Enable me -- 88 325is

I am looking at a 1988 325is this weekend. It's cheap. What say you?

linky?

If it's not a automatic, and it's not rusty, you need to own it. The second you get it home do the timing belt though.

It's the "rusty" part that I will pay careful attention to.

Ask for service records, BMW owners tend to keep them. It'll give you an idea of how well they've cared for it as well as knowing how old the struts, bushings, etc. are. I agree on replacing the timing belt right away unless they can provide proof it was done recently. The sport seats will likely have wear and tear, particularly the driver's side bolster - they're all like that. There will probably be some cracks in the dashboard, too.

We LOVE E30's. While not nearly as "capable" as the E36, there is something tossable, fun and somewhat quirky about them. I still plan to restore one for Stacey. The upright seating postion, low beltline and great visibility add to the feeling of tossability.... something I miss in many newer vehicles.

To actually answer your question though, rust is the biggie. Everything else is relatively easy/cheap to fix...though as with most BMW's, it can take $1000 to catch up on maintenance fairly easily. (bushings, dampers etc)

I bought a very clean 88 325is for cheap- $1300. I was on my way to replace the timing belt/water pump/fan clutch when I broke a rocker arm. Needless to say the head was trashed and many $ were spent getting the car back in order. Bad luck really...

The car is an automatic which many people poo-poo. The reality is that at this point there are very few clean e30s out there- these are old cars now! It is a fairly straight forward to swap in a 5 speed into these cars and not particularly expensive.

88s were an unusual year with the bumpers. They came with the sought after ellipsoid headlights as well.

I bought and quickly dumped an '87 325is a couple months ago. I loved it and bought it stupid cheap (<$1k) complete with lowering springs, short shift kit, nice wheels and some recent brakes. Even the driver's seat bolsters were in good shape! It had 2 problems - the steering shaft u-joint was completely shot, I mean 20* of wheel turn to get any action at the front end shot. I sourced a good used replacement without too much difficulty and was poking around getting ready to install it when I found problem #2 - rust. The factory jack points weren't much more than rubber padding over air. That's why I let it go. Check carefully and thoroughly for rust.

I absolutely loved the driving experience and will own a good one again someday. Slower than my 944 turbo but I still liked it better.

Btw, I still have the stock springs that came with the car, free to anyone who wants them just pay shipping...

do it, i'm e30ing my fleet shortly. already scouting for a 5 speed swap, hitting pull a part tuesday because some crackhead on craigslist thought his stuff was worth $600 if i did all the labor to remove it from his car.

I happen to be sitting on a 86 325 ES.

Buy that I mean my aunt owns it, i just ripped out the transmission and engine and left it as is. It was an auto but not much to convert it to manual at this point lol.

Best part is its a Florida car and an ES with a locking diff and other fun stuff. Only spot of rust is the battery tray.

I think she'd let it go for 300-400 range or reasonable offer. She needs it gone. I was considering swapping something I6ish back into it. BMW or nissan....But too much other cool stuff to do first...

~Alex

Rustspecs13 wrote: I happen to be sitting on a 86 325 ES. Buy that I mean my aunt owns it, i just ripped out the transmission and engine and left it as is. It was an auto but not much to convert it to manual at this point lol. Best part is its a Florida car and an ES with a locking diff and other fun stuff. Only spot of rust is the battery tray. I think she'd let it go for 300-400 range or reasonable offer. She needs it gone. I was considering swapping something I6ish back into it. BMW or nissan....But too much other cool stuff to do first... ~Alex

2 doors or 4 and how is the paint?

The only thing I don't like about the '88's is the big aluminium bumpers (changed for 89+) - all my E30's have had them, and I always wanted a car with the cooler euro bumpers.

My '88 will be for sale in a month or so... it won't be Challenge priced, tho...

Its florida faded red. Its 200?K mile chassis.

And it needs a RF fender I forgot, it has a little bit of damage.

~Alex

nderwater wrote: The only thing I don't like about the '88's is the big aluminium bumpers (changed for 89+) - all my E30's have had them, and I always wanted a car with the cooler euro bumpers.

The good thing is the 1989 and later plastic bumpers will bolt right onto a 1988 (it was the only year you can do this, 1987 and earlier cars were different.)

nderwater wrote: The only thing I don't like about the '88's is the big aluminium bumpers (changed for 89+) - all my E30's have had them, and I always wanted a car with the cooler euro bumpers.

Interesting. I read the '88s have unique bumpers. This one comes with the OEM bumpers, and the Euro bumpers to install.

Awesome: I find the euro chrome bumpers the best look on these cars....they're hard to find and expensive ($500+ a set, in my experience), FWIW.

Nathan

Drill out the bumper shocks and run into something. They'll look a lot better when you only see an inch or so of the aluminum peaking out between the rubber pieces.

The 88 325is that I miss every day

Lots of lows, a bit of wheel spacers and tucked diving boards.

Damn -- car was too far gone for my skills