 40+ if you take it real easy...

round town, about 32ish mpg.

It's not the fastest car in the world, but it's great through the twisty bits

Like Jimbob said, if the M42 head goes then you need to source a new engine, spare heads for the M42 are non-existent!

The rest of the engine uses the regular 318i service parts, cheap to run then!

The 6 pot can handle a higher mileage on the engine in my opinion, some 318iS with over 150K sound near to death, usually timing chain tensioner failure. If its just the hydraulic tensioner then its a easy fix for Ԛ£30.

Get a few insurance quotes, think about how many miles you plan to do in it, and how much money you want left over at the end of the week for a few

Jimbob wrote:I have 2yrs NCB, live in a 'good' area - insurance has a massive difference depending on postcode, and insured by a local firm with friends/family discount, and still paying an absolute fortune!

At the moment I'm seeing 24mpg, I only really use it for transport to work which can be up to 27-28mpg. A 325i can be economical when it wants to be, unless you thrash the pants off it and you'll see sub 20mpg easily.

If something does go, then I'm sure you'll find the required part on here pretty quickly.

Yea, luckily I live in a 'good' area too, so it's not astronomical. I'll just take my time and keep looking for a minter in that case. I can handle 28mpg really, and I can be pretty careful if I want to be.
What is the actual 0-60 time of the 325 then? I've heard varying figures, from 7.4 to 8.8?! I have no idea which is more accurate.

Thanks to all who posted replies, you've been a great help. After the comments on replacing a busted head on the 318IS i'm now able to justify once more a 325 sport

Just curious though, is a replacement engine for a 318IS easy to get?, What was the cost?

As for fuel economy I can remember getting from Cheltenham down to Exeter with a full car load, and at questionable speed for less than 20 quid, so i know a 325 can be sort of economical, round town is a different matter!!

When it comes to viewing cars i'm a pure tyre kicker. Is there somewhere i can look that will give me a list of things to look for on a 325 sport that should/could go wrong??

supremacy wrote:Thanks to all who posted replies, you've been a great help. After the comments on replacing a busted head on the 318IS i'm now able to justify once more a 325 sport

Just curious though, is a replacement engine for a 318IS easy to get?, What was the cost?

As for fuel economy I can remember getting from Cheltenham down to Exeter with a full car load, and at questionable speed for less than 20 quid, so i know a 325 can be sort of economical, round town is a different matter!!

When it comes to viewing cars i'm a pure tyre kicker. Is there somewhere i can look that will give me a list of things to look for on a 325 sport that should/could go wrong??

M42 replacement engines are non existent most of the time.

You're welcome to see my sport sometime, I too live in Bournemouth.

It would probably be easier to tell you things that won't go wrong though

I'm getting a consistant 30-32mpg from my 318iS for mixed driving on B roads, motorway and a bit of round town. It's getting full throttle and loads of driving over the 3500rpm "start point".

From what other people have told me I'd expect a 325 to be in the 23-25mpg area for similar driving.

Having jsut bought at a high mileage iS, I've enquired about this, munich legends quoted me 13-1400 quid for a full rebuild while a place beggining with Z quote me 750 for an enginge with 98K and a money back guarantee..

Mines done 120K I do 150 miles a day, no nasty noises, insp 2 coming up.

Had a 320 before, I think the iS is a gem, get the right chip and tb, you won't be too far behind a stock 325 in the bhp stakes!! and that weight loss at the front end makes a big difference....

just my humble opinion

The iS will never match the 325 for spread of power though, what with it being a much lower capacity.

Not that I care - I don't think the engine needs anything doing to it. The engine is a beaut and the power output is really quite low on the list of things to like about the car. It's the way it goes round corners that is very high on the list. I've been out in mine today and the car is bloody wonderful.

having also owned both cars all i noticed was it cost about a fiver more to fill up the 325 and i would get the same miles to a tank as the 318iS

325's rule enough said! if u can get one buy one is what i would say. As much as i loved the iS the 325 is so much more fun

318iS engines are in that stage where alot are breaking and they are expensive to fix. Parts prices are alot more and they are not a very DIY engine. Also once they start playing up they are a royal pain in the arse to get running spot on again. Just my opinion of course.
They don't like too much abuse, not like a 2.5 can take

weight difference?! yes theres abit more on the front but a 325 will give an 318iS a good hiding most of the time

oh and theres always jobs need doing on an E30 regardless of how good they are!

I thought the engine's weight difference is 40kg?

Jimbob wrote:I thought the engine's weight difference is 40kg?

exactly which is me after a trip to burger king!

Hartge and Alpina proved the M3 could handle just aswell with a proper engine!

Where does the 320i se come into this? I have the chance to pick up a minter for Ԛ£500, and I'm thinking of taking it just as a uni run-around...

What is the speed like, and how is the fuel economy?

kingbreezer wrote:Where does the 320i se come into this? I have the chance to pick up a minter for Ԛ£500, and I'm thinking of taking it just as a uni run-around...

What is the speed like, and how is the fuel economy?

ah now i'll get shot for this but it is the truth

they are slower than a 318iS more on par with a 318i 8v and most use more fuel than a 325. only benifit is they are smooooooth 6cyl and sound great thats it really!

buy a 318i if u want a runa round IMO

Simon13 wrote:

kingbreezer wrote:Where does the 320i se come into this? I have the chance to pick up a minter for Ԛ£500, and I'm thinking of taking it just as a uni run-around...

What is the speed like, and how is the fuel economy?

ah now i'll get shot for this but it is the truth

they are slower than a 318iS more on par with a 318i 8v and most use more fuel than a 325. only benifit is they are smooooooth 6cyl and sound great thats it really!

buy a 318i if u want a runa round IMO

How come they're so awful? I suppose because the engine is heavy. I just bought one for Ԛ£600 in really good condition, so not too fussed. It's only a temp run around until I find the right 325 sport.
How could I help consumption on one then? I reckon a few tanks of redex would help?
It's this car: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-e30-320i-se-g ... otohosting

Simon13 wrote:

Jimbob wrote:I thought the engine's weight difference is 40kg?

Cant tell you the difference between each engine but i can tell you that the total difference in weight between the two is 70kgs.

I'm getting an iS on Wednesday night (fingers crossed) from a guy over here in Ireland that sources E30's from the mainland. When I first went to speak to him he advised me not to get a Sport, for three reasons.

Firstly, he has a pile of 6 pot heads lying round the side of his house, he warned me about cracked heads on Sports being a BIG problem which can happen at any mileage. He also said that Sports are less reliable in general. Now I dont know how true this is as i have no previous experience of E30's, so dont chew my head off if you disagree

Secondly, good Sports are going for big money at the minute. A few people on here have said that they think the prices have fell for Sports recently, in my opinion that is completely untrue. You might be lucky and pick up a good one off someone who doesnt realise their value but you're talking AT LEAST Ԛ£3000 for a good one IMO.

Thirdly, running costs. I was concerned about buying a 2.5 as I go back to Uni next year and didnt want to spend all my dough on minting my Sport up and then not having enough money to run the thing when I have to go back to working part time again. I asked a lot of E30 owners over here what kind of mileage they were getting from iS's and Sports and there was a brave difference between the two. I know some of the previous posters have said they believe there to be very little difference and I'm NOT disagreeing with them! But, personally, I dont see how an engine with a considerably lower capacity will use the same as one that is much larger.

As I said before, I'm no E30 expert, hell i've never even owned one!! (Yetwinkeye ) I just wanted to share some info with you as I too had the same concerns and thoughts when I was deciding what to do. If money was not a concern then I'd get a Sport all day long. 6 pot, more power, M-Tech 2... no question. Unfortunately I'm restrained by Ԛ£Ã”šÃ‚£ so i've had to buy with my head and not my balls.

Whatever you buy, enjoy it! I know i will Its an E30!