I've Started Looking At BMW E30s Again: Please Send Help
The car you see in the grainy image above is my old BMW E30. It started life as a 318i automatic, but when I bought it in 2009, the engine and gearbox had been swapped to a manual 325i. The car was ropey at best, had the heaviest clutch known to man and hid its rust well, but I bloody loved it.
It was cool, had retro styling, was simple to work on and, at the time, was cheap to buy. In fact, I paid £850 for this one, and insurance as a 25-year-old MA Automotive Journalism university student was pretty affordable. Speaking of being at university, I split my final project into two parts: half written/half video because the thought of writing 12,000 words killed me. So I made this…
It’s clear, then, that I’ve always had a thing for E30s, so you’ll understand how much it hurt when I was forced to sell mine in 2011 because my first proper job at Autocar meant that I had my very own long-term Kia Picanto test car.
Well, guess what…over five years have passed and I’ve started looking at E30s again despite having no space on my driveway. (The car port I recently built is reserved for Phil, my V6 MX-5, which has recently been fully resprayed in Mazda’s delicious Soul Red colour).
I want a classic BMW again, and this time it’s a Touring I’m after. I don’t even care if it has six cylinders; so long as it moves under it’s own steam, count me in!
Except don’t count me in…because I don’t have the space and prices of these awesome little cars have skyrocketed. I mean, £6995 for a 325i Touring like this one is strong money. Then again, how about that £60,000 325iX I showed you earlier in the week?
So please do me a favour and tell me why I need to stop looking for one (or send me links to cheap ones you find so that I can fulfill my deepest desire!).
Yeah, you see my problem…
Comments
How about we dont tell tell you to Not buy one and say get one asap!!
don’t buy one Alex Kersten the E30 does rust faster and more then a MX-5 and E36 combined and the rear axle construction will try to kill you at every corner.
(i had a 2 Door E30 325i with the M-Sport 2 Package when i was a apprentice so i know)
Any car reaching 20+ years will rust, no matter the brand. “Rusting faster” is bullshit, it depends on the owner keeping salt off during winter.
No more words needed.
Alex if you even think about it again I will send Liam Neeson to your house.
And to his sister’s house, where he’ll kick her son and drive off in a GT-R!
(Please get it)
I feel your pain mate! I had an E30 which I fought my mates to keep stock - and won. Like yours, it hid its rust well and I had plenty of enjoyment from it. Got a decent £1000 for it when I part-ex’s with BMW
RIP
They’re everywhere here in Germany, just get one from here
Leider sind die Preise deutlich gestiegen in den letzten vier Jahren 🙈
DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT
They will only get more expensive :/ So what are you waiting for? :D
Please get it!!!!