1987 BMW 3 Series Reviews - Page 7 of 13

Front ball joints had to be replaced at 140,000 miles.

All hoses and belts had to be replaced at 200,000 miles.

Seats have started to wear and needed repair.

Fan clutch went out at 180,000 miles.

Radiator hose busted.

Front brakes went out, rear brakes still good.

Brake pad sensors went out at 170,000 miles.

Back light for on board computer went out at 189,000 miles.

Timing belt blew at 200,000 miles.

Head Overhaul at 205,000 miles.

Most dependable car I have ever owned.

Just overhauled the head, new valves, springs, rockers.

Was amazed and shocked when we took the head off at 205,000 miles. Internal parts were clean and shiny like new, no need to replace rings they were like brand new with no wear. Piston walls were smooth as silk with no wear either.

My head blew up when I found out that one of the cylinder is not functioning right, it was running with 5 cylinders only, as per BMW shop.

The car is fast and reliable, but when I got it at 80000 km in 1992 (1987model) inported from california it was stock at the custom pier till I got it.

New front brakes, calipers etc. $800.00.

Tie-rods replaced. $450.00.

Cracked mounting plate for the hydraulic brake cylinder. It only cost $200.00 to fix, but I opted to wait for 2 weeks and have the new part shipped from Germany, rather than find a used one at a wrecker.

The sweet sounds from the engine alone are worth the price of admission. The straight 6 cylinder sounds great. It lacks torque at low RPM's, but it pulls hard all the way to the redline. This is no drag-racer, but it has plenty of usable power when coupled with the nice shifting 5sp.

Handling could be better.

Water pump broke right after I purchased it. This cost me $350.

Air flow meter broke, leaving the car undrivable at about 210,000km. This ran me for $600.

The water pump pretty much blew up at about 212,000km. The mechanic said he had never seen one go as badly as this. It was under warranty, but for the labour it cost me $120. Apparently this is a really hard peice to get to to fix.

Muffler had a huge hole, was hanging down, and broken from the cat-back this made a hell of a noise until I could afford to fix it. For the cat-back system it cost me $750.

My brakes were making an awful noise at 226,000km I took that in to get fixed, turned out it was just some sort of pin, I was only charged for labour, but at the same time it was discovered that my passenger side ball-joint had gone. So the total bill for this trip to the garage was $310.

There is significant rust on my car, to get this properly fixed I have had it quoted to come somewhere between $800-$1200 for the rust to be removed, patched, primed and a basic paint-job.

This car is a good performer compared to stock civics, accords and the usual rice mobiles. I don't race much (I have maybe 5 times in this car) but so far the only car anywhere near it's price range that has beaten it was an Eagle Talon TSI AWD.

The seats are decent, but not suit for long trips. The room in the back seat is awful, I'm a lanky guy and need the seat all the way back to drive how I like, and if I go on a trip with people in the back seat they are uncomfortable, and I have to move my seat up making myself not at my preferred driving position.

I love the handling of this car. It is very good in dry weather. It is fun in the rain, scary in the snow. I could never go back to a front wheel drive car.

If you are looking to get this car to tune up, forget it. The engine is as tunable as a brick. Any cosmetic upgrades cost a ton of money, and most take away from the classiness of this beautiful vehicle.