Price - $1500 (or best offer) - SOLD.
Short story: So when I was young boy, the E30 was that car that I always thought, "Wow - that's a neat car, what was that? I bet that's fun to drive." Fast forward to December 2006, I'm commuting 70 miles one way to work and gas prices are on their slow ascent to $4/gallon. I'm driving a 93 Toyota 4Runner and getting killed on gas. So I start using commuter buses and metro to get to work. One night on the way to a party, I pass my independent mechanic's shop and he's getting rid of his used car inventory to focus on other things. There I saw this E30 out on the lot. I was immediately excited. I stopped and gave a deposit to the salesman and picked up the car less than a week later. This car has been a blast to own and drive. Completely changed my outlook on BMWs and other finely made german autos. I used to loathe driving to work - now I couldn't wait to get in the car. It put a smile on my face almost as big as when I would ride my Ducati to and from the Navy base.
I've done the best I could with her - buying an old home that needs work, sending my wife back to college, and having a child doesn't exactly provide the disposable income that I wanted to renew and mod this car the way it deserves to be.
1990 BMW 325 iS - "E30 Daily Driver"
Multiple owner vehicle (at least the third owner)
Bought December 2006: ~196,400 miles.
As of December 2010: 274,315 miles.
As of February 26,2011: 274,700+ miles.
As of May, 2011: ~275,000 miles.
Drivetrain
- Inline 6 cylinder engine (M20) - Stock
- 5 speed manual Getrag 260 transmission - Stock
- Limited Slip Differential - Stock (Sorry, I do not know the ratio)
Exterior
- Brilliant Red (Brilliantrot) Exterior
- New front and rear roundels
- Added used OE fogs from eBay
- Missing iS lip - did not come with the car when I bought it
- Sunroof - Functional, recently replaced motor and greased cables/tracks
Interior
- Black Leather Headed Sport seats with dark grey carpet. Drivers seat bolster has substantial wear in the usual place and will require replacement.
- Black BavAuto all weather mats in front, carpet mats in back
Suspension
- Stock BMW front and rear
- Front control arms and bushing replaced with aftermarket
- New rear shock mounts
Brakes
- Rotors, pads, sensors recently done with OEM/aftermarket
- ATE Super Blue Brake Fluid
- SS Braided Lines to Calipers
Wheels and Tires
- (5) 14" BBS Basketweaves, (4) center caps with new roundels
- 2 BF Goodrich Traction T/As (discontinued model), 2 Falken Ziex ZE-912s, 1 BF Goodrich Traction T/A on full-size spare.
Known Mechanical Issues:
- Engine uses 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles
- Requires the coolant to be topped off approximately every 1000 miles
- Considering the two above issues, I believe the head is warped or the gasket needs replaced. That said, this car is perfect for a swap.
- When cold runs a little rough at first until warm
- Occasionally, when warm, if I stall the engine will be flooded and take a few moment to restart - indy mechanic performed some troubleshooting, specifically checking for stuck open fuel injectors and could not duplicate problem.
Known Body Issues:
- When I bought the car, the radio antenna grommet was almost completely gone. The trunk had a slight mildew smell to it - I fixed the grommet and let the trunk air out for some time. I couldn't find any other evidence of water in-leakage or damage other than a rust-colored water stain below the radio grommet going into the well on that side where the jack is stored.
- Also from when I bought the car, the valence had some damage - I believe the iS lip may have been pulled off by parking blocks or curbs when parking. When I installed the fogs, I noted the paint was chipped around the fog openings and the bottom of the valence.
- My car met with an unfortunate garage accident - pulling in one day, I clipped the tire of a wheelbarrow with my front bumper and the "leg" of the wheelbarrow it came down on my right quarter panel where it meets the hood. Needless to say that section of the right quarter panel was creased and it took the paint off down to the primer. I've been watching it for rust - from driving it this past summer, the paint may have chipped... and there may be small areas in that spot that have the early signs of rust. That quarter panel will likely need to be removed and have that damaged area pulled and sanded down anyway.
- Recently the license plate lights went out on the car and ended up replacing the original housings because they were so brittle. When I removed the original housings, there was rust around both of the openings for the license plate lights. This was probably the most significant evidence of rust I saw on the car to date. The rust was down to the bare metal and the metal was flaking and pulling back.
Maintenance/Repairs:
I have receipts for parts and documented just about everything in a little notebook when it was performed.
Oil changes were performed at 3,000 mile intervals using Mann/Mahle Filters and Castrol High Mileage 10W-30. 1 QT of oil was added approximately every 1,000 miles depending on driving habits. I believe there was one instance where I went to almost 5,000 miles. Air filter changes were performed at approximately 10,000 miles using Mann Filters. Coolant is topped off approximately every 1,000 miles.
- 12/06 - ~196,400 miles, New timing belt, tensioner, cam seal, water pump
- 3/07 - ~200,000 miles, Replace antenna grommet
- ~6/07 - ~205,000 miles, New Rotors/Pads/Sensors, Brake Flush and Bleed (ATE Super Blue)
- 1/15/08 - 216,167 miles, New right rear wheel bearing
- 3/15/08 - 220,088 miles, New Fuel Filter, Bleed Clutch (ATE Super Blue)
- 4/5/08 - 221,525 miles, New Spark Plugs
- 6/13/08 - 226,164 miles, Change Transmission and Differential Fluids (Swepco 201). Replace all 4 headlamps.
- 1/12/09 - 238,615 miles, Replace front control arms/bushings. Replace Spark Plugs, Wires, Cap, Rotor, O2 Sensor
- 3/8/09 - 241,137 miles, Replace Left Low Beam and Wipers.
- 5/27/09 - 246,591 miles, Add Transmission Fluid (Swepco 201).
- 6/16/09 - 247,781 miles, New Thermostat and Fan sensor (used part) on Radiator.
- 6/17/09 - 247,909 miles, New Brake (Stop) Light Switch.
- 8/6/09 - 250,200 miles, Replaced Fuel Pump (used part)
- 10/7/09 - 252,864 miles, New timing belt, tensioner, cam seal, water pump, radiator/water pump hoses, adjusted valves. Replaced coolant (BMW 50/50).
- 12/21/09 - 253,830 miles, New Battery
- 2/23/10 - 256,705 miles, New hose from radiator to expansion tank, replaced airbox inlet and ground (earth) strap to hood.
- 3/27/10 - 258,169 miles, New radiator, replace sunroof motor (used part), grease/oil sunroof track.
- 5/12/10 - 261,411 miles, Replace Left Low Beam and Wipers.
- 7/03/10 - 266,205 miles, New Spark Plugs, rear shock mounts, rotors/pads/sensors.
- 9/7/10 - 271,135 miles, Replace Right Low Beam.
- 10/1/10 - 271,417 miles, New BMW OE water pump (installed OEM pump seal failed around shaft). Clean idle speed.
- 10/31/10 - 272,491 miles, New Left/Right Registration Plate Assembly and Lights.
- 11/10/10 - 273,328 miles, Replace Left Low Beam.
- 11/27/10 - 274,174 miles, Change Transmission Fluid (Swepco 201). Rotated tires front to back only (directional tires).
- 12/18/10 - 274,315 miles, New Sachs OEM Clutch Kit, slave cylinder, clutch hose to slave, transmission seals, driveshaft flex disc
- 7/xx/11 - 275,xxx miles, Replace Fuel Pump (used part)
- 10/xx/11 - 275,xxx miles, Replace 2 remaining odometer gears/lights
These first three pictures are from when I bought the car.
This picture is from a year later and shows some damage to the right side quarter panel at the top near the hood and headlight. Also seen here are the used fog lights I added and the aforementioned damage on the valance below the right fog light.
EDIT 7/5/11: I finally have fairly detailed pictures. Just want to echo what I was somewhat outlined above: This e30 is not a garage queen, but it does sleep in the garage. Rough around the edges... runs like a top (when random parts haven't reached their end of life)... and perfect candidate for a daily driver, refresh/restoration, or swap.
http://s934.photobucket.com/albums/a...20325iS%20e30/
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by mikeyb74
