1988 BMW 3 Series 320i from UK and Ireland - Comments

Minor electrical niggles: Overhead check panel telling lies, brake pad wear indicator telling lies, brake light bulb needed replacing.

Spring broke on driver's side lock mechanism, meaining the door couldn;t be locked/unlocked from outside. No problem, car could be locked/unlocked from anywhere else using the central locking.

Loss of clutch due to not checking hydraulic fluid (My fault!). Flush and fill fixed the problem.

I got this car purely as a cheap, sturdy bit of fun to take me to the Nurburgring and back and survive a few laps while it was at it. It turned out to be for more!

My dad used the car for work every day and it never let him down, aside from the loss of operability of the clutch... yet even then there was enough left to drive the car home.

The car drove me all the way through the UK, through France, Holland, Belgium and Germany and back, and took about 20 laps of caning on the Nurburgring, with only a brake bulb failing.

More recently, the car took even more punishment over 60 laps of Cadwell Park in the UK. Still faultless! Absolutely incredible for a 17 yr old car. Even driving to and from the track, the car gave no indication of the punishment it had taken, it just kept soldiering on seemingly oblivious.

The old E30 BMW's are good to drive. Very well balanced, neutral handling tending towards under-steer, whilst major over-steer can be had from over-enthusiastic driving! The car was pretty grippy and the brakes were effective. The steering was a little long though, with about 4 turns lock-lock!! The 2 litre straight-6 engine also felt a little sluggish. It only really came to life over 4500 revs, and even then the performance wasn't earth shattering. A 2.5 would be nice!

The car is heavy on petrol around town and on the track, but 40mpg+ can be achieved on a steady 70mph motorway run. Insurance is cheap with the right brokers, and parts are dirt! Shockingly cheap to keep on the road for a 'prestige classic', and cheap to buy, although prices are starting to rise, especially in touring/convertible guise.

Sadly, I have had to sell it as I have no need for two cars right now and other priorities require attention. yet to date, this has to be the best car I have owned yet.

I enjoyed your story. I have just bought a 1988 3201 in beautiful condition - the first BMW I've ever had. Not an easy car to drive - snatchy and heavy clutch - but it's fantastic. I hope I have as much fun as you must have had.

Regards

Kevin Bauer

South Africa.

I used to drive Toyotas and Hondas which had light clutches. Then I got my first E30 (1984 325e) and it was a totally different experience. Later I bought a 1984 318i with the same clutch mechanism.

The cars are easy to drive if you just acclimate yourself to the way the clutch works - it's just different, but not really hard like a racing clutch.

I've just got hold of a 320i converible black its lovely.

Just bought a beautiful dark blue 320i in relatively mint condition, lowered with nice suiting low profile mags for $2500 NZ dollars.

The price? Because the front 2 doors have rust!

However parts for this beast in NZ are rare! Does anyone know if doors can be interchangeable between models? Hmm any help would be appreciated.. + rev counter connector to the motor needs replacing, as does the window washer connector... are these also interchangeable?

Thanks BMW fans... Simon.

I just saw a beautiful 1988 320ci BMW in a good condition with a very low km of 64000, for Aus$8000. I still have some doubts, given it is a 20 year-old car. If someone has some thoughts, please help me.

Alfa

Melbourne Australia.

I would have a mechanic check it out.