Can a BMW E30 be a practical daily driver?
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- Опубліковано 10 лип 2024
- In this video we'll breifly review if my 1990 BMW E30 318i can be a practical daily driver.
How big is the boot?
Whats interior space like?
What's it like driving it every day?
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/ parakeats - Авто та транспорт
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Daily drove mine for 9 years or so, so yeah its still a car, and a reliable one at that.
I dailied mine for 3 years, 18k miles the first year I had it - much more reliable than my old mini I had before 😂 if I didn't have to travel 50 miles/day for work I'd still use it daily I expect
9 years wow, I hope i can buy one soon.
Daily drove my e30 M3 for over 15 years and almost 300k. Just maintenance.
Best car ever!
Man I love it when people have stories about actually using old cars, it's what they should be doing!
How true. She never let me down in all these years.
@@snowdogs59 my E30 has possibly been one of the most reliable cars I've owned, but that could also be because I like it so put the effort in keeping it decent 😂
the cracked dash lol, very relatable
I currently own a 1986 325e Sedan and it's super fun to drive around as a daily! Very comfortable with a few modifications I'm planning to keep it for a long long time happy to see someone else take on the car and review it as a daily
nice, I'm got an M52b28 swap to go into mine which should make it the ideal performance/economy for a daily if I want!
Hey i got the same car
@@Keats.Garage I was recently looking at making my m20b27 into a super eta with a nice little turbo assuming my block is in good condition
about to buy my first e30 and i am gonna use it as a daily can’t wait !!
You are going to really enjoy it! I used to daily mine, and I loved it! Especially in the UK where it's quite a rare car. What model are you getting? I wish mine was a 325i, but I absolutely do not regret picking up a 318i. I keep looking for a touring, but I haven't managed to find one reasonably priced yet
@@Keats.Garage a 318i too! how much did you pick up urs for?? they just are getting so pricey
@@arshy-cars mine cost 950 way back in March 2014, can't find anything below 3k now unless you're lucky!
ive been daily driving my e30 for 3 years
@@Burdpvt How are you finding it? if I fixed a few things on mine, and didn't have to drive 50 miles each day I'd daily it again
Great to know you can hide a person in it
Real consumer advice on this channel 😂
Nice video mate! Looking forward to buy one in the near future, but the prices right now are getting so high!! :D
Thanks! I know - I keep seeing Rusty E30's for sale in the UK for 2-3k for non-runners, seems like the worlds one mad! I hope you get one thats a good deal - they're really worth it for the right price
Bought my 1st e30 a E reg 320i for £450 in 2001 from Gainsborough uk, Iv owned 325i and 320i my current one is a convertible! Legendary car!
I can't believe how cheap E30s used to be! My 318i was £900 9 years ago 😎
It's a beautiful car. I would love to own one
I'm a monster that's been daily driving my '88 Super ETA since 2011.
thanks for the video amazing
Best intro
That's very kind!
Joss Mas Brow!!!
Did it for years. Yes. Though now not so much with gas prices and trying to keep the milesge down. Maintenance maintenance maintenance
I'd be using it as a daily still if I didn't potentially have a 50 mile daily commute when I return to the office...
Hey man, I saw you stop by my video earlier today, for some reason the comment got deleted so I wasn't able to see what you said, anyways just wanted to say thanks for checking it out and commenting, awesome video btw
Hey man, I just said how cool it was seeing other 2 door e30s, and how strange it is that people don't know how to drive manuals - here in the UK manual is pretty normal - I can't wait to see what other content you come out with
@@Keats.Garage ahhh for sure yeah for some reason the comment didn't show up! But thanks man, yeah finding the 318is 2 door was a solid find! But yeah I believe only 1% of the cars in the states are manuals! I'll give you a sub too man! Keep up the good work🙂
I guess in the US you have a lot further to drive! I wish mine was a 318is, eventually I'll probably drop in a 6 cylinder in when my engine blows
@@Keats.Garage that would be awesome, are you looking at like an m50/S50? But yeah the m42 is pretty solid I'll be going with an engine swap as well when mine blows😂 my car has 280k miles on it
Wow, that's double the miles of mine 😂😂 141k here! M50b50 or m54b30 I think, depends whats easily available tbh
About the steering. I guess you can switch it up to power steering as a modification. The experience would be much stellar
It's already got power steering, just a lazy rack 😂 I'll be purple tag rack swapping it eventually
Just got mine. Doing a deep restoration as there is rust Im different pockets. So I’ve decided I might as well just change most of the old components. But I’m keen on a responsive steering rack. Any suggestions. I’m actually putting in an e46 engine.
@@TheMichbo nice, are you documenting the process? I'd love to see it, so I know what I'm in for when I do mine 😂 E46 purple tag rack is around 2.7 turns, instead of 4.5 like a stock e30, check out the e30zone forums/wiki pages, full of real useful information
Keats Garage thanks for the insights. I take a couple of pics. I have a mechanic running the project. The goal is to have it run like its new.
@@TheMichbo nice, I've got goals for an e36/46 motor I'll swap in myself, which one did you go for?
E30 = a lot of fun! : D
You're definitely right there! I can't wait to have mine put back together and back in use
@@Keats.Garage : D
I use my 327i (a long stroked 325i block) as a daily for years and put 325,000 on the clock after stroking the engine. It has superb driver involvement, feel and feedback. Unlike any modern car. I will never sell it.
Happy days, if I didn't just buy an E46 330d touring I'd consider dailying my E30 again - quite fancy an e21 or other older beemers aswell
@@Keats.Garage E46 are great as well. We have a rare 330i club sport with Quaffe lsd fitted. Emission delete and a remap gives 240 + hp and nice power band. Its only got 182,000 on the clock, much younger than the E30.
16 years old and I daily a 86 325. Yes, you can
Love hearing that people still use these daily! Are you maintaining it yourself?
Might be dumb to ask but. Would this be perfect for a first car, i keep hearing a lot about this car about maintenance, etc, which i understand but idk some say its a good reliable car. Im just picking cars cuz my fathers planning to buy me one and asked me what car do i want
If you want to learn to maintain it yourself, it's a great car to buy, but I doubt I'd still have it if I had to pay a garage for all the work I've done to it over 10 years. I'm not sure about a first car though as the prices are rising up and certain parts are getting rarer and rarer.
It won't be as cheap as a Honda/Toyota to keep running. I'd say if you're not 100% on an E30, look elsewhere. But if you want an engaging drive and to learn to maintain cars yourself definitely consider it
I'm considering selling my diesel punto to get a e30 or e34 tbh.
Feeling kinda done with driving the same boring for long which also seem to have brought a lot of bad luck
I really hope there were some pedestrians around when you popped out the boot
Sadly not! Not even a neighbor, I think I got away with it 😂
anything with an m10/m40/m42 is practical and indestructible
daily driving mine since 2015, good car, kinda thirsty tho... my dash has no cracks yet... looking at yours, gotta be careful
Yeah man, the dash will crack whatever is my understanding, no point being precious in my opinion 👍
You should talk about how noisy it is. (Maybe you mentioned it in the bit in the middle, I couldn't hear)
Perhaps I should have used my dedicated mic for the in car shots 😂
They’re getting a little dear in the U.S., but I think an e30 is the best personal commuter car ever built. Mine has 15”, Type 5 euroweaves with rock hard low(er) profile tires & Bilstein Sports all around - it’s noticeably more harsh than it was on 14” bottlecaps, but it’s better than what you’re driving. Way better.
Your critique of the car’s handling characteristics is funny. Seriously - fix your car. Get the not-BMW crap off of it & return it to more or less stock. Mine is basically a 325iS, & aside from the Bilsteins everything on the car has an e30 specific, BMW part number. It’s what BMW meant for it to be. I could pull a wheel off the car, stick it in the trunk, & it’d still handle better than pretty much anything out there without busting my kidneys along the way.
I say it’s the _perfect_ daily - nothing else out there has the dna of the 2002tii & the e21 wrapped up in an attractive, comfortable & functionally refined version of both.
It handles funny because the rear subframe and trailing arms bushes were shot to pieces I think, I'll find out when I eventually get to drive it again once it's back on the road 😂
89 325i, 20 years daily driver. So yeah, it can.
What about in the rain as handling would be a bit tricky in bad weather?
I drove mine in all weather's including snow on standard tyres, generally if you understand what not to do it wasn't a problem 👍 no electronics to help you out if you do get in to trouble though
@@Keats.Garage Do you keep yours in the garage/ covered up? I bought an e30 last year and it’s awaiting a respray so been thinking about just driving it in the summer or to all year round. I don’t have a garage though so do you think a car cover would be good to stop it from getting rust? Thanks
@@ollyali mine was kept in a garage for 4 years of my 10 years of ownership, but it lives outside now. It also needs a respray so that's why I'm less precious about it's paint currently.
I'm never sure how I feel about car covers, I've heard stories about them rubbing paint badly in the wind but I've got no first hand experience so it's hard to say
Stick with the stock suspension, the e30 325i was identical to the M3 in skid pad, slalom and braking tests (I am guessing the 318i is the same). For your steering a rack from a later car can be fitted with minimal fiddling (plenty of how to guides available). My personal selections would be e36 3,4 turns or Z3 2,7 turns depending on your preferences.
Running -35mm h&r and Bilstein shocks atm, stiffened it up a lot from work OEM! Rear subframe bushes need doing next! 😂
Myhosband used his for commuting for 20 years. It has 200,000 miles on it.
Does it still run?
@@jadenfluker6543 it sure does!
Hello, what's the mpg? Or Lt/100km?
Hey buddy, I was getting 24mpg (UK) or 11.77L/100km regularly, but I only use it for spirited driving.
If you drive carefully I've had 40mpg (UK) or 7.06L/100km
Thanks mate.
You from round Waterlooville?
From Bristol, but live down here now yeah
@@Keats.Garage thought I recognised the back roads you were on.
I daily mine every day
I'm real tempted to go back to dailying mine instead of the civic, but I need it back in the road first 😂