1986 BMW 325es

[Brew]

There is a 1986 BMW 325es for sale in my town, and i was wondering if it is worth buying. It has the 2.7L 6cyl. with a 5-spd. tranmission, it has 250,000 miles on it and the owner claims it runs good and that the cluth may need to be replaced, i haven't had a chance to drive it yet. There is a little surface rust but no holes, and the owner had it repainted about 4 years ago, the paint is in good condition besides some scratches and such. I forgot to ask if the A/C worked, or about any other problems of that sort. The interior isn't too bad, but the leather seats are worn. The owner is asking for $1500.

Is this vehicle worth the money, i don't know much about european cars because i have always driven domestics, but any input on common problems with this type of vehicle would be very helpful, and all input will be appreciated. I appologize if someone else has already created a thread like this, i just stumbled onto this site while looking for info on the BMW.

[Rockefella]

Hmm, I don't know to tell you the truth. It sounds like a great car, and the price is allright, but it's got 250,000 miles on it. And if the clutch is bad, I would bet that all carries over to the tranny too.

[BMW325]

if its really the 'es' model and not just the 'e' then its a decent car...

id say try and get it for $1000

you might want to scope out how much a new clutch will cost you...

[Brew]

How can i check for sure if it is the es model?

[pimento]

Read the back.

[nizaam]

oh & they don't come out with 2.7l engines....unless it's a stroker kit...or the potent 325iS which came out with a 2,7l engine...

[Piacki_117]

Originally Posted by Brew

It has 250,000 miles.

!!!!

[pimento]

My BMW has 340,000 kms, she's getting to the stage of a rebuild being a good idea though. Blows a little bit of smoke. She still starts all right though.

[Nerys]

Do you talk about the "ETA"? In Germany the 2,7 is called eta and it's lame.
But at least it's indestructable. 250,000 miles, is this 402.336,12 km? Wow, that's a lot. I think you can buy BMW with 250.000 km without problems. But miles? *amaze*

[BMW325]

Originally Posted by nizaam

oh & they don't come out with 2.7l engines....unless it's a stroker kit...or the potent 325iS which came out with a 2,7l engine...

wow, thats pretty much the opposite of the truth right there

the 325i had the 2.5L
the 325e had the 2.7L

add an 's' to the back of either of those and its the 'sport' model

[Brew]

I checked it out and it is definately the "es" model, i still haven't got a chance to drive it yet. What commonly goes wrong with these cars when they have this many miles (402,336 kilometers). Also, what should i look for when driving this car, how should the cluth and breaks feal, and what kind of acceleration should be expected? And if i do buy this car, how much longer is it going to last me?

[h00t_h00t]

I think it does 0-60 in around 6 or 7 seconds, I'm not EXACTLY sure.

[BMW325]

Originally Posted by h00t_h00t

I think it does 0-60 in around 6 or 7 seconds, I'm not EXACTLY sure.

depends... if its stock with that many miles youll be lucky to get 7

on the other hand, if you put some decent tires out back, and lower it (eliminates wheel-hop), you'd be surprised at how much that improves off-the-line acceleration

[QuattroMan]

Originally Posted by Brew

There is a 1986 BMW 325es for sale in my town, and i was wondering if it is worth buying. It has the 2.7L 6cyl. with a 5-spd. tranmission, it has 250,000 miles on it .

250,000 miles! heard attack ready to happen, but if you really want that car,buy it for $1000 just incase you need to fix something

[Brew]

Ok i got an update now, i called the guy back and found out that the airconditioner is icy, and all of the power stuff works. He also told me that he forgot to mention that the price he gave me included a totally different car i can use for parts. The only thing wrong with this second car is that it is missing an alternator, so basiclly i get a working running car (as far as i know), and an entirely different car i can use for parts, same year and both are 325es.