E30 Zone

Hi

I am a 49 year old BMW fan. SInce my mark II Escort and Golf all my cars have been Beemers. An E36 saloon, E36 M3 evo, 523i SE and currently running a 320D ED Saloon. Never owned an E30 but my mate had a 325i and it was the tits. I have now reached my mid life crisis point and i want to chop in my daily driver for an E30 325 manual touring. I am told this site and forum is the best place to connect with fellow E30 enthusiasts so here i am. Please go gentle on me as i am learning as fast as i can

Any tips on what to look for and where when buying E30's would be very much welcome.

Cheers
Catch up hopefully soon and stay safe
Daz

Welcome to the zone, a 2.5 touring is an excellent choice of car but I may be biased. As with any E30 rust is the killer so find the cleanest example you can. Normal trouble spots are Front/rear inner arches, under the fusebox, battery tray, bulkhead, front floor pans, underneath any side skirts or bodykit, the list is endless! The mechanics on these cars are very simple and logical to work on so I wouldn't be put off if any potential purchase has running issues.

Welcome to the zone mate and thanks for the big up
I`m looking forward to seeing some pictures , when the moment arrives.

Mart.

Thanks for the kind welcome and the advice. I found a couple of E30 325 touring on a classics for sale site and they were clean, good runners, no rust mileage not too high but they wanted £7.5K and £8.5K. Is that the kind of money i will need to spend to get a touring with no rust and minimal work required do you think?

Thanks
Daz

That sounds like the upper end of the scale but if they are genuinely rust free with good history and spec' then it's not outrageously high. I wouldn't part with mine for any less than 8k.

Hello and welcome mate.
A 325i manual touring is an awesome car, but then again I'm biased too...

Thanks, that makes sense with regards the value. When things calm down and we are allowed to roam again i will be going to see as many as i can and get a feel for what's good and bad. The rust situation worries me as i assume there are a few known rust spots that are impossible to get to without dismantling half the car. Are there any areas that essentially write the car off due to complexity and cost of repair? are these easy to spot on a visit without putting it on ramps etc.?

Thanks
Daz

Cloggy Saint wrote: ↑

Sat May 09, 2020 5:44 pm

That sounds like the upper end of the scale but if they are genuinely rust free with good history and spec' then it's not outrageously high. I wouldn't part with mine for any less than 8k.

That's not to say mine is spotless, I'm just greedy.

E30thash1zn1t wrote: ↑

Sat May 09, 2020 10:30 pm

Are there any areas that essentially write the car off due to complexity and cost of repair? are these easy to spot on a visit without putting it on ramps etc.?

Thanks
Daz

I'm no expert, but as an enthusiast who pays full retail for any and all jobs done on my car, I'd say the main area to be aware of is the battery box/tray and area all the way forward to the front of the rear wheel arches (cars with battery in the boot). The parts are readily available and cheap enough but the work (to do it properly) is very involved.

For a first class job, assume just battery area (inner and outer, tray, and some fabrication) £1800. With one wheel arch (again, inner and outer) that goes up to £2400. (Prices vary around the country, of course)

I just paid £2600, including rejecting the first parts as they weren't good enough, which meant changing supplier and/or fabricating where good ones weren't available without waiting.

If you can do the work yourself, it'll be about £300!

If you find a mint, manual 325i touring for sale, grab it!

I've settled for auto twice and don't regret it though, as for me condition outweighs specification. Still a great car.

Good luck with the search

Thanks for the detailed feedback, Some scary numbers there!. I fear my search may take some time to find a reasonable touring but it will be worth it in the end.

I will post whatever i find here...

Cheers
Daz

Hi Daz - do a bit of research to work out what you really want before you commit (model, budget, condition, etc), but also be willing to take the plunge - you could spend years trying to find the perfect E30.