should i make this my new member ride?????

[NeedaE30]

so i think i found the car i might buy after looking for weeks, months to find the right car this one seems very promising

its a 1986 325 not an i or is. 2 door coupe, 135k miles blue cloth interior(which i kind of like) unfortunately it's an auto but if everything works out and is in good shape i will do a 5 speed swap next tax return.. it has a central locking issues like most e30's i've been around need to unlock/lock from the trunk. all windows work properly all guages except odometer work properly the owner told me the odometer stopped at 134k and he rarely drives the car so he insists it has right around 135k miles.. from the pictures the paint looks amazing.. he did tell me the clear coat is pealing from the roof though. the dash has 2 large cracks in it. the ac works but has a very slow leak and he puts a can of that parts store refrigerant crap in it once a year.. the heat works... hes never had the timing belt done and hes owned it since 80k miles.. so i will get the timing belt and water pump done most likely this week if i buy it.. he said it hasnt been inspected in a little over a year because he just moved here from virginia. it even still has virginia plates.. we are in newengland now... he said there is no rust on the car (i could not find any in the pics). he said he just had all the exterior lights. headlights, blinkers, etc all fixed and all work perfectly.. he says he was very meticulous about oil changes every 3k miles and tire rotations.. said tires were replaced 2 years ago and hes only driven in a couple thousand miles in 2 years... i asked him for the VIN i hope he gets it to me before i drive an hour to look at it... he said the motor makes a "ticking noise" "but its always done that" he said... but i'll know if its the common valve/injector tick of the m20 or a more serious bad rocker or rod bearing or something similar, once i check it out.. he said the transmission shifts perfectly.. the exhaust was replaced 2 years ago

he said he does not have any maintenance records and hes never had a major repair he has owned it since 2005 (80k miles)

these are the only pics i have





what do you guys thinks? i should probably buy it... asking price 1900 OBO

[Swanny]

If you can get it for under 1400 then hell yeah rock it. Just check out all the posts of people bitching that they can't find sub $2000 e30's right now. Granted you'll be dumping at least twice what you're paying for it into fixing some issues (just the general suspension and engine service) but that still puts you in a good place to start.

Granted a 325e with an auto is going to be boring as hell to drive but looks like you know what you want to sort out.

[NeedaE30]

he told me to bring 1900 cash or a cashiers check... think he'll go for 1400? lol waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles i would piss myself if he gave it to me for 1400

[NeedaE30]

oh also he said it doesnt leak anything other than the fact he has to add fluid to the steering once a year or so lol??

[NeedaE30]

my plans for this vehicle if i buy will be timing belt, suspension overhaul, 5 speed swap. wheels, and a 2.5liter cylinder head

[Swanny]

Well he did say OBO so I'd start at 1400 and explain that there's no records and that you have to do water pump, timing belt, suspension, yadda yadda... just to make things reliable. I'm sure backed with some facts you can talk him down a few hundred.

Plan it this way: new suspension is at least 800( shocks, struts, springs, tie rods, sway links, control arm bushings, ball joints)
5 speed swap is at least 400
I head swap would be at least another 400 (head rebuilt yourself, intake manifold, wiring harness, afm, icv, crank pulley, gasket kit)

This is all priced at really good deals and all the work done yourself. You could save yourself a lot of trouble by just finding a well sorted manual 325i for 4000. You'd be out about the same amount of $ but you'd already have everything you're looking for.

It really comes down to how badly you want an e30 now, how much work you're willing to do, and available funds.

[NeedaE30]

I actually need to buy a car this weekend, desperately! Because I have no transportation to work on Tuesday haha! So after scouring craigslist for months this is by far the cleanest pictured and described e30 i have been able to find ...that is rust free ... I can not find anything even close to the cleanliness of this body for this good of a price.. all i've been able to find are white autos that are usually rusted or a 5 speed thats rusted to shit. there just are not enough around here locally and my time has run out.

I looked at a nice 1990 535i today 5 speed gorgeous car lowered on coils still drove as smooth as it did with brand new factory suspension could barely feel bumps... the engine bay was immaculate the car was pretty damn fast and had a gorgeous interior he was asking 2 grand but i noticed a bad rod knock upon starting the car... i really wanted this 5 series but i passed on it then instantly this 86 e30 popped up on craigslist... i wanted it immediately and now im going to look at it in the morning... i really really do not want an auto... at all.. but for the cleaniless and rust free body and clean interior and low miles i can settle for an auto and do the swap... its just money and atleast ill have a car to drive while i horde and gather parts for the swap...

[TimKninja]

Check the wheel wells for rust.

Check the rear battery tray and where the spare tire jack sits .

It looks very clean for
An e30 and 5 speed swaps can be done easily.

[NeedaE30]

ok... wow i am so disappointed and angry with my day today and with craigslist i want to stab everyone on craigslist...

ive driven all over newengland looking at cars for the past couple weeks and i have been lied to about EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM... not one has been as described by the owner...

the 86 i drove an hour to look at today.. well lets see

it didnt just have a little clear coat peeling from the roof ... it had paint and clear coat completely gone from the roof and trunk lid and i mean the WHOLE ROOF AND TRUNK LID. the whole passenger side was all scratched up like someone took a buffer with sandpaper to it... the interior was stained and disgusting... the car hasnt been cleaned in probably 3 years... head gasket was leaking oil.. valve cover gasket was pissing oil... tranny was leaking rear main seal was leaking shocks were blown out tires were junk. steering rack was pissing fluid... i am so sick of looking for cars and being lied to constantly by douche bags that think they can get away with it. what the waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles is wrong with people??? honestly.. sigh..

oh and another thing... the car overheated like last year or something and he took it to a shop ... they replaced the waterpump but not the timing belt... and they charged him 450... WTF???????
\
i will admit though it was rust free.. i'll give him that...

THen once i was done looking at this junk box i drove to lawrence to look at a e36 "325I" 5 speed... i get there the tires are flat and its a 318 with rusted to shit rocker panels... the guys add said it was a beautiful rust free 325i... ok so i walked away and told him to relist it as a 318 not a 325 i guess i was way to nice i should have called him a waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles face...

got back to nh and drove to hudson to look at an 84 318i... apparantly very clean only a small dollar bill sized rust spot on the right rear fender.. all service records from the time the car was purchased... i think to myself "PERFECT!!!" ... so i get there... the rocker panels/fenders on both sides of the vehicle have massive rust holes in them about the side of my forearm... the front bumper was pushed in and it was dripping oil from the oil pan.... seriously what the waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles is wrong with people

someone please sell me a decent e30 :(

[Swanny]

Damn man sorry about your luck! Well if you think about getting that eta i have a 5 speed swap that i'm 85% done taking out. All the seals are easy to replace especially if you were already needing to do the timing belt. I'm sure you can talk him down a considerable amount based on the condition stated.
Here's a great deal on an I head as well
http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=289193

[NeedaE30]

i will absolutely be passing on the eta due to the fact that no matter how cheap he would sell it to me i wouldn't buy it cause he's a lying WAFFLE!!! so he deserves none of my money... luckily there is a great r3v member that i think is going to help me out with my issue :)

no need for a 5 speed swap WOOT!

[PaulO]

Wow, sorry to hear about that terrible luck on cl.
Not to rub salt on your wounds, but i scored on my 86 325es for 375 dollars.
Just keep looking :)

[M-technik-3]

E30's don't exist in the NorthEast rust belt anymore...start expanding your search.

[TimKninja]

There was a mint 1990 325i auto on NE30 yesterday for $2500, with 88k miles . Brilliantrot .

Join the NE30 Facebook group. Keep trying!

[defaultName]

That really sucks to hear! People don't realize that lying in an ad is just a waste of time for everyone. I had an experience like that once too.

Almost forgot to mention an interesting test drive I took today.

Some of you may know that I was searching for an '84 318i for a while before I got this car. One came up for sale recently (thanks Rudy for the lead by the way) that I had to go look at. I was on the fence about it since I just bought an E30 but I couldn't pass this one up. A two owner car with just 50,000 kilometers and no rust! How could I not go look at it?

When I got to the shop/dealership and saw the car parked outside I thought my search was finally over... But then I got closer. The car did have rust, pretty obvious rust actually. It wasn't terrible but it obviously needed body work. Not a problem, I expect a little rust. Then I opened the door to look inside.

I think the reason why the car had suck low mileage is because it was primarily used to house some sort of a dog. It reeked like a wet dog had made this car its home. And its bathroom. Dog hair everywhere and the front seats had been replaced because apparently the dog had eaten them. Not a problem, I expect the interior to be a bit rough. Then I started it up.

The car started up without any trouble... A little slow but it had been sitting for a while so nothing to worry about. There was a lot of smoke coming out of the exhaust but it cleared up after a while. I figured I would let it warm up a bit before going for a drive and took this time to check around the engine bay. As I was admiring how spartan the engine bay was, the radiator (I guess it was so excited at the thought of going for a drive) blew its load all over the driveway. Not a problem, it was probably the original rad and they're simple to change. I figured now would be the best time to go for a test drive, before the coolant runs out completely. So off I went.

It became obvious at the first stop sign that the car had no brakes. Maybe saying it didn't have brakes isn't fair. It probably had brakes but it may not have had brake pads or brake fluid or anything actually connecting the brake pedal to the brakes themselves. Either way the car would not stop. The car came to a halt after lots of downshifting and I figured I should probably just bring it back.

From that point to the next stop sign the car began to clunk very loudly. Now I was getting scared. More downshifting brought me to stop sign number two. One more stop sign to go and I would be back.

I drove very slow so as not to upset the car. I arrived at the last stop sign. I just had to drive ten more feet and pull into the parking lot. I started off and about halfway home there was a loud crash and the rear of the car fell to the ground. At that point I thought it was time to abandon ship and I jumped out of the car.

The Rear Wheel Fell Off ! ! !

So there I stood facing the wrong way on a one way street (don't ask) next to an un-plated car with three wheels.

Needless to say I did not buy the car.