Daily Drivers

General E30 related discussions -
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parakeats
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Location: Winchester

Wed Nov 09, 2016 4:29 pm

Hi guys,

Just a little question, what do you drive daily? I've been driving my 1990 318i daily for the past 2 and a half years, I love the way people look at it everywhere I go and the direct driving experience it gives me (compared to previous cars).

BUT, I'm feeling a little bit bad as before I got it it had 93k on the clock and did about 2-3k a year, and I've got it up to 124k, which has also rather expensive! :cry:

Do you guys drive your E30's daily, or do you have another car? - I'm thinking about a second car, but nothing is appealing to me!
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ianev
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Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 11:00 pm
Location: Redhill, Surrey

Wed Nov 09, 2016 4:40 pm

X3 3 litre sport & E46 325i touring. Had a 2002Tii as daily for over 10 yrs. Had E30 318i Touring for couple years - great motor.
Speedtouch
Old Skooler
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Posts: 14020
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:00 pm
Location: Canterbury

Wed Nov 09, 2016 6:17 pm

Currently driving a 1999 Fiat Seicento Sporting Abarth, but also have a 1970 Minor Traveller, 1998 Fiat Cinquecento SX, 2004 Ford Mondeo Mistral and a 1999 BMW E39 523i.

Too many cars - I only really need two at the most, but have somehow amassed five! :mad:

I've been trying to sell the Seicento, but not had much luck with that so far. Advert here, if anyone's interested:

http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/fia ... nto/204985
///M aurice
ECU Upgrade EPROM Chips, £40 posted within the UK. Note these are not Zone chips.
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ross_jsy
Married to the E30 Zone
Married to the E30 Zone
Posts: 7307
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:00 pm
Location: Jersey, C.I.

Wed Nov 09, 2016 8:15 pm

I normally daily drive my e30 with an m30, but decided to start garaging it over winter this year and treat it as a dry weather car.

I'm now daily driving a 1992 e34 525i which I bought to take the engine out of, but it's too clean to break. Oh and a 2 series active touring for the next 4 months but we don't talk about that
Cloggy Saint
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Location: zummerzet

Wed Nov 09, 2016 9:09 pm

Been driving my E30 daily for 16 years despite a 24mpg average.
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Topblag
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Location: Fife - You got a problem with that ?

Wed Nov 09, 2016 9:33 pm

Audi S6 at the moment. E30s go off the road in the winter (when they are not already in bits ). :D
1990 325i Cab auto in Alpine White II
1988 Alpina C2.5 moredoor in Black, 71k
1990 325ix, moredoor auto in Laser Blue. 51k
1984 Hartge H35 in Black
2004 996 C4S in Silver 43k manual
2006 Audi S6 V10 in Black 58k
csl
E30 Zone Addict
E30 Zone Addict
Posts: 2117
Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Lancaster

Wed Nov 09, 2016 9:53 pm

e36 328i factory sport touring, that ive had for 5 years as a daily,just replaced with Passat b5.5 TDI estate. Still have the 36 but I spose its got to go....
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andysheep
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Posts: 444
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:00 pm
Location: Abersoch north wales

Wed Nov 09, 2016 10:20 pm

Iv been using my e30s for 16 years as a daily :D love em,very reliable easy to work on,i had to use two scrappers when i restored the two door320 cause my cromie was in storage, and only got the cabby two years ago,so iv a winter turd and a summer one,and im loving it,and cause its old bm people still crowd around if i crack the bonnet open,in short hate the classic car thing ,just love my e30s,,,,,,
parakeats
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 95
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2014 11:00 pm
Location: Winchester

Wed Nov 09, 2016 11:03 pm

Good to hear people driving them daily! I think last year I did 18k miles in mine, poor thing! around 28ish mpg
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andysheep
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E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 444
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 11:00 pm
Location: Abersoch north wales

Wed Nov 09, 2016 11:11 pm

Racked up 5 thousand in my vert this summer :D shame the sump gasket went at 3,know what im doing this winter :cry: nice to drive the other one and not have equal engine oil to petrol ratio,lol
Sanchez
Married to the E30 Zone
Married to the E30 Zone
Posts: 7578
Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Sunny Scotland

Thu Nov 10, 2016 8:17 am

My daily is a 50cc piaggio. winkeye

It got me classic insurance on the e30. Both insured for less than £200 and it's better than public transport.

Wife's learning to drive in a Suzuki liana we have too.
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ChrisHC
E30Zone Contributor
Posts: 515
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 11:00 pm

Thu Nov 10, 2016 9:00 am

I did 2000 miles round France last week in my E30 325i, and I am delighted with the way it went. My daily driver is an M135i, a very impressive vehicle.
Jesus325iTouring
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Location: Omnipresent!

Thu Nov 10, 2016 4:49 pm

My current daily trams are a beaten up E Class shooting break, mint Gen 1 CRV and a V8 X5 for the school run, the E30 which provided 100,000 miles of daily transport is still being worked on, veeeeeeeeeery slowly!
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X5 V8 for thrills, CRV for chills, Range Rover P38 V8 for sooooo much aggravation...
baur320
E30 Zone Squatter
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Location: Tyneside

Thu Nov 10, 2016 5:59 pm

My daily is an E39 530d sport. Its a bit frilly around the edges but goes very well - a lot faster than the E30 and it does around 50 mph on a run.

There's a big forum on fb and parts can be cheap - under £100 for a black leather interior & cards the other day (and just how much for the same for an E30?)
Current E30 325i, E63 630is.
Previous E21 320/4, E9 3.0 CSA, E12 525, E30 320i, E28 528i, E34 535is, E30 318i, E28 525e, E30 325i Touring, E30 Baur 327i, E36 M3 Evo, X3is, E39 530d M Sport.
Jesus325iTouring
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Thu Nov 10, 2016 6:08 pm

50 mph on a run? Not sure i'm impressed :wink: :D
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X5 V8 for thrills, CRV for chills, Range Rover P38 V8 for sooooo much aggravation...
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TriggerFish
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Location: Aylesbury, Bucks

Thu Nov 10, 2016 7:33 pm

330d here.

Was dailying my e30 for a bit in the summer (after my last 330d died, and I was sourcing a replacement). It works well enough, but struggling to make £50 of petrol last a working week was a chore! I kind of feel that continued use maybe takes the fun away? It stops being as special as it's just a tool at that point. A fun tool, but a tool all the same. Maybe that's just me!

More modern car with over 40mpg and a much better radio wins the daily challenge for me.
capri_rob
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Location: South Staffordshire

Thu Nov 10, 2016 7:40 pm

E46 320i Sport Touring as a daily. Its thirsty and not particulalry fast but its also very comfortable, still a good looking car and everything works.

E30 only does a few hundred miles a year during the summer
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e30topless said : Proper BMW's have 4 headlights, last of the run was the E30 and E34/E32 anything after that is just complete shite
kieran325
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Thu Nov 10, 2016 9:18 pm

E46 320d sport and an M5 touring.

I gladly covered plenty of miles in my trusty 316 touring, it never let me down and it always started on one turn.

The E30 M3 got a ride out today to BMW for an inspection 2 in the rain :(
steve_k
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Thu Nov 10, 2016 9:42 pm

Jesus325iTouring wrote: the E30 which provided 100,000 miles of daily transport is still being worked on, veeeeeeeeeery slowly!
c'mon rog admit it,

a glacier moves quicker :eek:
if it's got t*ts or wheels it's bound to be trouble...............prove me wrong.
getting oral sex off an ugly person is like rock climbing.....don't look down ;)
Jesus325iTouring
Frog freak !
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Location: Omnipresent!

Thu Nov 10, 2016 10:50 pm

A glacier certainly covers more miles in a year :o:
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X5 V8 for thrills, CRV for chills, Range Rover P38 V8 for sooooo much aggravation...
baur320
E30 Zone Squatter
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Posts: 1507
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Tyneside

Thu Nov 10, 2016 10:52 pm

Jesus325iTouring wrote:50 mph on a run? Not sure i'm impressed :wink: :D
Its the way its driven
Current E30 325i, E63 630is.
Previous E21 320/4, E9 3.0 CSA, E12 525, E30 320i, E28 528i, E34 535is, E30 318i, E28 525e, E30 325i Touring, E30 Baur 327i, E36 M3 Evo, X3is, E39 530d M Sport.
Jesus325iTouring
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Location: Omnipresent!

Fri Nov 11, 2016 8:34 am

baur320 wrote:
Jesus325iTouring wrote:50 mph on a run? Not sure i'm impressed :wink: :D
Its the way its driven
"Leanin' to the side, you can't speed thru', two miles an hour so everybody sees you.."
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X5 V8 for thrills, CRV for chills, Range Rover P38 V8 for sooooo much aggravation...
darkchild
E30 Zone Addict
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Posts: 2730
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:00 pm
Location: Kingston 12

Sat Nov 19, 2016 7:45 am

Bought mine back in 2006 as a second car. It had 62K then, it has double that now. Used most days and has only failed to get from A-B once.

I wouldn't worry about the mileage. They're made to be driven and will benefit from regular use. Like any old car, there is always something to be done - mine's had new suspension, brake lines, fuel tank etc. in the last couple of years. It will shortly be having 2 new front wings and 2 rear arches. Madness? Probably but its a reliable old tram that is simple to fix. I can't really begrudge it a bit of bodywork as it will be 28 years old in January. In it's current state I'd gauge its better than 95% of other E30s on the road but I like to nip things in the bud before they become more expensive to fix.

They are bl00dy old now and feel it though I appreciate that's part of their charm. I've been using an E36 most days recently and even that (also ancient) feels like a car from a different era.
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martauto
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Posts: 6191
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: leeds

Sat Nov 19, 2016 11:45 am

The daily is a 330ci sport and the Baur goes out most of the summer but is kept on the road in case I need it.
Edit !!
I ran the Baur three days this week without fault , Thank you old lass !!

Mart.
Last edited by martauto on Wed Nov 30, 2016 6:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Only the E46 cab left now.
Just got too old.
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MouseRat
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 67
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 11:00 pm
Location: Windsor

Wed Nov 30, 2016 7:45 am

I have daily driven my 318iS for the past year. It's only let me down once when the center support bearing rubber stopped doing its job and I got some driveshaft vibration - still got me home though. Other than that no problems at all. People always seemed surprised when I told them it was my everyday car.

However I have sold that car now, so current daily is a VW Lupo 1.0. I think its nicer in the winter as the little engine warms up much faster. The new owner hasn't even picked it up yet and I'm already looking at E30 classifieds. :roll:
"The most E30-ist of E30s"
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M5London
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 34
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 11:00 pm

Sat Dec 03, 2016 3:56 am

I used to daily drive my 89 325i 2Dr for a over year and put over 20K miles on it in that time.....but this was way back in 1995 :D

Anyway I am back in the fold again but I feel it's going to be tough to bring in my current E30 for daily driving duties.
E30 M3 1987 - Diamond Black Metallic / Black Leather
E34 M5 1995 - Arctic Silver / Black Leather
E39 M5 1999 - Carbon Black Metallic / Caramel Nappa Heritage Leather - Supercharged
F06 M6 Gran Coupe 2015 - Imperial Blue Xirallic / Silverstone Merino
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