e21's?

[bmwstephen]

Hi all,

have been trying to find a good 325e DD for a while but no such luck. an e21 turned up in my neck of the woods for a great deal. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with these cars? Important thing is gas mileage and safety. The car I'm looking at is an automatic.

I hear their fuel injection systems are a nightmare to maintain and that they are more unsafe than e30's since the rear tends to break away a lot easier especially in the rain.

anyone with experience can chime in

[slammin.e28]

Rust.

(Well, you're in Cali, so not as big an issue as elsewhere, but still a concern none the less.)

[ReallyDirtyThirty]

You would have an E21 with an M10 engine and a 3 speed automatic. This isn't exactly your cousin's 5.0 mustang in the rain or anything. The 0-60 time of that car is going to be measured in centuries.

Probably gets good gas mileage.

Safety?

These cars are not as safe as modern cars. Old cars are not safe. On this board most people would rather die in a fun car than live slowly dying in a Camry every day. If you want safety lease a new car. If you want to have fun, don't buy that car...

[BavarianSwap]

I own an E21 and I love it. They're fine as a DD. I wouldn't say that they are any less safe than an E30, especially being outfitted with diving boards. I've never had the car break away in the rain. However, my '85 325E w/lsd has! If I was in your shoes I'd hold out and get the car that you really want.

[Cliche Guevara]

My first car was an 81 320is and it's certainly a joy to drive. It's a lot more tail happy than E30s and it's definitely not due to excess of power lol. I get probably 23-25 mpg around town and never better than 25 on the freeway. They're definitely reliable and can make for an interesting DD, but I can't imagine an automatic being any fun. If you do get one make sure the starter has been replaced semi recently. It is the most miserable job you will ever do on that car. I shit you not, step one of changing the starter is to drop the transmission.

[Pantless Spency]

i own an e21 and it is currently my DD
breaking away in rain?
very easy if you take hard corners, and don't go slow. throttle on the floor lets one wheel spin easily, and its so slow you might want to drive throttle on floor a lot hahaha.


MPG?
depends on milage.
if i try hard i can get 22MPG but my engine has 275k miles and burns about 5qts of oil a month.... LOL!

and concerning the injection system?
if it's an 83 then the mechanical injection system is kind of a head ache..... i haven't fixed mine yet, its just a hard cold start and needs to be warm before taking off or else i will suffer loss of power.

other than that its all carbed i believe.

ive lost my rear end around many corners in the rain, but i kinda try to now a days because it's so damn gutless it's easy to control and actually kinda fun 8)

[brainspo0n]

I might own one if the 2002 and e30 318i didn't exist

[Teaguer]

You don't want an automatic 1.8 E21. Its slow as shit. Taking the bus would be faster.
Also the rear is exactly the same semi-trailing set-up we have in the e30. Both are not optimal. ;)

[bmwstephen]

ahh... thanks for the input guys. the car will be primarily a DD for the misses and she hates the my e30 IS as it is... can't risk the e21 thats for sure. best we stick to a 325e or the e46 (cringe)

[c2l0y0d2e]

E 21

I had an '91 E21 323i that was great - until the rear suspension bushings went bad. Then it got tail happy and a friend wasn't careful enough about it.. I still have the engine, and drive train for a 2002 project. I wish I had kept more of the car

[Eecen]

They're nice cars, but they have their drawbacks...just like everything.

They're no more prone to getting r3ved then an E30 really, like Teaguer said same rear suspension design. Although chances are the car you get will have blown shocks/bushings galore, which means it is going to be more unpredictable.

The fuel system is pretty damn simple, once you've learned how it works. Problem is not many people know how it works, and finding good information can be challenging, but it is out there. My 320is has a big hesitation issue on cold starts, but goes away after 2mins of idling...I choose to ignore it.

As a DD they're alright. I wouldn't want an auto.

MPG I was getting about 300km for 20L (all city) before my fuel light came on, so whatever that is. About the same as my '91 318i and '84 325e were getting when I drove them. You'll be up around 4k rpm on the highway if you want to get anywhere "fast."

Biggest problem as a DD would be no central locking, manual windows, manual steering, and non-operational/existent AC. These aren't necessarily cons in some peoples eyes, just depends on what you're after and how long of a drive you have.

Most important thing is to find a car that has been maintained well, or to be prepared to put time/money into maintenance...which is really an obvious rule of buying old cars anyways.

[bmwstephen]

i also hear they lack many things that make an e30 safer such as disc brakes in the rear. sway bar in the rear.

[B Randon]

To me a e21 is a great parts car for the 02, and even better if it is 320is. the seats, 5 speed, 3.91lsd, motor if you want to mess with that k jet, wheels, front rotors, and rear trailing arms. lol

[Eecen]

i also hear they lack many things that make an e30 safer such as disc brakes in the rear. sway bar in the rear.

Nothing wrong with un-vented front discs and drum rears, as long as it's maintained properly. I mean you can't go to the track and run hard, but daily driving it isn't a problem.

I believe late model e21s came with front and rear sway bars. Early cars only came with front (?), don't quote me on this. Here read this: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1146050

[B Randon]

now the 77 had vented front brakes, but that was the only year.