General Reliability of an E30

[clydesdale]

They have little quirks, but they are much cheaper to repair than many other vehicles. This is assuming that you would be turning the wrenches.

[brokenbimmer533]

Mine has never left me stranded. Basic maintenance goes a long way. I have 240k ish miles on mine and it still runs well. Little things go bad here and there but nothing that would keep the car from driving down the road. I agree with everyone else, if you don't work on your own car, forget it.

[u3b3rg33k]

+1

ask me how i know. LOL

Lol. Even I have witnessed the greatness that is Audi reliability. Namely in the form of distributor counterweight failure at a HPDE.

Thankfully, the M20B25 distributor is damn simple.

[JTDay]

http://e30world.com/Maintenance/BMW-E30-common-problems

two words: preventative mainenance. make sure the PO actually cared about the car.

[Atreus]

make sure you have a backup.

when the timing belt blew the e34 was rollin, when the e34 died the e30 was on DD duty. they really do like to be in pairs.

aside from the timing belt mishap and my looming suspension problems, its rather reliable, preventitive(sp) maint. goes a long way.

[hoveringuy]

I have put 100,000 miles on mine in the 10 years I've owned it. Now at 210,000. Only thing I had that semi-stranded me was a clutch throwout bearing. Even that was driveable for a day.

It's been reliable and CHEAP to maintain!

[funcrew]

Playing devil's advocate; people say "Before you buy, make sure the maintenance was done properly by the PO for the last 200K." That's a pipe dream in most cases. The fact is, 90 percent of the ones for sale have had numerous owners, poor maintenance, and are in the process of disintegrating. I've been daily driving a total of 3 sub-100K E30's for the last 3 years. Yes, they do start and run, but they also fail smog, the AC doesn't work, they smell and leak, the seats are worn out, the paint is shot, suspension bushings loose, etc. 20+ years means that these cars are old and tired. IF you want to put in the time and money to go through the suspension, driveshaft, transmission and diff seals, engine rubber parts, ICV, fuel lines, fuel pump, and a hundred other things, you can end up with a nice car that offers a great driving experience not available in bloated modern cars. But don't fool yourself that an average used E30 is going to be a very polished or comfortable machine without a lot of additional work.

[mr.vang]

reliable for sure, but the cluster suck. sometimes the light and speed meter won't work until you tap it. i have already check for loose ground and change the bulbs. in the process of getting a new cluster.

[Cyrano]

with 250,000 stil going strong. Seems bullet proof.

[Mab1957]

e30 Cabrio

I recently purchased a 92 convertible aka Cabrio. Power top didn't work and still doesn't despite many hours of fiddling with it according to the recommendations posted at this and other forums. As a result the softop lid doesn't secure tightly. Motors and pieces to the power mechanism are expensive and hard to find. If you're searching for a Cabrio to purchase give consideration to earlier modes with manual softops and look for a recently replaced softop (window gets foggy and cracks with time, fabric tears/fades) or calc ~$600-$700 for replacement. Also, all of the convertibles I looked at had dry/rotten rear seat tops due to uv exposure. Consider also that parts for the Cabs are different and a bit more difficult to locate/swap (interior, doors, trim etc.). Finally if you find one with the optional hardtop included that's a good buy for the 'top up seasons' and worth extra money. Search here for value indicators, but figure $600 - $1200 additional depending on condition and completeness (wrench, storage rack, bag, pins). Also, check out the rear shock support guides for stress/wear and if seller or PO replace with reinforced plate.

I think I saw a Cabrio 'buyers guide' on bimmerforums FAQ. Do your homework, your purchase investment is the most important one.

[Fleksta]

But don't fool yourself that an average used E30 is going to be a very polished or comfortable machine without a lot of additional work.

+1

I bought mine for $1500 and sunk a huge amount of time & money getting it to the point of care-free DD'ing. Even still I have a second car as a backup.

The fact is, the vast majority of e30's on the market today (outside of the forums) have been used up as throw-aways. People bought them cheap, didn't do any maintenance, then sold them cheap when they were done. They are quirky, ornery, and have "moods" that vary with the weather.

Would I call them reliable? Compared to a Civic, not really. Are they fun? Damn straight ;)

[McGyver]

i have had an '89 cabbie as my daily for the past 3 or 4 years and it has been perfect. i always had my '91 buick skylark as a backup, but now that i just got a '91 325i coupe i can get rid of the GM crap.

putting on my A/C compressor belt turned into changing the timing belt and water pump, which meant that i had to borrow a screw from the cabbie to make the water pump tighten down because the PO used a screw that was too long.

^the moral? ALWAYS have an e30 + another car for when you are doing an easy fix and find a hack job from the PO that needs to be fixed while you're in there.

my cabbie has never left me stranded, and the only times it doesnt run is when i am messing with it and have to leave the job half finished due to lack of parts.

[StereoInstaller1]

My '87 is parked due to needing either the S50 that is in the garage installed OR timing belt on the old-ass M20...I just don't wanna drop the $150 in parts plus a fresher head on my M20 while the swap is waiting...but I have 2 running E30s, plus my old-ass Astro.

I'm telling ya right now, don't own only 1 E30.