I am looking at a 2 door coupe 1986 BMW 325 in a town close to where l live, its being sold for $850.00 so I am just wondering if anything, and what there is likely to be wrong with this car.

what kind of problems are they known to have and is there a reason why its being sold for $850? (Is that a good price for the car or is that an indicator that something is very wrong with it?)

Thanks.
any ideas on how to make that 850 bucks real fast!?! lol

Unlike the newer BMWs, these older E30s tend to be pretty reliable. You can count on the engine going past 200k miles before a rebuild. The prices on E30s r rock-bottom cheap, but even that one is a bit low. Get the VIN & run a CarFax on it. If there is anything suspicious, a salvage title, fire or flood damage, then u might want to keep looking. CarFax wo not necessarily have every record on the car, but it is well worth it. It may have been in an accident & the frame may be bent. If so, keep looking. Check underneath & look for rust & corrosion. If it is bad, keep looking. l am not sure where u r located, but the Southwestern United States tends to have the best climate for cars, warm & dry. The Southeast is a very good place to look too, alhough it is wetter. The North is not kind to cars. Take a look at the engine, transmission & differential. Have a mechanic check it out if u r not sure what to watch out for. Otherwise they're solid cars.

they are really reliable! the only thing would be keeping the engine up. just change the oil and tune it up.make sure its all good under the hood so that it will run!

my Gran has an 88 318, I'd say look for rust around the body and in the rear wheel arches, looks for knocks and rattles driving it, make sure the drivetrain works well and doesnt sound bad (they all wine a little) and my biggest fear erattic idling due to bore ware, and last but not least look for grey smoke when you rev it up, if its excesive it could be burning to much oil.hope it helps

Make sure you change the timing belt. The 325 uses the only timing belt engine BMW ever built. Look forward to a myriad of minor issues with suspension and driveline bushings and other ''replaceable'' parts. If it is an automatic they are known to crap out.

l am really racking up the thumbs down here in the last few days. Oh well its a take or of leave it thing. This answer is FACTUALLY correct..


First thing l think of looking at with a 325i is the cylinder head, they like to crack. If the car is pretty & shiny & has a good body & interior l would even more suspect the cylinder head is cracked & cans of ''stop leak'' have been put in the cooling system to stop it from overheating.
Once the owner has ''fixed'' the cracked head he has put the car on the market & if the owner has a little bit of good ethics in him he has priced the car low knowing the ''fix'' will probably not last long.
Now sometimes u can tell right away if its been ''miracle can'' fixed is u can look closely at the coolant & see the particles of stop leak in it. But some guys know to drain & fill the car with new clean coolant after the crack has sealed to hide the fact.
Now if the car is dented & has bad seats needs other repairs not important to keep it going down the road. Its been priced right provided the head is not cracked.
If its an ''e'' & it runs buy it & change the timing belt right away no natter if the seller claims its been changed its that important. That belt goes the whole engine is junk wither it broke when the car was being started or at 60 mph. The ''i'' engine u have a good chance u did not do any damage.
The 3 series typically gets only 1 to maybe 2 MPG more than a 535i. And the 535i has much more power & better handling. l never like the 3 series for many other reasons but those reasons l just brought up should be enough why not to bother with any older 3 series of those years. E30