1987 BMW 3 Series Reviews, Pricing & Specs

I just love the boxy E30's, very straight forward design without any cr*p bling-bling stuff. The fuel injected 2.5 litre engine is smooth as silk, yet quite powerful (not the most fuel efficient) when the revs are kept above 3000 rpm. It has a five speed gearbox, but i would have preferred an automatic for even more enjoyable cruising. I have spent less than €500 in repairs since 1996 (when I bought it) and it is an easy car to work on. OK, the soft top makes it noisy, but it is a cruiser aboove all even if it will do in excess of 200 kmh when asked to.

I currently own and drive daily this vehicle, which has 266,000 miles (I'm responsible for 63,000 of them) on the original engine and transmission. The car burns no oil and leaks no fluids beyond a trivial amount of oil (approx. 1/4 of a quart per 3000 mi.) While not as much of a performer as my '84 due to its higher mileage and ETA engine, it is no slouch and still takes corners like a BMW should, with some bodyroll but nothing beyond expected. I find the car (silvery blue paint, dark blue interior) attractive in a reserved sort of way. The only significant repairs it has needed are a replacement driveshaft when the CV joints disintegrated soon after buying the car (which I got at an incredible price, so wasn't too upset), recharging the a/c system and fixing related leaks, and replacing a tie rod end that had worked loose, as a related after effect from a crash it had gone through with the previous owner. The car has never left me stranded, and its overall cost of ownership has been incredibly low, especially considering age. If the car ever needs to be replaced, I'd buy another in a heartbeat. As with all '80s 3-series, condition varies wildly, so be careful when buying one. But if you get one in good quality, you'd be hard pressed to find a better deal. Amazing, amazing car.

An E30 325i, very flexible car, can be a decent performer and also a daliy driver. Not very fast car, but with good handling, bulletproff brakes. Currently the car is very well kept and performing aceptable for its agel. One of the things I love about it is that it's rear wheel drive. Overal I am very happy with it!

Great acceleration, 28mpg, great appearance, Fun with top down or not. Clutch, battery, tires and motor put on in the last 2 years.Very reliable, does not have original radio cassette player. Kept in the garage most of the time. Make someone a good 2nd auto.

Always brings a smile, its refreshing to drive after driving so many over complicated modern cars, and it totally up to their standard in so many areas. There's plenty of cars that are twice as quick in a straight line that aren't as fun. Its the perfect balance of moderness and old school. Can catch you out but thats part of the fun. Very reliable too as they're over engineered. I guarantee the only thing that would last longer on a brand new 3 series is the shell (bloody rust!).

Amazing car! I love old school euro sportscars and this is definitely one of a kind! Only dislike is the amount of money it takes from me because there is so much potential that you can't ever stop spending money on it!

It gets decent average fuel economy for a RWD car. For half city and half highway driving, it gets about 23-24 Miles Per Gallon. The car will take a turn with some body leans. Makes great power for a small straight 6 cylinder engine. I would avoid driving it in the snow, unless equipped with tire chain cables and I am not sure about adding sand to the trunk, if the rear axles and suspension can handle it. My least favorite is the high trunk liftover and small rear door openings. Just don't plan on carrying much bulky items. I guess thank god I do not drive the car anymore, since I have a bad habit of hitting the front spoiler when parking. The trip computer would have a tendency to drain the battery if not driven often enough and it was a $1,000 to replace. When the inspection/oil change light/temperature gauge did not operate correctly, it was fixed by replacing the circuit board inside the instrument cluster. The easiest maintenance to do are the oil changes and changing the spark plugs. However the spark plug wires were never changed, very very expensive and are not kept in stock. The most pain in the neck things to do are changing drive belts. In order to reset oil change and/or inspection light you either have to go to a BMW dealer or buy an expensive reset tool, specifically for certain model year BMWs.

Nice, no nonsense, good quality and reliable car.

good power for the year. expensive to maintain. Exceptional E30 handling. lacked space, but it wasn't designed to be a hauler. fuel economy was exception for a 6cylinder. price was very fair. its a great car that is well known worldwide.

Another E30 chassis 3 series my friend and I owned. Advantage of and E models is the same amount of torque as an I model but reached it at 1k rpms less. Less HP though, but that's what make the engines last longer.

every thing you need and nothing you dont this car gose back to the time when bmw was a sport car and not a 5000 lb tank filled with sat nav, huge streos, air bags etc. thats great for alot of people but for people who truely love the driveing experince this is the car for you. great straight line car and it no slouch in the twisty stuff either.

Fun car to drive. Great sunday driving car. Great handing. Good solid engine. good german engineering. No noticable dents or scratchs. Needs new hood ordament. Just put the top down and the radio up. If you love to drive, you'll love this car

This car was incredibly fast for its age and is faster than the new 320 I have now. Even though it was knackered through miss use, was rusted to hell and the exhaust had fallen off it still out performed the 325i from 91-2004. If it had been looked after it would still be running today and when i parted with it in 2006 it had over 200,000 miles on the clock and was sold in working order.... I miss that car.

Inline 6; 121 hp, 171 lb/ft; 5 speed manual; there are many issues with my car, but they are all either induced by incorrect usage or they are common for a car of its age. The shifter linkage is very loose, so loose in fact that I cannot shift into second gear, but I can still beat most of my friends in a drag race. The handling is great; the back country roads are handled with ease (I had fun watching my friend's '76 Camaro shrink in my mirrors). Drifting can be accomplished quite easily if handled properly. I simply love this car's proportions and style. It is easily one of the most beautiful cars I have ever seen.

I have only driven it off the loader and around the block, BUT Man-O-Man was it quick and very responsive in turns. So far in the past month to get it reworked the fluids have been changed oil,gas,antifreeze after setting up for 5 years the gas looked like carmal and the antifreeze was mud ! The body was in great shape the paint was faded but was expected due to the age and a local paint shop is donating paint and time to get it looking correctly for me, they see the beauty in the beast. so far to date I have about $300. hard earned dollars invested outside of the $500 I paid for it ( running )

I love the way it turns, goes, sounds and feels.

it got a good sound system and pretty zippy fun car

4 years ago our ceo drove up of cailfornia and parked his 325ic in our shop. there it sat colecting dust, ocationaly he would start it and run it around the building a few times. Last week he said it wasn't worth to much. I offered him $800 and to my suprise he said ok. I've only had it for a day, man is it fun to drive. took the top down and my daughter and I took i little cruse up the canyon. It purs like a kitten. the car is in great shape, and started up imediatly after I charged the battery.

After 6 faithful years as my daily driver, this is now my "track" car. The car's stock parts have slowly been getting replaced over the years, but I really haven't changed much. So far: - Sport seats from an '88 325is - 3.73 limited-slip differential from the same '88 325is (stock was an open diff with the same ratio) - Eibach springs and Bilstein sport suspension - 15" lightweight wheels with high performance summer tires I'm sure there will be a few more in the coming years...

It is a fast and reliable car.

have been restoring car since purchased any issues that i have come up with dose not seem to affect reliability always goes where ever you ask it drove 900 miles to Virginia and back averaged 29.7 mpg on on board mileage com at 70 just put new 17 inch 40 s on it handles great new int very comfortable

BMWs are great but i dont understand the stereotype. They are tough cars, Handle great and are so fun to drive. I want to take some kind of class to learn more about handling the car better. :) Anyone have suggestions?

It's a BMW 325is, it's green, it has a roll cage, and fire system. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. It's cheap and turns pretty good. Not much to dislike about it and it's better than a Sentra. Yes, it's fun to drive and no it doesn't get good gas mileage.

It's a five-speed manual transmission, with a manual convertible top. It may not be in the best shape, but it runs like a top, I got it for only 1200 bucks, and its an absolute joy to own and drive.

Friends encouraged me to get it, i purchased for 2700, only needed a catalytic converter. has performance chip which boosts hp from 170 to 190. ran a 16.4 in quartermile with friend in the car. The car has a limited slip so it can spin donuts if needed and can do burnouts

My first stick shift. I really beat the hell out of this car throughout college, grad school, and into the real world. My friend Lygia and I attempted to manually recharge the AC ourselves. Sorry about that one Mother Nature.

My First true sports car was a 1989 BMW 325i. WOW !! Previous ? owner remover the governor. The car would FLY. Unfortunately, it needed expensive maintenance. I got more on trade than I paid. Sure do miss it

Nearing 300K on its original engine; the clutch didn't even wear out until 237K. Need I say more?

Visibility is outstanding in this car. It is a 1987, so it has a few electronic issues that need repair. Drives and runs great. It has a newer engine with only 60,000 miles or so on it, so it is just getting broken in.

to be an old car it performs well its good at braking, handling, comfty inside. this car have the best inline 6 that BMW has ever made its old but in the highway runs the 150 mph its quite a good car

i love this car it just wont stay running

I've owned 1988 bmw 735il , 1995 740il, and 1987 325is. and out of all of them my 1988 was most impressive. I adore my 325 but must upgrade on suspension if i want to drive it like a BMW is suppose to drive.

this was the best 3000 dollars i ever spent.did full suspension,brakes,and a little motor work to it.it was the funnest car i ever drove,i wish i never would have sold it.