I'm looking into a few e30 m3's and was wondering what i should be warned/aware of while checking the car out. I'm aware of the timing chain problem around 100,000mi but i also read that that's an exaggerated problem coming from 320 owners. Thoughts?

thx in advance :)

Dang, all of our old threads that have massive explinations about this are gone...

I will pitch in a few words.

Check for rust. Rust is bad, look under the windscreen, behind the taillights and license plate.

Drive the car very good, at different rpm's and go into fifth, make sure it all works nicely without making any bad sounds. Make sure everything else works (electrically, wipers, radio, cruise control etc.).

Get a list of everything that has been done to the car (receipts) if the owner has it. Make sure that the car has had maintence and has been taken care of. If not, it is going to cost quite a bit of money to fix down the road.

Find the last time all the fluids were replaced, if you get the car, you will want to do this (brake, diff, trans, motor, p/s etc.)

If the car has 100k miles or more, the timing chain should have been done allready. Some owners say that the car can go up to 150k miles without replacement (of course the timing chain tensioner should be replaced). Do 320's have timing belts? Timing chains will last quite a bit longer, and they do not need to be changed so often (I've never heard of a chain breaking).


Overall, make sure that the car has been well maintained. Oh yes, check for leaks, and drip marks. Ask to see the car's normal parking spot. Make sure the a/c works well too.

This is all I can think of now... Just ask if you have any questions!

You can find many with less than 70k miles if you can afford it

Originally posted by DanVictor
You can find many with less than 70k miles if you can afford it

LOL Where? i've found a few w/80K mi that were resonably priced but if it's 75-50K mi its more like $15-20K. i'm stumped. :dunno

The motors will last a long time, so less miles doesn't always mean better. As long as a car has been taken care of, it will last. My M3 is 141.XXX miles and she still runs great!

To get the 70k cars or below, you are going to have to fork over more cash.

Originally posted by Bry
Dang, all of our old threads that have massive explinations about this are gone...


Here are the two remaining ones...hope this helps

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26063

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24691