E30 Zone

Hi guys,

I'm new to this forum, I currently have a toyota glanza turbo but want to buy an E30 325i Sport, what do I need to look out for?? where do they rust, is there any weak point in em? dont want to get caught out....

Thanks a million

<= avatar is temporary by the way once I get the 325i it will change!!

Hi, welcome to the zone. I'm sure your avatar will be excused until you get a decent car!!! First thing to ensure is that you are looking at a genuine Sport. There's 2 types, Series I with chrome bumpers and Series II with colour coded plastic bumpers, full body kit and twin spoiler. There have been many posts (use the search facility) outlining what constitutes a genuine one and not a standard 325 or SE with bits added. Good place to start is the headlining - a SportII will have a black/anthracite one. Not many pretenders would bother to change that.
Many Sports rust under the factory fitted body kit, particularly the leading edge of the rear wheel arch. Check round the sunroof pan also. Always lift out the boot lining to check rear arches and battery tray.
Engines are very 'clicky' round the top end which are the injectors but can sound like worn rockers/badly adjusted tappets. Air leaks around the AFM to throttle body can cause rough running and idling problems but are easy to fix.
I'm sure others will chip in with other bits. There's plenty of help available to help with all the above on the zone. Don't be tempted to buy the first one you see unless it's mint. There's plenty of good one's out there. Happy hunting

thanks much appreciated, looking I want one now!!!!!!

never realised the search button at the top. there i was searching threw all the posts when looking for an old one

any thing else I should be looking for??

I haven't looked at one yet, so not to sure what to expect, ... are the 325i sports all electrics, what is standard/extra?/???

OK then here goes for a series II
2.5 Litre six cylinder M20 engine. MTech suspension (lower by 15mm). 15" BBS Cross spoke alloys. Close ratio 5 speed gearbox. LSD. Engine has Bosch Motronic engine management with AFM. 2 Doors and electric sunroof and windows. Full MTech body kit - front spoiler with front fogs, Headlight wash/wipe, side skirts, side body panels, twin foil rear spoiler. Green tinted glass. Black headlining. Map lights in rear view mirror. BMW Sports seats (Recaro look alikes) in cloth or leather. Centre rear armrest. MTech I or II steering wheel, MTech gearknob. Log book should state 'Sport'. Computers and air con were optional. 10% of production were autos with switchable gearbox.

OK then here goes for a series II

what year is the series II??

Series II came in in late 1987 I think and went through to 90 although you can pick late registered 91 and even 92 cars especially the limited edition Motorsport Cabriolet. This is an 89 in Diamond black. Other colours, Zinnobar Red, Dolphin Grey and Silver

yeah, that's what i'm talking about!!

nice looking car you got there!!

sports up to 89 only came in 3 colours diamond black, dolphin grey and lachs silver. Any others colours are probably pretenders! later cars 90,91 came in these and brillian red, alpine? white, sterling silver and special order granite grey and thats it i think.