Hey there. This is my first post on R3V, although I've browsed the forums several times.
Sigh, I'm a little sad it's come to this, but it's time to move on...
For sale: 1989 BMW 325i (E30) 2-door, manual transmission, Zinnoberrot Red
Note: This Car has a Salvage-Title. If this is a deal-breaker look away now...
Up for sale is my 89' 325i with approximately 155,000 miles on the working odometer. I am located in Mt. Washington, about 20 miles south of Louisville Kentucky. This car runs well, and drives ok, but needs front-end suspension work. (See more about this below.) I bought this car in July of 2011, and it has been my daily driver up until the fall of 2013. Due to the suspension issues, I parked the car this winter and have been driving my truck. Since I have little spare time to work on it, and the crappy winter we've been having, I've decided to sell this car and put the money towards a replacement. Please read through the info below, and feel free to ask any questions if I've left something out. I am trying to be as upfront as possible with anything wrong, as I am not trying to hide anything from the buyer, and would like to be as honest as possible.
The Good
Approximately 155,000 miles on working odometer.
M20 Inline-6 Engine runs and idles well. When cold it idles a little high. This may be normal, or it may be a bad coolant temp sensor. I haven't investigated this much to be honest.
Good Idle around 700rpm with no vacuum Leaks. I have reset the idle position according to the procedures in the bentley manual, and tried to seal off any vacuum leaks I could find. I'm not a professional nor an E30 guru, but to the best of my ability I tried to track-down and seal up any vacuum leaks I could find. When warm, the car idles nice and smooth around 700rpm.
5-Speed manual transmission shifts fine. The shifter is a little sloppy, but all gears engage well, and feel good.
3.73:1 Limited Slip Differential. The diff is nice and tight - I've never had it slip only one wheel, so if you like to drive "rambunctiously" in the rain, be advised the car can become a hand full...
With the exception of the suspension issues listed below, the car drives pretty well. The powertrain is strong and healthy, and is fun to drive. With the 3:73 gears, the car is pretty quick through the first couple gears, which makes it a lot of fun. The General-Altimax tires, despite being inexpensive and having really tall sidewalls, provide really good traction.
Has power windows, power mirrors, power central door locks, cruise control, clock/temp, and check-functions that all work like new. The manual-crank moon roof also works great.
Some things that have been replaced since I've owned the Car.
(I have receipts for all of this and more...)
New Passenger-Front wheel bearing, in January 2012.
New Water Pump, Timing Belt, Oxygen Sensor, Spark Plugs, Lower Radiator Hose, Thermostat,in January 2012, around 122,000 Miles
Replaced clutch-fan with used fan, January 2012.
New Crankshaft-position sensor, and Transmission mounts, January 2012
New Mass-Air-Meter Boot, Idle Control Valve Hose, , around April 2012 - (130,000 miles? ) (To fix vacuum leaks and erratic idle)
New Ignition switch/tumbler, and 2 NEW BMW-factory Keys, July 2012
New Clutch, Guibo, Motor Mounts around 145,000 miles
Maintenance Items that should be addressed
The front-end needs to be gone-through. The car exhibits a shake in the steering wheel at interstate speeds, that comes and goes. I suspect this to be either tie-rod ends, control arm bushings, possibly wheel bearings, and tire balance, or some combination of all of the above. Around 55mph, there's no vibration present, but the car does not track straight. The front tires are worn conspicuously on their outside corners, as if the car is needs alignment (it probably does.) I have not had the car aligned, because it probably won't due much good if everything else is worn out. If I were to keep the car, I would purchase a front end rebuild kit from BLUNTTECH, and replace the control arms, tie-rods, etc, as well as install two new front tires. (The only reason I've put this off, is that with my schedule, I haven't felt like taking on this project in the little spare time that I have now. I also have a spare vehicle to drive when something needs attention on this car.)
There is also no shock dampening, as the current shocks are beyond worn... The car could stand to have shocks all the way around, as well as the rear shock-mounts replaced.
The power steering pump whines when turning at parking-lot speeds. This could be fluid related and I'll try to look into it.
The Air conditioner does not work. The system works, but needs refrigerant. When I bought the car, it had working A/C that slowly stopped working as the refrigerant leaked out. I'm sure a re-charge would get it working again, but there's probably a leak somewhere that I've never tried to diagnose. (On a side-note, driving this car with all of it's 80's era glass, that has not been tinted, and no A/C makes it hot as heck on a hot summer day...)
On a related not to the A/C, the electric auxiliary fan sounds terrible, as if the bearings are worn out. As I don't use the A/C, I simply un-plugged the fan at its connector to disable the auxiliary fan. The car has never had a problem with overheating even after disabling the auxiliary fan.
There is a slight vibration around 22mph as you accelerate, that is worse the harder you accelerate. I believed this to be the guibo, but it showed no sign of improvement after being replaced. It quickly goes away around 25mph, and it isn't that harsh, so I never really worried about it - I just want the buyer to be aware.
The right-turn signal circuit acts as if there is a burned-out bulb, but there is not. I suspected that either a burned-out bulb, or the rear brake light bulb assembly were to blame, but the bulbs are not blown, and testing the assembly shows continuity across all the connectors, even to the bulb. Sometimes the circuit will act normal, only to act up again... I will try to diagnose this more, to see if the problem might be in the front-right turn signal connectors...
The emergency brake does not hold well. It will hold the car in a pinch, but it must be pulled uncomfortably tight, and I would not trust the emergency brake to hold the car on a steep hill.
The ABS pump does not work. The ABS light comes on once you stet off, and it does not function. Once every blue moon, the light will go out, and when stopping, around 15mph you will feel the ABS pump cycle. It has done this maybe only twice in nearly 3 years. I have attempted to repair both front wheel ABS sensor connectors, but it made no difference. I suspect the ABS pump to be bad, but I've had no trouble stopping the car...
The brake-wear sensor light came on for maybe the last month of driving. I have not confirmed, but it may need new pads and rotors.
The blower fan works only on the highest setting. This may be a bad fuse or a bad switch, I'm not sure. I'll try to check into this more...
Other bad things about the car
The front and rear bumpers are cracked/broken. Actually, the rear bumper is just the black trim piece, but still broken none the less.
The Stereo sucks. I'm pretty sure there's a blown speaker, but honestly, I never listen to it much. The head unit is kinda crappy, but as you can see from the pictures, the antenna is broken, so I honestly never listen to the radio much anyway...
The front passenger seat belt buckle doesn't want to latch sometimes. It still latches, but takes some fiddling with sometimes. Very seldom ever had passengers, but if more people rode with me, I'd probably swap the buckle with one from the back seat - the back middle maybe...
The dashboard, typical of most all E30s is cracked in a few places. I can try to get some better pictures of this...
The steering wheel leather is peeling off. Visible in the pictures.
The 12V cigarette lighter does not work. This could be a blown fuse perhaps, but I've never looked too much into it.
The seats have some wear on them, but are in pretty good shape. The seats have some light cracking and a couple small cuts on them. The driver's seat can be seen in the photos. There is one small burn on the back seat as well.
The paint is slightly fading, and as you can see from the pictures, the clear-coat is peeling from the hood and roof.
As mentioned earlier, due to the front-end issues, the front tires need to be replaced. The front-drivers tire especially is worn, down to the nylon cords, and should be replaced pretty soon. The rear tires however are in good shape, with even wear and have plenty of life on them.
As I mentioned earlier, this car has a salvage-title. If this is a deal-breaker for you, please stop looking now. Please make sure that if you intend to buy this car, that you can register this car in your state, and understand that it cannot be insured with full-coverage insurance.
More on the salvage title... At some time the car was wrecked on the driver's side, as can be seen by body-filler that has cracked underneath the paint. The front-drivers fender is also a replacement BMW DOT-R fender, and does not match the factory VIN. (All other body panels to the best of my ability have matching VIN tags.) It is my belief that someone ran this car down a guard-rail, and that is what led to the salvage title being issued. There is evidence of body-filler in the driver's door, and the rear-quarter panel, but you have to be close up to notice it. (I honestly overlooked this when buying the car, even knowing about the front-drivers fender.) I am not sure if this is visible from the pictures or not. I can take more detailed photos upon request.
Price
Based on other E30's for sale, and knowing the overall condition of this car, as well as the items that have been replaced, I will start with asking $3,500 for the car. I have estimated the replacement suspension parts, shocks and tires to be around $1,000. After repairs (not counting labor, obviously,) this E30 would be much nicer than many on the road today. If you feel this is an unreasonable price, please let me know why you feel that way, and we can go from there. I'm willing to entertain reasonable offers.
Trades
I would entertain a possible trade + cash from me as well, but I'm going to be picky about this. I'd like to replace this car with either an E39 5 series, or an E46 3 series. Must have a manual transmission, and be in good working mechanical condition. I cannot take on a project at this time, so it must be in good overall mechanical condition.(I also strongly prefer not to have grey-leather interior...)
Other info
Due to the suspension issues, I would not recommend driving the car long distances, mainly due to the front tire's wear. If they buyer insists on driving this a long distance after purchasing, the tires could be rotated to facilitate a long drive, but the buyer assumes all responsibility for doing so. I am not willing to ship the car at this time.
If there is something I'm leaving out, please feel free to ask and I'll try to address it. The car still runs and drives, although the current battery does not want to hold a charge, as the car has sat all winter long. The buyer will get a working battery with the car. It is still insured, and is available for test drives to serious buyers.
Contact
Thank you for looking. If you have any questions, please contact me at JAshley73 (at) Hotmail.com , or call/text area code Five-Zero-Two, Six-Five-Seven, Nine-Five-Zero-Eight. Please let me know where you saw this add, as it will be listed on a couple different forum sites. Thanks again.
Sigh, I'm a little sad it's come to this, but it's time to move on...
For sale: 1989 BMW 325i (E30) 2-door, manual transmission, Zinnoberrot Red
Note: This Car has a Salvage-Title. If this is a deal-breaker look away now...
Up for sale is my 89' 325i with approximately 155,000 miles on the working odometer. I am located in Mt. Washington, about 20 miles south of Louisville Kentucky. This car runs well, and drives ok, but needs front-end suspension work. (See more about this below.) I bought this car in July of 2011, and it has been my daily driver up until the fall of 2013. Due to the suspension issues, I parked the car this winter and have been driving my truck. Since I have little spare time to work on it, and the crappy winter we've been having, I've decided to sell this car and put the money towards a replacement. Please read through the info below, and feel free to ask any questions if I've left something out. I am trying to be as upfront as possible with anything wrong, as I am not trying to hide anything from the buyer, and would like to be as honest as possible.
The Good
Approximately 155,000 miles on working odometer.
M20 Inline-6 Engine runs and idles well. When cold it idles a little high. This may be normal, or it may be a bad coolant temp sensor. I haven't investigated this much to be honest.
Good Idle around 700rpm with no vacuum Leaks. I have reset the idle position according to the procedures in the bentley manual, and tried to seal off any vacuum leaks I could find. I'm not a professional nor an E30 guru, but to the best of my ability I tried to track-down and seal up any vacuum leaks I could find. When warm, the car idles nice and smooth around 700rpm.
5-Speed manual transmission shifts fine. The shifter is a little sloppy, but all gears engage well, and feel good.
3.73:1 Limited Slip Differential. The diff is nice and tight - I've never had it slip only one wheel, so if you like to drive "rambunctiously" in the rain, be advised the car can become a hand full...
With the exception of the suspension issues listed below, the car drives pretty well. The powertrain is strong and healthy, and is fun to drive. With the 3:73 gears, the car is pretty quick through the first couple gears, which makes it a lot of fun. The General-Altimax tires, despite being inexpensive and having really tall sidewalls, provide really good traction.
Has power windows, power mirrors, power central door locks, cruise control, clock/temp, and check-functions that all work like new. The manual-crank moon roof also works great.
Some things that have been replaced since I've owned the Car.
(I have receipts for all of this and more...)
New Passenger-Front wheel bearing, in January 2012.
New Water Pump, Timing Belt, Oxygen Sensor, Spark Plugs, Lower Radiator Hose, Thermostat,in January 2012, around 122,000 Miles
Replaced clutch-fan with used fan, January 2012.
New Crankshaft-position sensor, and Transmission mounts, January 2012
New Mass-Air-Meter Boot, Idle Control Valve Hose, , around April 2012 - (130,000 miles? ) (To fix vacuum leaks and erratic idle)
New Ignition switch/tumbler, and 2 NEW BMW-factory Keys, July 2012
New Clutch, Guibo, Motor Mounts around 145,000 miles
Maintenance Items that should be addressed
The front-end needs to be gone-through. The car exhibits a shake in the steering wheel at interstate speeds, that comes and goes. I suspect this to be either tie-rod ends, control arm bushings, possibly wheel bearings, and tire balance, or some combination of all of the above. Around 55mph, there's no vibration present, but the car does not track straight. The front tires are worn conspicuously on their outside corners, as if the car is needs alignment (it probably does.) I have not had the car aligned, because it probably won't due much good if everything else is worn out. If I were to keep the car, I would purchase a front end rebuild kit from BLUNTTECH, and replace the control arms, tie-rods, etc, as well as install two new front tires. (The only reason I've put this off, is that with my schedule, I haven't felt like taking on this project in the little spare time that I have now. I also have a spare vehicle to drive when something needs attention on this car.)
There is also no shock dampening, as the current shocks are beyond worn... The car could stand to have shocks all the way around, as well as the rear shock-mounts replaced.
The power steering pump whines when turning at parking-lot speeds. This could be fluid related and I'll try to look into it.
The Air conditioner does not work. The system works, but needs refrigerant. When I bought the car, it had working A/C that slowly stopped working as the refrigerant leaked out. I'm sure a re-charge would get it working again, but there's probably a leak somewhere that I've never tried to diagnose. (On a side-note, driving this car with all of it's 80's era glass, that has not been tinted, and no A/C makes it hot as heck on a hot summer day...)
On a related not to the A/C, the electric auxiliary fan sounds terrible, as if the bearings are worn out. As I don't use the A/C, I simply un-plugged the fan at its connector to disable the auxiliary fan. The car has never had a problem with overheating even after disabling the auxiliary fan.
There is a slight vibration around 22mph as you accelerate, that is worse the harder you accelerate. I believed this to be the guibo, but it showed no sign of improvement after being replaced. It quickly goes away around 25mph, and it isn't that harsh, so I never really worried about it - I just want the buyer to be aware.
The right-turn signal circuit acts as if there is a burned-out bulb, but there is not. I suspected that either a burned-out bulb, or the rear brake light bulb assembly were to blame, but the bulbs are not blown, and testing the assembly shows continuity across all the connectors, even to the bulb. Sometimes the circuit will act normal, only to act up again... I will try to diagnose this more, to see if the problem might be in the front-right turn signal connectors...
The emergency brake does not hold well. It will hold the car in a pinch, but it must be pulled uncomfortably tight, and I would not trust the emergency brake to hold the car on a steep hill.
The ABS pump does not work. The ABS light comes on once you stet off, and it does not function. Once every blue moon, the light will go out, and when stopping, around 15mph you will feel the ABS pump cycle. It has done this maybe only twice in nearly 3 years. I have attempted to repair both front wheel ABS sensor connectors, but it made no difference. I suspect the ABS pump to be bad, but I've had no trouble stopping the car...
The brake-wear sensor light came on for maybe the last month of driving. I have not confirmed, but it may need new pads and rotors.
The blower fan works only on the highest setting. This may be a bad fuse or a bad switch, I'm not sure. I'll try to check into this more...
Other bad things about the car
The front and rear bumpers are cracked/broken. Actually, the rear bumper is just the black trim piece, but still broken none the less.
The Stereo sucks. I'm pretty sure there's a blown speaker, but honestly, I never listen to it much. The head unit is kinda crappy, but as you can see from the pictures, the antenna is broken, so I honestly never listen to the radio much anyway...
The front passenger seat belt buckle doesn't want to latch sometimes. It still latches, but takes some fiddling with sometimes. Very seldom ever had passengers, but if more people rode with me, I'd probably swap the buckle with one from the back seat - the back middle maybe...
The dashboard, typical of most all E30s is cracked in a few places. I can try to get some better pictures of this...
The steering wheel leather is peeling off. Visible in the pictures.
The 12V cigarette lighter does not work. This could be a blown fuse perhaps, but I've never looked too much into it.
The seats have some wear on them, but are in pretty good shape. The seats have some light cracking and a couple small cuts on them. The driver's seat can be seen in the photos. There is one small burn on the back seat as well.
The paint is slightly fading, and as you can see from the pictures, the clear-coat is peeling from the hood and roof.
As mentioned earlier, due to the front-end issues, the front tires need to be replaced. The front-drivers tire especially is worn, down to the nylon cords, and should be replaced pretty soon. The rear tires however are in good shape, with even wear and have plenty of life on them.
As I mentioned earlier, this car has a salvage-title. If this is a deal-breaker for you, please stop looking now. Please make sure that if you intend to buy this car, that you can register this car in your state, and understand that it cannot be insured with full-coverage insurance.
More on the salvage title... At some time the car was wrecked on the driver's side, as can be seen by body-filler that has cracked underneath the paint. The front-drivers fender is also a replacement BMW DOT-R fender, and does not match the factory VIN. (All other body panels to the best of my ability have matching VIN tags.) It is my belief that someone ran this car down a guard-rail, and that is what led to the salvage title being issued. There is evidence of body-filler in the driver's door, and the rear-quarter panel, but you have to be close up to notice it. (I honestly overlooked this when buying the car, even knowing about the front-drivers fender.) I am not sure if this is visible from the pictures or not. I can take more detailed photos upon request.
Price
Based on other E30's for sale, and knowing the overall condition of this car, as well as the items that have been replaced, I will start with asking $3,500 for the car. I have estimated the replacement suspension parts, shocks and tires to be around $1,000. After repairs (not counting labor, obviously,) this E30 would be much nicer than many on the road today. If you feel this is an unreasonable price, please let me know why you feel that way, and we can go from there. I'm willing to entertain reasonable offers.
Trades
I would entertain a possible trade + cash from me as well, but I'm going to be picky about this. I'd like to replace this car with either an E39 5 series, or an E46 3 series. Must have a manual transmission, and be in good working mechanical condition. I cannot take on a project at this time, so it must be in good overall mechanical condition.(I also strongly prefer not to have grey-leather interior...)
Other info
Due to the suspension issues, I would not recommend driving the car long distances, mainly due to the front tire's wear. If they buyer insists on driving this a long distance after purchasing, the tires could be rotated to facilitate a long drive, but the buyer assumes all responsibility for doing so. I am not willing to ship the car at this time.
If there is something I'm leaving out, please feel free to ask and I'll try to address it. The car still runs and drives, although the current battery does not want to hold a charge, as the car has sat all winter long. The buyer will get a working battery with the car. It is still insured, and is available for test drives to serious buyers.
Contact
Thank you for looking. If you have any questions, please contact me at JAshley73 (at) Hotmail.com , or call/text area code Five-Zero-Two, Six-Five-Seven, Nine-Five-Zero-Eight. Please let me know where you saw this add, as it will be listed on a couple different forum sites. Thanks again.
Comment