'84 E30 - What to look for

I'm going to look at this car tonight. Anything in particular to look for? Any opinions on this car?

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/4367791455.html

Get a good look at the rubber bushings you can see - the front control arms, the rear subframe/control arms. That will tell you something about the depth of the maintenance that was done.

Check the passenger rear floor for dampness. That is a blocked sunroof drain and if it's been like that for a long time... the floors can rust under the rug.

Battery tray and underneath can rust in the trunk if the battery drain/vent fell off and allowed acid on it and in general the drains behind the rear wheels in the trunk can plug and rust from the inside. It's double wall so you can't see it from outside the car.

Check the area around the license plate lights for rust too.

Vaccuum leaks due to cracked intake boot, oil leaks and even a bad oil cap will make it run rough. If it does, squirt some water around to see if the idle changes to verify it's an easy fix when you get home.

Sloppy shifter is a $50 problem you will almost certainly have.

Opinion: It looks like an honest car. Check the receipts and factor a complete suspension overhaul including every single bit of rubber and you ought to be ok.

Thanks GPS, I was hoping you'd post about this. What do you think about the price, assuming everything you mentioned checks out good? I'm done with rusty cars, so if there's rust in those places, I'm walking.

Looks very clean and mostly original. The price seems a bit rich for a big-bumper M10 car to me, but since it is so clean, maybe it's worth it. Or maybe E30s are just starting to appreciate that much.

Mine is rust-free, too, except for one spot. Right underneath the driver's pedal box there's a piece of foam rubber sound deadening that accumulated a bunch of moisture and rusted out the brake lines there. Here is what mine looked like:

Point being that even clean-looking early E30s can hide some secrets. Mine is an 85.

bravenrace wrote: Thanks GPS, I was hoping you'd post about this. What do you think about the price, assuming everything you mentioned checks out good? I'm done with rusty cars, so if there's rust in those places, I'm walking.

I didn't pay attention to the price the first time thru.

To me, it's a deal breaker. I'd pay $2500 for that or I'd shop E36 cars. E30s are great as "cheap" fun cars. They get less great when the cheap part goes away and you have to compare them on performance to stuff that costs $4500.

Make sure the passenger window works well if it's electric. Replacements are getting scarce for pre 89 variants.

It's Cleveland so there will be rust. You can see some in the pictures, it's what the pictures show that could bee a killer. I'm with you, i won't buy a rusty car, period. Get it on a lift and check the underside with a fine tooth comb. Strut towers can be rusty so check them as well.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Battery tray and underneath can rust in the trunk if the battery drain/vent fell off and allowed acid on it and in general the drains behind the rear wheels in the trunk can plug and rust from the inside. It's double wall so you can't see it from outside the car.

early 318i's had the battery in the engine bay, so any leakage into the try has a better chance to evaporate.

btw, that price is crazy unless the car is mint and original. I paid $1000 for my '85 318 which was generally in pretty good shape, very little rust, good body except for the front lip of the hood smushed in a bit, and really just needed a suspension refresh and new tires. For $1500 or so I had fresh suspension/bushings/tires on it and it drove like new.

I'd say for a clean/good condition/no significant problems/runs well/tires are good early 318i maybe $3-3.5k would be reasonable (e.g. that one)

Then again, it's only worth whatever it's worth to you..even with the wimpy M10 the early 318 is a blast to drive....so well-balanced and lightweight.