Description
BMW 325i SE, reg :H195 BDL, 1990.
Finished in Glacier Blue metallic, this car has not been restored and is in totally original condition with just one previous owner. I bought this car from Carlyon Bay Motors (Cornwall) in April 1996 so I have owned it for the last 28 years. The mileage at the time was just over 42k. The previous owner traded it in when she moved to Carlyon Bay because she thought it was ‘too big for Cornish Lanes’. It had not been valeted but was in excellent condition, and I have endeavoured to keep it that way during my ownership. It has been my pride and joy, but sadly due to developing health issues I am very reluctantly offering it for sale to someone who will care for it as I have. Recently MOT tested (no advisories), and the next MOT test is due in July 2024. The car has a comprehensive service history. It is perhaps just a step short of concourse condition but it wouldn't take much effort to get it there.
BMW original accessories included are:
BMW First Aid Kit (unused),
BMW Toolkit (complete),
Warning triangle in protective case,
Rechargeable glove box torch (working, new battery fitted this year),
BMW Fire Extinguisher,
Blaupunkt 'Verona' combined radio/ tape player. This is a very well-built car from close to the end of the long production run of the E30 chassis. Price when new was around £22. 7k and it features a lot of factory fitted optional extras, including the M-Technic body package, that were standard on the legendary M3. The leather steering wheel has the M3 logo embossed on it. It does not have the twin-cam M3 engine but the rather sweeter single cam 2449cc, 168 bhp unit. This is married to a ZF type 4H22 4-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission. This has ‘Sports’, ‘Economy’ (normal), and manual selection modes. Silky smooth, it is adaptive to driving style and responds to brisker driving by holding the gears longer before changing. It is very flexible and a joy to drive.
It is a top quality car designed for the German autobahn with peak torque coming in at 4000 rpm. Top speed is around 132 mph but it will cruise all day at the British legal limit at under 2500rpm. The engine is happy at any speed, and is very well matched to the transmission. Maintenance is fairly straightforward, and it is not as complex, or expensive, as you might think. It still has its original exhaust system (non-catalyst) after 115k miles and 28 years! Despite the presence of the tow hitch this car hasn’t towed anything during my ownership. Now only used for high days and holidays it covers less than 1000 miles a year, and actually less than 700 last year. The engine oil and filter are changed twice a year regardless of mileage covered.
During my ownership it has only failed one MOT test and that was mainly due to a cracked windscreen that happened on the way to the test. Any MOT 'advisories' have all been dealt with promptly at the time. All this is recorded in the service history.
Fuel issues
The best fuel consumption I have achieved is 33 mpg on 4-star leaded fuel. This car does not have a catalytic converter so will run on leaded or unleaded fuel. It is currently running on E5 unleaded fuel that I am able to buy locally. The owners handbook actually specifies a maximum alcohol content of E3, but two BMW main dealers assure me that E10 is quite acceptable to use in this model without any modification. Typical fuel consumption is around 28 mpg on E10. I haven't noticed any difference in performance between the fuel grades.
