E30s - A Bit Rubbish..?

[DRIFTBOY]

Don't get me wrong, compared to modern family saloons and hatchbacks I do enjoy driving my E30 (when it's working) but I was thinking today....

After being on here and owning an E30 for around three years noe it seems to me that there seem to be a huge amount of 'common faults' and 'they all do that' problems with E30s.

Rusty arches, jacking points, scuttles, sills etc.

Whiney diffs,

Noisey gearboxes,

Rear beams that won't come off the car,

Dashboard, ignition and general electrical failures,

Camshafts,

Cracked cylinder heads,

Camshaft position sensors,

Throttle position sensors,

Water temperature sensors,

Smashed sumps,

Water ingress,

Leaking fuel fillers / tanks

The fact that people label you as a 'BMW driving c0ck'


I've had other old cars for similar periods of time and I've never experienced sooo many problems and things to replace!


So, are E30s actually a bit rubbish....?

[Jhonno]

Other than the rust, none of that is difficult or expensive to sort..

Never heard of many electrical failures..

Camshafts are M40 specific

Etc etc!!

I think you'd find the list for other cars is just as if not more extensive and probably more expensive to sort..

[E30Gheko]

don't be stoopid! E30's are a bit 'old' now and the problems above are mainly age related. Persevere, get ur list sorted, and ur car will be cool again and oh so much fun to hoon around in.

I can't think of any car I'd rather be driving than an E30. Especially no newer models!

[Speedtouch]

All four of mine (2x320i, 2x325i) were actually totally reliable, and I was glad of the Germanic engineering on impacting a central reservation crash barrier head on at 70mph and walking away without a scratch in my last one, a 1989 325i Tech 2 Sport (though it did have its share of rust)

[TopSod]

I'd like to see how todays cars are shaping up after 20 odd years to be fair. I haven't had any of the above problems with mine, albeit the rust is starting now on the rear arches. Yet you go on the VW forum and the problems they have on new cars is unreal, in particular gear boxes coming up as 'commom' quite often, and they are still churning them out.

[gooner1]

There is no doubt they do have their problems, but how much of that is down to poor
maintenance?. On the plus side, they are easy to work on, and whay other manufactorer still makes spares for a de;eted model?

[Ric_Vezza]

I think you are talking crap!

Other than rust (which is inevitable on a 20 year old car!) pretty much all of those faults are down to poor maintainence.

They are very reliable if looked after by someone competant.

[fuzzy]

i dont image its any worse than any other 20 year old car .itll depend on how well its been maintained. it is much cheaper for main dealer replacement parts compared to my last project car,a toyota.

[Jhonno]

Other than rust (which is inevitable on a 20 year old car!) pretty much all of those faults are down to poor maintainence.

They are very reliable if looked after by someone competant.

+1

[johnl320]

Go on an alfa romeo forum and see the faults they have on cars that are 6-7 years old, I should know I used to have one.
Best to have common faults that are easily diagnosed and rectified than the random electrical gremlins other italian/french turds suffer with.

[Alex]

mine has non of them faults, if i wanted to be picky the diff is slightly noticable

buy an IS they automatically heal them selves since they were blessed by god himself

[DRIFTBOY]

My Nissan 200 sx was the same age and frankly much better.

[jaistanley]

In my oppinion you bought a shit one and payed the price!

I've had none of the problems you mentioned (OK apart from some rust but it was older than 20 years!) and my beemers have NEVER let me down!

I think in general: buying shit cars is a nob head thing to do.

[stonesie]

My VW was a K plate and much less reliable than my F plate E30.... My peugeot 205? Im not even going there


I beleave in a thing called preventative maintainance, if a part looks a bit tired then i change it, rather then wait untill it's totally bolloxed then go crying about it.
Sure, I might (do) mumble about the price of the parts but I can honestly say that when I punt the old thing down a country lane and it lets me know whats going on, has not 1 rattle or bang and I know it won't leave me stranded it brings a smile to my face, no other car I have owned feels like this and that's why I came back to E30's

[Mayze]

Ive had lots of old cars and theve all had problems but thats just half the fun of old cars its the will it get me home feeling that makes it intresing to drive.

Amusingly a couple of years ago I sold an E21 two months latter the guy I sold it to phoned me to complain as it had broken down and was expensive to run. I told him that if he wanted a cheap to run reliable car not to by a 27 year old BMW.

[Simon13]

most of that is lazy bad maintenance, plus a few old car issues

If you don't start off with a lemon they are actually pretty good i've had both to know!

[da4x4turbo]

My Nissan 200 sx was the same age and frankly much better.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, an S13? Obviously you bought the only one that didn't shit its bottom end then?

The S13 Engine (the one before the SR20) is widely known for bottom end issues.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Ran a cabby for 5 years. The only failure was a clutch master cylinder.

[gooner1]

My Nissan 200 sx was the same age and frankly much better.

How did/does the parts availabilty/prices equate?
Smashed sump has got to be drivers responsibility, surely?

[poolnoodle]

I've had my chromie for 13 years and other than a few minor issues, it has been perfectly reliable and streets ahead of any other early 80s car I have driven.

[Boyraceruk]

My Nissan 200 sx was the same age and frankly much better.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, an S13? Obviously you bought the only one that didn't shit its bottom end then?

The S13 Engine (the one before the SR20) is widely known for bottom end issues.

I was thinking of an S13 before I found out how fragile they were. I can think of a ton of drifters who have blown theirs up.

[adit]

how many twenty+ year old vauxhalls/fords etc are still on the road? (no! don't this into yet another old ford thread pleeease )

p.s. love your avatar mayze

[Bob_S]

a car will only be as good as you look after it,
my iS, M3 and 316 gave me no problems, I bought a neglected iS and fragged it, to be honest it was a crying shame I did that thinking about it now. oops! oh well. and yes I know I have driven every mile at full throttle in my 2.8 with every engine the 2.7 was fine when I took it out, the 2.5 shit itself because I didnt run a lambda and the 2.8 is solid as a rock. I went to MOT it yesterday and the only thing it failed on was... high emissions, because the icv is broken. the car looks like a heap!

[zaust]

What you have just decribed is somethings that need doing after 18 years + on a car like this. The fact they last that long before they need doing is a bonus. Means another 18 years or so before it needs doing again. I sell new and nearly new cars for a living and belive me once they are past the manafactures peice of mind, your in for big bills every year or so. And you will find that when a modern car gets to be 10 years old you throw it away or suffer the money pit.

[fuzzy]

...after 10 years modern cars are passed down to the dregs of society who then try and convince everyone else theyre classics? sounds familiar.

[E30Gheko]

I wouldn't buy anything less than 19 years old....

[DavieP]

The fact that people label you as a 'BMW driving c0ck'

I suspect that label is mostly applied to those who own BMWs and drive like c0cks.

I've had other old cars for similar periods of time and I've never experienced sooo many problems and things to replace!

Mine is by far the oldest that I've ever had, having usually owned new or nearly new in the past. It is also the most forgiving, reliable and durable without a doubt. In the past 3 years less than 10% of my outlay has been for really essential repairs, the rest has been on preventative maintenance or improvement.

So, are E30s actually a bit rubbish....?

If you buy a shed and treat it like a shed, it will stay like a shed

[capri_rob]

Don't get me wrong, compared to modern family saloons and hatchbacks I do enjoy driving my E30 (when it's working) but I was thinking today....

After being on here and owning an E30 for around three years noe it seems to me that there seem to be a huge amount of 'common faults' and 'they all do that' problems with E30s.

Rusty arches, jacking points, scuttles, sills etc.

Whiney diffs,

Noisey gearboxes,

Rear beams that won't come off the car,

Dashboard, ignition and general electrical failures,

Camshafts,

Cracked cylinder heads,

Camshaft position sensors,

Throttle position sensors,

Water temperature sensors,

Smashed sumps,

Water ingress,

Leaking fuel fillers / tanks

The fact that people label you as a 'BMW driving c0ck'


I've had other old cars for similar periods of time and I've never experienced sooo many problems and things to replace!


So, are E30s actually a bit rubbish....?

Apart from the "'BMW driving c0ck'" bit go and find me a mid-late 80's Cavalier, Sierra, Escort, Astra, Golf etc etc that doesn't typically suffer any of the above issues.

These were all made in far greater numbers than the E30 and with the exception of the Golf, I bet far fewer survive on our roads today.

E30's are not rubbish.

[hongkongfuey]

if you have the attitude of (E30s - A Bit Rubbish..?) maybe you should jog on and find yourself another forum to bother

[capri_rob]

I've owned stacks of 80's cars and the only one that was built anything like on a par with the E30 was my Audi Coupe ( the boxy shape ). In terms of engineering it was probably as good as the E30, however the 2.3 5 cylinder lump despite sounding lovely was not a patch on the M20 ( in non turbo form anyway ).

[bodger]

to sum it up all cars are rubbish with the exeption of the e30 being a bit rubbish

[LeonNewton]

mine has non of them faults, if i wanted to be picky the diff is slightly noticable

buy an IS they automatically heal them selves since they were blessed by god himself

+1 I wish

[LeonNewton]

I wouldn't buy anything less than 19 years old....

Very good roule to stick to. Aslong as you check for rust.

[gareth]

E30's are rubbish, sometimes. like when i'm sat on a motorway with a cracked M20 head, or sat on a motorway with a siezed water pump (no warning there) or while sitting inside at night trying to read a map, thinking it shouldn't be an optional extra to have an interior light that light up the front, especially on a BMW FFS!

sometimes though they're totally awesome! like when stampeding round the ring having got there with no problems, getting home with no problems and doing the same 3 months later with again no problems. while driving through a high street full of identical euroboxes, sitting in something a little different. while turning a journey cross country into your own special rally stage and while then also driving the kids to school in comfort (ish - coilovers excluded from this!)

in my eyes, my E30 is a classic car with classic car charm and faults. only it was made recently enough to find parts in a breakers yard or motor factors, so i can use the thing every day and enjoy it for what it is... a bit shit, but mine

[LeonNewton]

Hear hear. Could not agree moor noor express thows centerments better