E30 Zone

Hi all
I have the opportunity of purchasing my first ever e30 which i am very excited about.
Its a 318is with 100 000 on the clock.
It all seems great but there are a few issues.

The fuel pump makes a horrible whining noise on ignition and whilst driving, is this expensive to replace or something i should be very weary of?

The window wipers do not function when turned on but spring into life at a slow pace after about ten minutes.

Is this all easy/ inexpensive to replace or should i go elsewhere?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

neither should be difficult or expensive fixes. have a search on here and the wiki to see what you're up against.

The fuel pump noise could be a failing pump, but could also be a rusty tank... I have found this out with mine. Made a horrible whinning noise since I got it back in 2009. I bought a new - Second hand fuel pump but the whining continued. But I realised and with alot of help from the zone, there is rust in the tank which means I need to replace that at some point.

Bit of a task as you have to remove the prop shaft but thats only if you need to replace the tank...

I still havent done it yet as I need to locate a good tank, but i'm in no real rush to be honest. Learnt to live with the noise.


But, i'd focus on body issues personally when looking at buying something rather than other faults and other things can be fixed without getting overly expensive etc.

How much is it ofered for if you dont mind me asking?

If a noisy fuel pump and dodgy wiper motor is all thats wrong with it get it bought.

What you really need to check for is rust - get a local zoner to go with you to view the car before you hand over any cash.

Hi all
Thanks for your help and quick replies.
The seller claims it is just a problem with the pump, it drives fine and the noise is not unbearable i just didn't know if it would let me down on the journey home or be expensive to replace. Fingers crossed its not the tank! hah.
The car itself has no rust anywhere apart from a tiny piece about the size of a 5p below the passenger window seal which does not bother me at all.
Everything about the car seems sound i am just new to this so thought it was worth a check.
I have agreed a price of 2500 pounds with him and i think thats fair. Its brilliant rot, balls standard, spare wheel and 102 000 on the clock.
What does everyone else think? He wont let it go for less.
Thanks again.

wiper motors are seized, take them out and lube them up. its a typical issue if the cars stood for a little. thats in the higher price for a 318. id have a look and a drive a few more unless your set on that one because a bad example will show itself when you drive one in good mech order.

It does seem a little high, I would also shop around and see what else you can find mate, but dont rule it out. Without pictures, we can really say yeah its a brgain or no, run away.

Can you get some pictures or link a for sale ad?


@Anton89 - Its a 318is btw

pump is easy to change, and actually can easily be done with what tools you have if you have a full boot tool kit. new pump not silly to buy.

wipers can be allsorts so as suggested the first place is to lube the mechinisms by first cleaninhg (with WD40...remember WD40 is NOT a lubricant) then using grease of spray grease on all the moving parts, you may also need to excercise the moving parts to loosen them up, to do this disconnect the motor from the moving parts, this will now tell you if the motor is suspect (as if it does not turn disconnected to the wiper arms then the motor is knackered or the switching circuit is faulty...both quite easy to solve.

as above 2500 is quite high, if it were me i would insist that the seller fix all the faults such as fuel pump and fix the wipers BEFORE you part with cash, at that price you should have a fully fit and working car.