FS: 1989 BMW e30 325i
$7,500
5-speed manual
Color: Blue
Title: Clean, in my name
Milage: 205,000, true, odometer works
VIN: WBAAA1307K4142910
The car is located near Peekskill, NY, about an hour north of NYC. I live in Brooklyn, so I don't have immediate access to the car, but it can be seen easily in either location.
I have owned this e30 since October 2017. I hoped to drive it for many years, but plans changed, now I'm driving a wagon. I never got the chance to become an e30 expert, so I'll do my best to describe the car and share all the info I have. It took me about a year to find this car when I was shopping for an e30 a few years ago, so I know a few things...
The history of this car: The car is from Maine. The original owner, an elderly woman, purchased the car new from from the BMW dealership in Falmouth in 1989 (I have the original receipt, she paid $28,316.95). She drove the car for about 20 years, mostly between Maine and Boston. The car was garaged in the winter (she also owned a truck). When she became too old to drive herself, she hired a caretaker to drive for her. And when she died, she gave him the car. I bought the car from him. So there are two owners before me, but they are connected. I was told that she was meticulous about caring for the car, and always had it serviced at the dealership, but I do not have any service records from that time.
I bought the car for $2,000, thinking that it had some minor rust issues, nothing visible from the exterior, but some rust was visible in the wheel wells and rocker panels. I found a guy who does nice high end auto restoration nearby, Ray Ayer (a great guy!) and brought the car to him. Once he got in there, as many people had warned me, the rust issue was more extensive than expected. (See images included of the repair process from Ayer). I paid $4,300 for the restoration. I've had the worked checked out since and it looks super solid and there is no rust on the car other than a bit of minor surface rust on the hood.
REPAIR PICS HERE
The car is entirely stock with no modifications. It has a clean, original dash with no cracks. All of the gauges, odometer, power windows, original radio work, etc. work with no problems. There is a light out on the cluster that I haven't bothered to replace. The interior is in really nice condition, with a few little issues—a broken plastic pieces near the floor on the passenger side, the driver seat is starting to wear out, the stick shift cover is torn, the glove compartment latch recently cracked and needs to be replaced.
The exterior looks great from a distance, but it's not perfect. There's a small dent behind the driver's side door that I haven't repaired (happened last year at a valet parking lot). The hood is fading and has small rust bubbles. The paint doesn't all match, which is really annoying. The wheels are original alloys and the tires have about 6,000 miles on them.
The car runs and drives like a dream, as far as I am concerned. I have made various minor repairs, which I have records for. There is a very slow oil leak that was there when I bought the car. I've been told it may be the head gasket, and that I don't need to do anything about it. The car is not losing a significant amount of oil, it doesn't even drip.
I had the car looked at recently and the mechanic said it will need a new radiator and brakes in the near future, but not immediately. I had the a/c recharged; it's cold but pretty weak.
CAR PICS HERE
(Note: I have a second set of steel wheels with original hubcaps and snow tires that come with the car, as seen in first pic.)
$7,500
5-speed manual
Color: Blue
Title: Clean, in my name
Milage: 205,000, true, odometer works
VIN: WBAAA1307K4142910
The car is located near Peekskill, NY, about an hour north of NYC. I live in Brooklyn, so I don't have immediate access to the car, but it can be seen easily in either location.
I have owned this e30 since October 2017. I hoped to drive it for many years, but plans changed, now I'm driving a wagon. I never got the chance to become an e30 expert, so I'll do my best to describe the car and share all the info I have. It took me about a year to find this car when I was shopping for an e30 a few years ago, so I know a few things...
The history of this car: The car is from Maine. The original owner, an elderly woman, purchased the car new from from the BMW dealership in Falmouth in 1989 (I have the original receipt, she paid $28,316.95). She drove the car for about 20 years, mostly between Maine and Boston. The car was garaged in the winter (she also owned a truck). When she became too old to drive herself, she hired a caretaker to drive for her. And when she died, she gave him the car. I bought the car from him. So there are two owners before me, but they are connected. I was told that she was meticulous about caring for the car, and always had it serviced at the dealership, but I do not have any service records from that time.
I bought the car for $2,000, thinking that it had some minor rust issues, nothing visible from the exterior, but some rust was visible in the wheel wells and rocker panels. I found a guy who does nice high end auto restoration nearby, Ray Ayer (a great guy!) and brought the car to him. Once he got in there, as many people had warned me, the rust issue was more extensive than expected. (See images included of the repair process from Ayer). I paid $4,300 for the restoration. I've had the worked checked out since and it looks super solid and there is no rust on the car other than a bit of minor surface rust on the hood.
REPAIR PICS HERE
The car is entirely stock with no modifications. It has a clean, original dash with no cracks. All of the gauges, odometer, power windows, original radio work, etc. work with no problems. There is a light out on the cluster that I haven't bothered to replace. The interior is in really nice condition, with a few little issues—a broken plastic pieces near the floor on the passenger side, the driver seat is starting to wear out, the stick shift cover is torn, the glove compartment latch recently cracked and needs to be replaced.
The exterior looks great from a distance, but it's not perfect. There's a small dent behind the driver's side door that I haven't repaired (happened last year at a valet parking lot). The hood is fading and has small rust bubbles. The paint doesn't all match, which is really annoying. The wheels are original alloys and the tires have about 6,000 miles on them.
The car runs and drives like a dream, as far as I am concerned. I have made various minor repairs, which I have records for. There is a very slow oil leak that was there when I bought the car. I've been told it may be the head gasket, and that I don't need to do anything about it. The car is not losing a significant amount of oil, it doesn't even drip.
I had the car looked at recently and the mechanic said it will need a new radiator and brakes in the near future, but not immediately. I had the a/c recharged; it's cold but pretty weak.
CAR PICS HERE
(Note: I have a second set of steel wheels with original hubcaps and snow tires that come with the car, as seen in first pic.)
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