1987 BMW 325is
5-Speed
M20B25 2.5L I-6
138,266 Miles
VIN: WBAAA1300H2326378
I’ve decided to sell my recently acquired ‘87 325is. I bought it just weeks ago to replace my boring daily driver. I had seen a lot of E30s for sale around here that were rusted to bits and had various issues both mechanically and cosmetically. I found this one about 2 hours from my house and was shocked to find no body rust whatsoever, and it was quite clean overall. Of course, it had a few issues as any other car that is nearly 25 years old may have, so I bought it, and drove it straight home, almost 150 miles with no trouble.
Why I’m selling it: I had a 2004 Nissan Sentra Spec V that I bought right out of high school, and it was tons of fun (6-speed). I sold it last year to buy my wife a mini-van. Sad day. Since then I have driven my ‘92 Lumina, which floats around like a boat. The plan was to sell my Lumina and drive the E30 full time, since I can’t afford to insure/maintain both vehicles. After getting the BMW, and learning even more, it’s really not going to be a good full-time car. It’s incredibly clean and free of corrosion, and if I trudge through a few midwestern winters in it, I fear I will turn it into just another rusty E30. I also learned that two doors are definitely not a very good car to haul around a 1 year old in. Live and learn, I guess.
This car’s history: It was purchased in Nashville, TN where it was garaged for the first 12-13 years of it’s life, then the owner stored it in his neighbor’s garage for another 11 years or so and drove it sparingly. Then it was sold to an E30 enthusiast who found a flawless/low mileage ‘89 model, and sold it to a guy who lived in St. Louis, MO. That owner kept it almost a year, and sold it to a person in Indiana who turned around and sold it to me after realizing that the car was too small for him. I have both an AutoCheck and CarFax report for this that I can provide if interested.
Issues: I am going to be as thorough/nit-picky as I would want someone selling me a car. I will cover everything I have noted about the car:
-It drops a drop or two of oil overnight every so often, which the previous owners have experienced as well, and I was told it burns a little under a quart of oil over ~5,000 miles
-The fan clutch/fan makes a squeaking noise when the car is started for 2-3 minutes, then it goes away.
-The sunroof motor did not work when I purchased it either, and the seller included a replacement window motor. I installed the replacement motor, and the sunroof works now. After doing so, I have had a hard time telling if the sunroof is seated properly -- It leaked a bit when I took it through the car wash, but I think it was user error and not a part failure. But this is something you should know if you buy the car, it may be an issue.
-There are various cosmetic issues on the body. The hood has fine cracks through the paint if you look closely, and there is a small dent in the hood. There are a handful of door dings along the side, as well as a small dent in the roof and the trunk lid.
-The seats are in decent shape, mechanics wise. The drivers seat has a couple of rips in it and they both are pretty dried out/cracked.
-The dash has a replacement cover glued to it, I’m assuming because it is cracked. I don’t know where or how badly.
-The backlight on the tach is burned out and needs replaced.
-The light on the 13 button OBC display does not work at night, which I’m told is a common failure.
-The overhead check panel and one of the ceiling lights feels loose and pulls out easily, I’m guessing it is missing/broken clips.
-The fog lights are missing. The previous owner said one of them broke on the highway so he pulled them both until he got replacements, and never did.
-The brake light on the overhead check panel lights up sometimes.
-The fuel gauge works about 75% of the time, it seems like the ground is loose or something, I was going to check it out when I pulled the cluster to replace the tach light. The fuel sender does work, though, the OBC states the fuel range without problem.
-Radio antenna does not work.
The good stuff:
-It runs very strong and shifts nicely. I don’t know how old the clutch is but it feels great.
-The timing belt and water pump was replaced on 11/22/10 at 129,779 miles.
-Recently replaced tires, less than 10,000 miles I’m told.
-Hawk ceramic brake pads installed last fall.
-I replaced the throttle body coolant gasket after I noticed a coolant leak, and it no longer leaks.
-New BMW floor mats were purchased last year
-The passenger window motor did not work when I purchased it. I pulled a window motor from a local junkyard and replaced it, and it now functions.
-The heat/AC works. The AC does need recharged, however. The fan controls work on all speeds and all the switches work.
-The odometer DOES work. I think it’s one of the only E30s I came across when I was looking to buy that still worked.
-The body/undercarriage is very clean/free of rust.
-The back seat looks perfect, it had to have been reupholstered in the last few years I’m assuming.
-All of the interior panels/trunk pieces seem to be there.
Extras included:
-E30 Bentley manual
-Red Line fluid for both the transmission and differential. I was going to replace the fluids but haven’t done so yet, so I will include them. This is about $50 worth of fluids.
-5 extra bottle cap wheels.
-New valve cover gasket and rocker shaft plugs. I was going to perform a valve adjustment but haven’t yet, so they will be included as well.
SOLD
I think that covers it pretty well. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.
Call/text: 260-410-1271
e-mail: jtfdzn [at] gmail [dot] com
Photos:
43 at this link: http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h2.../1987%20325is/
5-Speed
M20B25 2.5L I-6
138,266 Miles
VIN: WBAAA1300H2326378
I’ve decided to sell my recently acquired ‘87 325is. I bought it just weeks ago to replace my boring daily driver. I had seen a lot of E30s for sale around here that were rusted to bits and had various issues both mechanically and cosmetically. I found this one about 2 hours from my house and was shocked to find no body rust whatsoever, and it was quite clean overall. Of course, it had a few issues as any other car that is nearly 25 years old may have, so I bought it, and drove it straight home, almost 150 miles with no trouble.
Why I’m selling it: I had a 2004 Nissan Sentra Spec V that I bought right out of high school, and it was tons of fun (6-speed). I sold it last year to buy my wife a mini-van. Sad day. Since then I have driven my ‘92 Lumina, which floats around like a boat. The plan was to sell my Lumina and drive the E30 full time, since I can’t afford to insure/maintain both vehicles. After getting the BMW, and learning even more, it’s really not going to be a good full-time car. It’s incredibly clean and free of corrosion, and if I trudge through a few midwestern winters in it, I fear I will turn it into just another rusty E30. I also learned that two doors are definitely not a very good car to haul around a 1 year old in. Live and learn, I guess.
This car’s history: It was purchased in Nashville, TN where it was garaged for the first 12-13 years of it’s life, then the owner stored it in his neighbor’s garage for another 11 years or so and drove it sparingly. Then it was sold to an E30 enthusiast who found a flawless/low mileage ‘89 model, and sold it to a guy who lived in St. Louis, MO. That owner kept it almost a year, and sold it to a person in Indiana who turned around and sold it to me after realizing that the car was too small for him. I have both an AutoCheck and CarFax report for this that I can provide if interested.
Issues: I am going to be as thorough/nit-picky as I would want someone selling me a car. I will cover everything I have noted about the car:
-It drops a drop or two of oil overnight every so often, which the previous owners have experienced as well, and I was told it burns a little under a quart of oil over ~5,000 miles
-The fan clutch/fan makes a squeaking noise when the car is started for 2-3 minutes, then it goes away.
-The sunroof motor did not work when I purchased it either, and the seller included a replacement window motor. I installed the replacement motor, and the sunroof works now. After doing so, I have had a hard time telling if the sunroof is seated properly -- It leaked a bit when I took it through the car wash, but I think it was user error and not a part failure. But this is something you should know if you buy the car, it may be an issue.
-There are various cosmetic issues on the body. The hood has fine cracks through the paint if you look closely, and there is a small dent in the hood. There are a handful of door dings along the side, as well as a small dent in the roof and the trunk lid.
-The seats are in decent shape, mechanics wise. The drivers seat has a couple of rips in it and they both are pretty dried out/cracked.
-The dash has a replacement cover glued to it, I’m assuming because it is cracked. I don’t know where or how badly.
-The backlight on the tach is burned out and needs replaced.
-The light on the 13 button OBC display does not work at night, which I’m told is a common failure.
-The overhead check panel and one of the ceiling lights feels loose and pulls out easily, I’m guessing it is missing/broken clips.
-The fog lights are missing. The previous owner said one of them broke on the highway so he pulled them both until he got replacements, and never did.
-The brake light on the overhead check panel lights up sometimes.
-The fuel gauge works about 75% of the time, it seems like the ground is loose or something, I was going to check it out when I pulled the cluster to replace the tach light. The fuel sender does work, though, the OBC states the fuel range without problem.
-Radio antenna does not work.
The good stuff:
-It runs very strong and shifts nicely. I don’t know how old the clutch is but it feels great.
-The timing belt and water pump was replaced on 11/22/10 at 129,779 miles.
-Recently replaced tires, less than 10,000 miles I’m told.
-Hawk ceramic brake pads installed last fall.
-I replaced the throttle body coolant gasket after I noticed a coolant leak, and it no longer leaks.
-New BMW floor mats were purchased last year
-The passenger window motor did not work when I purchased it. I pulled a window motor from a local junkyard and replaced it, and it now functions.
-The heat/AC works. The AC does need recharged, however. The fan controls work on all speeds and all the switches work.
-The odometer DOES work. I think it’s one of the only E30s I came across when I was looking to buy that still worked.
-The body/undercarriage is very clean/free of rust.
-The back seat looks perfect, it had to have been reupholstered in the last few years I’m assuming.
-All of the interior panels/trunk pieces seem to be there.
Extras included:
-E30 Bentley manual
-Red Line fluid for both the transmission and differential. I was going to replace the fluids but haven’t done so yet, so I will include them. This is about $50 worth of fluids.
-5 extra bottle cap wheels.
-New valve cover gasket and rocker shaft plugs. I was going to perform a valve adjustment but haven’t yet, so they will be included as well.
SOLD
I think that covers it pretty well. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.
Call/text: 260-410-1271
e-mail: jtfdzn [at] gmail [dot] com
Photos:
43 at this link: http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h2.../1987%20325is/
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