Feeler: 1989 325is
I'm putting up a feeler for my 1989 bronzit 325is with what I think is a blown headgasket. It would be a really nice car with a new M20 or if someone fixed the current motor.
I'm going to try to be very detailed about it, and I don't need to sell it. If it doesn't sell I will go through it and fix it to be all it can be, but right now I just don't have the time.
I bought the car here about 2 years ago:
The car is very clean, but has a lot of miles. I actually can't confirm everything that was claimed in the previous ad, but I can tell you what I know about the car.
From the previous owner's ad:
I actually doubt that the head work was done, but I didn't confirm it.
Here's how I'm evaluating the car.
The good that came with the car:
Really good condition body. The paint looks really good. It is dirty right now from sitting but will clean up really nice.
The interior is in really good shape. It has practically new looking seats out of a 318is, with no rips, tears or worm spots. The seat shocks don't work, but I've never seen an E30 where they did.
IE3 springs and Bilstein Sport shocks.
Short shifter
HID/Smilies/Fog lights.
Keyless entry/Alarm
Good things that I've done to the car:
E36 rack with all new hoses and reservoir tank. The old rack was leaking like a sieve, so I put in a 3.2 LTL E36 rack, and replaced everything along the way.
Used, good condition radiator, all new hoses and thermostat. The cooling system was trashed pretty bad, so I replaced everything.
New timing belt and water pump a couple of thousand miles ago.
New spark plugs and plug wires (yesterday)
New Falken Azenis
The kind of bad:
I'm not 100% sure of the mileage. When I got it, it had 240k with a working odometer. However the temp gauge was busted and after about 5k I put in a spare cluster that had a working temp gauge and non working odometer, and put a couple of thousand miles on the different odometer, until I needed to use the spare cluster in a different car. It is within a couple of thousand miles of what it says on the odometer (245k).
The cluster has a non working temp gauge (mentioned above) and I think the SI board is starting to go. I do however have the spare cluster with working temp gauge and SI board so they can be swapped over.
The passenger side control arm has a busted ball joint.
It has an antenna from some Honda I think. I will include two E30 power antennas, one that I bought here on r3v claimed to be working, and one that I pulled form a junkyard.
The heater core is bypassed, probably because it broke, like on any other E30.
Spare basketweave is bent.
Engine bay is dirty.
The really bad:
I think the headgasked it blown. The car has trouble idling and runs rough with lots of hesitation at low RPMs, and blows a lot smoke that smells like burning oil. It runs fine at high RPMs with no power loss. I haven't done a compression test yet, and I'm planning to do it soon, but I'm pretty sure it has a blown headgasket.
The so-so:
The interior is two tone, from the previous owner swapping in black seats but keeping the tan door cards/etc. However I have a complete set of black door cards, black speaker, kick panels, etc to finish converting the interior to black (everything except carpet).
I've owned a few E30s, raced one, and been around lots of others. I'm pretty knowledgeable about them, and in my honest opinion this is a really good car with one major problem and a few minor issues. It's a solid body, with lots of good parts on it (suspension/rack/shifter/etc) and a tired engine. It would make a great car for someone who has the time to fix all the little things, or someone who has a good M20 lying around.
I'm trying to be really honest and explain everything that I know about the car, but I might be missing some things. I'd be happy to answer questions and format this ad better. I also have a carfax from before and after I bought it saved somewhere if anyone is interested in that kind of thing.
This is a feeler, and I'd like to get some feedback on what you guys think is a fair price for this car as it sits. As of right now I'm thinking that if I can get $2000 for it I would let it go to someone who can pay more attention to it, but I'm not sure what the market is these days, so I'm welcoming feedback. If I can't get close to that for it, I will probably just have to set aside a weekend and swap the headgasket myself.
Car located in Lake Forest, CA (Orange County)
I'm going to try to be very detailed about it, and I don't need to sell it. If it doesn't sell I will go through it and fix it to be all it can be, but right now I just don't have the time.
I bought the car here about 2 years ago:
The car is very clean, but has a lot of miles. I actually can't confirm everything that was claimed in the previous ad, but I can tell you what I know about the car.
From the previous owner's ad:
-HID 6000k, Clean blue white color.
-Smiles
-Blacked out grills
-New Fog lights
-All Headlights have laminex protection over them from rocks.
-IS Front lip professionally painted with clear bra to protect it from rock chips.
-Suspension: Bilstein Sports shocks and IE Stage 3 springs drops 2.5 inches in the front and 2.0 inches in the back.
-AC Shitnezer Performance chip which gives more power and better gas mileage.
-Tinted windows 35% all around.
-Black sport seats, black rear seats, natural beige door cards and panels.
-Short shifter installed (Z3 short shifter)
-Clutch Stop installed.
-Magnaflow muffler.
-M3 Control arm bushings
-Lemme Ford Tie rods
Replaced: motor mounts, Flex guibo, fuel pump and battery and new alternator, valves, retainers, valve springs, head polish and valve job.
-Smiles
-Blacked out grills
-New Fog lights
-All Headlights have laminex protection over them from rocks.
-IS Front lip professionally painted with clear bra to protect it from rock chips.
-Suspension: Bilstein Sports shocks and IE Stage 3 springs drops 2.5 inches in the front and 2.0 inches in the back.
-AC Shitnezer Performance chip which gives more power and better gas mileage.
-Tinted windows 35% all around.
-Black sport seats, black rear seats, natural beige door cards and panels.
-Short shifter installed (Z3 short shifter)
-Clutch Stop installed.
-Magnaflow muffler.
-M3 Control arm bushings
-Lemme Ford Tie rods
Replaced: motor mounts, Flex guibo, fuel pump and battery and new alternator, valves, retainers, valve springs, head polish and valve job.
Here's how I'm evaluating the car.
The good that came with the car:
Really good condition body. The paint looks really good. It is dirty right now from sitting but will clean up really nice.
The interior is in really good shape. It has practically new looking seats out of a 318is, with no rips, tears or worm spots. The seat shocks don't work, but I've never seen an E30 where they did.
IE3 springs and Bilstein Sport shocks.
Short shifter
HID/Smilies/Fog lights.
Keyless entry/Alarm
Good things that I've done to the car:
E36 rack with all new hoses and reservoir tank. The old rack was leaking like a sieve, so I put in a 3.2 LTL E36 rack, and replaced everything along the way.
Used, good condition radiator, all new hoses and thermostat. The cooling system was trashed pretty bad, so I replaced everything.
New timing belt and water pump a couple of thousand miles ago.
New spark plugs and plug wires (yesterday)
New Falken Azenis
The kind of bad:
I'm not 100% sure of the mileage. When I got it, it had 240k with a working odometer. However the temp gauge was busted and after about 5k I put in a spare cluster that had a working temp gauge and non working odometer, and put a couple of thousand miles on the different odometer, until I needed to use the spare cluster in a different car. It is within a couple of thousand miles of what it says on the odometer (245k).
The cluster has a non working temp gauge (mentioned above) and I think the SI board is starting to go. I do however have the spare cluster with working temp gauge and SI board so they can be swapped over.
The passenger side control arm has a busted ball joint.
It has an antenna from some Honda I think. I will include two E30 power antennas, one that I bought here on r3v claimed to be working, and one that I pulled form a junkyard.
The heater core is bypassed, probably because it broke, like on any other E30.
Spare basketweave is bent.
Engine bay is dirty.
The really bad:
I think the headgasked it blown. The car has trouble idling and runs rough with lots of hesitation at low RPMs, and blows a lot smoke that smells like burning oil. It runs fine at high RPMs with no power loss. I haven't done a compression test yet, and I'm planning to do it soon, but I'm pretty sure it has a blown headgasket.
The so-so:
The interior is two tone, from the previous owner swapping in black seats but keeping the tan door cards/etc. However I have a complete set of black door cards, black speaker, kick panels, etc to finish converting the interior to black (everything except carpet).
I've owned a few E30s, raced one, and been around lots of others. I'm pretty knowledgeable about them, and in my honest opinion this is a really good car with one major problem and a few minor issues. It's a solid body, with lots of good parts on it (suspension/rack/shifter/etc) and a tired engine. It would make a great car for someone who has the time to fix all the little things, or someone who has a good M20 lying around.
I'm trying to be really honest and explain everything that I know about the car, but I might be missing some things. I'd be happy to answer questions and format this ad better. I also have a carfax from before and after I bought it saved somewhere if anyone is interested in that kind of thing.
This is a feeler, and I'd like to get some feedback on what you guys think is a fair price for this car as it sits. As of right now I'm thinking that if I can get $2000 for it I would let it go to someone who can pay more attention to it, but I'm not sure what the market is these days, so I'm welcoming feedback. If I can't get close to that for it, I will probably just have to set aside a weekend and swap the headgasket myself.
Car located in Lake Forest, CA (Orange County)
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