E30 Zone

local dealer has an old 325 auto convertible. excellent and original but red service light is on, CEL is on sports economy knob doesn't do anything and the autobox seems to be stuck in 3rd - no changes, no kickdown, no manual override.

any ideas? thanks, Steve

Yep , more than likey to need a new or recon auto box, u couls try chaning the oil and filter but the front a clutchs normal first go locking it into reverse ,

Needs a manual conversion! How much do they want for it?

hi Brian. Apologies for the delay in responding. It's a 1987 alpine white 325 auto with a very low 49,000 - from www.pinegarage.com in Beaconsfield at £3995 (also on autotrader).

My sister is in the market for one so went to see it last sunday. Turns out she knows the previous owner - who traded in at £3K around a year ago - so seems like a straight up car which began it's life in Jersey, hence the low miles. Nice car - good condition reflective of 49K - but standing around is not doing it any favours.

But the big thing is the autobox. you can select P, R, N but only one forward gear - which feels like 3rd - whatever you try. also the sports/auto/321 knob is ineffectice. red service light is on, CEL is on - do they run in "safe" mode when this happens? We decided to decline because of this.

The other thing is that the P/R/N/D/3/2/1 graphic is on the passenger side of the gearshift?

your gearbox problem is the same reason i got my car cheap..it is a cheap/easy fix tho..your switch has stripped the linkage and has stuck the car in "3-2-1" A new switch should sort it, it did for me

£4k and it doesn't even work????
Thats more than cheeky.....