1989 BMW E30 325iX Alpine Sedan 5sp 139K Miles

SOLD

I'm new here, but was encouraged to post this car up for sale in the GRM classifieds, so here she is!  Any questions, just let me know.  Lots of details below.  

A little backstory/reason for sale: I picked this car up from Kentucky a little while back in hopes to use a ton of really nice iX parts I was saving up to make a good daily driver. I decided a bit into the project that I couldn't give up my Subaru, so I wanted to pass this car along to another enthusiast that will appreciate what I've put into the car. Below I will list things that I've done to the car since it's been in my ownership. If you have any questions, please let me know, I will try to be as thorough as possible. 


The car is located in Indiana, zip 46013. I am not interested in shipping the car at this time.


Price: $7999


Link to Flickr photo album: https://flic.kr/s/aHskHnWVLM




General:
-139,587 Original Miles
-Clean Title in my name
-Almost Completely Gone Through Mechanically
-Car is very straight/complete


Engine:
-New timing belt, water pump, cam seal, etc (only quality German or OE parts used)
-New Coolant Temp Sensor
-New Coolant Level Sensor
-New Alternator
-Replaced injector harness with good used unit
-Very quiet cylinder head, engine pulls very strong
-No engine negatives to speak of, runs great. 
-New Mann Air Filter
-Fresh Oil Change with 10w40 LiquiMoly/Mann Oil Filter
-New Stainless Catback
-Wrinkle Black VC
-Clean engine bay
-AC Blows cold, replaced expansion valve, newer drier, all new orings


Drivetrain:
-150K 325iX manual swap (pulled from enthusiast owned car)
-Working VC/Transfer Case (Jack test: https://www.flickr.com/photos/99556337@N08/32546022147/in/dateposted-public/)
-New Sachs clutch/resurfaced flywheel/TOB
-Fresh shifter bushings
-Car still has 4.10 gears, the diffs were in good shape
-Rebuilt Front Axles (worn parts replaced, GKN boots used)
-Fresh front driveshaft installed/greased with BR2
-Rear driveshaft has good u joints
-Front diff fluid changed with Redline 75w90
-Manual Trans fluid changed with Redline MTF
-Transfercase fluid changed with Redline ATF
-Rear diff fluid changed with Redline 75w90


Suspension:
-Great condition strut housings (no rust)
-New H&R Springs
-New Bilstein HD Front Struts
-New KYB Rear Shocks
-New Meyle HD F/R Endlinks
-New Inner/Outer Tie Rods
-New M3 Offset Control Arm Bushings
-Inner/Outer Ball joints tight with good boots
-No clunks/noises/bushings are in good shape
-iX steering rack in good shape
-Just aligned after suspension
-New Front Rotors and Ceramic Pads
-Rear Brakes/Rotors in nice shape


Body:
-Paint was clayed, cut, polished and sealed and shows well
-Car is straight
-Paint in good shape overall
-I think the car was repainted, car is a good 5 footer, perfect for a daily
-Some clear drying up on on flares (hard to photograph) and mirrors could stand to be repainted
-Various dings/scratches pictured throughout
-Front right turn signal doesn't work.
-Battery box rust (battery box cutout included with car)
-Drivers Side battery box showing some rust
-License plate lights starting to show rust
-Drivers door bottom starting to show rust 
-Hood rust at front
-Floors were nice (saw when I swapped carpet)
-Doors have VIN tags in place, missing VIN tags on front fenders
-New Antenna grommet
-Ellipsoids in great shape/clean lenses
-Straight valance/clean fogs/etc


Interior
-I went through the gauge cluster, everything works. I replaced ODO gears as precaution but they weren't bad. 
-Full black comfort vinyl interior swap in nice shape (non heated)
-Drivers seat bottom showing some cracking
-Gray carpet 
-Cracked dash
-Drivers seat shows some wear as shown in photos
-A few small blemishes on driver front door card
-New shift knob/boot
-Rebuilt 6 button OBC
-Rebuilt all four window motors and switches
-Since doing the above, the passenger rear window is inop. I think I got a bad motor. 
-Alpine single din radio 
-I don't think the antenna works
-OE Jack in place w/mount
-Battery cover fitted
-Ski Pass seat w/ good latch on ski pass.


Wheels/Tires:
-Professionally Refinished iX BBS iX weaves (The good ones) with nice caps
-205/55r15 Nankang All Seasons (near full tread)
-Full size spare w/ new matching tire




Summary of the Good:
-Low miles (working ODO, steady increases on Auto History Report) straight car that was cared for
-Fresh engine/drivetrain/maintenance up to date
-Working VC, all common iX problems are fixed and/or in good shape like strut housings, front driveshaft, etc
-Fresh gone through interior
-All of the small stuff has been worked out and gone through


Summary of the Bad:
-Likely repainted, paint shows well
-Some rust, not bad at all for an iX though
-Cracked dash
-Dings/scratches from a 29 y/o car
-Passenger rear window doesn't work
-Front right turn signal doesn't work






EXTERIOR:


IMG_2776
IMG_2777IMG_2778
IMG_2786 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2fgEQjq]IMG_2792 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2794 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2796 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2797 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2798 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2799 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2803 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2804 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2805 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2806 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2808 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr








FLAWS


IMG_2783 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2814 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2787 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2785 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2789 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2788 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2800 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2629 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2654 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2652 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr






ENGINE BAY:


IMG_2657 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2655 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr


INTERIOR:


IMG_2784 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2812 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2810 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2645 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2646 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2644 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2640 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2658 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2675 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2677 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_2678 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr






OTHER:
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

Wow, really bad timing.  I've always wanted one of these and I have cash burning a hole in my pocket right now, but I must stay committed to the Mustang that I have agreed to buy.

This is why I wanted an iX, thrashed this one for 15 years before I gave it to the icecream man.

The iX really is a great car. The AWD system works extremely well and I have repaired all of the problematic bits.  That E30M3 looks great!  Mine is Zinno over Tan. I run those E38 Style5s on my 325iS, one of my favorite wheels. 

Ironically enough, I came from the Mustang world as well. Had a supercharged notch, an AutoX LX hatch build and an 03 Cobra.  

I had a couple of IXes- both '89. One was a 4 door auto, one was a 2 door 5 speed. They don't drive like a regular E30 in my opinion, but they're still pretty neat.

Ball joints are 3x more expensive for the IX, the wheels are a specific offset and the other suspension components are all bespoke to that model. 

The body kill *will* fit on a regular E30 if you're willing to do a bit of fabbing, and it makes regular cars look even better.

Brett_Murphy said:

I had a couple of IXes- both '89. One was a 4 door auto, one was a 2 door 5 speed. They don't drive like a regular E30 in my opinion, but they're still pretty neat.

Ball joints are 3x more expensive for the IX, the wheels are a specific offset and the other suspension components are all bespoke to that model. 

The body kill *will* fit on a regular E30 if you're willing to do a bit of fabbing, and it makes regular cars look even better.

Nice!  The outer iX ball joint is nearly the same price as a RWD model from Lemförder.  The inners are NLA but rarely wear out.  This car has newer units with no play, thankfully. The iX has vertical strut towers up front to compensate for the front drivetrain.  That has a large effect on caster which I agree, does make the car feel different than a RWD E30.  I have E30M3 offset control arm bushings in this car to help compensate for that loss of caster and make the car feel a bit more responsive. 

And you're right re: the body kit.  I just sold a RWD car with an iX body kit- it was a looker.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

You guys are killing me, I love me some E30.

I've seen this car in person. It really is special. 

I can attest to the seller being a solid and trustworthy guy too. Buy with confidence.

Beautiful car. I had an 89 ix 4 door, though it was an auto. Bought it for $700? With blown head gasket and sold to my brother who drove it for a couple years.

Most cars you can get to drift while bombing through a neighborhood in the snow. An auto e30 ix? Nope, she just sticks. I found myself many times turning in early anticipating the drift, finding the ix just tracking instead, and then I had to countersteer to go AWAY from the inside of the turn because I had just turned to early.

Yes, I know that means I was going too slow but I didn't have the guts I guess.

Yours is WAY nicer than the one we had. They really are great cars.

Indy-Guy said:

I've seen this car in person. It really is special. 

I can attest to the seller being a solid and trustworthy guy too. Buy with confidence.

Thanks for the support!  Always helpful when you are selling something and have 17 posts on a new forum.

Robbie said:

Beautiful car. I had an 89 ix 4 door, though it was an auto. Bought it for $700? With blown head gasket and sold to my brother who drove it for a couple years.

Most cars you can get to drift while bombing through a neighborhood in the snow. An auto e30 ix? Nope, she just sticks. I found myself many times turning in early anticipating the drift, finding the ix just tracking instead, and then I had to countersteer to go AWAY from the inside of the turn because I had just turned to early.

Yes, I know that means I was going too slow but I didn't have the guts I guess.

Yours is WAY nicer than the one we had. They really are great cars.

I can attest to that.  I drove an auto iX long ago for a winter before I manual swapped it, and these cars grip so well in the snow you could hardly do donuts without projecting yourself into another dimension.  They really are special cars. 

Fun fact, they actually made quite a few less iXs than E30M3s. These are getting extremely difficult to find with as little rust as this one has, that has also had all of the common iX problem points all taken care of (strut housings rust free, rebuilt front axles, low mile transfer case with strong viscous coupling, good splines on front driveshaft, etc etc). So buying a $5K iX with none of this done will be a $10K iX in no time.  This is a rare chance to get into a car with all of the maintenance already completed. 

Nice truck.

In reply to 914Driver :

That belongs to my 90 year old neighbor. He rides his bike 20 miles a day, is almost as fit as I am, and will be buried with that thing. It’s a great truck. 

Car is sold, thanks! 

AWESOME!

Did someone here grab it?

Funds freed up now for the Einhorn?

In reply to Indy-Guy :

Thanks!! Feels so good to have that space finally freed up.  Unforunately no it was a craigslister.  He was a young guy (22 IIRC), but he was an avid BMW enthusiast and was shocked at the condition so I think he'll really take care of it. 

We'll see if Einhorn gets some love because of it 

Update on this 1989 325ix.

It was owned by "young guy (22IIRC)" for approximately 1 year and not taken care of. 

It was purchased by a heart surgeon and $8k was spent in getting it to A1 mechanical condition. Among these: steering column replacement, suspension replacement. Said heart surgeon kept the vehicle until present day (March 2021).

It is now owned by me as of a few weeks ago. I've rescued it from the Midwest and brought to the sunny state of New Mexico. The rust issues are still present and I plan on restoring it to a southwestern, rust free state over the course of the next few years. I've attached a photo of it in it's present state. If you'd like to see what becomes of this rare e30, search the user "ddm-j" on R3V Limited where I'll be creating a project topic on this car in the next few weeks.

What I have planned:

Tires, desert appropriate window tint, rust removal, factory radio install, factory button refresh, knee panel & dash replacement, full paint job.

Cheers!