E30 - 320 or 325???

silver haze

i have lined up two cars for viewing this weekend,

one a 90 320is with 60k miles, FSH, 2 owners, irish car ect,

the other a 91 325is, 100k miles, full leather, some service history, VRT not paid.

both are for simmilar money, im just wondering which option to go for.
can anyone shed some light on the pro's & cons of that extra half litre, bar tax & insurance.

ill know more when i see both cars but im just wondering if there is anything else that should influence my decision.

kdevitt

Is it a 320is or a 320i? They are completely different cars.

Edit - just spotted you said its an Irish car, so its a 320i.

320i will have alot less power, and eat as much petrol. The 325i is the one to go for.

silver haze

thanks for the quick response, thats exactly the type of info im after.

its a 320i se, i meant its on irish plates, but dont know if its an import or not, appologies for the confusion.

just checked the ad for the 325, its down as a 325i, i just presumed it was an is as it's a coupe, is that wrong?

the ad also stated that it had 100,000 kms but it was actually miles when i called.

Anan1

At that age, condition is everything. I'd buy the better car. The 2.5 is of course brawnier, but the 2.0 is, from memory, noticeably smoother. As you say yourself, you'll know a lot more when you see them.

kdevitt

The 320i is a nice smooth car alright, a bit underwhelming though. Truth be told, a 325i is a bit underwhelming too - it felt like a rocket when I was learning to drive back in the day, but compared to modern cars its not very quick.

Anyway - as Anan1 said, condition is everything. There are a lot of scrapheaps floating around for sale. Check thoroughly for signs of rust - it eats the arches, sills, sunroof and down by the windscreen. Head gaskets give trouble too, and suspension should have had some work done on it at this stage.

There is a 325i Sports - that gets referred to as a 325is sometimes, I think there was a Sotuh African only 325is though. The 320is is a Portugal and Italian only car, which is essentially an m3 with a slightly smaller displacement engine.

E92

E30s, like all BMWs tend to have overheating problems as well. The 6 cylinder engines are meant to be very reliable though apart from this, but like anything BMW, when they do go wrong they will cost a fortune to fix.

A 325iS is no more powerful than a normal 325i IIRC.

I don't know about other people, but isn't 60k miles very low for an 18 year old car?

Obviously whatever E30(or indeed any car) you buy, make sure that it has a full service history. And I'd be wanting to see the receipts of what's been spent on maintaining the car too, especially on cars of this age.

And if you're buying a car thats a UK import, be sure to get a HPI check done before you buy. It costs £40 but it can tell you if a car has been clocked for a start, and if it's been in a crash etc.

silver haze

so all things being equal in respect of the condition of the car, would you lean towards the 325 then yeah?

with regards poke im not expecting a massive amount, i just love the look and feel of the cars, i was considering a newer model E36 with all the creature comforts from england but said fu*k it, i may as well get an E30 while there are some good examples around.

sound for all the advice, much appreciated.

bucks

If it was between a 320i and a 325 id defo go for the 325 !

Another option could be the 318iS, same suspension and braking setup as the 325 and is actually faster than the 320 !!

silver haze

no thanks, too heavy a car for that 1.8 to pull, depending on condition, id say ill go with the 325.

bucks

silver haze wrote: »

no thanks, too heavy a car for that 1.8 to pull, depending on condition, id say ill go with the 325.

Its actually not, i have had two of them and they are a cracking little car with no shortage of power !

rebel.ranter

The 318is is a great car, it had 142 BHP & the 320i only had 150BHP, the 325i had 172BHP.

It revs a lot better than th 6 clyinder cars too. The front end isn't as heavy either which meant it had better handling.

E92

rebel.ranter wrote: »

The 318is is a great car, it had 142 BHP & the 320i only had 150BHP, the 325i had 172BHP.

It revs a lot better than th 6 clyinder cars too. The front end isn't as heavy either which meant it had better handling.

The 320i had 125 bhp initially, then when it changed from Bosch Jetronic to Bosch Motronic injection in 88, it got 129 bhp, and those 320i's with the newer injection system are meant to be a lot better on mpg as well.

The 318iS might have many things, but it won't have the far superior sound and refinement that only a straight 6 can have.

That's not to say the 320i is better, I've never driven an E30, so I can't possibly comment on which is the better engine.

Seth Brundle

The E30 is a great car. I regret selling my 320i but I will return soon hopefully. My plan is to get a 325i - failing that it will be a 318is or a 320i - the 318is has the poke but not the 6 pot stereo.

Andrewf20

Alot of E30 325i's seem overpriced on carzone.ie, but this could be nice:

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=705342

2.5L tax now 899 euro a year.

CoffeeAndTV

silver haze wrote: »

no thanks, too heavy a car for that 1.8 to pull, depending on condition, id say ill go with the 325.

You're wrong good sir. The 318iS is the pic of the normal E30s for me.

They're easily and cheaply tuneable to be able to keep up with 325i's all day long.


The VRT on 325i Sports is VERY high, so make sure that you get a quote before you buy the car.

silver haze

yeah that black one looks nice and tidy, called the no but went through to message minder, voice sounded old so hopefully its been unabused, by him at least.
nice find, i had all but given up on carzone lately

Pittabang

;)mine's for sale and it's a minter
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=780322

silver haze

no thanks im looking for something with a bit more class.;)

Pittabang

:eek:

E92

Pittabang wrote: »

:eek:

I'd say he's referring to the fact yours in the entry level 4 cylinder 3 series, rather than the more powerful, much nicer sounding and more expensive to run 6 cylinder 3 series!

And the OP is looking for an E30, not an E46 too!

Ferris

Fair play to you for going for an E30, I had a 316i in college (slow I know) and it is my favourite of all the cars I have owned.

I was lent a 325 sport for a week and it was unreal, brilliantly controlable rwd car. They have the grunt to let the back break away early to its more gradual than the smaller engined e30's, something that caught me out with my one (oops!). I also love the look of them and I think that they were the last good looking 3-series.

The 325 sport (325is in europe/US) also had as standard the m-tech bodykit, lower suspension, On Board Computer and a Limited Slip Diff but no more power than standard. The engine (m20) is the same basically for the 320i and the 325i/325sport. As with all e30's check under the windscreen, rear wheelarches and engine firewall for rot. The rubbers in the engine (fuel/air induction) will also probably need replacing as they will have perished and will cause rough running. One common problem with the M20 is blown head gaskets so check for that. One fault mine had was vague steering due to a torn bushing in the steering column. This is visable from the engine bay tho. My advise is to buy the cleanest best unmodified car you can and enjoy it before all the petrol runs out.

Good luck!

silver haze

E92 wrote: »

I'd say he's referring to the fact yours in the entry level 4 cylinder 3 series, rather than the more powerful, much nicer sounding and more expensive to run 6 cylinder 3 series!

And the OP is looking for an E30, not an E46 too!

spot on lad.
always wanted one since i was a young lad, if i dont get one now there wont be too many nice examples left in a while

RoundyMooney

I have an 87 318i (the older M10 engine, which is far more reliable).

Unfortunately, I don't use it, at all, and folk aren't mad for the four door variant, so haven't sold up to now.

Cmar-Ireland

Don't forget that the 325i is very popular with the diffing crowd (due to the LSD). Many will have been driven very hard and very sideways.
Check them over very, very carefully.

E92

Finding an E30 that has all of the following is next to near impossible:

6 cylinder engine
unmodified.


If you do find one good luck, but its very rare to see a 6 pot E30 that's totally stock. Most, if not all will have had the original stereo ripped out, and that's no bad thing as CD players were never fitted to 80s cars, but I haven't seen an E30 that's in pristine condition in ages.

I don't mind modified cars, but I wish people wouldn't modify cars as rare as the E30 so much, its very rare to see a 6 pot E30 that's fully original these days, practically every 6 pot E30 I see has been modified unfortunately.

RoundyMooney

Agreed.

Mine isn't the former (4 pot) but is the latter.

I think the biggest problem is that they fell into the poverty trap some years ago, that and builders labourers are on good money these days, at least they were up to recently

It can only be good for the value of unmolested examples in the long term though, every cloud etc.

monksavage

just as a matter of interest can anyone tell me the difference between a 325is and the 325se as in pictured in the carzone link on the previous page???

here:
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=705342

E92

325iS was a kind of sports variant a bit like the 318iS(though without the more powerful engine), 325i SE is just a high spec 325i, and was only sold in the UK. These would be desirable as they would come with a good amount of equipment even by todays standards(though no aircon or any real safety features found on a modern car), electric windows, mirrors and sunroof, alloys and fog lights were standard IIRC. The basic Irish spec 325i had PAS, central locking and that was it!

And FWIW that 325i SE in the ad looks absolutely mint, and I love the fact it is fully original, this should mean that it has been well cared for and so should have plenty of years left in it. It's so rare to see such a good looking E30, maybe it's a case of if it sounds too good to be true.... but I see all nice things in the photo. The only negative thing is the towing hitch, and it would be nice to see the interior too(a cynic like me would say that there is no interior photo because there is something not right in there). It even has a trip computer! But if you want an E30, give that one a good look.

Others have mentioned the problem areas, the only thing I will add is if you do like it for the love of God make sure a competent mechanic looks over it, the last thing you want on an old car is to be spending more in repairs than the car is worth.

BMWs are by and large reliable, but when they do go wrong you will pay a lot to get them right again with the price of BMW parts.

JHMEG

E92 wrote:

It even has a trip computer!

It has 2 on board computers according to the ad: one for the turbo timer and one for the NOS... All the mods are under the bonnet!:D

silver haze

i was speaking to him tonight, he said that there was a cloth interior, a rip on the drivers seat and some small bubbling around the sun roof, he seemed genuine and knew what he was talking about.

it was really the sports model i was looking for, what is the difference in BHP, do you know?

i noticed the hitch as well but forgot to mention it, any chance it would be factory fitted???

silver haze

JHMEG wrote: »

It has 2 on board computers according to the ad: one for the turbo timer and one for the NOS... All the mods are under the bonnet!:D

he said no mod's, its as original as possible. no sterio or back shelf speakers, which doesnt bother me too much.