318i Buy or Not

[Xander_42]

I have been interested in getting an E30 for some time now, and now that I have got my 510 painted and back on the road I am realizing that sooner or later I am going to need a better daily driver, that will be more reliable, and more comfortable, and just generally easier to live with on a daily basis. But seeing as I am a high school student working very few hours, I have very little money to this with.
In a city not far from where I live there is 318i sitting, I talked to the owner, she said she is frustrated with the car, because it broke down, then she had it fixed, it was an electrical problem, she didn't know what. But it immediately broke down again. At this point the car has been sitting for quite some time,so the brakes are rusty. I think the problem is the fuel pump relay, because I have heard that these go bad frequenlty on E30s. I think that even if I were to fix the problem it would not start because the gas has probably gone bad, due to the long period of sitting.
Am I right in what I am feeling, if not, give me input please. And I would like any input on what I should do.
Thanks so much.

[jsgold]

I sure do not want to discourage anyone, but I do not think you should fool with this car for several reasons. I do not know what year it is, but my son bought a 96 a few months ago. He dearly loves it, but, it costs more on insurance than what he was paying, the parts are a LOT more (plug wires over 200 bucks if and when he needs them) and we have had to repair the cooling/heating control system although that was less than 200 bucks (did it ourselves, would have cost 3-4X that if a dealer did it). So far it has been an excellent car, but he has a full time job, the car was well cared for before he bought it, and he can afford to keep it up. I am not sure this would be a good car due to the fact that they are so much different than a lot of cars and since this car already has problems that just makes it worse. ANY car that has sat for a long time is a potential problem. Bear in mind this car may be hard to work on at times as it is so much different. Some places won't even do things like aligments etc. as they require different ways of being dealt with. And, if you have a major problem, not a lot of folks that work on them. If money is not a problem that is one thing, but, you might be better off getting something like a Beretta or a Honda, and for sure one with no problems going in. Just my opinion.

[supervisor1886]

A little advice from a wise man. First of all if there is no major problems with car such as blown tranny, or blown engine it might as well be a good buy if you get a really (i mean really ) low price on that (like 30% less at least its real value)

Besides you should be very careful not to get ripped off if you are not a professional mechanic.

You said she is a woman. Dont let it fool you. Its a devil in a skirt. Most of them dont know shit about cars, but are smart enough to get a prof opinion and and prices on parts and work. And it happens that in this part of the world most sellers are not honest at all and will lie looking into eyes right at the spot. And she can use her charm to get you to buy it.
Also its been sitting for a while-which means it had some serious problems at the beggining and its not a $500 car to sit around.

I suspect that she is bullshiting. Dont trust her unless you see it running or you do al neccessary checks to make sure all its main components will function.

Also she will probabaly screw you out of money by asking to much. You should find all the problems and estimate how much the parts and WORK will cost you.

I suspect that the car might have some serious problems. And a blown realay sunds like a super easy fix.

Also your datsun is somewhat easier to keep running and has lower insurance. I recomend working towards collector plates if you register the car on one of your relatives. (Total insures is around $200 per year here in canada for a cra like yours if its restored.)

[supervisor1886]

And dont ever say that such complex car as e 30 is more reliable than a fool proof 72 510. Webbers VS. German fuel injection? Kapish.

[macalintalr]

Originally Posted by Xander_42

I have been interested in getting an E30 for some time now, and now that I have got my 510 painted and back on the road I am realizing that sooner or later I am going to need a better daily driver, that will be more reliable, and more comfortable, and just generally easier to live with on a daily basis. But seeing as I am a high school student working very few hours, I have very little money to this with.
In a city not far from where I live there is 318i sitting, I talked to the owner, she said she is frustrated with the car, because it broke down, then she had it fixed, it was an electrical problem, she didn't know what. But it immediately broke down again. At this point the car has been sitting for quite some time,so the brakes are rusty. I think the problem is the fuel pump relay, because I have heard that these go bad frequenlty on E30s. I think that even if I were to fix the problem it would not start because the gas has probably gone bad, due to the long period of sitting.
Am I right in what I am feeling, if not, give me input please. And I would like any input on what I should do.
Thanks so much.

With little money, the key point is spare parts, and I am assuming that you'll do the work yourself. I bought a severely abused 325is a few years back, for $500, and I spent a year on reconditioning it so it can be my daily driver. So far I have spent money on interior trim, replacing rubber components, the radiator, tires, brakes, locks, and more time fixing electrical issues and dumb things the previous owner did.

If you have the time and patience to work out the problems (and maybe a junk yard for some inexpensive parts), if the price is right, it may be a worthwhile project. Just my $.02

[supervisor1886]

I dont really think that spending a whole year on putting money into a comon car like that is not worth it. If it were a classic restor project, maybe then.

[Xander_42]

To give you guys a little more information I have got to say that I think the lady might be willing to let the car go for dirt (i.e. $0-200). Also she never said that it was the fuel pump relay that's just my guess from the brief descrpition her mom gave me plus reading several places that fuel pump relay problems are common in E30s

[supervisor1886]

Beautiful deal then. You can part the car up and get at least $1500 for it in the first case. The pump really thing is making a noise when you first turn on the ignition on the cold engine. Its very easy to spot.

Your datsun is much better thoug. Here in canada they are pretty rare and some of the nicest once go for around $10000 CDN. Modified or rally cars $5000 with dry sumps done engines and susp and some fiberglass body parts.

[supervisor1886]

For start, the tank needs to be drained (thoug you could actually hot wire the freaking pumps on it and drain most of gas just by disconnecting the fuel line. It rules out pumps problems too. Takes like and hour if there are 8 gallons in it.) . The oil pump primed. Plus all the regular tune up stuff. The fuel filter too while draining the shit from there. Then go and put some
octane booster in there with good gas. And the antifreeze needs to be looked at+thermostat.

[supervisor1886]

And here is a question. How are those 510 cars in terms of perfomance and fun?

[Xander_42]

Well my 510 still has only an L20B which means it probably only has, at most, 110 horsepower, and only 4 gears, so that makes the freeway a little uncomfortable (cruising at like 400 rpm). But off the line its moves, and the car grips real good, but if I want I can puch it hard and throw the back end out. It will really do whatever you want it to, so its a really fun car in that sense, but to the low gearing it wiould probably really suck at a track day cause my ears would be ringing at the end of the day.

So, I'd highly recommend one if you can find one. Parts are kind of a problem though, but with some junkyard love, ingenuity and a good autoparts store you can get 'em movin pretty good. BUt of course the easy road would be to get an old Z, cause you can put bigger motors in them, and they just have better suspension.

[supervisor1886]

Those are cool cars I love them