ICV valve stopped working.
Rear driveshaft slack.
Dummy lights, cluster not working.
Interior Lights Only Come On When You Open Passenger Front Or Driver's Rear Doors.
Drains Batteries When Parked.
Gas Mileage Sad.
The Ultimate Driving Machine indeed. I've never had a car with so many electrical gremlins. The gas guage, dummy lights, interior lighing, door chimes, service indicators, interior clock, central locking mechanism and the fog lamps refuse to work. Can't figure out why.
The car IS fast, but gets sad gas mileage if you drive it with any kind of spirit. Handling is equally good, but the wearing rear axle is starting to effect performance when you get on and off the throttle. The seats are uncomfortable as all get out. So is the driving position (built for a 7 foot NBA player, can't get the seat to the right setting for me) and it lacks much in the way of smoothness and refinement, especially on the highway.
I am not impressed. I'm going to sell it, recoup my losses, and buy a Reliant for a quarter of the cost and give the rest of the money back to the bank.
Even the trunk badges are like $50. The car is just too expensive.
THe car you purchased is one of the best cars on the road for the price. It is one of the most technologically advanced cars of it's time and is easily comparable to current 2005 vehicles, even tho it's easily 20 years old.
I have owned 2 of these vehicles in this model family (the e30's) an 86 325es (sports coupe), and now an 88 325is (faster of the e30 lineup, with performance almost comparable to the e30 m3).
The bottom line with these cars, is that it all depends on purchasing one from a caring owner who maintained it. If it was not maintained, esp. at this age, I don't care what type of car you own, it's gonna be very $$$$$ to bring it up to spec.
Check out sites like roadfly. org for their message board. Those guys on that site have to be some of the most knowledgeable, helpful fellas I've ever known. They'll help you to save your $ and do the repairs yourself.
Email me at bmw g you y 2 2 @ roadlfly. org of you have any q's
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The BMW e30 is one of the best cars (period).I have a 1987 BMW 325e with well over 300,000 miles on it. I bought the car for $1200. I have had no problems worth mentioning. The e30 is 20 years old so a little maintenance is to be expected. The reliant is in my opinion a grandmas car. The BMW e30 is the definition of a sport/luxury car.
You got a 22 Year Old Beemer. The problems listed are very minor. why complain?
I just purchased a 1985 325 E, so far no major problems. The only complaint I have is that the driver's and passenger's seat is very low. The owners manual has a place to adjust it, but it is not located on the seat. Otherwise a fine looking vehicle for one that is over 20 years old.
I own a 1985 325e, and when I bought it, this car was a champ, but less than 6 months later it stopped firing. I replaced the reference sensor and speed sensor, because the ohms were off (courtesy of BMW), which still didn't fix the problem. I replaced coil, distributor cap, rotor button, wires and plugs, ECU, inspected wiring harness... and still isn't running. Only every once and awhile will it fire up, but erratically idles. Mind you, it has over 400,000 miles on it. Every once in awhile, it will start up and idle normal, but has absolutely no power.
Overall this is a great car, but I'm to the point that it's more pain than gain. The 2.7 is also near impossible to immobilize unless it does it to itself. Regardless, take care of it and it will last you. I like it when it runs properly.
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