#1786226 - 08/24/07 12:44 PM
The woes of being NOHC or "Can you look at this car for me?"
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NOHC
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 09/18/01
Posts: 39093
Loc: Lebanon, Virginia
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OK, long story short, a friend of mind dropped by earlier and asked if I'd go with her to look at a car she wants. She's a wife of a good friend of mine who I've done automotive work for in the past...mostly minor shit, maintenance and the occasional breakdown save.
She drives me across town to a residence, where I see it in the yard, an E30 BMW...a 91'325es 5-speed coupe. I get to it and start making small talk to the owner about mileage, maintenance, etc and start looking the car over. I can't find anything leaking/splooging/cracked/broken/etc underneath it or under the hood. The car seems mechanically sound and has about 90K on it. It's had a recent clutch, about 15K ago as it was used to train his daughter to drive a stickshift, whom I'm told wasn't very good at it, even with practice. The owner said he bought it used from a BMW dealer a few years ago for his daughter to drive back and forth to school and wasn't particularly happy with it and it ended up sitting at his place for a while. He's had it serviced at a BMW dealer since he bought it and has the rest of the service records pre-dating his ownership as well.
Now, what I need to ask is, what's about to fuck up on this car that I'm gonna have to fix when it does break? Am I going to lose knuckle skin over getting to the "hard to reach" bits that break? I'm trying to talk her out of buying a 16 year old german car, but I think my pleas of "Mike no want to fix!", especially after looking at the cramped engine bay are falling upon deaf ears here.
_________________________
-Mike-
***Ask me about your broken 360/PS3***
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#1786593 - 08/24/07 01:42 PM
Re: The woes of being NOHC or "Can you look at this car for me?"
[Re: NOHC]
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Damnit, Laverty
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 04/27/00
Posts: 12564
Loc: Bellevue, WA
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"Mike No Want To Fix" = buy it at your own risk, lady. I think right there you absolved yourself of any and all responsibility to bust a knuckle on it.
_________________________
-Matt
'95 M3 | '99 Garage Shelf
"Life before [CSi] wasn't looking good, I had a small cock, smaller wallet, and had a girl that was getting railed by 5 HUGE black guys." -AZSnake
"Ha... yeah if neon ownership teaches you one thing it's how to turn lemons into Country Time." -Spotch
"If the market demand for snarky comments is below my current supply of sassy wit I can only assume the market will adjust itself accordingly. Any minute now. Dick." -2000SiRacer
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#1786826 - 08/24/07 02:17 PM
Re: The woes of being NOHC or "Can you look at this car for
[Re: SEANSE-R]
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ResisterGo
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 12/07/04
Posts: 14612
Loc: Buffalo NY
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I've never heard that E30s are typically basket-cases. The general consensus, AFIAK, is that they're some of the most solid cars ever built, as long as they've been maintained properly. Since he has all the records, and it seems well maintained, I don't see any reason not to jump on it, as long as the price is reasonable.
Someday, I'll own an E30... one of my favorite cars ever made.
edit: And with the growing popularity of Spec-E30, I think the prices for even crappy ones are rising. If she buys it for the right money, and it ends up being a piece of shit, she should be able to unload it to someone who wants to make a race car out of it for at least what she paid.
Edited by ResisterGo (08/24/07 02:19 PM)
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#1787129 - 08/24/07 03:16 PM
Re: The woes of being NOHC or "Can you look at this car for
[Re: morpheus]
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NOHC
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 09/18/01
Posts: 39093
Loc: Lebanon, Virginia
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Bit off topic from your question, but I almost refuse to give any car-buying advice. This is because it seems whenever I tell someone "dont buy that pos" they go ahead and do it anyway. Then they dont take it so well when I make fun of them when it breaks.
That's sort of what I'm trying to do here, if it DOES end up being a headache and an atomic bomb on her bank account, I can say "Well, I told you so."
_________________________
-Mike-
***Ask me about your broken 360/PS3***
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#1787202 - 08/24/07 03:32 PM
Re: The woes of being NOHC or "Can you look at this car for
[Re: NOHC]
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TheLeech
Jr Poster
Registered: 07/06/01
Posts: 167
Loc: KS
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The timing belt is the No. 1 concern on the M20. The second would be smashing the oil pan. Otherwise, it's a pretty stout engine and should last for another 90k with proper maintenance.
The 325es used the economy version of the M20. It had lower compression and a different head. It doesn't rev as high as the "i" version. On the other hand, it should be torquey and return good gas mileage.
Might want to check on the guibo, which sits between the trans output and the drive shaft. A worn guibo will lead to vibration.
_________________________
2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS\
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
"Oh, when will Detroit make a sunroof for the husky gentleman?" - Homer Simpson
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#1787761 - 08/24/07 05:37 PM
Re: The woes of being NOHC or "Can you look at this car for
[Re: TheLeech]
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scootergeek
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 07/24/00
Posts: 46248
Loc: East of St. Louis
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The 325es used the economy version of the M20. It had lower compression and a different head. It doesn't rev as high as the "i" version. On the other hand, it should be torquey and return good gas mileage.
But put an "i" head on an "e" block and you've got a 327i.
That's not what I would do, I'd put an M50 in there, but that's because I've got several available to me.
cheers,
scott
_________________________
Still pissy after all these years...
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#1792616 - 08/26/07 10:21 PM
Re: The woes of being NOHC or "Can you look at this car for
[Re: scootergeek]
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FortyMPG
Poster
Registered: 09/21/04
Posts: 304
Loc: Westchester, NY
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But put an "i" head on an "e" block and you've got a 327i.
That's not what I would do, I'd put an M50 in there, but that's because I've got several available to me.
cheers,
scott
By all means, dont hold back. if their taking up too much room, just lemme know, i'll come by and clean the yard up. 
to the OP... Take a look under the rear exhaust manifold, the head gaskets are a common fail between 5 and 6. My e30 has been great to me. Even with the head gasket leaking coolant to the outside, car ran great with weekly water refills for a year and a half
_________________________
-Greg '07 GSX-R 750 - Makin' Wheelies '90 325is - Low & Slow '81 VW Caddy - lil blue truck
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