Urgent Advice Needed - Viewing 320 this afternoon!

Post Sat Mar 26, 2005 12:03 pm

Ok guys, Im going to look at a 1989 (G) 320SE manual 4dr later today.

The price is low but the MOT runs out in May and it has no tax. The seller says that it will need a new tyre for the MOT but says the rest of the car is fine.

Can anybody give me a quick checklist of things to look for when buying an E30 320... eg. whining gearbox, rust prone areas to check...basically any weak or problem areas on the cars.

Thanks in advance, Neil

Post Sat Mar 26, 2005 12:14 pm

Rust:
Wheelarches have a good feel round, Front panel infront of windscreen (need to lift bonnet), Rear light surrounds check in boot, rear boot wells have a GOOD prod underneath, check for damp carpets, battery tray in engine bay(if battery is in engine bay), rear jacking points, and bottom of doors, then just a general good check over.

Check all electrics work, check idle speed let car warm up and check water temp, check for smoke, white = water, blue black = oil. Drive staight, brake lighty check for pulling, general strange noises really.

Hope this helps and it all goes well for you. Welcome to the site.

Regards Mark.

Post Sat Mar 26, 2005 1:29 pm

You haven't mentioned the first thing I would look at on a 320 or 325.
Remove the coolant pressure cap and check there is no oily gunge in the header tank.
The important things are the above and rust. All the other things are just price negogiators.
320 is a bit of an odd car - drinks like a 325, but only slightly better performance than a 318 and inferior handling (heavy engine). Having said that, it's an SE ,and as long as it's cheap enough, go for it. You can always change the engine later.

Post Sat Mar 26, 2005 2:43 pm

Cheers guys,

Im off to have a look now. Fingers crossed (ive printed your advice out!)

Neil

Post Sat Mar 26, 2005 5:01 pm

Well, Ive been to look at the car and I must say i was very impressed!

The car started up and ran nice and smoothly, there were no signs of smoke (just a normal amount of steam) when revved when cold and warm and it seemed to drive nicely. All electrics (sunroof, 4x windows etc) worked.

Only two problems i noticed - the speedo was very erratic below 20mph (flicked up to anywhere between 50 and 60 mph), but settled once doing 30mph. And the seller (selling it on behalf of his son) said he'd noticed a slight bumping noise at slow speeds. When I heard it it just sounded like drive-train shunt when you lift off the throttle at low engine speeds - no worse than in the 325 I used to have.

All in all, I liked the car and Im probably gonna buy it

Post Sat Mar 26, 2005 6:50 pm

Sorry just natural for me, if there is smoke then I look in the coolant and check the dipstick, in my defence I had only just just got, lazy weekend. Glad you liked it, I have a 320iSE, really nice motor when it's on the road. Let us know how you got on.

Regards Mark.

Post Sat Mar 26, 2005 9:47 pm

Well, I bit the bullet today and put a bid in for the car!

I forgot to mention earlier but I'm buying it off Ebay! Might as well make my first Ebay purchase a (relatively) expensive one, eh?

I won the auction at Ãƒ”šÃ‚£300, with no other bidders, which makes me think I've either spotted a bit of a bargain or everybody else who saw it found some major problems with it that I missed! Hopfully I just found a bargain.

This is the car anyway: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 4536321631

What do you think? Bargain?

Neil

Post Sat Mar 26, 2005 10:04 pm

Looks tidy enough and just down the road from me! Im in Preston. Good luck with it mate.

Guest · Post Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:03 am

320 is a bit of an odd car - drinks like a 325, but only slightly better performance than a 318 and inferior handling (heavy engine). Having said that, it's an SE ,and as long as it's cheap enough, go for it

The 320i is noticeably faster than the 318i and sounds better too. The 318i is a better runabout though due to petrol consumption.

Post Sun Mar 27, 2005 11:05 am

sunking101 wrote:
320 is a bit of an odd car - drinks like a 325, but only slightly better performance than a 318 and inferior handling (heavy engine). Having said that, it's an SE ,and as long as it's cheap enough, go for it
The 320i is noticeably faster than the 318i and sounds better too. The 318i is a better runabout though due to petrol consumption.

I couldnt hear any difference between the engine note on the 320 and on the 325 I had last year, which is definitely a selling point for me. They both sound great.

And Im glad you think the 320 is noticeable quicker than the 318. I wanted a six-pot and this was the best price i found. I would've preferred a 325 Sport, but maybe one day....

Hopefully I won't wrap this one around a tree like my 325SE

Post Sun Mar 27, 2005 3:05 pm

You wont notice a major difference in the engine note between the 320 and 325, cause they ar eboth 6 pots, I think what you buy should only reflect what you what. If I wanted speed I would have gone for a 325 but I got my bike licence for that, the 320 does me all I want. My lil rant over with.

Regards Mark.