Re: e30/ 318/325 buying questions

[Louie Rendek <ljr7@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Michiel, my answers are below...


>Hi people,

>I'm out to buy my first car (31 years old :) . I want an E30, because of
>their ride/handling. I don't need a fast car and I like fuel economy - so
>I'm looking at both 318 and 325e's. And I have a bunch of questions for you.

I love the ride/handling in my 325e, good that you know it is not going to
beat a Ferrari!  The mileage is great.  I can routinely get above 32mpg on
highway trips and have heard people get around 35mpg on highway trips.
Around town is usually 23mpg with spirited driving (for an eta anyways).
Average highway miles is probably closer to 28-29mpg.

>Which of the two is better? I don't care about acceleration - both will be
>good enough for me. What I find important - which lasts longer? 

I have heard very good things about the 325e's lasting very long (due to
the fact that it is a low revving engine, maybe?)

>This is important to me, because the car I'll buy will likely have a good
>number of miles. I want to spend under $4000, preferably $2500-$3000. You
>reckon I'll get a good car for that?

I got mine 2 years ago for around $3700 and had to put around $1000
updating/fixing things.  The same car now can probably be had for around
$2500.  I have seen some really nice low mileage 325e's for around $4-5k
that probably would not require as much work at first (better maintenance
records).

>I've seen ads for both 325e's and 325's. Is there a difference?

They are the same car.  The 325e is usually a 4 door from 1987 I think.
They have the same engine, tranny, suspension, brakes, etc.  I call mine a
325e, but it says 325 on the rear deck.  I don't say 325, because I don't
want to pretend I have a 325i.

>What does the s sport suffix on these cars mean? Different interior?

325es cars and 325is cars have a sportier suspension, front and rear
spoilers, usually leather interior, premium package stereo, on board
computer, cruise control, which are all items that were not standard on the
325e and 318i cars I believe.

>Do any of these cars have the mileage indicator? (I think that's neat) 

My 325e has the mileage indicator, yeah it is neat!  I think they all do,
but I can't speak for the 318i.

>Do they all have cruise control? 

No.  Mine doesn't.  I think this was an option, but maybe standard on the
"es"/"is"

>How much rust should I expect?

I have heard somewhere that BMW did a good job rustproofing these cars.
Mine had some rust around the rear light assemblies, due to a bad gasket.
The gasket only costs a few bucks, but I am lazy right now.  There is some
other minor rust on the car due to a small incident from the previous
owner.  I have seen several California cars for sale here in Cleveland, OH
for reasonable prices.  Most cars that spend there lives in Cleveland and
drive through the winter weather get rust.

>Thanks a lot! Tonight I'm going to look at a 1985 318 with 96000 miles,
>listed for $2900.

I bought my car with 107k miles and it is up to 135k miles in 2 years with
very minor problems.  I have replaced the brakes, tires, muffler/exhaust,
radiator, oil pan (I cracked it because I ran over something).  The
suspension still seems to be in good condition according to my mechanic
(BMW mech.) and all original with 135k miles.

>Michiel

Good luck with your search and purchase.  By the way, the best source for
information on the e30 BMWs (the 318i, 325e, and 325i cars that you are
looking at) is at Dale Buening's web site.  Here is the URL.  Look it up
and read around there.  You will find more than enough information on what
to look for in these cars as far as typical problems are concerned.

http://www.eskimo.com/~dalus/bmw/bmw_e30.html

Louie Rendek
1987 325e 135k miles
PhD candidate
Chemistry Dept.
Case Western Reserve University
email:	ljr7@domain.elided

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