Advice On Evaluating an E30 for Purchase

[E30Noob]

I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to BMWs and I've only been working on cars period for about 6 months just so you know where I'm coming from.

I'm going to take a look at a 318 tomorrow that a friend of mine and I are looking to turn into a cheap race car for an amateur endurance race series. He owned a different car previously that broke down completely in our last race so he has a little more experience than I do, but neither of us are experts by any means. So that being said, I have a few questions for the experts on this forum:

• Are there any problems E30s are particularly prone to that I should be aware of and how can I check the car to see if that problem exists?
• I haven't seen the car yet and the only info I have right now is that it's an E30 318. I know in the US there have been several versions of the 318 some of which have completely different engines, can anyone give me a quick rundown of those models and how I might distinguish them if the badging is gone for some reason?
• From what I understand the interior is pretty ragged out but the car is still running well, what kind of price range would you be willing to pay for a car like that? Obviously model year and designation will effect this, but if you could give me a range that would be helpful.
• Any other advice you think might help in evaluating this car would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help. Hopefully I'll be a member of the E30 owner's club soon.

[nrubenstein]

$50-$5,000 depending on condition and what 318 it is.

[Jean]

If it's an 83-85 then it's got a 8v 4cyl m10b18 100hp engine. It will have drum brakes, and thin front struts, non-vented front rotors. Depending on exact year it might have manual door locks, manual or power windows. It will smell crappy from it's original interior. This will be a big bumper car. It will also have a small diff.

The good thing is it will be super light.The bad thing is you'll have more crap to upgrade.

If it's a 90+ car then it will have a dohc m42 engine with about 140hp. It will weight more, have more power options and have disc brakes and vented fronts. This will be plastic bumper car.

Unless PO took care of the car, most likely it will need a full overhaul of brakes/hoses/belts/lines/suspension/bushings etc.

If you don't know what to look for, find a bmw shop and have them do a PPI.

[Dude]

Dont get to excited about the good things about it. Find all the bad things and use that as bargaining leverage. Remember there will always be more so be patient. I got a huge boner the first time i test drove the first e30 i checked out. I had to have it and it had alot of good things going for it. Turns out there were some issues i overlooked and it resulted in me overpaying for the car by a grand =x =[

[McGyver]

a huge flaw is the auto-tragic transmission some cars came with. just look it over and be thorough.

[E30Noob]

a huge flaw is the auto-tragic transmission some cars came with. just look it over and be thorough.

Actually I do know it's a manual so I won't have to worry about that.

[Danny]

What the fuck year is it?

[E30Noob]

Ok, just found out it's an '85. I was really hoping for a '91, but oh well.

The car is at a mechanic's shop and apparently was there for some work, but the owner never paid so we're looking to buy it based on his lien. He said it's got a newly rebuilt engine and he took a look at the clutch and said it was in good shape. It's a fairly reputable mechanic so I trust his word but will inspect it myself when I get there later today.

At this point I think I can get it for $700-$800. Assuming he's not lying about the engine and the suspension looks to be in decent shape and the test drive goes well, does that sound about right?

Also, I know the M10 has significantly less power than the M42, but how does it compare in terms of reliability. We're going to be driving this car hard around a track for 10 hours at a time. The last car we had was constantly in the pits due to random mechanical issues, so our main goal is to get a car that will keep us on the track even if we're getting passed while we're out there. Does this sound like a good candidate to you?

[Jean]

m10 is pretty damn reliable, but it's a slooooow car in stock form. What type of racing are you thinking?

Like I said this car will also have thin front struts, non vented front rotors, small rear diff. All of these things you can change as bolt-ons from late model 318i or 325i though.

The only plus to an early 318i car is it's light weight.

[blitz355]

What the fuck year is it?

Danny lmao

[E30Noob]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I took a look at it last night, but it was not meant to be.

The engine and tranny did look to be in very good shape and the guy we spoke to seemed to be very honest, but he wanted $1000 for a slow car and that just didn't work for what we're trying to do.

If anyone is interested, the car is in the east Dallas area and I'll be happy to put you in touch with the guy if you'd like.

Here's what we saw:

The Bad

• Interior is completely trashed, I don't think anything is salvageable.
• Exterior is in bad shape to. Paint is very oxidized and there is a lot of rust especially in the trunk and underneath on the floor boards. Lots of dents and bent body panels too, prob not worth restoring if you want a car that will look nice.
• Power steering didn't have any fluid in it, so we're assuming there's a pretty bad leak.
• Tires are shot, the car has been sitting outside with flat tires for something like 9 months, so the side walls are ruined on all four.
• Fuel pump is out so we couldn't start it.
• e-brake didn't really work
• There were rat droppings in the trunk

The Good

• Engine was from a different car with much lower milage but was still an M10.
• All hoses and belts looked new.
• Wiring had definitely been redone recently.

We were planning on ripping out the interior and adding a roll cage and race seat anyway, so the cosmetic issues weren't really a problem for us, but we just weren't willing to spend $1000 on that car.

If you're interested we were planning on racing this in the 24 hours of LeMons. You're only supposed to spend $500 on your car total excluding roll cage, harness, and brakes. That means upgrading things like the diff or suspension is out. I thought we might be able to get this for $700 and then sell off some salvage parts to make up a little of the gap and then fudge the rest.

Because all the cars in this race are so cheap most of the race is about keeping your car running and avoiding black flags as opposed to going seriously fast. Fast helps, but shaving 10 seconds off your lap time doesn't do much good if you spend an hour in the pits because something on your engine broke. Also, there are so many inexperienced drivers out there going off the track that you spend a lot of time under yellow and can't pass, so the slow cars are making laps the same as the fast ones.

Thanks again for all the advice, at this point if we do go with an E30 I think a 325e or a 318is is going to be our best bet.

[Jean]

^lol that sounds like a $200-400 car to me, not $1000.

Don't get a 318is for LeMons...get a 325e or 325es or early 325i.

[XicemaniacX]

the word "RUST" ends it for everybody