In need of opinions

[conartist16]

Hello everyone

i'm a new member and i'm so glad that i found this forum, to see so many bmw fans together. I have read many topics, seen many pictures, wow lovely cars.

Anyways, I'm coming to you guys with an old problem of mine. The time has come for me to buy myself a car, and i hope that i came to the right place, because i'm thinking of buying a BMW.
A one that looks clean, not necessarily super reconditioned, a decent one, good looking. Obviously,

What are my needs:

- a decent fuel consumption
-spacious
-daily car
-obvious a good looking car

I researched about the e30 models and i found the touring "thing". My first thought was 'looks perfect but it has certainly a big engine too'.

It wasn't like that. later i found out the existance of the 1.6 petrol version (99 hp).

I need some good/bad opinions from you guys. It is worth it? My biggest problem is with the fuel consumption, i definitely need an explanation with that.
I'm turning 18 in a few weeks, and the buged is around 700-900 Eur


thanks

[snakebrain]

Even a 1.6 E30 will be a lot thirstier than a modern engine. I'm not sure what fuel costs are like in Romania but you should think carefully about fuel economy. You don't say what you consider decent fuwel economy. Look up the numbers, figure out what you can afford and make your decision based on that. Bear in mind that a 25 year old engine is unlikely to give you the same mileage as a new one would have, so take official figures with a pinch of salt.

Of course everybody on here likes E30s, but you need to be careful buying old cars cheaply. A clean, well-maintained E30 will give you very little bother. A bad one will cost you time and money until you end up hating it.

[BATTS91]

Hi welcome , my first thought are your nearly 18 and insurance is going to be your weakness right ?
Me if i could id go for a nice lpg 325 .But as most people will say here due to the age of E30's buy on condition in body/rust wise and not depend upon spec/engine size.

Where are you from you mention Euro's?

[conartist16]

@snakebrain: A decent fuel consumption for me, is between 7-8 (max 9) liters/100 km (in the city)

7 liters = 1.5397841 Imperial gallon
8 liters = 1.75975326 Imperial gallon
9 liters = 1.97972242 Imperial gallons

The fuel cost per liter in Romania is 5.9 Lei= 1.34 euro=1.1 pounds (i'm talkin about petrol 95)
Thank you, there are still hopes for me then.


@BATTS91

The insurance costs are not a big problem, here in Romania.
And i'm thinking to buy it from Germany, probably, i saw pretty nice old BMW cars, well maintained.

[snakebrain]

@snakebrain: A decent fuel consumption for me, is between 7-8 (max 9) liters/100 km (in the city)

7 liters = 1.5397841 Imperial gallon
8 liters = 1.75975326 Imperial gallon
9 liters = 1.97972242 Imperial gallons

The fuel cost per liter in Romania is 5.9 Lei= 1.34 euro=1.1 pounds (i'm talkin about petrol 95)
Thank you, there are still hopes for me then.

Well off you go and work out if you can afford to run one or not. All the info is readily available. I'm not going to do the sums for you.

[Blitz]

You should get those fuel consumption figures with a 316i/318i.

[verde]

If you want ecconomy forget E30s. My driving test is still due and im already considering a second car because i know for a FACT running an e30 daily isnt that cheap

[bmw9818]

i used to get around low 20's with my 1.6

[Grrrmachine]

You really can't run an E30 if you want fuel economy... not unless you convert to LPG. I have no idea what the availability of LPG is in Romania, but in Poland it's everywhere. We're the biggest consumers in Europe.

The most economical engine is the M42, a 16V 1.8 engine. But this wasn't fitted to the Touring models. It was only available in the 318iS.

As for buying in Germany - good luck. There aren't many cheap E30s there any more, because the Polish already bought them all

[Alex]

The only thing that will meet your requirements is an e30 is good looking

[ross_jsy]

As for buying in Germany - good luck. There aren't many cheap E30s there any more, because the Polish already stole them all

EFA

[Darren325is]

Simple - 325is and get used to it

[taylorstattoo]

my car started off as a 318i touring and around town it was good on fuel but on the motoway it cost me £70,,/a full tank, to go from north cornwall to dover in kent, 270miles, thats about 20miles to a gallon,, but an old honda crx a had did it quicker in under half a tank,/ £30,, you can find a half good 318 for your budget but you will be spending money on it each year