Hello! And am i being unrealistic?

[edhall]

Hi everybody,
I've been converted to the E30 way recently and now obsessed with getting one. I've got an Alfa 155 at the moment which is loadsa fun but i just can't live without RWD (always had, and still have Mk1/2 Escorts you see ).
I was just wondering if i'm being a bit unrealistic about what i can get for the money, it'd be great if you chaps can enlighten me.
I want to spend Ԛ£500-Ԛ£750, maybe Ԛ£800 on a 325i. And so far i've looked at-
4dr, '84 323i - FSH, very tidy, rusty underneath.
2x '88 325i 2drs - FSH, tidy, rotting too (towing eye, below screen, arches, wings)
2dr '87 325i 2dr - awful arches, plated inner wing.
And been offered a v. promising sounding 323i, but it's auto

Is this just going to be a long search or am i living in a dream world about what sort of body condition i can expect for this money? I'll live with a few cosmetic bubbles, especially on the rear arches, but i don't want a rotter, especially when my Alfa is rust free .
Guidence needed!!

Thanks in advance, Ed

[dazleeds]

theres a lachs silver 325i in the for sale section now for Ԛ£400 mate

widges car
could be worth a look
needs a little bit of paint here and there but has already had any issues sorted

[Toby_Unna]

Hi Ed how's it going

if that 323i is good, a manual swap is pretty straightforward.

[edhall]

Hi Toby, thought you might be on here somewhere

I'm not too worried about the technical difficulty side of the auto-manual swap, it's just that i can't justify spending the time doing it when i have two very immobile Escorts! Really need a jump-in-and-drive job.

Cheers Daz, i looked at the Ԛ£400 car and am very tempted, but maybe a little more Ԛ£ might get me something that doesn't need paint?

[Motorhole]

Hi Ed, welcome to E30 Zone!

Regular PPC reader here (Yes I recognised the name and the Alfa 155), also in the PPC Forum.

Good luck in finding your 325i! Patience is the key, keep browsing Autotrader and be willing to travel. Eventually some family man/woman will be selling their mint 325i under-value!

[Brianmoooore]

Is this just going to be a long search or am i living in a dream world about what sort of body condition i can expect for this money? I'll live with a few cosmetic bubbles, especially on the rear arches, but i don't want a rotter, especially when my Alfa is rust free .
Guidence needed!!

Thanks in advance, Ed

Keep looking, there's plenty of totaly rust free E30s out there. More rust free than rusty in my experience.
Last one I bought has a rust bubble on one front wing, spreading from a mud flap clamp, a bubble on the front bottom corner of one of the rear doors and a little surface rust at the very bottom of the panel; below the rear towing eye. I've had all the liners/covers/shrouds/carpets off and that is the absolute sum total.
Rusty rear arches (inside and out) is the thing to avoid.

[Widge]

Hi mate, I've got one for sale for Ԛ£400, and if you could buget Ԛ£750 then you could sort it out really easily. It's in the for sale section, drop me a PM if youyr interested, where are you BTW?

[edhall]

Hi Widge,
What rust does your 325i have and where? It looks quite cool and it is cheap...

Otherwise, i reckon i'll just have to have a bit more patience! Saw a red E30 on someone's drive for sale when coming back from looking at one car - It was absolutely mint, FSH and Ԛ£995. Proves they are out there, just a shame it was a 320 touring.

Keep reading PPC!

[Widge]

TBH mate, mine is very solid underneath, I should think it would pass another MOT no problem.
To make it MINTY MINT it would need ideally a new boot lid a new sun roof and a new front valance and the sills need stripping an re spraying. There is a tiny bit of bubbling on the rear arches but it's not too bad. The most important thing is that it goes really well, the engine is quieter than the 120,000 mile touring I have bought and I have done just about everything mechanical that can go wrong + a couple of improvements. I just needs tidying up to be a good car. When I was driving it the other day I thought you do get a lot of bang for your buck with a 325 for this kinda price.