Looking at an '87 325...

[Jacob]

I recently found a 1987 325 that is for sale locally. I have not yet gone to see it, but I am very interested in checking it out. I have read several pages of this forum and have done a few searches here and have not really found a definitive answer to a few of my questions...

How expensive are replacement parts for these cars? Am I going to spend a ridiculous amount of money everytime I need to buy standard maintenance parts (i.e., spark plug wires, fuel filter, clutch)? What about unforseen items (i.e., window regulator)?

How easy is it to work on the Bimmers of this era? I own a very nice 1968 Buick Skylark (very easy) and a 1984 Nissan 300zx turbo (not near as easy) and my mechanical skills are decent, but will I find myself shipping out a lot of the work, or is it something I should be able to handle?

How reliable are the options the cars come with? Am I going to find that a highly optioned car has most of its options malfunctioning (i.e., power windows, power locks)?

How prone are these things to rust? Anything I should look for when checking out this car?

After some of the other forums I have been on, I am very impressed with the friendliness and sincerity of the members of this community. I appreciate any advice you can give me and look forward to hopefully buying this BMW.

Jacob

 

[Big Daddy]

The 87 325 should be fairly easy to work on and the standard tuneup parts are not expensive. There are tons of used parts available for this car. Rust just depends on where the car is from and how it has been cared for.

 

[epj3]

to add to what dan said, parts aren't bad at all (considerably... becuase you might spend more on some parts but most likely they will last longer than cheaper parts on another car). www.autohausaz.com is an awesome site. Same with www.bavauto.com

I did ALL the work on my car, including changing the clutch in my friends garage (jackstands). It was a definite challenge, hardest thing I've ever done on a car, but I got it done and it really wasn't TERRIBLE.

Just have to check the power windows and stuff, most of them work but then again, most don't (I know I dont make sense)

I never had rust on either of my cars (one was a '88 325is and current is an '89 535i). But they were both from the PA/NJ area, so not in the rust belt or anything.

Check this out, check out e30tech (do a google search), and if you want some more, PM me and I'll PM the links to you.

 

[BMW Punk]

Like epj3 said www.autohausaz.com great prices. Most of the problems will be minor and easy to fix. These cars are built to last, mine is going on 200,000 and still runs strong. I do most of the work my self but since I don't have access to a garage I send some big thngs out like when I had the front end rebuilt and upgraded to high performance poly bushings.