325i Sports

Post Sat May 21, 2005 10:17 am

Hi everybody i new to the site

After having a 316i a couple of years ago i am desperate to get another E30. I have been seriously looking around at the 6cyl cars and i just can't seem to find a decent one around. Autotrader keeps coming up with lots of crap.

Please can you help me out. Are there any major problems to look out for in buy?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Andy

Ps i am in the essex area

Post Sat May 21, 2005 10:44 am

Hiya Andy, welcome to the zone, if i were you i'd take a look in the
"cars for sale" section, your bound to find what your looking for there,
or put an ad' in there .
Hope you find what your looking for matey .

Lee.

Post Sat May 21, 2005 10:55 am

welcome to the zone andy...

Post Mon May 23, 2005 10:08 am

Andy welcome to the zone mate. Just saw this post...thought some would have replied sooner...

I will go with my old guide from memory...

There are a few fake ones around, if it says 325i Sport on the V5 thats a good start but not a cast iron guarantee, in the same way that a black headlining isn't. You can give the last 7 digits of the vin number to a BMW dealer and they can tell you or put it into this for a guide.

http://www.bmw-z1.com/VIN/VINdecode-e.cgi

If its got an LSD its more than likely to be genuine, you check this a couple of ways, stick the car in first give it a bag full of revs and drop the clutch, stop a few yards up the road and if you see two black lines it got a slipper, however the owner will probably be unimpressed ! Another couple of ways are to jack up the back of the car so both rear wheels are of the ground spin one wheel and watch the other, if it spins the same way its an lsd if it goes the opposite its not, or easier one is jack up one side and try to turn the wheel, if it is very hard to turn its a slipper. All these methods are quite tricky on a viewing to be honest. You can also lie under the back and try and find the tag on the diff which should say "S 3.91" if its a proper sport diff.

Remember condition is more important than mileage or history really, and with history recent work is more important than that of the late 80's or early 90's. When you drive the car watch the temp guage for signs of overheating, ie should sit between 1/4 and 1/2 and check inside the filler cap and dipstick for mayo which could indicate a cracked head / head gasket and instant expense which these cars do suffer from. Check for moisture in the boot as the seals can leak around the rear lights and cause further problems in the boot. Open the sunroof and check in there for rust, also check in the rear arches for signs of rot (they all go there) and also check the jacking points. Look at the scuttle and take out the plastic moulding to see if there is any rot within, can be tricky/expensive to fix. Open the rear quarter windows and check for rust on top of the rear wings, also the rear valance which can rot on the later cars. Be aware that these cars are prone to rusting under the body kit so have a good look where you can, you probably won't be able to tell all that much without taking the kit off, but you can gauge a fair amount from looking closely at where the bodykit meets the car from underneath.

Do make sure you have a really good look under the car, better to uncover problems before its sitting on your drive...On the road listen for usual clonks and drive train noise as you would with any car. Could be indication of worn prop or suspension bushes.

For an metch II sport anyway it should have Power assisted steering, ABS, Electric Windows, Central locking, Electric mirrors, Electric tilt/slide sunroof, Opening Rear quarters, Sports interior, black headlining, Mtech I or mtech II steering wheel, Mtech suspension, Mtech II bodykit, Close ratio gearbox, Limited Slip Differential, Map reading lights, Velour type carpeting, Headlamp wash/wipe, it should sit about 15mm lower than a standard car, earlier cars up to 1988 have the mtech1 kit and slightly differing spec for trim etc.

Options include leather trim, OBC (they don't all have a computer which is a popular misconception), rear headrests, rear blind, air con, cruise control etc.

I personally would avoid anything slammed 60mm with a poorly executed ICE install, a massive exhaust system and a low quality induction kit, but you will know yourself it is a wrong'un.

Good luck with the search and see you at a Lakeside meet sometime with your new baby

Oh yeah colours are - Diamond black , Lachs Silver and Dolphin grey for phase ones with Brilliant Red, Alpine white and some very rare Granite and Sterling Silver for the later cars...

Post Mon May 23, 2005 11:25 am

WOW what a post!!!

Thanks for the help mate i now have a good idea of what to do when looking for one

When is the next lakeside meet? I will have to pop down and meet everyone.

Cheers for the welcomes as well

Post Mon May 23, 2005 11:30 am

There is one in June mate - see the meets section...here is a link :

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... pic&t=7851

Post Mon May 23, 2005 11:33 am

Good luck finding a Sport! You will love it!

Mark, I hope that has been copied and pasted for future reference! Good post.

Post Mon May 23, 2005 11:42 am

davetouring wrote:Good luck finding a Sport! You will love it!

Mark, I hope that has been copied and pasted for future reference! Good post.

I had the framework in a draft email at work and updated alot of it. But I have saved a copy for future reference - I am surprised it's not full of inaccuracies to be honest :lol:

No match for Paul's (placey's) post on general car buying - that was quality..

Post Mon May 23, 2005 9:16 pm

Welcome to the zone Andy,good luck in your search for a sport,but as splondike says be very careful as some dishonest people try to sell bogo 325's as sports but he's given some good advice so u should be ok! anyways good luck dude

Post Mon May 23, 2005 9:23 pm

How much would i be looking for a decent model? Just a sort of price range.

Post Mon May 23, 2005 9:26 pm

Anywhere between 2k (If you get lucky) up to 4k for a good Sport.

Unless you get very lucky!

Post Mon May 23, 2005 9:58 pm

Wow cheers for the reply. I was expecting alot more than that for a good one. Thats made my day lol

Post Tue May 24, 2005 8:53 am

rekon a 105000 miles, clean no history black 1989 sport is worth 3k?

Post Tue May 24, 2005 9:38 am

frosted wrote:rekon a 105000 miles, clean no history black 1989 sport is worth 3k?

I expect so, is there anything to back up the mileage at all ?

Post Tue May 24, 2005 10:15 am

i dont belive so. not 100% defo on that tho.

Post Tue May 24, 2005 11:06 am

frosted wrote:i dont belive so. not 100% defo on that tho.

Is it far from you to take a look at mate ?

Post Tue May 24, 2005 12:27 pm

yeah it is really cos im in cornwall. only reason i have not got a 325i sport yet is most are 2 far to travel on the "off chance" it might be ok.

running my own business does not give as much free time as you might think!

i did have one lined up from a forum member but was jerked around (was sold while i was waiting for him to get back to me

)

frosted

Post Tue May 24, 2005 2:10 pm

frosted wrote:yeah it is really cos im in cornwall. only reason i have not got a 325i sport yet is most are 2 far to travel on the "off chance" it might be ok.

running my own business does not give as much free time as you might think!

i did have one lined up from a forum member but was jerked around (was sold while i was waiting for him to get back to me )

frosted

I remembered you were down in the west country mate, and I saw that with the black sport...

Is this black one the one on ebay by any chance ?

If ever there are any close to me let me know - be glad to take a look for you if I am able...

Post Tue May 24, 2005 2:48 pm

yeah its the one on ebay, also on bmwcarshowroom for 3995.

cheers for the offer mate. much apprciated.

living in cornwall is wicked for surf. but shite for cars!