I've been waiting to do this..

[Civilian]

Hi guys.

I've been lurking for a while now. I first saw an E30 when I was looking for a car over a year ago. I loved the lines of the car and it would be affordable for a high school student like me. :)

Fast forward to 2 months ago. I'm working 4 days a week part-time, but I still didn't have much money to purchase a car. My parents agreed that since we will need another car for this upcoming summer, I could find the E30 I've wanted. I had a thread in the classifieds that ended up leading me to the car I now have. For how much we paid it is unbelievably clean and well maintained. I love driving it.

1987 Zinnoberrot 325is
138,xxx
Full black sport interior
Automatic:(
Basketweaves

The plan for the car right now is to learn basic maintenance and some more advanced things through it. The only thing I have done until now is oil changes on our Miata. I already have things to start on. The E-brake isn't connected. The speakers don't all play until you pass a certain volume and even then one side will play and the other won't.

I also have a question for the other auto drivers. With your pedal floored, does the car still shift and under 3k? I really do not want to use the 1-2-3 shifters to get it going.

That's all I've got. This site is a fantastic resource and I like the people here, regardless of how you treat each other. Hopefully I don't get too much flak for being 17.

Thanks

*Last thing. How can I post attached photos up using the [img] tags? Sorry for the dark shots, I'll get more some time soon.

[ill4noreason]

copy the img code direct to the comment box like here : mynewcar.img .
take some pics in the daylight.
And yes automatic e30's are slow and are not the same experience as a 5spd e30.
but this is a good base to learn about cars on good luck post up some pics....

[ButtJuice]

I bought my e30 when I was 17 too (20 now) but you made the SAME mistake as me. You got an autotragic!

But it's okay, save some mullah and do the 5spd swap.


Nevertheless, welcome to the addiction.

[HarryPotter]

Just sell it for a couple grand more than you paid and buy a clean 5spd.

[lambo]

Hey, do you happen to know how much insurance is per year with a teenager as the primary driver?

[elmercc]

Welcome to the e30 family! I got my first e30 when I was 17, and 10 years later I'm still driving one!

[BrewCity11]

Welcome to R3V. Don't mind the occasional rude comments, this is a great place for info. You'll learn alot just by reading (and searching, do alot of this)

Not sure if i'm reading it right, but you're saying even with it floored, the trans will shift at 3k????

Auto trans have a kickdown cable that either needs adjustment or replacing. Again, you can search for this.

[Civilian]

Not sure if i'm reading it right, but you're saying even with it floored, the trans will shift at 3k????

Auto trans have a kickdown cable that either needs adjustment or replacing. Again, you can search for this.

Yes, it shifts around 2500 with the pedal floored and no real feeling of acceleration. If I can fix that though it will csrtaibly hold me over while saving for a five-speed swap.

Thanks for the welcoming. I'll have some more pics up soon.

[Pussy30]

Get some better pics in the daytime! And congrats, Im 18 and there's 3 e30's at my house right now ;)

[Frog]

CAnt see anything with the pics... All you see is darkness and lights............................................ .....

[StereoInstaller1]

Hey man, welcome to R3V. High school kid or not, you need to get your car straight.

FIRST thing to do is check your fluid levels, sounds to me like you are not starting off in first at all, which generally is a sign of the first gear input seal leakdown, or too low fluid levels.

Go drive about 10 minutes and pull the stick. You should be between the 2 little nubs (teehee, he said "nubs") and if it isn't, fill it the rest of the way with "Auto Tranny Stop Leak" and start saving your pennies.

The issue is an internal leak, causes first gear to be pressurized all the time, basically it means it can be in 1st and 4th at the same time, so it blows up and you call a tow truck.

There is a fix IF your transmission has not taken a complete shit BTW. I will be doing that on my E34 which has the same tranny as your car (same motor too) and has to stay manual.

GL! Now go kick some ass.
Luke

[trackjunkie21]

Welcome dude, idk about you but insurance for a 17 year old around here is pretty darn expensive. Like Luke said, check all your fluids and do a tune-up at first. Purchase a Bentley manual which is like a bible for e30 owners. It should have a section where it shows you how to adjust the kickdown cable so you may be in luck. Most of all have fun!

[straight6pwr]

glad you were able to get into an e30! its a fun car, you wont regret it!


and whoever asked about insurance, when I first started driving my e30 at 18, i payed $1200 per year as the primary driver.

[1fastm50]

Welcome to r3v. Try getting some daytime shots for us please.

[CorvallisBMW]

Welcome! I started out with nearly the same car when I was 17 ('88 325iS auto, zinno red w/ black interior) and it's all been downhill from there ;)

Luke had a good idea on your trans doing weird stuff, definitely look in to that. It could also be that the kick-down cable needs adjusting. On my old auto, if I really floored it and made sure the pedal depressed the kickdown switch underneath it (you'll feel a distinct 'click' as the pedal reaches the bottom, then goes about 1/2" further) it would shift at about 6K. So something is not right.

The stereo is probably a bad head unit, or maybe bad amp. Luke, any ideas?