Buying an E30 question

[crashnburn80]

My little brother is looking at buying a late e30 325i or 325is, probably a 1987-1991. We are going to take a look at a couple on Monday and I wanted to know if there are any specific area/problems I should watch for. I could name a good checklist for an e34, but not for an e30. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[SRR2]

Driver's side door lock. Windshield wiper linkage. Ratty radio if OE type. Antenna operation. Cracked radiator. SRS computer operation. Rubber rocker arm plugs (4) at each end of head will probably be rock hard and leaking oil.

[winfred]

cam belt breaking and taking the motor with it, rear shock mounts, cracked rubber bits around the throttle body, crappy mechanics jacking up the idle with the throttle stop screw to mask a slight running problem, 15+ year old automatic tranny, rubber flex coupler on driveshaft, 15+ year old non servicable driveshaft, bosch platinum spark plugs, dirty throttle body/idle control valve

[niall]

My little brother is looking at buying a late e30 325i or 325is, probably a 1987-1991. We are going to take a look at a couple on Monday and I wanted to know if there are any specific area/problems I should watch for. I could name a good checklist for an e34, but not for an e30. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

i looked at alot of 325is before i bought mine, the non-sports
dont have a lsd, the sports will have firmer suspension
so keep that in mind if you think the ride is harsh, basically
the only thing mechanicaly wise i would recomend you look
for, is alot of Camshaft noise and a whining diff, most of them you see
will probably have some tappet noise, try to determin yourself
how bad it is and work it into your budget having to replace
a cam+follower set

[JonE]

broken front swaybar links, finnicky window switches (not very difficult to replace), leaking water valve to the heater core and/or heater core, poor fan clutch operation (more difficult to get to than the E34) causing overheating while idling or standing in traffic. AC operation or converted? Heater fan working on all speeds (resistor tricky to get to through the firewall. All OBC functions working? Leaking oil valve near some of the oil filters where mounted parallel to engine (these feed a oil cooler located up by the radiator.

[crashnburn80]

Thanks for the info guys, also what is the life expectancy of the M20 engine? Is it comparable to the M30?

[Bruno]

Thanks for the info guys, also what is the life expectancy of the M20 engine? Is it comparable to the M30?

As long as you keep an eye on the timing belt and the tensioner. I find that it is as solid as the M30 engine. I still love the M30 engine better, but the M20 is a damn strong engine.

[winfred]

i pulled the head on a m20 I motor with 311k miles on the orignal bottom end and it still had hone marks in the cylinders, ether motor will probably want a head rebuild at a little over 200k miles but the m20 generally doesn't eat up valve train like a m30 can with loose banjo bolts as they all get

[Jose]

E30's tent torust like in the corners by the kick panels, under the batery plate in the truck, under the jack mounting, rear wheel arches, license plate lights, underside front doors,under the carpet at the rear passengers side there are at both sides a round plate which can be twisted of and rust gets between the chassis and this plate.Furter you have to be carefull with the oem sunroofs. The drains and the inner tray are welded to the cars roof and not bolted like the later type BMW's. If you can seen any visible rust when the roof is retracted,let the car be, it will rust through the roof plate in matter of a few years.