What would you consider a major fault with the E30's

[ravenlord89]

If I was only allowed to do one mod to the E30 and nothing else it would be the steering rack. Everything else is nit picking. The steering rack is the only poor design choice.

[totheredline]

A lot of the problems people are mentioning are due to old age and PO neglect. Compared to other cars of the era they are extremely well put together. There's no arguing that the e30 is a very sound design. I work at a Chrysler jeep dodge dealership. You wouldn't believe the number of recalls we do. There's one out on jeep wranglers where a connector in the door gets hot due from excessive amp draw and the insulation catches on fire. XD

[rzerob]

Ya, every BMW I've owned shuts the headlamps off when you cut the ignition. Parking lamps stay on, but main beams go off.

This is what mine does. But it still kills my battery if the switch is left on. I plan on either switching source power or adding a warning buzzer. I remember 99% of the time but that one percent I forget.

No head light warning. How many times have you left your headlights on and come back to a dead battery?

I am going to edit my original post because it was to vague.

No head light SWITCH warning. How many times have you left your headlights SWITCH on and come back to a dead battery?

Sorry for the confusion.

[estoguy]

I've owned my E30 for 2.5 years. Prior, I was a hardcore VW guy having owned 3 MkIIIs and a MkIV. Seriously, the E30 is better. (But I'll always love my first MKIII - '97 Golf TD - because she was the first... but the E30 is a hair behind).

I've got a barebones '86 325 (Eta) - and to be honest, I love it. I've had minor frustrations working on it, but all in all, it's been a great ride so far.

One thing: The rear brake plates that the E-brake components attach to - having to remove the rear bearing to replace. Stupid. I haven't had my e-brake for almost a year because of it.

[KVF]

Bunch of minor faults that have all been mentioned, but truth be told, there aren't any major faults. It's just that simple...

[UlrichFennec]

Ya, every BMW I've owned shuts the headlamps off when you cut the ignition. Parking lamps stay on, but main beams go off.

That was exactly my problem. Apparently, the reason mine did that was because the previous owner wired the headlights to the stereo's power and gave the car a wonderful short to ground. That's getting fixed right now, actually. I'll have a electrical bug-free E30 soon, especially with the new wiring harness I ordered.

[slammin.e28]

Both my e30s do this. I don't think they have been modified.

Ya, every BMW I've owned shuts the headlamps off when you cut the ignition. Parking lamps stay on, but main beams go off.

[TheEightAlpha]

Regardless of engines i love how I can feel the road. And that is worth all the negatives. Cars like that are dying


,Diego Ochoa

[ST1G]

Did you switch your power source to the headlight switch from k30(Hot at all times) to k15(Hot in acc., run and start)?

Both my e30s do this. I don't think they have been modified.

[varg]

and the M42 ?:

The M42 has more design and build flaws than the rest of the car around it.
-Oil pan bolts that weren't threadlocked from the factory
-Critical oil passage runs through the oil pan and when said bolts loosen can cause oil starvation
-Insufficient half-shell thrust bearing causes crank walk
-Timing chain idler gear is a common point of failure and the casting that it is mounted to is weak
-Profile gasket fiasco could have been avoided altogether by using a different cooling passage design between head and block
-Valve cover fastener design sucks, should've used bigger studs instead of weak little M6 threads in aluminum
-The under-intake hose mess
-3 piece Timing case design is very leak prone
-7mm exhaust studs

[AntiScope]

POs are the worst part. One of mine attempted to wire a sound system in, and when I put a head unit in to try it out I found that the headlights turn it all off.

Ahaha the same thing happened to me with my first touring. Such a frustrating experience!

[whitebulat22]

The fact that when you take ownership of the car with the M20 motor, you have to do the Timing Belt/Water pump irrespective of what the PO says.

POs are the worst part. One of mine attempted to wire a sound system in, and when I put a head unit in to try it out I found that the headlights turn it all off.

[Kevinl]

I don't really recall any 80's cars having cupholders

Shifter is fine for me actually feels easier than my e90's shifter

steering rack is a joke although it still has more feel that any american or japanese car

I wish the seats went back further

My E30 has zero rust maybe its where you live not the cars fault

[Bmwdayz]

If you change all the shifter parts including the piece on the trans that the selector rod connects to e30 shifters are pretty tight.

I'd say the most annoying is the crappy coolant systems they came up with and The timing belt on the M20.

[Bmwdayz]

Nope and i've never had a problem with the so called bitch tube. haha

But you still have to pull the intake though, right?