Re: Recommendations on a $3500-$4500 BMW

[Henri Baccouche <henrib@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A 12-15 year old  E30 is no bargain unless you are
a life long mechanic. These cars have major wear cycles at 100K and at
150K miles. Ask me how I know........

If it's important for the car to be 95-100% correct, then a 3500-4500 dollar E30 with 100k will likely be a black hole for money.

100K
complete front suspension rebuild w/struts
new steering rack
new rear wheel bearings
new injectors
new ICV
new ICV ECU
new radiator
new in tank-fuel pump
new SI board
# 5 and #6 cylinder burning  oil because the cylinders wearing slightly oval......very common on the ETA.
new temp sender
new wiring harness ignition
new fan clutch
new alternator brushes
new thermostat housing

150K
new driveshaft
front wheel bearings
new O2 sensor
new intrument cluster contact board
new starter (this was a bitch to install.......)
new AC temp control block under dash.  (ditto......)
new catalytic converter
Automatic trans probably on its last legs.....(~$1350 for a ZF rebuilt)

I would only recommend such cars to people who *enjoy* wrenching
as a hobby........

Henri

Henri




Thomas Stork wrote:

> I would look for a moderate mileage eta engine E30 (325, 325e or 325es) or E28 (528e) from the mid-late 80s.  Neither is a particularly sporty drive, but they'll
> accelerate better than a 318 from the same period, they've quite rugged--with engines that are designed to be long-lasting and get good gas mileage--and
> because they aren't highly sought-after by sporty enthusiasts, they sell *cheap*.  Parts are easily available and fairly cheap (by BMW standards).  You should be
> able to get a very nice example of either with mileage in the low 100Ks for comfortably under $3,000 (probably closer to $2,000), and she could use the money
> saved to repair any minor things that turn up (and minor things always turn up on old cars).
>
> There aren't many serious problems with these engines--the timing belt needs to be replaced every 45-50K (it's a ticking time bomb if it hasn't been done), and this
> and the water pump should be about $400.  Air conditioning on all BMWs from the period is not great--the components don't last all that long, in my (unfortunate)
> experience. But with some extra money to spend, this could be fixed as well.
>
> Good luck!
> - Tom Stork
> BMW CCA #131072
> '85 635CSi,
> '86 325es
> '81 320i
> '73 Bavaria 3.0l
>
> >My sister-in-law needs a reliable used car and has her sights set on a BMW.
> >She doesn't have a lot of money to spend. I'm thinking that a '88-'90 325i
> >would be about right for her. What do you guys think? This is what I'd like
> >to know?
>
> --
> to be removed from bmw, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
> or email "unsubscribe bmw" to majordomo@domain.elided

------------------------------