New 325i Owner

[wewaska]

I've just bought a cherry '87 325i Convertible (5-speed). The car has zero rust and a mint interior, and seems to run and drive perfectly, save a little play in the steering that I'll be checking out this week. It's been a while since I've had a BMW, namely an '81 320i, and when I had that car I found the forums an invaluable tool for information and tips (i.e. how to repair the hazard switch).

This car has 194,000 kms on the clock, and was originally bought in Germany and imported into Canada a few years ago (Canadian Military man serving in Germany) - Are there any common problems with these cars that I should be keeping an eye out for?

Thanks in advance.

[e30bmw]

Timing belt. Timing belt. Timing belt.


If you don't know when the previous owner last changed it, make that the first thing to do on your list. And while you are at it, change the water pump.

And welcome to the site!

[wewaska]

I'll certainly check that... I'm not quite sure as yet what kind of history I'll be getting with the car, so if there's any uncertainty, I'll change the belt - Do you know, is this an interference motor?

I assume then that the water pump also has an expected shelf-life, so how long do those generally last?

Thanks for the advise!

/P

[BigBumperNick]

I'll certainly check that... I'm not quite sure as yet what kind of history I'll be getting with the car, so if there's any uncertainty, I'll change the belt - Do you know, is this an interference motor?

I assume then that the water pump also has an expected shelf-life, so how long do those generally last?

Thanks for the advise!

/P

When you do timing belt you pretty much have to do water pump all at once b/c they are all right there and can't avoid and such. If timing goes then the motor goes and that'd be bad lol. So as soon as you can check in to that. Welcome to site.

[wewaska]

Ah, well Interference motor it is then - as such the timing belt, and water pump, will be first on the list.

Happy to be here - Thanks!

I'll let you know how things go once I dive into is later in the week - I actually pick-up the car in a few days (once the stupid bank actually sees fit to move my cash about).

What's the experience with the front-ends with these cars? As I mentioned there's a little slop in the steering, so I'm kind of hoping it's a tie-rod end, or a ball-joint rather than the rack itself.

Patrick

[Philip]

Welcome to ClubBimmer!

And yes, timing belt. Do this now.

[Mitch]

WELCOME!! Great post and the car looks great in your profile. I love the E30 Cabs. :)

[88e28]

Congrats on the car & Welcome to Clubbimmer.:wave:

[stevie30]

Welcome to Club Bimmer. Post pics of your vert when you can.

[wewaska]

Well, I picked up the car last night, and according to the sticker under the hood (in German), the timing belt was changed at 132,000 kms, so looks like I have about 20k worth of latitude before I really have to start to worry about it.

Onto other matters - Ran into a problem with mounting the rear license plate, as this is a German domestic car, my Canadian Plate won't fit! So I'll either have to build a bracket, as I understand from a few sources here, and from what I couldn't find on the web, that there isn't an adapter available - or I'll just drill holes in the centre of the license plate and mount it using the existing mounting holes. New Holes in the trunk are not an option for me.

I posted a few pictures from the Dealer on my profile here, and I'll take a few more (better ones) on the weekend. I understand that the body-colour matching Wiessman hardtop is a bit of a rarity, at least around here.

Cheers!

[e30bmw]

How did the PO mount the plate? Or was he allowed to use a Euro plate because he was in the military?

[wewaska]

Not sure how the PO mounted the plate - I'm assuming he had some sort of adapter bracket (that he must have kept), or maybe he was allowed to use the German plate.