Hey guys, this is my first post here. A month ago I just got my first E30 and I just love it despite it still has some rough edges. It is a 1989 325i sedan which I thought it was a bummer because I wanted a coupe with a manual but for the price this was by far the best example I could find. The previous owner took the car to the shop for a rack and pinion and muffler repair but he lost his job and it was unable to pay the invoice. The car was at the shop for some 8 months before he finally decided to just sell the car. It is pretty well documented and was pretty well maintained by the previous owners but it is very notable that all that time abandoned at the shop took his toll.
I will start with the good stuff first:
- The car is driveable condition, it stars and runs pretty well
- It doesn’t smoke and it doesn’t have any noticeable leaks
- The overall interior is excellent (The dash is not cracked which is a rare find). Seats and headliner show some age but they look good. The only exception is the glovebox which is broken.
- Transmission shifts smoothly
- There's a ton of new parts on the car (basically all the cooling system is new along with the rack and pinion and some other parts).
- Air conditioning blows cold which in the caribbean heat is a big plus
- The car was repainted but I couldn't find signs of previous crash damage
Not let's go with the bad stuff:
- Bumper trim is missing in the rear and the passenger side of the front
- The car was repainted but it has some damage from bird droppings
- Odometers gears are broken and it needs the si board batteries replaced too, the instrument cluster just doesn't work properly
- It needs the timing belt replacement very very soon
- A few days ago I just discovered a rust spot in the rear bumper (it didn't had rust in the more critical areas)
-Front speakers are busted
Overall, I would say is a 6.5/10. It needs some work but I just paid $1,800 for it which I still think is a steal specially considering is a late model.
Let's go with the photos:
Future plans?, well…for now I will concentrate on addressing all those issues specially the rust spot and the timing belt replace. I’m toying the idea of doing a manual transmission swap but I’m not really sure, I did a manual trans swap on my previous Mazda3 and it ended in nightmare. I would like to do a total suspension upgrade (shocks, springs, all bushings etc) with a nice wheel/tire package. On the exterior maybe a front lip and a rear spoiler.
I will start with the good stuff first:
- The car is driveable condition, it stars and runs pretty well
- It doesn’t smoke and it doesn’t have any noticeable leaks
- The overall interior is excellent (The dash is not cracked which is a rare find). Seats and headliner show some age but they look good. The only exception is the glovebox which is broken.
- Transmission shifts smoothly
- There's a ton of new parts on the car (basically all the cooling system is new along with the rack and pinion and some other parts).
- Air conditioning blows cold which in the caribbean heat is a big plus
- The car was repainted but I couldn't find signs of previous crash damage
Not let's go with the bad stuff:
- Bumper trim is missing in the rear and the passenger side of the front
- The car was repainted but it has some damage from bird droppings
- Odometers gears are broken and it needs the si board batteries replaced too, the instrument cluster just doesn't work properly
- It needs the timing belt replacement very very soon
- A few days ago I just discovered a rust spot in the rear bumper (it didn't had rust in the more critical areas)
-Front speakers are busted
Overall, I would say is a 6.5/10. It needs some work but I just paid $1,800 for it which I still think is a steal specially considering is a late model.
Let's go with the photos:
Future plans?, well…for now I will concentrate on addressing all those issues specially the rust spot and the timing belt replace. I’m toying the idea of doing a manual transmission swap but I’m not really sure, I did a manual trans swap on my previous Mazda3 and it ended in nightmare. I would like to do a total suspension upgrade (shocks, springs, all bushings etc) with a nice wheel/tire package. On the exterior maybe a front lip and a rear spoiler.
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