E30 Zone

So.... anyone have any experience of these???

Glanced at these on & off for a few years and am thinking it could be time to try one soon.
Other than the amount of fuel it'll get through, any big bills I should be expecting, or things I should be looking out for???

Is it a ticking timebomb with all the electrics in these?

I drive my cars quite hard and will be doing a lot of mileage in it, if that makes any difference!
(I know some are better for being driven regularly, rather than occasional use!)

Put me off please!!!

Engines like to spew oil, the valve stem oil seals disintegrate which results in clouds of blue smoke and oil consumption, lots of leaky/failing gaskets around the engine, they can also suffer with bore damage so make sure you check check and check again as much as possible, im sure Barry has some horror stories!

I thought I'd seen those horror stories online, but searching recently doesn't seem to bring that much up!!!
Still tempting!
Also not that many advertised at the moment.

Sounds like another engine build for the touring could be just as reliable

A mate has this engine in his X5 and has the same problem, changing the dirty spark plug more often and 10W60 engine oil has helped for now

Don't suppose there's any regular mileage/theme for the gaskets/seals to go, start consuming oil, etc?

Just had a quick look at a local 05 plate, 84k, full history - not a spec/colour I'd choose, but it's cheaper than any similar advertised online - and local!!!
Not driven it yet, but might go back in the next day or two!!!

You ought to take it to BMR or Pacer for a pre purchase inspection

Personally wouldn't touch one. Couple years ago I got offered a 545i manual touring for 2.5k and everyone advised me to refuse it. The owner had the valve stem seals changed but they went AGAIN and he couldn't be bothered to fork out the huge bills to get it redone again.
So whilst I can't tell you what they are like to live with, just that they not only over complicated that V8, but there was quality issues too.
I'd want to see receipts for new valve stem oil seals if not, I wouldn't even bother to go to see it. Make no mistake about it, they WILL go sooner or later.

Fair enough comments and those stem seals do niggle at the back of my mind... however... I'm hopefully collecting a 545i touring later this week!!!

Pre purchase inspection at BMR would've been a good shout - especially as it was there not long ago to have the air suspension sorted/replaced - but clearly far too sensible for me!!!

All being well with the fresh MOT later in the week, we'll soon see how much of a nightmare they are!!!!

I intend to put some miles on it!!!

May be bankrupt soon!!!

So errr, picked this up last Friday night...
Amethyst Grey, apparently!!!

Any puddles of oil yet?

Ha ha, not as yet!!!
Thrown almost 400 miles on it - couple of very, very minor niggles, but mechanically feels all good so far (that's jinxed it!!!).

Only thing I didn't already know - central locking doesnt seem to be working on passenger side rear door - not looked into it yet, but I'll get it sorted soon, as that's where the little boy sits, annoyingly!!!

So thats where it ended up!

The previous owner was going to trade it in i recall?

Not sure mate - he clearly didn't mention that to me, but has ordered something new from the stealers!!!

Any idea what the engine temp should be on these???

I reckon it might be running a bit cold - the hidden menu showed 53 degrees this morning, but I'll check it again tonight on a proper run!!!

Likely a dodgy thermostat? Or could it be a sensor somewhere on one of these???