Tips for new BMW owner !

[Potv1n]

Hi,

i am almost the owner of a nice little 1988 BMW 325i. Since i am new to BMW's ( Always had Volkswagen's :P ) before i buy the car, i was wondering if there where some key things to look for ? Weekness's or problems that normaly occur that i should check or any other tips that you could have would be appreciated !

Thanks
Alex

[Emre]

No major weak-points with the E30. Just make sure to replace the timing-belt. While you're doing the timing belt, you should also replace the water pump and do a valve-timing adjustment. That's about it, really.

Check the rear sub-frame bushings, rear shock mounts, and engine/tranny mounts. All of these rubber components tend to need replacing once the car gets to 100K miles. At the front end, you'll probably have to replace the lower control arms (new ones come with ball joints pre-fitted) and control arm bushings. There's a good chance that the wheel bearings might need changing.

Besides that, it's the usual stuff for any older car. Plan to replace all the radiator/coolant hoses. Check the distributor cap/rotor and ignition leads. Plan to replace the spark plugs (use Bosch or NGK copper plugs). Flush the engine oil, tranny lube, and rear diff lube. Most of us use Castrol GTX for the engine and RedLine synthetics for the tranny and rear end.

Any other questions, just ask. There are plenty of E30 fanatics on this board :D