Bought my first e30 last Saturday! Was contemplating going snowboarding on Saturday and I was surfing Craigslist and the weather reports late Friday night. Stumbled on this e30 on craigslist as I did my near-daily searches for a 2000-2009 Vstar 650 and various e30s. I had been searching for an e30 in decent condition for about 6-8 years after working on numberous friends' e30s throughout highschool and college. Ive been driving tahoes and yukons my whole life and needed a fun car for the Colorado mountain roads once I had moved here 2 years ago. So when I said I've been searching for an e30 for many years, I meant that I'd spent those years finding decent cars and then coming up with excuses as to why I shouldnt get it (too much rust, too many miles, interior looks like shit, etc). After spendings that last year working with my neighbor on his YJ jeep and his son's WRX bugeye wagon I finally decided to relax my requirements just to get into something free and wrench on in my spare time.
Picked up this absolutely rust-free 325i for a VERY fair price (which is quite rare for the Denver area e30 owner who thinks their car is worth $10k+). Thought I'd share my find and document the baseline to my build/restoration.
Pros:
Absolutely no rust - NM car its whole life up until the previous owner had purchased it in 2014 and had only driven it 500 miles. (There are some paint chips which Ill have to take care of so rust doesnt start)
Runs and pulls well
Engine bay has been untouched (all genuine stock parts)
All mechanisms work (windows, central lock sys, sunrooof, etc.)
Odometer is working at 207k mi
Cons:
Could use some new rotors F/R
Needs driver side door weather stripping
Needs timing belt
Cracked dash (too scared to remove the cover to inspect it)
Rear rear quarter panel has a little scuff/dent that I need to pop out and repaint
Oil leaks (hoping its as easy as replacing the pan gasket) - probably not the main seal since the clutch still pulls well
207k miles (which really isnt that bad)
Rear rear wheel bearing is quite loud
Needs a headliner
Needs a driver seat
No horn
Dashboard lights behind the speedo and fuel gauge are out
Things done this week:
Tagged/titled/insured (for $60.66/mo liability only for those interested)
Popout windows painted and installed
Horn wired in
Trim and Grill painted
Short Term To-Do List:
Compression test
Timing belt
Plugs and Wires
Fluid flushes
Oil Change (find oil leak)
Find headliner
Repair dash/seat?
Inspect subframe bushings a little closer
Install the LSD I bought from the previous owner
So stoked to finally get into the game.
Picked up this absolutely rust-free 325i for a VERY fair price (which is quite rare for the Denver area e30 owner who thinks their car is worth $10k+). Thought I'd share my find and document the baseline to my build/restoration.
Pros:
Absolutely no rust - NM car its whole life up until the previous owner had purchased it in 2014 and had only driven it 500 miles. (There are some paint chips which Ill have to take care of so rust doesnt start)
Runs and pulls well
Engine bay has been untouched (all genuine stock parts)
All mechanisms work (windows, central lock sys, sunrooof, etc.)
Odometer is working at 207k mi
Cons:
Could use some new rotors F/R
Needs driver side door weather stripping
Needs timing belt
Cracked dash (too scared to remove the cover to inspect it)
Rear rear quarter panel has a little scuff/dent that I need to pop out and repaint
Oil leaks (hoping its as easy as replacing the pan gasket) - probably not the main seal since the clutch still pulls well
207k miles (which really isnt that bad)
Rear rear wheel bearing is quite loud
Needs a headliner
Needs a driver seat
No horn
Dashboard lights behind the speedo and fuel gauge are out
Things done this week:
Tagged/titled/insured (for $60.66/mo liability only for those interested)
Popout windows painted and installed
Horn wired in
Trim and Grill painted
Short Term To-Do List:
Compression test
Timing belt
Plugs and Wires
Fluid flushes
Oil Change (find oil leak)
Find headliner
Repair dash/seat?
Inspect subframe bushings a little closer
Install the LSD I bought from the previous owner
So stoked to finally get into the game.
Attached Files
Comment