First car, New E30 owner Wellington

[Kepes 231]

After many months of searching i found myself an E30. It's a 325i and looks to be quite tidy and well maintained, 2 owners in 22 years and the past owner was a retired man who had it for 12 years. It has 316,000km on it and it cost me $1500 which after looking at these on trade me for a few months seems very reasonable. Other than maintaining this car to a high standard i have no real other plans.
Anyway, I'll let the photos do the talking.

Thanks, I look forward to being a part of this cool little community,
Toby

EDIT: My rear fog lights work and the yellow dash illuminates to show this but when i switch on the front fog lights they do not turn on and the dash light does not illuminate. Could this be a problem with the switch? Also, car temp after 1 hour drive is a whisker above the blue mark, is it running too cool/rich and should i replace the thermostat?

Edited November 10, 2013 by Kepes

[Phil-540i 166]

Looks great - let the mods begin............. Having the big motor in it is a plus too........

Edit - And a manual box!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Super bonus!

Edited November 10, 2013 by Blue-540i

[charles28 136]

Nice one, $1500 is an awesome deal too

Welcome to E30 Ownership

[emac 9]

welcome to you and enjoy that car!

[Apex 693]

Welcome. Fantastic first car. Enjoy.

[e30ftw 410]

Looks like waiting it out paid off..

The temp needle should be bang on half way. Thermostat could be stuck open

[Tidy30 38]

I am jealous of your fogs! Can you please show some more photos of the interior? I am very intrigued by the cloth pattern. Looks great.

As for the temp needle, I did a bit of reading just then after hearing John saying it should be halfway. Mine is usually 1/4 of the way. It seems apparently there are 2 different thermostats, 75deg and 88deg. 75 deg ones cause it to stay around 1/4, which is what happens with me; and 88, which causes it to stay around half way.

I'm no specific expert, but generally speaking hotter engines run slightly more efficiently, but place larger strains on the cooling system due to increased operating pressures. If anyone is able to expand on this feel free to do so.

[Kepes 231]

I am jealous of your fogs! Can you please show some more photos of the interior? I am very intrigued by the cloth pattern. Looks great.

haha thank you i just wish they worked! Definitely going to try sort that out after my exams zzzzzz. The cloth on the front seats are just seat covers which came with the car, but i think i will leave them on, although the original seat (lining?) isn't ripped but is a little stained. I'll get some more photos tomorrow

Edit: Also is there anyway to clean behind the glass of the headlights? If you look at the photo you'll see that one of the high beam lights is quite cloudy looking and it's behind the glass. I would like to clean it if possible but not a huge deal.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Kepes

[Tidy30 38]

Ha! Got me with the covers. From what I can tell in the photos, your exterior is looking really good. I highly recommend giving it a real good wash, clay, cut, polish and wax. Should take you a day to do it real thoroughly, all the consumables should cost around $100. You become a bit more familiar with the body as well, it helps you discover new dings and scratches each time you look at it afterwards!

Once you do it, you only have to give your car a real quick rinse every week or so, and a light wax every 2-3 weeks and it stays looking immaculate. I love watching the rain from the office as the water just beads and runs off my car compared to every other one in the parking lot!

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

only way to clean inside of headlights is to dismantly

i need to do it too, some how a moth or fly or maybe a leaf has got inside my left low beam on my E30, really wierd

[Kepes 231]

Judging by your signature photo i will definitely take your advise. That thing looks almost like a mirror! very nice :-)
P.s I do not recommend buying a 'new' car a week before final exams ahh i just can't find time to study haha.
Edit: As for the exterior, it's not quite as good as the photos suggest unfortunately, there is some minor rust in a couple of places, and clearcoat missing in some spots. I'll take some better pics tomorrow

Edited November 10, 2013 by Kepes

[Kepes 231]

A bit late but i have a couple more photos of the interior. I also have another problem, a hissing sound from the rear left side of the car, just in front of the wheel. I managed to find where it was coming from, it's a small hose riddled with cracks. Would it be okay to just get a new hose and replace it? Photo's of it attached anyway..




And here's the hose - It's about 35cm long (sorry for bad quality)

[e30ftw 410]

It's a fuel line so you can replace with a new fuel line. It could be the fuel pump you are hearing hiss?

[Kepes 231]

It's a fuel line so you can replace with a new fuel line. It could be the fuel pump you are hearing hiss?

Just went out and had another look. I think you may be right in saying it's the fuel pump. It appears to be located just above that hose. Should it be replaced?

[Tidy30 38]

Is that a houndstooth interior? Nice!

[Allanw 1071]

Be sure to use EFI hose for that - not low pressure stuff

The pump will make some noise - the amount determines whether it's poked or not. If it's a smaooth hissing sound, it's probably OK. If it's a rough rumbly hissing noise, it might be poked

[Kepes 231]

Be sure to use EFI hose for that - not low pressure stuff

The pump will make some noise - the amount determines whether it's poked or not. If it's a smaooth hissing sound, it's probably OK. If it's a rough rumbly hissing noise, it might be poked

It's more of just a constant hissing, not rumbly, not too loud either. I was standing on the drivers side and I can't really hear it - but it's there/faint.

Also! I managed to get the front fog lights working, played around with the switch a little. Looks amazing

[pldubs 308]

Big ups on e30 ownership.

Looks tidy as.
Do skids. Theyre fun. 3rd gear O's never felt so German.


Also, Buy my woodgrain wheel with e30 boss kit.

That factory steering wheel is whack and bendy n sh*t.

Edited November 14, 2013 by pldubs

[Kepes 231]

Today i was looking around the engine and I noticed a hose coming from the coolant reservoir. I believe it's the "overflow relief hose" but im not sure. It's a cracked hose and it leads to nowhere? It's just hanging down in the engine bay. Sorry for all the noobie questions/concerns! Photo's attached.

[pldubs 308]

Its the overflow hose big man.

Its supposed to just hang there

[Kepes 231]

Big ups on e30 ownership.

Looks tidy as.

Do skids. Theyre fun. 3rd gear O's never felt so German.

Also, Buy my woodgrain wheel with e30 boss kit.

That factory steering wheel is whack and bendy n sh*t.

Thats definitely true! My brother took it for a drive, did some skids and whatnot. Yet to try 3rd gear O's.

As for the steering wheel, i quite like the current one tbh. But thanks.

Oh i see, i guess its fine how it is then. Thanks for the quick response.