I bought a 1984 325e in 1998 and it had 173,000 miles on it at the time. I had it until 2008 and drove it until it had 260,000 miles. It never burned any oil, and I couldn't believe the gas mileage. It was plenty gutsy and handled great. I could kick myself for selling that car.
nutsackmania In the snow with real snow tires you could drive it sideways for blocks at a time and flick it with to the other side with wrist action only.
My first car was a flawless one owner 325e with only a 140k miles. The car was still the most fun car to drive I have owned. It would literally walk sideways anywhere you wanted!!! I later bought a 325i and found it less fun to drive. I need another one..... Lol
I had a 1986 325es 2dr white/ black interior 5 speed... the most reliable fun to drive and drifting was stupid easy the car was balanced for it from the get go. I bought mine with 105k miles and sold it with just under 300k miles and the only bad thing that happened was that 2.7 motor had a timing belt. When the 189hp 325i came out they went back to timing chain.. oh also if other eta owners remember even though we had power windows and sun roof you could also crank open the windows and sunroof if we lost power 👍🏻and on the drivers door it said made in West Germany 🇩🇪
This car's specs may seem lame by today's standards, but you really have to drive one to understand how it works so well. I had a used one and it was one of the best cars I've ever owned.
Mr335iBMW He also did either the Pontiac Aztec or Chrysler PT Cruiser in 2000/01. I forgot which one. P.S. The MW reviews of those two have been put up.
Love the early E30 design - the taillights, bumpers, fogs. Really nice example here. No ugly oversize wheels or exhaust like on the E30s at shows today. Perfect balance and proportion.
@@pommesmayo7336 In the US from 1973-1995, we were very used to seeing US and Foreign cars with large bumpers. For example, seeing a Euro E28 in 1990 in the US - looked so odd, it looked like the car was in an accident, due to the tiny bumpers.
I still like the 318i. I like the fact that it was simple and straightforward. The interior was cloth with manual windows and sunroof. It had just enough equipment for a basic performance car.
It was just as fast as the 325e, especially in 318is guise. Fit the final drive from a 318/320 auto gearbox and you have a midrange similar to the 325i
Funny how the 325E with the 2.7 litre six got the same mileage as the last year 318 with the 1.8 litre four. I'm assuming the smaller engine was overworked due to weak power, hence the fuel economy matching that of the larger car/ engine.
@@GlennC789 Hi guys. I'll chime in here real quick. My first car (1st one actually put in MY name.) was a 1984 318i (This was 1991.) . Automatic. 1.8L 4 . I will concur with the notion about fuel efficiency. I'm pretty sure the auto only had 3 (yes 3) gears. No overdrive, which means at 60mph (in last gear) it would turn almost 3500 rpm. Not shocked to hear the 6 cyl. later got the same mpg. Over time it got kind of annoying revving that high for that long, especially on road trips. (Going 80 mph it was approaching 4000 rpm). To say that I ever got 28 mpg would be a stretch, maybe at 55 for an extended period of time. It just revved way too high. I would also add that under load, my auto really sucked wind. In the summer, with the A/C on, and a car load full of people, you'd better say your prayers if you had to pass anybody on a 2-lane highway with 2-way traffic. "Fuhgeddaboudit". My friend at the same time had an '84 318i also but his was a 5 sp. manual. Quicker, lower revs at almost any speed, probably better mpg too. More pleasant on the highway certainly (in 5th). He actually turned me on to a "beamer", and I almost bought his before I bought mine. After a few years I kinda regretted not getting his instead (his had 1 or 2 issues at the time but......). Never drove one with a 6 cyl. (325, etc.) I would've loved to see the difference.
I had an 86 325e(4 door) it was a nice car. I remembered if you drive in the wet and turn and brake, the 325e will spin. I'd done it so many time. I'm surprised I didn't crash
I rented a 1989 318 in Sicily. It was the most fun car to drive I have ever driven. The steering feel in the turns was most pleasing. The reving engine coupled with great feel of the 5 speed was just great.
I had a 325e coupe with good tires on 15s, lowering springs, shocks, sway bar & z3 steering rack. I miss the lazy torquey motor and QUICK response, I could floor it everywhere and not break the law. But still enjoyed bc the torque, wayyy more enjoyable than any buzzy anemic 4cyl.. exceot the m10😉
Wow a 121hp engine, hot rod indeed My friend has a much worked on E30 325i and it’s a lot of fun, LSD swap so he does tons of drifting and general hooning around, less than 200hp but feels like more in such a tiny, light car
Hi guys. I'll chime in here real quick. My first car (1st one actually put in MY name.) was a 1984 318i (This was 1991.) . Automatic. 1.8L 4 . I will concur with the notion about fuel efficiency. I'm pretty sure the auto only had 3 (yes 3) gears. No overdrive, which means at 60mph (in last gear) it would turn almost 3500 rpm. Not shocked to hear the 6 cyl. later got the same mpg. Over time it got kind of annoying revving that high for that long, especially on road trips. (Going 80 mph it was approaching 4000 rpm). To say that I ever got 28 mpg would be a stretch, maybe at 55 for an extended period of time. It just revved way too high. I would also add that under load, my auto really sucked wind. In the summer, with the A/C on, and a car load full of people, you'd better say your prayers if you had to pass anybody on a 2-lane highway with 2-way traffic. "Fuhgeddaboudit". My friend at the same time had an '84 318i also but his was a 5 sp. manual. Quicker, lower revs at almost any speed, probably better mpg too. More pleasant on the highway certainly (in 5th). He actually turned me on to a "beamer", and I almost bought his before I bought mine. After a few years I kinda regretted not getting his instead (his had 1 or 2 issues at the time but......). Never drove one with a 6 cyl. (325, etc.) I would've loved to see the difference.
I actually like these cars a lot! You can drive them in, pretty much, loads of places in the world. As long as it's on a road, narrow or wide. These older 3 series cars were solid rides that can last a very long time, with care. Albeit not necessarily the most powerful or safest, still a great start to what would be today's cars. Economy, luxury, and likewise: these cars.
To start at $21,000 back in 83 was a lot of money. I'm sure the car gave you all the comfort creatures you wanted though. For BMWs it's best to wait 3 years after production to buy. Way cheaper.
I have this car in a 5 speed version, Mum got it new in 1984. Rust free runs like a top only 80,000 miles just broken in. Can get 40mpg if you try, amazing,
Not true, it was basically a gas powered engine geared like a diesel. I had a 1982 BMW 528e with that engine and managed to get 320,000 miles out of it. Modified, it's also the engine used in the Alpina cars from that era.
Kevin MacNutt You might wanna look that up..... This car definitely had different internals than the staple Inline-6 they regularly always used, Nothing to do with diesel gearing. Diesels are geared that way because of the engine's powerband being over by 3000 rpm max (in most cases) This cars engine had FOUR cam bearnings (instead of 7 as usual BMWS I6's) Also a more restrictive head AND SINGLE valve springs instead of double coil. Thus the weaker internals AND lower redline. This PARTICULAR engine was made this way, as I am well aware that their tried and true I-6 in everything else was the basis for their race engines.
The 2693 cc M20B27 was designed for efficiency (thus the e for the Greek letter eta in 325e) and low-rev torque.[25] Compared with the M20B25, the stroke is increased from 75 mm (3.0 in) to 81 mm (3.2 in).[24] The B27 used the head casting of '200' which had smaller valves, different camshafts, fewer cam journals, and single valve springs to increase efficiency. Due to these changes the rev limit on the B27 was reduced.Power output is 121 hp (90 kW) at 4,250 rpm for M20B27 engines produced up until 1986 and 127 hp (95 kW) at 4,800 rpm for the "325es" model produced in 1987.[24] Peak torque is 170 lb·ft (230 N·m) at 3,250 rpm for M20B27 engines. In 1987, the fuel injection was upgraded from Motronic 1.0 to Motronic 1.1/1.3.[24] In the early 1990's BMW South Africa used components from the Alpina C3 2.7 to produce a E30 specifically for Stannic Group N production car racing. The first iteration of this engine used in the E30 325iS produced 145kw and the second revision, often referred to as "Evo2" or on the VIN plate as "HP2" produced 155kw
Check control and electronically monitored servicing schedule!? In 1983.... that must have seemed space age back then. Though 121hp from the 2.7 liter isn't very impressive.
I have an 04 BMW 330 CIC which I like a whole lot, my wife’s aunt and uncle had an 87 or 88 325 ES or IS that they bought new that I asked them to sell to me when they were ready to sell it but they sold it to someone else or traded it on another vehicle.
