Opinions on the BMW E30
 

I've driven an Integra since I was 17 and I'm kind of looking for a change. I've always wanted to own a Bimmer, but an old school one. The E36, while nice, looks bloated (the E46 even more so.) Has anyone here owned an E30 for a good chunk of time? Here's what I know and/or want:

- I'd want a 1990 or later (no chrome bumpers)
- Preferably an IS model
- Considering my dad's E36 325 gets only 17 MPG, I'd probably want to get the coveted 1991 318IS. Besides, a 1990 325IS in a 5 speed is hard to find.

Here are my questions:
- How easy are these things to work on? I probably wouldn't do complex maintenance, but I'd like to change my own oil and fluids (as I do with my car now).
- I know the engines are solid (particularly the M42), but how is everything else? The electronics on the E36 are horrible (at least from my dad's experience).

I currently own a 1992 Integra GS-R so I'm thinking the 318is wouldn't be too much of change (both engines have no torque but love to rev). However, I would probably sacrifice utility (hatch vs. trunk) and interior materials (BMWs don't have the best interiors). On the other hand, I'm looking to drive something with a bit of 'soul'. Thoughts?

http://www.bimmerclassics.net/forum/index.php

where all the local e30ers hang out

I would love to trade my mint '92 e36 for a mint '91 E30. Does that persuade you at all? haha. Good luck in your finds. As for gas mileage your dad may get 17mpg in the city, but on the highway with cruise set I get 29mpg on the highway at around 100km/h.

I had a 325i E30 and it was fun to drive. The manual tranny is excellent but the maintenance can be quite expensive. There was an engine oil leak that was fixed but some how it came back. I had a problem with door locks. Sometimes it went crazy and lock and unlock and lock itself.
I still have some spare E30 parts around here, If you buy an E30, let me know if you need parts. I was going to post on bimmerclassics anyways.
The engined also over heated once because of a thermostat. The fix was a simple do-it-yourself themostat replacement.

As for gas, the 325i probably use about 10L/100K

Do get an IS model if you find one. I found the 325i to be soft.

135i > 318i

M6 > 318i


10char

buddy bought himself a 88' or 89 318is 5 speed in black.. bbs rims, m steering wheel, and the such..


pretty much bullet proof car.. at least his was. steering rack had a leak though.... power steering resevoir, like majority of bmws, was leaking, but thats an easy fix. some reason the power steering lines leak on those cars...

otherwise.. very nice car to drive. very solid chassis, and a pretty peppy car, but you would feel its weight over the integ for sure.

forget about everything...

get a 318 shell and stuff in a E36 S52 (M3 240hp engine) then OBD1 it (will get you 260-280hp with simple bolt-ons)...

I don't care about straight-line speed because of:

1. Gas prices and
2. I'm getting a little too old to risk a couple of hundred bucks for 2 seconds of fun

I've heard that the 1991 318IS is basically an E30 M3 without the engine so this is what I'm looking for - something that corners like its on rails, can carry a couple of passengers when needed, and has classic looks.

Drivin a modded E36 325is now and i would love to purchase a E30 as well. A true classic. Iv driven a few E30's in the past years, 325 and m3 mostly. They are one hell of fun to drive.

But like most Bimmers, repairs will be expensive. Although they do seem to last a hell of a long time. 195,000kms' on my 94 325is and all i have fixed was the timing chain (so i like to redline alot, gimmie a break), Thermo, waterpump, and valve cover gasket had a leak.

All in all, id say definatly go for it. After owning some american cars, and driving alot of japanese cars. Switching to a BMW was like seeing a new light, really is the ultimate driving machine :p

318 is NOT M3... same chassis, similar shell, but not really M3.
if you can look at the BMW ETK CD...they do not share a lot of parts.

My high school friend used to own a stock 318 for drift practicing and autox...he said it's
definitely a fun rwd beater compare to his 99 Prelude SH. He fixed it with cheap parts
(he's a mechanic), at the end, he crashed and sold it to junk yard.

E30s FTW.

I learned how to drive Manual on one of the first production E30 318s (production date January 1983 :D), and my very first car in HS was an '88 325i.

I would say definitely go for the 325i/is over the 318i. The way the 325i drove was very different than the 318. I would also say only get the I/IS. The 325e and 325es are wastes of time, and the 325xi just makes repairs more expensive.

The '88 doesn't have the plastic bumbers, but the aluminum bumper is significantly smaller than the previous models, plus it has nicer taillights. The later 89 - 91 E30s were more expensive and harder to find a few years ago when i was looking into buying another car.

They are more costly to maintain because they're bmws, and for some reason, I always had brake light failures, but I would definitely want to own one again, but the M3.

The 1991 318is is different from the sedan and previous 318s because it uses the newer M42 engine. I like the exhaust note of the straight-six, but I'm concerned about gas consumption too.

I've driven my dad's E36 325is from time to time and it's a great car when everything's working. But, the electronics are shot (power windows that have problems going up, OBC LED display is dead, brake light failures, etc), it's had wheel bearing problems, and it was prone to coolant leaks. (it has less than 100K!) The BMW driving experience has me convinced, but I'm hoping that an E30 may be less troublesome.

E36 coolant has to be changed pretty much annually with BMW coolant only because a lot of the parts are plastic and BMW coolant is a buffer solution (chemical), which prevents break down of the plastic parts.

E30 M3 = FTMFW

http://img.worldcarfans.com/US/2002/...107.001.1M.jpg

I thought that the e36's handles better than the previous e30's stock. I am thinking the e36 is superior in all around performance. Not to put down the
E30 it's a sporty euro classic for sure. I want to get a sporty rwd euro car to try autocross with and i'm thinking an e36 or porsche 944/924.

I'd also love to hear more of peoples experience with the e30

good thread on e30 vs e36 http://www.unitedbimmer.com/forums/b...30-vs-e36.html

man i so want an E30 M3

Your present car (GSR) is a better car than an E30 3-Series!

ive had a few e30 in my time. 88 e30 m3, 88 325is, 88 325es and 87 325e. all of them great handling and fairly practical cars. e30s are from an era where bmw overengineered everything with no expenses spared. i would highly recommened owning and experiencing one at least once in your life. i love my e30 m3. however, upkeep was way too expensive, cars like this will cost you to keep them in good shape. not so bad for the 325 and the 318. but if you ever buy a m3. it will get very expensive very quickly.

Had an e30 318is and have to say that it was a perfect little car except for 2 complaints. The steering rack is not very good (a lot of arm twirling on tight corners or correcting). I also expected better fuel economy for 140 hp and running on premium fuel.(a little less than 10km/L)

gods chariot /thread

http://www.e30tech.com/pictures/nov04/020.jpg

i've always loved these cars. my dream car is still an e30 m3.

Other than the E30 M3 and its variants, the E30 will not achieve classic status. Let it rust-in-peace (rip).

I owned a 91 318is for a little over a year, and it was an amazing car to drive. basically the M3 without the engine. The m42 was lively and liked the high revs. It is a well balanced car power to weight ratio, cheap on gas, (even though i was 94 octane) I had it chipped with a Jim Conforti ecu chip and CAI with heatsheild. The car would rip.

The only reason i sold it was because i bought this:

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...m/pic110-1.jpg

88 325i Touring. Rare and sexy. British Racing Green 188k