BMW E30 3 Series 1981 to 1994: The Essential Buyer’s Guide

By Ralph Hosier

This book is your ticket to a world of fun, excitement, exploration and satisfaction: the world of the iconic BMW E30 3 series.
Starting with a quick model history, this book introduces the key features of the E30. Containing a detailed set of model guides to explain the differences and features unique to each, and an assessment of how useful and effective these are. The book's 'How to' sections help you identify E30 problem areas, while a wealth of useful data and comparison charts help you choose which model is right for you.
Details of parts costs, the relative difficulty or ease of the tasks needed to keep these classic cars in good order, specifications and a list of useful contacts in the BMW community - from clubs to specialists dealers are just a few more features of this jam-packed book.
Written by a qualified engineer, and a racer with many years of practical BMW experience, the clear text and straightforward manner, supported with detailed photographs, means that this book is just like having a real marque expert at your side.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Veloce
• Release date: Feb 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781787118577

Book preview

1 Is it the right car for you?

– marriage guidance

Tall & short drivers

The E30 was designed for a wide range of sizes, principally to appeal as a family car, and suits short and tall drivers equally. The driver’s seat moves up as it moves forward to aid visibility. Width is also well catered for.

Weight of controls

Models without power assisted steering can feel heavy when parking, particularly if wide tyres are fitted, but once on the move it is light and precise. The pedals are average firmness, nicely progressive in operation and easy to use. The gear stick can sometimes feel a little vague if the bushes have worn, but is generally good and easy to use.

Will it fit in the garage?

Although slightly larger than its E21 predecessor, the E30 is still small by modern standards. The length of 4325mm is longer than a Golf of that era, but about half a meter shorter than a Ford Mondeo. The width of 1645mm is slightly narrower than its contemporary Golf rival, and about 200mm narrower than the current Mondeo.

Slim by modern standards, the E30 should fit most garages, and won’t embarrass the driver in the car park.

Interior space

As the design is essentially a box, the interior is surprisingly spacious for its external size. Early cars had limited headroom for rear passengers. This was remedied in 1983 when the rear footwells were lowered, and the seatback deeply sculpted.

Well proportioned and logically laid out, the interior is easy to use, and easily accommodates a wide range of drivers.

Luggage capacity

At 404 litres the boot on the saloon is well proportioned. The convertible only loses a quarter of this volume and is also very usable. For real cargo capacity the Touring offers up to a very respectable 1125 litres with the rear seats folded down.

Running costs

Being lightweight E30s are generally good on fuel consumption: even the 325i can exceed 30mpg if driven carefully, and the later four-cylinder models can exceed 40mpg. The diesel can exceed 50mpg on a run.

Spares availability and price are generally very good, and reliability for correctly-maintained cars makes service costs reasonably low.

Usability

An E30 in good condition makes a usable everyday classic car: well-mannered and reliable.

If you are buying it as a track day or race car project it also offers a very high degree of usability due to good handling, performance and simplicity.

Parts availability

Excellent. Catered for by many specialists with some parts being re-manufactured due to high global demand. A number of parts are also shared across the BMW model range, so secondhand stocks are currently plentiful.

Parts cost

A huge range of standard and performance parts are available from a large number of suppliers, which helps to keep costs at a reasonable level.

Insurance group

A limited mileage classic car policy on a standard car is significantly cheaper than a standard policy on a modern small car.

Specialist insurers even offer very reasonable rates for modified cars as long as it is not your primary car.

Investment potential

Many of the rotten cars have been scrapped now. Good examples are becoming rarer, so prices are rising. However, these were made in relatively large numbers so it will not make a huge profit like an E-Type would.

Special edition and M3 models are much rarer and offer much better investment potential.

Many cars have been modified, which drops value dramatically, so restoring a lightly modified car to standard could, in theory, increase its value enough to make it worthwhile.

Foibles

These cars are well-behaved, but a combination of stiff suspension, a light rear end and rear-wheel drive can make them a bit wayward on wet roads.

Reliability is generally good, but look out for head gasket failure, corrosion at the corners of the floorpan, and worn suspension bushes.

Plus points

Strong, fun and reliable if well maintained, and can attract a lot of admiring glances.

Minus points

Many cars have been modified badly, so beware of 'bargain' project cars.

It still commands a lot of respect in the performance tuning community; the downside is that it will attract boy-racers at the traffic lights.

Alternatives

The later E36 3 Series is basically a similar car with a face-lift, and is usually cheaper, although heavier. The E30's main competitors were cars like the Golf GTi, Peugeot 205 GTI, and even the last of the Opal Mantas. You might also consider the Mercedes Cosworth, Lotus Sunbeam or Audi 80 Quatro.

Purpose

Think carefully about why you want this car, and what you intend to do with it. The E30 comes in many flavours; picking the right version for your needs is very important. If you want an easy-to-live-with, everyday car then the 316 may give you years of happy motoring, but if you need speed, there are plenty of exotic high-performance versions available.

Also consider how much work you want to do on the car. If you want a trouble-free, low-maintenance vehicle, get one of the many immaculate examples available at the higher end of the price spectrum. But if you want to build your own track special, then one of the cheaper bargain cars with a few minor problems could be just the thing.

2 Cost considerations

– affordable, or a money pit?

The normal service interval is about 6000 miles for an oil and filter change, and 30,000 miles for a cambelt change.

When acquiring a new car it is often worth giving it a thorough service, including the often neglected cambelt.

The following prices give an approximate idea of the costs; prices vary greatly according to supplier. Prices given for selected models only.

Oil service from a BMW specialist: lx80-120

Large service with cambelt: lx250 (325i)

Clutch kit: lx105 (316i), lx151 (325i), lx220 (M3)

Rebuilt engine: lx600 (M20), lx450 (M10&M40), lx5000+ (M3 S14)

Rebuilt cylinder head: lx714 (M20)

Cambelt kit with water pump & idler: lx80 (M20), lx87 (M40)

Front brake discs (pair): lx50 (325i), lx80 (M3)

Brake calliper (325i): lx106 Front, lx104 Rear,

Rear discs (pair): lx52 (325i), lx110 (M3)

Rear drums: lx42 (316i)

Front pads: lx27 (325i), lx42 (M3)

Rear pads : lx22 (325i), lx27 (M3)

Steering rack: lx213 (325i)

Trackrod ends: lx20

Front control arm (wishbone) bush: lx9

Suspension kits: lx400+

Rear subframe bush: lx18

Radiator: lx110 (325i), lx90 (316i)

New headlight: lx25 (early cars)