Can an E30 be truely reliable?

[ChrisBarns]

I've been getting fed-up with the money / time / effort involved in keeping my e30s on the road and have been investigating other options - particularly PCPs and lease-hire on a new or nearly new car or a purchase of a nearly new car.

Anyway. If I spent £100 a month on servicing / repairing an E30 it would be well under half what I'd be spending on the repayments on a newish car. The E30 and the new car would have about the same amount of equity left over at the end but the cost is not my major concern - its the not being 100% sure the car will start etc.

All E30s are going to be old and almost all will have a high milage. Do you think that a 325i, kept outside used everyday in all weathers could be 100% reliable if the premantaive maintanence was right? What would you do? what sort of car would you start with?

Cheers

[robsy]

in a word - no

because of the age of these cars now there will always be something going on them - the only way you could probably limit the chance of something happening would be if the previous owner had gone all round the car renewing every clip, hose and part possible - so not likly to happen.

Best to keep an E30 for hobby/second/spare car and use a more realible/newer car for everyday use in my opinion - sure someone will disagree with me though!!

[bigun]

at the end of the day if its got tits or wheels its gonna give you trouble

[Ant]

Disagree totally.

a good car that has been maintained all its life will be as/more reliable than any modern car.

My E30 has done 40K in the last 3 years, no issues at all, did one OSF lower balljoint today on it, and 3 sets of rubber on the rims, the rest has been fault free and reliable as night follows day.

the right car, in the right hands is still an asset, dont let a bad experience put you off e30 ownership.

[DRIFTBOY]

Having worked at a multi-franchise dealership for over seven years I can safely say that brand new cars are not always reliable!

[Brianmoooore]

My E30s are by far and away the most reliable cars that I drive, or am associated with in one way or another!
Once they are "sorted through" to deal with the last decade of (usually) minimal maintenence, all they should need is routine servicing and maintenance, and the replacement of consumables.
The only 'failures' I've had in well over a decade of E30 ownership, are a cracked head on a 325, and a fuel pump that had totally worn out its motor.

[lance1a]

Depends if you do your own work, as that has an obvious impact on the running costs. I have owned loads of E30's as well as other BM's and never had too much hassle other than routine maintenance. Sure I have one I bought the other day that just won't run, regardless of what I do, but generally, all have been great! New cars are just as prone to failures as old in some respects, My mate bought a new Renault Scenic that has been nothing but a money trap, and all my work-mates are forever bringing their newish cars over for work. Leasing is a good option as long as the (sometimes very restrictive) terms of the contract are adhered to, But I can get a lease car from work (at BMW we get a 'subsidised' car) but the terms are so restrictive I don't bother. I have bought a piece of french rubbish though, to get around in (a citroen AX Diesel) but more to keep the mileage down on my E30's. Maybe do something like that, buy a Pug 306 TD or a VW TDI and save the BM for nice weather (so you might get to use it twice a year)

[darkchild]

The secret, as with any car, is to buy a tidy one to start with. My current E30 had clearly lived a pampered life and I was happy to pay top dollar because of this. In two years, apart from regular servicing and tyres etc, its needed nothing. Same story with my (allegedly inferior) E36 - in 5 years and 75K its needed only two suspension bushes. BMW's (well, old ones anyway) are built to last. At least with E30's most faults are easily sorted. Overheat a modern BMW and you're likely to be looking for a new engine.

As with any car, a bad E30 is just a moneypit that will cost its purchase price and then some to put right.

[ChrisBarns]

If i bought a new car it would be someone well known for reliability - German or Japanease. I realise this isn't a gaurante.

I've had second cars before but i hardly used them, mainly because I have a motorbike and boats for sunny Sunday afternoons. If I did have a second car it wouldn't be an E30 anyway. I believe in having a car for fun everyday so just going to work is fun.

My concern is that old cars (and I've had a lot!) have things that wear out like Brian's fuel pump or the seal at the top of my 320's petrol tank which allows the fuel to leak out if you fill it too far. I don't really mind spending on repairs but I do mind not having the car (because its gone in to have its fuel tank seal relaced) or not completing a journey.

[dannyboy759]

I agree with what most of the guys say.
Ive had every type of e30 and had no major probs with them all.
The LHD 325 4 door ive got now i bought 3 years ago and i done the cam belt a few rubbers and the prop bearing it had done over 250,000kms that i knew of and it had done a shed load more that that because the guy who had it before me told me that the clocks had packed up a few years ago.
And since then all ive had to do is a fan coupling and a few oil changes and being in germany it had the arse cained out of it and its a great car.
E36´s aint as good and even the newer cars like the E46 have issues....................................E30 all the way baby

[Chris-W]

It's the modern cars I've has trouble with - hence I no longer by them

[maxfield]

It's the modern cars I've has trouble with - hence I no longer by them

All 3 E30's we have here haven't let us down once.

[320Touring]

It's the modern cars I've has trouble with - hence I no longer by them

stick to the P38 rangerovers!

as for e30's being reliable- the key is , as you say Preventative maintainance!

look after it, and it'll look after you. I've done 6500 miles in 13 days in my white touring- not a spot of bother

[gazm3]

I have 3 No E30 with no real problems.
But the the wife's E39 thats another story.
Fuel Pump, injectors, electrics airbags etc.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Had my b20 cab for 4 and a half years. Only needed basic maintenance, wear and tear, plus a master/slave clutch cylinder replaced.

[darkchild]

But the the wife's E39 thats another story.
Fuel Pump, injectors, electrics airbags etc.

Infamous diesel pump? Big $$$$$$$$$$$$

[jibowski]

i must be lucky but i've had a 6 e30s and never have had to replace any major part due to breakage, thats why despite being able to afford newer quickers cars i keep buying old e30s (and the odd e36), i know many people have cars half an e30s age and have no end of trouble from vectras, mondeos, anthing french or italian etc

the biggest parts that have given up are 1 radiator, ball joints, clutch, 3 exhausts, tyres, brake discs, shocks, pads etc, most of these you'd class as consumables anyway,

i dont really thrash my cars hard but they tended to over engineer old beemers

if only they built them from decent metal like vw's to stop the f@@kers rusting

[Demlotcrew]

The great thing with E30s is that they tell you when things are not quite right, giving you a few days/weeks notice on when they cant go no further till the problem is fixed.

Andrew

[StuBeeDoo]

Other than a flat battery that was down to me, my Touring has let me down once in 4 years. That was when the CPS failed. That could happen on any modern car.
Wor Lass had a Polo from 3 months old and it was the biggest pile of rubbish I've ever come across on 4 wheels. I got sick of taking it in for repairs. We were so glad when the lease ran out.
That's just one example. I've made a decision to never have another car that's newer than the E30. Compared to my E30 modern cars are rubbish.

[gazm3]

But the the wife's E39 thats another story.
Fuel Pump, injectors, electrics airbags etc.

Infamous diesel pump? Big $$$$$$$$$$$$

Oh yes mate,

You could buy a decent car with the money its costing me for repairs.
Its so painfull

[BMracing]

It's the modern cars I've has trouble with - hence I no longer by them

Agreed.
I could go on all day about the problems we get with 2 year old Audi's. Modern cars are generally very 'disposable' it seems. Many mechanical components, particularly engines, are weaker than they used to be, in the effort to save weight, because the car has been weighed down with gadgets and safety features.
Can you imagine an e90 3 series being around in 20 years? Great car don't get me wrong but personally I can't. Too much to go wrong in the meantime.

[dannyboy759]

Thing is E30 parts are always availible from somewhere and at a good cost, i mean if you had to replace most of the parts that could or would break down in time like rubbers, bearings slave , master cylinders, shocks and so on and so on as long as the car was good body wise it would still be cheap motoring and it would out last any ford mongdingo!
Even E30 engines are have a go DIYer friendly!!!

[darkchild]

But the the wife's E39 thats another story.
Fuel Pump, injectors, electrics airbags etc.

Infamous diesel pump? Big $$$$$$$$$$$$

Oh yes mate,

You could buy a decent car with the money its costing me for repairs.
Its so painfull

Ouch! You have my sympathy. I was seriously considering an E39 but most seem to be moneypits waiting to happen. Loads of niggly electrical problems, the older diesels, as you know, have trouble with the pump, newer ones eat their turbos, manifolds etc. Shame because they're such a lovely thing to drive. If only they were built like the good old E34.

[Speedtouch]

Agreed, '80s German prestige cars are pretty bombproof. I've owned 3x E30s, a Merc 190E and currently have an E34, all with over 100K miles and never suffered major problems, wheras my old '70 Minor Traveller has gone through 2 engines, 3 gearboxes and 2 diffs in 135K miles, and my '72 MGB GT needed a new engine recently. '80s cars are generally easy to work on too, unlike modern spaceships.

Even my dad's new VW Passat Turbodiesel blew its engine at 7K and had to have a complete new engine at a cost of over £2K!

[miniblob]

I would/have/do use E30's for my everyday car that has to be reliable!!!

As said, buy a good'n and you'll be ok!!!

I had a C reg 320 that was mint when i bought it - drove it for 2 years (about 40k) without even a service (back when i was young and knew no better!!) - even then, it was just the diff that went!!!!!
Put about 6k on a £50 318i in two months and the only prob i had was a loose fan belt!!

Now using a touring as a daily driver (Croydon to Slough and back most days - 110 miles a day!!) - albeit a modified 2.7!!!!

As has been said, you normally get warning when somethings gonna go wrong and i normally just don't sort it 'till it's really broken!!!!
Only once been temporarily stuck with mine - snapped accelerator cable - and i knew it was going for about three weeks before that - rac man bodged it with a bit of wire in no time!!!!
Even when the head was blown on my 325 engine, i still put 7k on it before changing the engine and it was still just about driving me to slough and back!!!

Older cars can be very reliable!!!! My E30 has far less probs than our 2 year old Vectra (which is competing for worst car i've driven - just beaten my Merc's A Class!!).

[sam325is]

The great thing with E30s is that they tell you when things are not quite right, giving you a few days/weeks notice on when they cant go no further till the problem is fixed.

Andrew

That is SO true!

[Andyboy]

If you buy a typical heap of shit and just run it, it will possibly break down.

But an E30 is a simple car really. Buy a good one and spend a weekend on it - cambelt and tensioner, cam oil seal, water pump, plugs/cap/rotor etc and it should be okay. I've done probably 100'000 miles in various E30's and never had a breakdown. The only time an E30 got into trouble was a C reg 323i Auto which, when being driven though Hamburg city centre 40 degree heat, pinholed a rad hose. I added some water, got it to the main dealer and fitted a new hose on the forecourt. Easy.

An option is something like a new Ford Ka/Citroen C1, £1000 down and about £150 a month with either a balloon payment or chop it in for a new one and there's a lot to be said for that. I did it once and it was very cost effective.

[Andyboy]

I was seriously considering an E39 but most seem to be moneypits waiting to happen. Loads of niggly electrical problems, the older diesels, as you know, have trouble with the pump, newer ones eat their turbos, manifolds etc. Shame because they're such a lovely thing to drive. If only they were built like the good old E34.

Oh yes. As Pacerpete put it, the E39 is a rear wheel drive Renault. Lovely when new but the potential for huge bills is scary. I wouldn't buy one, no way. Overheat that alloy block engine once and it's a boat anchor. Anyone who buys a older high miles 540i Auto is either mad, stupid or very brave.

I'm driving an E90 320d at the moment and I absolutely love it. I reckon with PROPER maintenance and not that 25'000 mile shit, it would do 200k. But as for DIY fixes, forget it.
The eighties was really BMW Golden Age when they got everything near enough right - great to drive and look at, pretty solidly built, reliable and fixable.
The early E36 was the beginning of the downfall although it quickly recovered. The E39 though is on the verge of being a Council banger - coming to a scrapyard near you.

[gra325i]

The great thing with E30s is that they tell you when things are not quite right, giving you a few days/weeks notice on when they cant go no further till the problem is fixed.

Andrew

That is SO true!

+1

[Jesus325iTouring]

I have bought a piece of french rubbish though, to get around in

I am not alone anymore

E30 reliable as an everyday motor,yes of course.
Echoing what was mentioned earlier by Andy,usually an E30 will let you know in advance when something is going to pack up.

I've put over 80,000 miles on my Touring and in the whole time it's never ACTUALLY broken down,sure it's needed the odd bit form time to time,excluding standard service items like filters brakes exhaust etc......

Fuel pump,
Windscreen wiper motor,in fact thats it.

I have though put another engine in last year though,3000 miles ago,this was due to a number of things,oil leak,broken manifold studs and over heating,but to be fair,it had done 230,000 miles.
The engine could in fact have been sorted,it was just easier to pull it out and stick another one in.

The good thing about an E30 is if you do breakdown,either you could bodge it at the side of the road,or the AA man could.
Breakdown in anything under 5 years old.......................call a tow truck,you ain't gonna fix it without a computer.

[jbh]

prime example i had my old f reg 316i for about 4 years and it only ever twice let me down slave cylander popped the seal in the middle of edinburgh but i still got it home without phoning a recovery, middle box decided to blow a hole in the top of the box the lass i was going out with at the time decided it was time i bought a newer car so after months of moaning at me i bit the bullet and bought a daewoo nexia it was 5 year old at the time. i never even had it a week and i had to phone a recovery truck to pick it up off the side of the m8. i had the car 3 month and it spent more time in the garage where i bought it than it did on the road i finnaly lost the rag when it decided to start running on 3 cylinders on my way to edinburgh i took it home called my insurance and transfered it back to the 316i and scrapped the daewoo

[mrLEE30]

have owned several E30's, never had any major problems except my UK 318 chrome turd rusted through to its bones ,but that is because i lived here in the middle east and i ran the car for the three weeks a year i was in uk (note i had ran this car for four years at uni before i left with no problems), each year i would return to uk on holiday to find my turd still sitting in mums driveway in warm and sunny Bolton, covered in mold and birdsh1t, a quick clean, connect the battery and she fired, only reason i sold it was mot failure on the sills and couldn't be arsed to spend any more money.... as for my cars here in Bahrain NEVER had a major problem and they are run in temps up to 55C... no overheating and no problems

now the E39 (1996 vintage 2.8 )..... sorry but very reliable, 270,000 km same engine, only problem is the airbag light which is down to the arse pad not working and the silly ashtray cover is broken, other then that no worries

my Z3 coupe..... traction control light on.... sir its the ABS pump and that will be 1200 quid.... washer pump dont squirt... that will be the control unit sir, open your arse and wallet, oh sorry sir that huge ding in your rim and knackered 245/17/45 tyre was broken like that before you entrusted it to our garage, that scratch on the door was also there, it may not have been marked on the pre-inspection sheet but we assure you we did not do it

newer cars....dealers... no thanks

[Morat]

My first E30 was a 318 touring which was picked out by a mechanic mate of mine who had rebuilt the top end a year previously. It ran faultlessly for 18 months until I felt the need for a 325i. The only thing I had changed was wheel bearings and disks/pads.
The 325i was bought unseen off ebay (never do this!) and has needed a whole list of parts - but they have all been service items which someone should have renewed but never did, apart from the valve stem seals. They're a pricy item I will admit!

[toby]

at the end of the day if its got tits or wheels its gonna give you trouble

Genius, I'm having that as my new catchphrase!

I was working at a Vauxhall dealership last year. Unsurprisingly new Vauxhalls went wrong constantly. The older ones were much better although the cheap parts wore out fast on them all. 'Getting what one pays for' is an annoyingly verifiable adage.

The garage also sold lots of other nearly new trade-ins and I was amazed how rubbish most of them were. French stuff was all stereotypically below par. Mercedes were like puzzles with pieces missing. Fords were ok in their own way. Two Seat cars they sold had exhausts that just fell apart two days after being sold. The back boxes just fell off! I was unimpressed by the rest but my memory is starting to fully block memories of working there for the sake of my mental health.

Cars are now made to be sold and not to last. The more cars go wrong in a way which makes them uneconomic to repair, the more people will turn to new cars and replacing them more often. This suit the rich but not the less rich. But the manufacturers don't concern themselves with those who cannot afford a new car as they aren't potential customers. New cars are often worse than the previous models. Anyone see the new Honda Civic Type R on Top Gear? It will probably last ok but it sounded very disappointing.

I've had my E30 for 6 years and done over 40 000 miles. It is nearing the 200 000 mile mark. It's stil on the original headgasket and old head bolts (should I really change those?) I've replaced starter motor, alternator, exhaust, thermostat, fan coupling, bushes, suspension, windscreen, and service items. It had an annoying problem with charging up when I first got it - down to the alternator and dodgy wiring. It has never not started! I'm sure it will go on for many more miles without issue now these originally installed parts have been replaced.

How many G reg cars look this good and are this reliable. Back on topic: how many new cars will last this well?

[dannyboy759]

Thing is with modern cars like E90's is they need so many special tools you just cant do the work at home.