Please help asap!

[BrAdZ]

went to look at this yesterday:



And fell in love

and it really is mint, not a mark on the bodywork, just one problem.... it doesnt idle very well if you rev it to 3k then lift off it will go down to about 500rpm and splutter a bit, but doesnt quite cut out, is this a major problem? its the only thing thats stopping me from getting the car,

also what would you say its worth? 320i, 110,000 miles?

Any help would be much apreciated

Adam

[MONSPORT42]

The idle problem could be any number of things but none should be major. Any service history? Could just be a dirty air filter or an air leak between AFM and Throttle body, blocked fuel filter, faulty/dirty ICV....... A process of elimination really.
Cant say what it would worth but the chrome bumper models have a tendancy to rust and usually from the inside out. There's something about the sills in that picture that don't look quite right. I don't have a cab so hopefully others will comment.
I don't want to sound a killjoy but I can only go on my own experience but really check underneath - jacking points and inner rear wheel arches - take out the boot lining to see the general condition. This is a picture of my 1985 323i just before it got scrapped because of rust. Appearances can be deceptive!!!

[BrAdZ]

thank you very much for your quick response, i could not find a patch of rust on it, looked on the underside and all jacking points are rust free and appears very solid,

Thanks again! soon to be the proud owner of a e30 cab i cant wait!

[orangecurry]

where are you in the UK? if you are anwahere near Gatwick/Brighton I might be able to pop by sometime; I've got 2 cabs so I have some slight experience....

I'm going to be selling my 318i so I've been looking at prices; depends on service history when it comes down to it - IMHO 2k plus, but not a lot plus. Everyone wants 325s not 320s

[LOOPYLEE1965]

There's something about the sills in that picture that don't look quite right. i agree with the above it looks a new sill has been welded on top of the old ones hope im wrong

[nav786]

sill looks fine. the cab sills are like that

[Simon13]

Cabs have bigger fatter sills to cope without a roof and help stiffenthe chasis. They look like an E30 with a beer belly if u like.

It's rust thats killing e30's now, at least with mechanical stuff it's bolt in bolt out basically. If it's rough idling then it's nothing major just a split pipe or something

[orangecurry]

how would you know Nav? Your sills are buried under acres of plastic

[LOOPYLEE1965]

just seem to be sticking out too far nav i stand correted m8 not having owned a cab

[William]

Another cab owner just confirming that by sight alone there's nothing wrong with those sill's. As well as being deeper, they are also much wider in cabs, in that when you step in/out of the car, there is about 4 inches of sill to climb over instead of 2/3 in all other e30's. Clearly they could be riddled with rust underneath, who knows, but looking at it there's nothing wrong with the sills

[BrAdZ]

thank you for all your help guys its mucho apreciated, has got a full bmw service history upto 95k and after that its been serviced by a "local garage" but it shows its had oil filter change, not too sure when the cambelt was done... but im not worried about that as its the first thing i will do.... (dad bought a 320 tourer, had the reseipt to say cam belt was done, 1 week later it went...) so im not risking it!

i think its quite a steal at 1600?

[Geeman]

Ԛ£1600 is a very fair price.

I sold my H plate 320i convertible in December for Ԛ£2500, so this is a good price!

The sills look fine. Like everyone else has said, they're different on a convertible.

Happy E30-ing...!

[orangecurry]

1600 is an excellent price;
has he any daughters for sale?

does the bodywork look 'straight'? look along the side of the car from the front or back; check the chrome strips on the doors line up perfectly.

stick your hand into each wheel arch - the gap down to the wheel should be the same at the back (say two fingers) and the same at the front (say 4 fingers for an unmodified E30 cab) FOR BOTH SIDES OF THE CAR, if you see what I mean

is the tyre wear 'even'? you can tell a lot from a car and it's owner by the state of the tyres... E30s tend to wear on the inner rears, so nothing to worry about there

if you brake hard (not lock-up) does the car dive left or right?

do all the electrics work? sounds trivial but can be expensive/difficult to fix

sorry if you've done all this!

[orangecurry]

I've looked at your picture again - looks like Goodyear Eagle Venturas on the front with lots of tread (geez what an anorak!), so the previous owner hasn't skimped on tyres - a good sign

what wheels are they? IMHO get some 15" BBS multispokes; they are the business