BMW E30 3 Series Buyers Guide

With its chrome-heavy, late 1970s looks, the first iteration of BMW’s iconic 3 Series saloon, also known as the E21, might be the most sought after by some vintage car fans – but if you want a classic that you can live with every day and even get a good dose of sporting fun out of, the second generation 3 Series (or E30) may be your best bet of all.

Produced from 1982 to 1994, the MkII 3 Series enjoyed a host of improvements over its predecessor, including better handling, improved drivetrains, advanced braking systems and a far more capable ventilation, heating and air conditioning system.

Another feather in the cap of the E30 is its popularity – more than two million were made in the various body styles and power outputs, from the entry-level 86bhp diesel to the hairy-chested, 238bhp M3, meaning that you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding the E30 for your needs.

In fact, if you are looking for a sporting saloon from the 1980s to take pride in, we’d suggest your search starts and pretty much ends here. Peruse the classifieds, as there are a great many used E30s out there in widely varying states of repair; read our handy guide, below, to which models to get and what to look out for; and, once you’ve secured the E30 of your dreams, get it covered with some good classic motor insurance.

These cars will often have been driven hard in their youth, and although repairs should have been made and service schedules adhered to, some classic car insurance will be a very good idea, as it may help offset some of the repair and restoration costs you may face during your E30 ownership journey.

Overview: the quintessential 80s sports saloon

The E30 reached our shores in early 1983, a relatively auspicious time for a prestige saloon. The 1981 Royal Wedding had acted as something of a boost to national morale after a slightly grim 1979 and 1980 (Winter of Discontent, anyone?) and the Falklands victory of 1982 had added to this sense of national wellbeing. Rising wages and house prices, and a bullish stock market, were just over the horizon, ushering in those archetypal mid-80s images of Yuppies and Sloane Rangers; of young men in pinstripe suits yelling ‘Sell’ into brick-sized mobile phones – and hopping into their Golf GTIs and BMW 3 Series for the short, fast trip to the downtown wine bar.

Classy-looking, good to drive and with the right amount of 1980s sporting aggression, the E30 was a perfect car for its time alongside the sporty Golf or, if your budget didn’t quite stretch to such Teutonic excellence, the Ford Escort XR3. And yes, the long-held cliché of the pushy BMW driver was probably born with this car.

This second 3 Series also had a superior driving position over the E21, while later E30 models got that cutting-edge 1980s safety feature: driver and passenger airbags. And, lest we forget, the E30 was the generation that introduced the M3 sporting variant, which would gain such a cult following over the generations. It also rolled out the convertible format which had been available, though only in small numbers, in the E21.

Various other engineering improvements over the E21 included electronic fuel injection, a five-speed gearbox, and handling that sacrificed just a tiny bit of tail-happy, RWD antics for much improved ride comfort.

An early 3 Series like the E30 also makes a great choice if you are hankering after a compact, rear-wheel drive saloon from the 1980s. In fact, the E30 pretty much flew the rear-wheel drive flag alone throughout the decade – providing a welcome echo back to such 1960s RWD favourites as the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Triumph Vitesse.

The E30 did, however, share – initially at least – a problem with its 1970s predecessor: a propensity to rust. This was largely sorted, however, with the 1987 refresh, and for this reason it’s probably worth seeking out a 87-94 E30 – which will include all the ‘Touring’ estate versions, as they only entered production from this time.

BMW E30 engines and body styles

UK buyers wanting a new E30 saloon in 1983 had a choice of engines. The four-cylinder, carbureted or fuel-injected 1.6- and 1.8-litre engines were labelle 316, 316i, 318 and 318i. If you’re after performance, we’d probably advise you against at least the first three of these as the engines, while they may have been peppy enough in their day, don’t stack up particularly well against any moderately sporting car today. However, if you just want the satisfaction of having a classic E30 on your drive, by all means start your search here.

For a bit more get up and go, however, buyers could select any of the six-cylinder fuel-injected units, available in 2.0 (aka 320i), 2.3 (323i) and 2.5-litre (325i) variants. Pick of the engines is probably the 168bhp, 2.5-litre ‘straight six’ that graces the top-of-the-range 325iS.

When it came to body styles, meanwhile, UK buyers would – over time – get the full gamut. Two- and four-door saloons were available right from the car’s UK launch in March 1983; the Touring estate joined the fleet when the E30 got a major styling update in 1987; and the convertible – well, let’s get onto that right now.

The soft-top: nimble open-road motoring

The E30’s predecessor, the E21, hadn’t had a convertible option at the factory stage: however, German coachbuilders Baur had built their own ‘targa top’ version – meaning that, even in roof-down mode, the A, B and C pillars remained in place.

This situation continued, initially at least, with the E30 generation: BMW didn’t make a convertible themselves, leaving Baur to simply saw off the glasshouse of existing saloons and create their own targa top versions.

Then, from 1986, BMW started making their own dedicated convertibles– a more elegant solution, really, than chopping off the top of the car after production. BMW’s own cabriolet was a pretty sorted car for its time: more affordable and, with its four seats, more practical than its West German soft-top contemporary, the Mercedes SL, and a bigger boot than the VW Golf GTI convertible.

The convertible also showcased what BMW was already becoming well known for: excellent handling. Many a contemporary cabriolet, such as the Golf or Saab 900, suffered from ‘scuttle shake’ – where, essentially, because of a convertible’s inevitable loss of structural rigidity when that roof is lopped off, the chassis flexes, meaning that the bulkhead separating passengers from the engine vibrates over poor road surfaces. No such problem in the E30 soft-top, which had a comprehensively reinforced bodyshell, giving it almost as much stability as its hard-roofed relatives.

This proper-job factory convertible form came, at first, in 325i guise, with the 2.5-litre straight six engine that put out 170bhp. Then, from 1988, BMW expanded the convertible’s engine range, meaning that you could now get four-cylinder 318i and six-cylinder 320i soft-tops alongside that more powerful 325i.

Interestingly, the convertible got its styling update later than the other body styles. The saloon E30s got a facelift in 1987, giving them colour-coded plastic bumpers, bigger rear lights, front and rear valances to direct airflow and a few other nice touches. The Tourings were launched with this styling update, so all sported the new look: but the convertibles didn’t get the styling updates until 1990.

What’s out there – and what to pay

The sweet spot in the E30 range, certainly as far as UK buyers were concerned, were the direct-injection 1.8-litre and 2-litre petrols, aka the 318i and 320i saloons. Relatively affordable and with decent performance, these two specs sold in droves here, which means that you should have no trouble tracking down a used 318i or 320i that fits your budget and general requirements. Around half will be manual, the other half automatic: you’ll get most performance, and fun, from a 320i manual.

Whatever you are looking for, be sure to run it through our checklist below – paying particular attention to rust. High mileage is less of a concern, as BMW engines and transmission are fairly bomb-proof and, if well looked after and serviced / replaced at the right intervals, should keep on going indefinitely. Condition, not mileage, is key here.

If it’s a convertible you’re after, you should find a decent selection of factory-built BMW convertibles, and fewer (and thus pricier) Baur adaptations. Both will carry a premium over the saloon and Touring variants.

Anything upwards of £2,000 will probably gain you entry into the coveted E30 market – but at these low prices you’re probably looking at not-well-loved versions of the basic 316 and 318 cars, so you’ll need to spend work on restoration and you won’t have a particularly fast car even at the end of it. But an E30 is an E30, right?

You can probably get your hands on a fairly sound E30 for anything upwards of around £5,000, while something more desirable – say a later 325i Touring automatic, with relatively few miles on the clock – may come in somewhere nearer £12,000.

From £7,000 upwards you can expect the bodywork to be rust-free, the interior unmarked, the service history to be full and, all being well, 100,000 miles or fewer on the clock.

What to look out for

Engine: The engines in the E30 range are all 30 to 40 years old now, and as a result will require regular looking after: make sure that they’ve been getting regular oil and filter changes and, naturally, keep these up if you become a proud E30 owner yourself. If you get yourself a six-cylinder E30, it will need a cam belt change every 36,000 miles. Check whether the head is cracked and any coolant being lost. Four-cylinder variants, meanwhile, will need a new cam chain every 100,000 miles. The E30s all have an aluminium heat shield attached to the bulkhead, running under the car – check that this isn’t storing water, as this may bring rust into the footwells.

Gears: The E30’s manual gearboxes are pretty hard-wearing and should do many thousands of miles’ service. It goes without saying, though, that on your test drive you should change gears a few times and make sure that the various changes are smooth, not notchy. If you’re going for an automatic car, again, check that the gear changes are smooth.

Brakes and suspension: Your classic E30 may need new brake lines and anti-roll bar drop links. You may need to change the suspension bushes, too.

Bodywork: We mentioned that the E30, like its predecessor, was somewhat susceptible to rust, although this situation improved with the 1987 changes. Have a good look around the car for any rust damage – prime spots include the wheel arches, valances, sills, windscreen base, and around the light fittings in the number plate. Another potential rust spot is the battery tray, located inside the boot.

The lifting pads underneath the car may have been used as jacking points, resulting in damage or even rupture, so ask for a look underneath. And if your E30 has a sunroof, check the slides – if these need repairs, they won’t come cheap.

Remember, too, that the E30 may well have been driven somewhat enthusiastically by its previous owners – and, being rear-wheel-drive, it may just have come into contact with the odd hedge or bollard. Check for any additional paintwork or, worse, bodged repairs to the body itself.

Interior: The E30 had some pretty advanced comfort features for its time, including central locking, electric windows, warning lights and a demister. This is all 1980s technology, though, and there is a high chance that some or all of it doesn’t function properly any more. Check how all these features are performing and compare them with how the car was described in the advert.

Elsewhere, it’s a fairly standard interior checklist for a used car of this vintage: look out for any cracks in the dashboard, damp patches in the floor (unpleasant in themselves, but also potential warning signs for more serious problems underneath) and tears in the seat fabric.

Convertibles: As Baur conversions were expensive, some backstreet garages would do you a cabriolet conversion on your standard E30. So check that any used car claiming to be a Baur actually is what it says: true Baurs will carry a factory identification plate, located on the left side door shut and featuring the name Karosserie Baur, plus the car’s build number and roof colour.

Join the club

There’s a decent network of E30 owners’ clubs across the UK. We’ve already focused on the BMW Car Club of Great Britain, but you’ll also find the E30 Zone and, over on Facebook, the BMW E30 Owners’ Club UK.

Our usual advice on joining an owners’ club applies here. Membership will give you instant access to a vast and knowledgeable community of E30 owners, where you’ll be able to ask advice and get help sourcing parts; you may also be eligible, via membership of one of these owners’ clubs, for reductions on your classic car insurance premiums.

Classic car insurance from Lancaster

It drives beautifully, it looks fabulous, it’s a universally admired classic: yes, if you find the right one for you, a used BMW E30 should make for a very happy ownership experience. We foresee years of enjoyable restoration and driving ahead: and we’d like to suggest some collector car insurance to complete the picture.

Benefits of insuring your classic with Lancaster can include car club member discounts, laid-up cover, 24-hour claims line and much more.

Get a quote today.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.