SOLD
Up for sale is my E30 BMW. 1988 325is, 2dr, RWD.
Price: $8900, shipping not included. Offers from real enthusiasts will not be discouraged. If you want to inquire about shipping, I'd probably add another $250-350 on top of the shipping costs. I've shipped a handful of cars so I'm comfortable with the process.
64 pics here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1tMa6yGyPVtfGYyg6
HereÂ’s the rundown:
1/1988 production date
175K miles (estimated, ODO stopped working at 133k, explanation below on that estimate)
Bought it in 2/2008 when I lived in Michigan. Had 110K on it. I bought it as a 3rd car to only drive in summer.
Moved to SLC with it 12/2009. Wound up as my daily.
4/14 Stopped daily driving it, and stopped driving in winter conditions. Drove from may to September only, rarely in rain.
In 4/16, I took a job where I walked to work. So this thing reaaaaalllly didnÂ’t see any drive time.
In 8/16, my wife moved to Boston full time to take a promotion. I kept working for a company in SLC, and splitting my time between SLC and Boston every 2 weeks. This is where I essentially stopped driving it entirely. Occasionally I would come back to town in the summer and take it out of my garage, wash the car, Drive it to work for two days and bike the rest of the days and then I would be headed back to Boston. Since 8/16, there is no possible way I have put more than 500 miles on the car, This is the entire reason I am selling it. Luckily I donÂ’t need to sell it. I love the thing and itÂ’s really sad to think of selling it. But I am not using itÂ…at all. I would much rather see this thing in the hands of a BMW enthusiast like I have been for 15 years but actually wants to drive it frequently. I believe if you have something you should use it and right now I'm not using it so I shouldn't have it.
I wont really beat around the bush on stuff: I value transparency the most. Heres an honest assessment of the vehicle so there are no surprises.
Mechanical: 9/10
Mechanically, IÂ’d put this thing up against anything on the market. Having this car be reliable, safe, and preventing potential breakdowns has been the primary focus. I never wanted to break down on the road, and it literally never has in over 10 years (since I owned it). I broke a timing belt in 5/18 in my garage starting it (the tensioner pulley failed, which was replaced 3K miles prior to that in 10/15Â…just a bad unit). Thats the closest its ever been to mechanically failing on me. Fresh head rebuild at that time (new valves, decked head, gasket, cam seals, rockersÂ…everything), timing belt job, radiator, water pump, 5/18. Tires are great, alignment is spot on, steering wheel is straight, no pulls. I bought the car with a leaky clutch MC, fixed it first thing 2/08. Brakes are solid. No issues with hard or soft lines (replaced in 2012). Did a pad and rotor job in 2016 I think, but to be fair I cant produce evidence of that. Just have to check them yourself if you see the car. Also did a cat-back exhaust in summer of 2014, but again no receipt of that. You can see it looks new on the car still. NO engine leaks.
What it eventually needs: LSD refresh. Last refresh was 5/12, but realistically 15k miles ago at most. I have a feeling that it sitting has not helped it at all. It also needs a new A/C compressor. The pulley clutch started going in 8/15, so I just disconnected the belt and dealt with the heat for a month. Since I bought the car, it has had a shift-selector rod seal leak (under the car, top of gearbox). I have the new seal, never put it in because I was planning on doing a tranny refresh and never got to it. IF you wanted to plan on doing anything first, the tranny refresh would be a recommendation (not a necessity). I was planning on doing a clutch (only because I never replaced it), throw-out bearing, and fixing the reverse synchros. About 1/10 attempts to put car in reverse, it doesn’t full select. You have to roll forward 12” then select reverse and it goes right in. This is the reason why it is not a 10/10 mechanically. Didn’t bother me enough to spend a week in the garage fixing.
Chassis: 8/10
The good - Suspension is dialed. Definitely no concerns. Call occasionally get a creaking noise from one of the front end links and one of the front lower control arm rear bushings that seems to want more grease. It's not a greaseable bushing but it's poly urethane and it just makes a friction noise with the control arm occasionally.
The ok — The main reason for the 8/10 rating is that I can definitely see some rust on the underside of the car frame rails as well as the driver side trunk box area where the jack goes. Front subframe and rear subframe are solid. Battery box in the trunk and all under hood areas are solid as well.
Body: 7/10
The good - I gave it a fresh buffing on the single stage paint last year. It really shines well and you'll be pretty happy overall with this thing going down the road and how it looks. Ive never hit a single thing with it. It never received any dents under my ownership. With that said, the passenger door does not line up perfectly with the opening, a relic from the previous owner no doubt. Door closes fine and always has. But, this car really does look great in pics and driving down the road. Can't tell you how many times people have thought this car was in incredible condition just looking at photos. I definitely don't think it's in incredible condition hence the seven out of 10 rating.
The ok - front and rear lower valence paint is wearing and a notable color difference from the rest of the body. The front lower lip (black part) was replaced last summer, along with ALL clips. Since then, only one has broken.
The bad - Sadly this is where E30s get into trouble the most it seems like. You'll see in the pics that the front fenders are pretty good, one actually has no rust at all on the wheel arch. But the rears are definitely the reason for the seven out of 10 rating. You can see in the pictures that the left rear fender wheel arch has rust that will need to be addressed. The driver side door to opening area on the body will also need to be addressed. You can see rust developing underneath the paint on the lower hand side of the door passenger-side.
Interior: 6/10
The good - almost everything works. Not sure why but I never could figure out why the stalk to interact with the driver info panel stopped working in 2014. Just weird. Instrument cluster was replaced in 2014, and its in wonderful shape. The Bavarian auto shift knob is what the car came with, and is still great. Carpet was replaced in 2009, and its the full thick carpet and not the 318 thin carpet. Floor mats are generally good, with the drivers side showing some wear. No leaks.
The ok - rear parcel shelf is typically faded. Passenger seat showing some age. The sunroof works great, always has, but over the past three years I've noticed the trailing edge on the top of the sunroof, body side, is dipping in comparison to the roofline. I'm not entirely sure what's causing that and so far it has not ever leaked. I've only washed the car by hand so I can't speak to some of these modern carwashes that use a ton of pressure. It never leaked in hard rain.
The bad - drivers seat is in rough shape. See pics. No explanation needed. Same with the dash. YepÂ…this comes with the typical dash cracks. These two items are the main reason for the 6/10 rating.
Glass: 8/10
No leaks. Windshield was replaced in 2011, but is just ok now (reason for 8/10). 3 non-propagating chips on one side. Not in drivers main vision. Rear pop-outs are in awesome shape. I think there is one or two rear defroster lines that dont work anymore, but its been ages since I drove it in weather under 60F so I cant recall which ones.
Wheels/Tires: 10/10
As far as tires go, it’s hard to not say these are 10/10. As I mentioned, the car has a conservative estimate (meaning high-ball) of 175K on it. In 5/16, I bought the current tires (listed below, receipt on-hand) and installed them on the newly machined 2-piece E39 wheels. They come with 9/32” tread depth. I just measured all four at exactly 8/32” tread depth. I have the 5-lug conversion on there to accommodate the E39 wheels, and have never had any issues at all with turning or bumps (fender lips rolled slightly at 12 o’clock position).
Turn-key Fun Factor:9/10
You're going to get in this car and just drive it and have a smile on your face, period. I'm not joking about that. This thing is a very good car,; not an excellent car. But with that said it's going to do everything you need to do and it's going to do it reliably in a safe way and still turn some heads at traffic lights.
Aftermarket parts
Factory E39 (2002) BBS 2-piece wheels, new center caps, 5 totalÂ…yes I have a spare. These are ultra clean as seen in pics and proper 2-piece. New center caps. All purchased 5/16
Tires are 205/40R-17 Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500. Tread is 1/4”. Part of the milage estimation noted above. Only 1/32” used.
4 to 5 lug adapter kit, hub-centric
Ireland Engineering Front and rear sway bars, end links, sway bar mounts f&r
Bilstein sport shocks, f&r
H&R sport springs
IE rear shock mounts
IE rear subframe kit, including all bushings, trailing arms & bushings, rear toe & camber adjustment plates etc.
IE front offset control arm bushings
Upgraded rear diff mountÂ… forget brand. Probably IE.
Up for sale is my E30 BMW. 1988 325is, 2dr, RWD.
Price: $8900, shipping not included. Offers from real enthusiasts will not be discouraged. If you want to inquire about shipping, I'd probably add another $250-350 on top of the shipping costs. I've shipped a handful of cars so I'm comfortable with the process.
64 pics here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1tMa6yGyPVtfGYyg6
HereÂ’s the rundown:
1/1988 production date
175K miles (estimated, ODO stopped working at 133k, explanation below on that estimate)
Bought it in 2/2008 when I lived in Michigan. Had 110K on it. I bought it as a 3rd car to only drive in summer.
Moved to SLC with it 12/2009. Wound up as my daily.
4/14 Stopped daily driving it, and stopped driving in winter conditions. Drove from may to September only, rarely in rain.
In 4/16, I took a job where I walked to work. So this thing reaaaaalllly didnÂ’t see any drive time.
In 8/16, my wife moved to Boston full time to take a promotion. I kept working for a company in SLC, and splitting my time between SLC and Boston every 2 weeks. This is where I essentially stopped driving it entirely. Occasionally I would come back to town in the summer and take it out of my garage, wash the car, Drive it to work for two days and bike the rest of the days and then I would be headed back to Boston. Since 8/16, there is no possible way I have put more than 500 miles on the car, This is the entire reason I am selling it. Luckily I donÂ’t need to sell it. I love the thing and itÂ’s really sad to think of selling it. But I am not using itÂ…at all. I would much rather see this thing in the hands of a BMW enthusiast like I have been for 15 years but actually wants to drive it frequently. I believe if you have something you should use it and right now I'm not using it so I shouldn't have it.
I wont really beat around the bush on stuff: I value transparency the most. Heres an honest assessment of the vehicle so there are no surprises.
Mechanical: 9/10
Mechanically, IÂ’d put this thing up against anything on the market. Having this car be reliable, safe, and preventing potential breakdowns has been the primary focus. I never wanted to break down on the road, and it literally never has in over 10 years (since I owned it). I broke a timing belt in 5/18 in my garage starting it (the tensioner pulley failed, which was replaced 3K miles prior to that in 10/15Â…just a bad unit). Thats the closest its ever been to mechanically failing on me. Fresh head rebuild at that time (new valves, decked head, gasket, cam seals, rockersÂ…everything), timing belt job, radiator, water pump, 5/18. Tires are great, alignment is spot on, steering wheel is straight, no pulls. I bought the car with a leaky clutch MC, fixed it first thing 2/08. Brakes are solid. No issues with hard or soft lines (replaced in 2012). Did a pad and rotor job in 2016 I think, but to be fair I cant produce evidence of that. Just have to check them yourself if you see the car. Also did a cat-back exhaust in summer of 2014, but again no receipt of that. You can see it looks new on the car still. NO engine leaks.
What it eventually needs: LSD refresh. Last refresh was 5/12, but realistically 15k miles ago at most. I have a feeling that it sitting has not helped it at all. It also needs a new A/C compressor. The pulley clutch started going in 8/15, so I just disconnected the belt and dealt with the heat for a month. Since I bought the car, it has had a shift-selector rod seal leak (under the car, top of gearbox). I have the new seal, never put it in because I was planning on doing a tranny refresh and never got to it. IF you wanted to plan on doing anything first, the tranny refresh would be a recommendation (not a necessity). I was planning on doing a clutch (only because I never replaced it), throw-out bearing, and fixing the reverse synchros. About 1/10 attempts to put car in reverse, it doesn’t full select. You have to roll forward 12” then select reverse and it goes right in. This is the reason why it is not a 10/10 mechanically. Didn’t bother me enough to spend a week in the garage fixing.
Chassis: 8/10
The good - Suspension is dialed. Definitely no concerns. Call occasionally get a creaking noise from one of the front end links and one of the front lower control arm rear bushings that seems to want more grease. It's not a greaseable bushing but it's poly urethane and it just makes a friction noise with the control arm occasionally.
The ok — The main reason for the 8/10 rating is that I can definitely see some rust on the underside of the car frame rails as well as the driver side trunk box area where the jack goes. Front subframe and rear subframe are solid. Battery box in the trunk and all under hood areas are solid as well.
Body: 7/10
The good - I gave it a fresh buffing on the single stage paint last year. It really shines well and you'll be pretty happy overall with this thing going down the road and how it looks. Ive never hit a single thing with it. It never received any dents under my ownership. With that said, the passenger door does not line up perfectly with the opening, a relic from the previous owner no doubt. Door closes fine and always has. But, this car really does look great in pics and driving down the road. Can't tell you how many times people have thought this car was in incredible condition just looking at photos. I definitely don't think it's in incredible condition hence the seven out of 10 rating.
The ok - front and rear lower valence paint is wearing and a notable color difference from the rest of the body. The front lower lip (black part) was replaced last summer, along with ALL clips. Since then, only one has broken.
The bad - Sadly this is where E30s get into trouble the most it seems like. You'll see in the pics that the front fenders are pretty good, one actually has no rust at all on the wheel arch. But the rears are definitely the reason for the seven out of 10 rating. You can see in the pictures that the left rear fender wheel arch has rust that will need to be addressed. The driver side door to opening area on the body will also need to be addressed. You can see rust developing underneath the paint on the lower hand side of the door passenger-side.
Interior: 6/10
The good - almost everything works. Not sure why but I never could figure out why the stalk to interact with the driver info panel stopped working in 2014. Just weird. Instrument cluster was replaced in 2014, and its in wonderful shape. The Bavarian auto shift knob is what the car came with, and is still great. Carpet was replaced in 2009, and its the full thick carpet and not the 318 thin carpet. Floor mats are generally good, with the drivers side showing some wear. No leaks.
The ok - rear parcel shelf is typically faded. Passenger seat showing some age. The sunroof works great, always has, but over the past three years I've noticed the trailing edge on the top of the sunroof, body side, is dipping in comparison to the roofline. I'm not entirely sure what's causing that and so far it has not ever leaked. I've only washed the car by hand so I can't speak to some of these modern carwashes that use a ton of pressure. It never leaked in hard rain.
The bad - drivers seat is in rough shape. See pics. No explanation needed. Same with the dash. YepÂ…this comes with the typical dash cracks. These two items are the main reason for the 6/10 rating.
Glass: 8/10
No leaks. Windshield was replaced in 2011, but is just ok now (reason for 8/10). 3 non-propagating chips on one side. Not in drivers main vision. Rear pop-outs are in awesome shape. I think there is one or two rear defroster lines that dont work anymore, but its been ages since I drove it in weather under 60F so I cant recall which ones.
Wheels/Tires: 10/10
As far as tires go, it’s hard to not say these are 10/10. As I mentioned, the car has a conservative estimate (meaning high-ball) of 175K on it. In 5/16, I bought the current tires (listed below, receipt on-hand) and installed them on the newly machined 2-piece E39 wheels. They come with 9/32” tread depth. I just measured all four at exactly 8/32” tread depth. I have the 5-lug conversion on there to accommodate the E39 wheels, and have never had any issues at all with turning or bumps (fender lips rolled slightly at 12 o’clock position).
Turn-key Fun Factor:9/10
You're going to get in this car and just drive it and have a smile on your face, period. I'm not joking about that. This thing is a very good car,; not an excellent car. But with that said it's going to do everything you need to do and it's going to do it reliably in a safe way and still turn some heads at traffic lights.
Aftermarket parts
Factory E39 (2002) BBS 2-piece wheels, new center caps, 5 totalÂ…yes I have a spare. These are ultra clean as seen in pics and proper 2-piece. New center caps. All purchased 5/16
Tires are 205/40R-17 Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500. Tread is 1/4”. Part of the milage estimation noted above. Only 1/32” used.
4 to 5 lug adapter kit, hub-centric
Ireland Engineering Front and rear sway bars, end links, sway bar mounts f&r
Bilstein sport shocks, f&r
H&R sport springs
IE rear shock mounts
IE rear subframe kit, including all bushings, trailing arms & bushings, rear toe & camber adjustment plates etc.
IE front offset control arm bushings
Upgraded rear diff mountÂ… forget brand. Probably IE.
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