Maybe important to know in regard of the tailgate situation is that BMW never planned to make a wagon model. An employee transformed his sedan into a wagon in his home garage and parked it on the management parking lot in the Munich plant. They saw it and were so convinced that this was possible to produce and sell to a new customer group that they later added the touring model to the range. That's also why the tailgate kind of looks like an afterthought - it actually was.
Honestly I'm surprised it wasn't more of an afterthought. The trunk opening on other E30s doesn't dip below the taillights, and I wasn't expecting them to have changed that.
I miss the reviews of interesting cars that Doug isn’t selling on his cars and bids site. This has become a used car sales page rather than real car reviews. Glad this shit made you rich, Doug.
@scottbaxendale323 its not like Doug was interviewing owners of the car, or doing something different. Any car is just a car, if it is for sale well even better.
The manual windows are pretty common on North European countries, specially in older cars. Because of ice and snow those electric components usually died in the winter, the construction of it wasn't advanced enough, so they had manual windows for the winter and electric rooftop for the summer.
@Teamgeist He never said Germany was a North European country. He was simply giving some trivia that in some markets manual windows are more common. The original owner of this German-spec car may not have wanted to pay extra for power windows.
I love my 325is, but I wouldn't say the power is "right", my onoonion only though. 125-130 at the wheels is totally fine, but ever ounce of power really helps. High flow heads, a mild cam, and a chip and 170-180 at the wheels is perfect for the E30s for me.
Yes, ordinary cars and retro 80's and 90's quirky cars are way more interesting to watch than those expensive and boring show-off super cars that no one can afford anyway.
Small fun fact: BMW actually called the two door version a two-doored sedan. Mainly because it was closer in shape and features to a sedan, than to a regular coupe.
Actually one of the most common engine swaps here in europe is putting an M50 engine (preferably the M50B25) out of the E36 325i in to make it a little faster. Another option, tho more for enthusiasts, is turbocharging the M10 in the 316i or 318i as it is the same engine block used in F1 cars and the 2022 turbo and it can take a lot of boost if you know what you are doing.
@@VSautomotive True, good point. There is no 316is tho (at least in europe) and the 318is had the M42 engine :) Both of which don’t take boost very well from the factory, for those who may be interested in that stuff.
@@alpenjodel24 M42's take boost very well, the internals are very similar to the M50. You can make reliable 300hp on a boosted M42 all day long. E30's are honestly not suitable for much more power than that if you want them to be usable cars if you don't start doing very serious modifications to the rest of the car. If anything the M42 is probably the engine best suited for the E30 chassis, as they have better weight distrubution then the 6 cylinders.
I've had this as my first car, started out as a 320i and swapped it to a 325i with all the period goodies. Now it still sits in my garage and I get it out every now and again, to keep it running while I patiently get it ready to swap in an N54 biturbo or smth similar from the BMW range of 6 cyls, while the daily tasks have been taken over by a 525i E61 (swapped to a 530i), and more recently by a CLS 250CDI Shooting Brake. I still have these cars, and plans for them. But driving the E30 in it's period spec with a lot of the period goodies (small diameter M-Tech 2 steering wheel, full leather sports seats, Z3 M shortshifter with an E46 ZHP weighted gearknob, short E46 steering rack, 3.47 diff as opposed to the 4.27 diff it came with, M-Tech interior mirror with map lights, 16inch BBfake wheels, and that delicious M20B25 paired with a KN inlay air filter and spaghetti exhaust system) can really move me to tears, which never wears off, like fine wine these cars age. I'm absolutely in love with mine, dare I call it a perfect car. Would drive it to the edge of the world and back again.
It is a lot of fun to see Doug get excited about a car me and my friends would buy as a cheap beater for summer trips around Europe in the late 90ties 😂😂 We've must got through about ten of them over the years. But it offered room and durability 👍
Live here in Germany and still see these fairly regularly. After my 1974 BMW 2002, the E30 is generally my favorite BMW…and love the wagon. Such a tidy package. Funny to see one parked next to a newer 3-series (like my current 2015 316d wagon).
I've long said the E30 and E28 are the last great BMWs. And I've owned both a 75 and 76 2002 ... wish I'd never sold either one since now days '02s have exploded in price and I'll probably never be able to own another one (same goes for the '70 914 I used to own).
one of my neighbors has this car and it is standing next to my bus stop. every morning, on my way to work, I walk past it and think to myself: 'what a timeless classic, so small and still so much space' amazing car
@@VSautomotive i consider the BMW 316I from the video a "normal" sized car, witch it is. These big things they have or had in the USA are pretty much unusable here in western Europe and the only destination would most probably the junkyard to get recycled, because pretty much no one will buy it. it would be very hard to sell, i can assure you. not being able to make turns, no speed, huge consumption, etc, etc.
@@VSautomotive American cars pretty much don't exist here in the that one could assume as the richest corner of the globe, that's how BAD they are, apart from some lost Dodge ram, tesla, some classics you can spot in the summer if you're lucky.
I own a brother of this car. A '94 318i touring in silver with purple accents in the interior. Some options are different but...... I have just learned that I have parking lights. After owning a car for ten years, Doug shows me a new option. Thanks!
I think (e34 had it anyway) you can also choose the wiper intervall duration. there are no extra buttons for it. read the owner's manual. Some cars also had drver's side door lock heater. you just pull up the door opening handle and kepp it there, the ice in the lock melts,
I have the same interior you do, but my exterior color is the same as the one shown in the example in this video👌 Learned the same about the parking lights too!
I'm a native St. Louisan who currently lives in Cologne, Germany. I looked at the pics of this car on C&B, and noticed the "MG" license plate. That stands for Mönchengladbach, which is a bit east, and near the Dutch border.
1:40 You're kinda right, Doug! 🙂👍 The E30 wagon came out in 1987 (together with the major Facelift) and produced until 1994 when it was succeeded by the E36 wagon in 1995
The situation to switch on a ,,parking light" with the signal stock to the side you want was very common in German cars. It was mandatory in Germany to have those lights burning while you park outside of towns or any village in the dark. So it saved you 10 watts to light up only the side facing the traffic, not the side of the road. This avoided draining your battery to fast, especially when you park for a longer time.
My 2013 Golf MK7 has the same feature except it just uses the indicator positions. Turn the ignition off without centering the switch and you get sidelights on that side and a lights on reminder chime for a few seconds.
Idk about other countries, but supposedly it used to be that some street lights were turned off, maybe after everyone was supposed to be at home sleeping? They had a red stripe, which I've only seen a couple of times in the 6 years I was there... None were off (unless it was daytime, of course).
@@davidkane4300 In the U.K we had / have the bizarre situation where speed limit was linked to whether the road had street lights. You could lit residential roads typically have a speed limit of 30MPH. Leave that village, the street lights, and the wider road and the speed limit automatically goes up to 60MPH unless they put speed limit signs in every few hundred metres.
@@MrDuncl that's interesting... Similar to the automatic speed limits in/out of city/village limits, but in Germany they could care less whether or not any of it is lit lol.
82 to 94 was the E30's run, with only very small numbers registered in 82. 88 to 94 for the Touring. The headlight levelling is an interesting one, its actually hydraulic. There are little tubes coming from the back of the height adjuster and snaking off into the engine bay. It is almost universally broken on every E30 after this many years. Another point of note, the rear window washer has its own seperate washer bottle and motor in a compartment in the trunk, and it is filled via a fill point in the tailgate opening above the drivers side tail light. The E30 Touring had a very rare option for self levelling rear suspension as well.
14:53 I remember I had a chance to get an E30 M3 in great shape for $10k 12 years and I thought they were crazy for asking that much. I’m still kicking myself on that one… Sold my E36 M3 for $18k last year.
I loved my '91 e30 318is, Diamond Schwartz with the plaid grey interior, and a wind up/crank sunroof. You brought back a lot of fun memories Doug. Thank you
I owned 4 E30s , one had 10k miles, it was awesome, it was a coupe, and sedans, i never had a touring...i wish now i had Timing belt needs to be checked, it has a slight overwear habit on the cam belt, waterpunp, radiator cooling is essential for tthis engine its easy to fix thou, simple construction...the power is sufficient! You know now! I tought i never have driven or will drive anything doug drives usually. A friend of mine, pretty nuttcase totalled 3....
Love these, you didn't mention the story of the boot, heard it was designed to take a standard German beer crate in the opening but might be an urban myth, great car.
I can confirm the 316i, despite the low hp is a wonder. I have driven many different cars but this one is my first and only car and puts a smile on my face every single time. Its lack of power is inversely proportional to the charisma it has on the road.
My uncle needed a daily after he sold his old one to buy and fix a E31 850 back in the day. He found a white E30 wagon, mint condition and low milage. He picked it up straight away. I grew up with that car, was an amazing car. Sadly it got stolen at the airport when he was visiting us in Spain, they found it later on in a forest stripped down to the chassi. I remember him being so sad for that.
There was also a 129 bhp six cylinder 320i Touring as well as the 324td diesel version. The 1.6 and 1.8 engines are the 87-93 M40, 8 valve SOHC with a toothed belt driven camshaft rather than a chain. Camshaft wear is the biggest problem on these M40's but you can replace the cam and rocker fingers easily with the cylinder head still on the car.
I used to have 325iX when I was 19, and I was afraid of how fast it is and how good it cornered after an anemic front wheel drive throw away car I had as my first one)) I don't know if today it'll feel as fast but back then I never wanted more than 170 HP the 2.5 six offered)
I love the M20b25 in my E30. Would it be nice to have more power once in a while, yes? But I'll tell you when I don't care about power, it's in the canyons.
@@kgarba9253 nice! I’m trying to keep my late model ‘iS’ oem+. It was tempting to swap to a newer engine a couple years ago when my old M20 developed problems, but I ultimately put back in another M20.
Loved my 89 E30 325i Sport (sold in back in 2012) full M Tech 2 kit from factory, bbs wheels and Bilstein B12 Suspension. Daily driver for 4 years, also done 2 trips from Liverpool uk to the Nurburgring, then on down to Munich to the bmw museum, about a dozen drift track days and 3 regular track days. Only let me down once when a slave cylinder burst. BMW’s were built properly back then.
Interesting to see and revisit classic 80s BMW..it's odd to me that the sunroof on this 94 later touring has a power sunroof, when the 86 or 87 E30 325i coupe my dad had power windows, but a manual sunroof. I would guess they only made power sunroofs in the early 90s models and stopped doing manual ones altogether for the E30. I always remember my dad's coupe fondly with its cool-looking gray, patterned fabric seats, dark silver color, classic styling, and the classy OZ racing wheels he put on it that did a good job of modernizing the look of the car. it's really interesting looking back and seeing how basic, small, and utilitarian they are by modern standards. He bought it used from a coworker and had it as a daily driver throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, before selling it to his mechanic when it became too much of a project.
I had an 89 E30 coupe with the manual sunroof...passengers always got a kick out of seeing that thing operate - in a car with power windows, mirrors, antenna etc. And now here's the opposite - manual everything, but power sunroof and headlight adjusters, so wonky! These cars are built like tanks too, mine had almost 300k miles on it but was still rock solid when I sold it for 4x what I bought it for a few years ago.
@@shehandesilva7530 Yes, I remember enjoying how the sunroof crank worked. In general all the window switches, touchpoints, and controls were enjoyable to operate. It was definitely a minimalist interior, but everything about those cars feel solid and tank-like, even as an older car.
These were pretty common here in the UK and I always quite fancied a 325i Touring. The proportions were pretty much perfect and sitting on wider, lower profile BBS cross-spokes the thing looked properly planted on the road. Good luck whoever buys this one - enjoy!
My mother had an E30 320 with an automatic box, it was a fantastic car. We took it from Plymouth England down to the south of France, via a sea ferry, she didn't miss a beat. 900 miles like it was nothing.
There was no E30 Coupe. It was available as a 2 door sedan, 4 door sedan, convertible, wagon and there was the odd "Baur Convertible", which still has a fanbase. Love the E30. Was my first car when I was 19, back in the 90s. Greetings from Cologne /Germany. Keep up the good work. Love your channel.
We have to stop calling the prices of these cars a shame. Someone has put time, effort, money, and interest into bringing this car in excellent condition to 2023. The thing has more than 30 years. Old classics are expensive because they are scarce in this condition. If people like them so much, buy one when they are cheap and take good care of it for the rest of your life or don't whine when they are cool again and you want to be the coolest in your cars and coffee
I've owned my E30 320i touring for 6yrs now, i love it more every day, always looking forward to get out of my other modern cars and have a drive and enjoy it.
the Parking Light is not only for "tight" or "not unnecessary oversized" Streets, but for general better visability for roadside parking, similar to a daylight running light and you see from afar there has someone parked and not just stoped
It's not the same car tho. I thought the same, went back to look at hoonigan videos and theirs BMW has different german plates and few diferent cosmetics on the front.
Import one from Europe, there are a lot of them. 316 are pretty cheap, I'm sure you could swap something else in the engine bay for good price. There are so many M20B25 swapped for example.
I have had NBs and NAs as well as E30 2 and 4 doors. The E30 is much more planted and not as skittish. Enjoy driving both, but a good E30 manual is hard to find.
Love the wagon, I think it looks better than the sedan. This one is quite odd. It's relatively luxury spec, but with base engine. Pretty much the opposite of mine :)
I owned the e30 325i and now a manual honda fit. Doug wrote he hates the fit on auto trader but I don’t see how you could dismiss it and like this car. Similar curb weight and makes slightly more power than the 318i. Fun to drive. Practical
1:41 BMW E30 was sold from '82 to '94....the non facelifted version from '82 to '86 or '87 then the facelift version up until '94 and also had a version called baur tc...which is a combination between coupe and cabriolet version and a 1 of 1 made pickup version
Was it just me or that Mercedes in the back was following you? In any case, you were like Takumi, leaving it behind with the "slower" car which is amazing for that little wagon.
Doug d'Muro: The 316 in Europe came with an 1.8 four cilinder engine and was detuned hence less power than the 318! Next episode: Alfa 33 Sportwagon (SW). These are from the same era as this BMW E30 Touring. ...if you can find one! They came with 1.3, 1.5 and 1.7 boxer engines. There is even a 4x4! Correction: The shown single front and rear parking light is only mandatory in Germany. BMW and VW have this feature for sure. So will other brands. Not sure French cars in Germany do. Italian FIAT cars do two parking lights on front and rear.
The pre facelift has a 1. 8 liter 90hp carburettor. Thq 318i has the same engine but with injection an about 115 hp. The facelift version all have injection, and the 316i has actually a 1.6 liter engine and so does the 318i has a 1.8 liter engine. Now the type number match with displacement. Horses i dont remember from these engines. (European cars)
There's a company that makes wallets with an identical fabric as that you see in the seats. Been using mine daily for 10 years and the only wear is from when the beagle got hold of my work pants when she was a pup.
I wonder how much did the original owner pay for the "Jersey City, early 90's, 'Bus Seat cloth', interior package". They even got the matching Bus steering wheel.
@@Intelcroa I am joking but my sister's boyfriend had one of these (the sedan) and it is really fun to drive. It's a great car. I agree, no one should pay much for these ugly seat covers. :)
The white C-class coming behind and Doug is looking into his rear view mirror. That's when you can tell a good driver appart because he was ready to move forward a little not to be rear ended.
Doug Demuro channels James May talking about his Fiat Panda. It’s not how much power it has, it’s can you use all the power? James would say put it on skinny tires and have fun!
So THAT’s how the city lights are turned on. We never got those on US spec cars. E30 production run was technically 1982 to 1994. Also S50/52 swaps were the big thing 10/15 years ago. S54 and N52 are the hot ticket now.
To give you some hindsight, Doug, that gap between the E30's taillights is known as the "beer crate gap." The opening is wide enough to slide a crate of beer in and out of the Touring.
Ahhh, Swartz Micah....I remember that color well from Gran Turismo German car dealerships. Funny how purple and orange actually go really well together, it's like so like Spree candy, the 1970s, or the Denver Bronc-oh, no...wait.... scratch that last one. 🤣
BMW also made an E30 coupe utility (El Camino type), but only one unit. In 1986, they needed a little pickup for use around the factory, so they took an E30 convertible (which already had the reinforcement on the rear end that they needed) and cobbled together a bed for it. The E30 served the factory until 2011, when a new ute based on an E93 convertible was built as its replacement. BMW actually teased this one as a new model headed for production as an April Fools joke that year. They even went so far as to test it on the Nurburgring to help sell the story. 😂
Maybe important to know in regard of the tailgate situation is that BMW never planned to make a wagon model. An employee transformed his sedan into a wagon in his home garage and parked it on the management parking lot in the Munich plant. They saw it and were so convinced that this was possible to produce and sell to a new customer group that they later added the touring model to the range.
That's also why the tailgate kind of looks like an afterthought - it actually was.
Huge BMW fan from Germany here but never knew that the back opening is like that
Honestly I'm surprised it wasn't more of an afterthought. The trunk opening on other E30s doesn't dip below the taillights, and I wasn't expecting them to have changed that.
Thanks for the backstory!
I've heard that the reason the trunk opening is like that is because it's the exact width of a German beer crate.
@@clumsygarage1578 if you check out pictures from the "prototype" you can see it doesn't have the dip (and phase 1 taillights).
Honestly, I miss the breakdown of each category in the Doug Score. It was interesting to see WHY Doug gave each score.
I miss the reviews of interesting cars that Doug isn’t selling on his cars and bids site. This has become a used car sales page rather than real car reviews. Glad this shit made you rich, Doug.
@@scottbaxendale323 wow so salty
@@scottbaxendale323 What exactly is the difference between reviewing cars which is being sold on his site and cars which are not???
@scottbaxendale323 its not like Doug was interviewing owners of the car, or doing something different. Any car is just a car, if it is for sale well even better.
He'll never bring it back. It cuts down on his editing time.
The manual windows are pretty common on North European countries, specially in older cars. Because of ice and snow those electric components usually died in the winter, the construction of it wasn't advanced enough, so they had manual windows for the winter and electric rooftop for the summer.
Niiice data!
One of my friends has a 2006 focus with manual windows on the rear. Funny considering my 1990 w124 has full electric windows.
@Teamgeist He never said Germany was a North European country. He was simply giving some trivia that in some markets manual windows are more common. The original owner of this German-spec car may not have wanted to pay extra for power windows.
@Teamgeist what would you categorize Germany in?
@Teamgeist what s wrong with eastern europe tho
The guy in the white Mercedes during Doug's drive even wanted to get a better look at that E30 Touring.
i think he wanted to prove that his new(ish) mercedes was faster than the bmw, which i found funny
You could tell Doug was keeping his sharp eye on that little sucker in that Mercedes 😂
yea I thought he was going to get rear ended!
Yup. But then Doug was like "look how this thing take the curves!" And left it behind
Christ, I hate it when people wait until the last second to brake behind you like that
The 325 engine with 170hp was very right for this car with a manual.
Exactly
It was a proper fast estate back in the day. The 325i badge was literally a badge of honour.
I love my 325is, but I wouldn't say the power is "right", my onoonion only though. 125-130 at the wheels is totally fine, but ever ounce of power really helps. High flow heads, a mild cam, and a chip and 170-180 at the wheels is perfect for the E30s for me.
Other channels: Hey look at our borrowed 700hp car!
Doug: Been there, done that. THIIIS is a BMW 316.
And I'm here for it. 💯
Well, Doug is the type of Guy who gets excited to review regular cars 😅👍
I'd rather watch a video of this than the latest $4,000,000 most limited special edition Lamboclarenarri.
@@bwofficial1776 it’s a bit contrarian i feel like but i can only agree, an old 316i is way more interesting
Yes, ordinary cars and retro 80's and 90's quirky cars are way more interesting to watch than those expensive and boring show-off super cars that no one can afford anyway.
Small fun fact: BMW actually called the two door version a two-doored sedan. Mainly because it was closer in shape and features to a sedan, than to a regular coupe.
Imo that's what it is too. A coupe to me means rear window and trunk are a smooth line, no step
It's an old school German thing in general...even the old VW type 1/Beetle was called a Sedan back in the day.
Sounds tossable 🫡
@@LukeCannotSkate what youre talking about is a hatchback
No actually it is because of the window not having a frame.
Actually one of the most common engine swaps here in europe is putting an M50 engine (preferably the M50B25) out of the E36 325i in to make it a little faster. Another option, tho more for enthusiasts, is turbocharging the M10 in the 316i or 318i as it is the same engine block used in F1 cars and the 2022 turbo and it can take a lot of boost if you know what you are doing.
The engine in this car is an M40B16, earlier 316(i)s and 318(i)s had the M10.
@@VSautomotive True, good point. There is no 316is tho (at least in europe) and the 318is had the M42 engine :)
Both of which don’t take boost very well from the factory, for those who may be interested in that stuff.
@@alpenjodel24 M42's take boost very well, the internals are very similar to the M50. You can make reliable 300hp on a boosted M42 all day long. E30's are honestly not suitable for much more power than that if you want them to be usable cars if you don't start doing very serious modifications to the rest of the car. If anything the M42 is probably the engine best suited for the E30 chassis, as they have better weight distrubution then the 6 cylinders.
I have 316i touring and swapped m40b16 --> m50b25 🫡
I've had this as my first car, started out as a 320i and swapped it to a 325i with all the period goodies. Now it still sits in my garage and I get it out every now and again, to keep it running while I patiently get it ready to swap in an N54 biturbo or smth similar from the BMW range of 6 cyls, while the daily tasks have been taken over by a 525i E61 (swapped to a 530i), and more recently by a CLS 250CDI Shooting Brake. I still have these cars, and plans for them. But driving the E30 in it's period spec with a lot of the period goodies (small diameter M-Tech 2 steering wheel, full leather sports seats, Z3 M shortshifter with an E46 ZHP weighted gearknob, short E46 steering rack, 3.47 diff as opposed to the 4.27 diff it came with, M-Tech interior mirror with map lights, 16inch BBfake wheels, and that delicious M20B25 paired with a KN inlay air filter and spaghetti exhaust system) can really move me to tears, which never wears off, like fine wine these cars age. I'm absolutely in love with mine, dare I call it a perfect car. Would drive it to the edge of the world and back again.
Yeah we have a lot of these in Germany. They get beat to hell, but a lot of them are also obsessively cared for.
Sehe auch manchmal echt ranzige Exemplare, sehr schade!
Yes…. Tossable!
@@brun0377 das sind Kombis die muss man so behandeln :)
It is a lot of fun to see Doug get excited about a car me and my friends would buy as a cheap beater for summer trips around Europe in the late 90ties 😂😂 We've must got through about ten of them over the years. But it offered room and durability 👍
In these days you don't see them very often in Germany too. The "Abwrackprämie" in 2009-2010 unfortunately led to lots of them became scrapped.
Live here in Germany and still see these fairly regularly. After my 1974 BMW 2002, the E30 is generally my favorite BMW…and love the wagon. Such a tidy package. Funny to see one parked next to a newer 3-series (like my current 2015 316d wagon).
Same in Finland, saw one just yesterday.
I've long said the E30 and E28 are the last great BMWs. And I've owned both a 75 and 76 2002 ... wish I'd never sold either one since now days '02s have exploded in price and I'll probably never be able to own another one (same goes for the '70 914 I used to own).
I've seen them in Greece too, they're very common
The 2002 BMW looks like a cute baby. And this old E30 from the video is also cute, because it is small enough. New cars are much bigger.
@@Zundfolge The BMW e39 like one in Macedonia is the best ever, regards from Toronto, with BMW 535xi , which is not got.
In europe the e30 is called a midsize car, a golf(rabbit) from that time is a compact.
ps. that merc was checking out the bimmer.
I don't if it's true, but the pre facelift tail lights of the E30 has the same size as those of the later VW Rabbit (1981-85) models... 🤔
one of my neighbors has this car and it is standing next to my bus stop. every morning, on my way to work, I walk past it and think to myself: 'what a timeless classic, so small and still so much space'
amazing car
ok not so much space for people XD
small?
a peugout 106, citroën ax is small or the originals of the mini, fiat 500, fiat 127, Trabant, among.
@@AnalogDude_ Americans have a different understanding of what a "small" car is.
@@VSautomotive i consider the BMW 316I from the video a "normal" sized car, witch it is.
These big things they have or had in the USA are pretty much unusable here in western Europe and the only destination would most probably the junkyard to get recycled, because pretty much no one will buy it.
it would be very hard to sell, i can assure you.
not being able to make turns, no speed, huge consumption, etc, etc.
@@VSautomotive American cars pretty much don't exist here in the that one could assume as the richest corner of the globe, that's how BAD they are, apart from some lost Dodge ram, tesla, some classics you can spot in the summer if you're lucky.
I own a brother of this car. A '94 318i touring in silver with purple accents in the interior. Some options are different but...... I have just learned that I have parking lights. After owning a car for ten years, Doug shows me a new option. Thanks!
I think (e34 had it anyway) you can also choose the wiper intervall duration. there are no extra buttons for it. read the owner's manual. Some cars also had drver's side door lock heater. you just pull up the door opening handle and kepp it there, the ice in the lock melts,
not sure from when, but al German cars had parking lights, just flipping the direction indicator on the steering column.
I have the same interior you do, but my exterior color is the same as the one shown in the example in this video👌 Learned the same about the parking lights too!
@@dn252 another quirk and feature to add to the tally
Even my old 1972 BMW 2000 Touring had that function with the parking ligt for either left or right side of the car just as the 316i
The description of the feeling of pushing the car all the way because you immediately feel at home is the same way I've always felt about miatas
I just bought a new Miata because I think it best captures the spirit of the lightweight, analog cars of BMW's past
also bc there's no power 😂
@@afshars5791 I bought an na for the same reason but I'm broke
I don't think I have ever pushed a car. I don't want it to break on me and don't want to put a bunch of strain on the mechanics.
I'm a native St. Louisan who currently lives in Cologne, Germany. I looked at the pics of this car on C&B, and noticed the "MG" license plate. That stands for Mönchengladbach, which is a bit east, and near the Dutch border.
1:40 You're kinda right, Doug! 🙂👍
The E30 wagon came out in 1987 (together with the major Facelift) and produced until 1994 when it was succeeded by the E36 wagon in 1995
The situation to switch on a ,,parking light" with the signal stock to the side you want was very common in German cars. It was mandatory in Germany to have those lights burning while you park outside of towns or any village in the dark. So it saved you 10 watts to light up only the side facing the traffic, not the side of the road. This avoided draining your battery to fast, especially when you park for a longer time.
My 2013 Golf MK7 has the same feature except it just uses the indicator positions. Turn the ignition off without centering the switch and you get sidelights on that side and a lights on reminder chime for a few seconds.
It's still the law to put your parking lights on in the UK if you park in a 40mph zone. Never enforced though.
Idk about other countries, but supposedly it used to be that some street lights were turned off, maybe after everyone was supposed to be at home sleeping? They had a red stripe, which I've only seen a couple of times in the 6 years I was there... None were off (unless it was daytime, of course).
@@davidkane4300 In the U.K we had / have the bizarre situation where speed limit was linked to whether the road had street lights. You could lit residential roads typically have a speed limit of 30MPH. Leave that village, the street lights, and the wider road and the speed limit automatically goes up to 60MPH unless they put speed limit signs in every few hundred metres.
@@MrDuncl that's interesting... Similar to the automatic speed limits in/out of city/village limits, but in Germany they could care less whether or not any of it is lit lol.
82 to 94 was the E30's run, with only very small numbers registered in 82. 88 to 94 for the Touring.
The headlight levelling is an interesting one, its actually hydraulic. There are little tubes coming from the back of the height adjuster and snaking off into the engine bay. It is almost universally broken on every E30 after this many years.
Another point of note, the rear window washer has its own seperate washer bottle and motor in a compartment in the trunk, and it is filled via a fill point in the tailgate opening above the drivers side tail light.
The E30 Touring had a very rare option for self levelling rear suspension as well.
14:53 I remember I had a chance to get an E30 M3 in great shape for $10k 12 years and I thought they were crazy for asking that much. I’m still kicking myself on that one…
Sold my E36 M3 for $18k last year.
I made the opposite choice. Alpine white black interior.
Doug the type of guy to gain a sizeable following on TH-cam by uploading videos that are both entertaining and educational
I loved my '91 e30 318is, Diamond Schwartz with the plaid grey interior, and a wind up/crank sunroof. You brought back a lot of fun memories Doug. Thank you
I own a 320i wagon from 1992 with a M52B30 swap and out of all my cars this is the most fun to drive. Doug is right only more power it needs.
☝️☝️ CONGRATULATIONS FAN, l HAVE GlFT 🎁🎁🎉 F0R Y0U,....
I don’t know why I’m all into these car design.. so rectangular.. loving it 😍 ❤❤
I owned 4 E30s , one had 10k miles, it was awesome, it was a coupe, and sedans, i never had a touring...i wish now i had
Timing belt needs to be checked, it has a slight overwear habit on the cam belt, waterpunp, radiator cooling is essential for tthis engine its easy to fix thou, simple construction...the power is sufficient! You know now! I tought i never have driven or will drive anything doug drives usually. A friend of mine, pretty nuttcase totalled 3....
Love these, you didn't mention the story of the boot, heard it was designed to take a standard German beer crate in the opening but might be an urban myth, great car.
I can confirm the 316i, despite the low hp is a wonder. I have driven many different cars but this one is my first and only car and puts a smile on my face every single time. Its lack of power is inversely proportional to the charisma it has on the road.
The 4.27 gearing in the stock diff helps it a lot, sucks to drive on the highway though.
Man old BMWs look magnificent. Whenever I see an old BMW I just drool on their looks.
☝️☝️C0NGRATUIATl0N FAN, l HAVE GlFT 🎁 F0R Y0U
My uncle needed a daily after he sold his old one to buy and fix a E31 850 back in the day. He found a white E30 wagon, mint condition and low milage. He picked it up straight away. I grew up with that car, was an amazing car. Sadly it got stolen at the airport when he was visiting us in Spain, they found it later on in a forest stripped down to the chassi. I remember him being so sad for that.
I was a driving age kid back then, the 318 could handle great, but was still slow AF (even for that era) :)
There was also a 129 bhp six cylinder 320i Touring as well as the 324td diesel version. The 1.6 and 1.8 engines are the 87-93 M40, 8 valve SOHC with a toothed belt driven camshaft rather than a chain. Camshaft wear is the biggest problem on these M40's but you can replace the cam and rocker fingers easily with the cylinder head still on the car.
I used to have 325iX when I was 19, and I was afraid of how fast it is and how good it cornered after an anemic front wheel drive throw away car I had as my first one)) I don't know if today it'll feel as fast but back then I never wanted more than 170 HP the 2.5 six offered)
I love the M20b25 in my E30. Would it be nice to have more power once in a while, yes? But I'll tell you when I don't care about power, it's in the canyons.
@@laidback93 non vanos m50b25 would be perfect - basically twin cam m20
@@laidback93 keeping my m20 in mine tho! Cheers
@@kgarba9253 nice! I’m trying to keep my late model ‘iS’ oem+. It was tempting to swap to a newer engine a couple years ago when my old M20 developed problems, but I ultimately put back in another M20.
Loved my 89 E30 325i Sport (sold in back in 2012) full M Tech 2 kit from factory, bbs wheels and Bilstein B12 Suspension. Daily driver for 4 years, also done 2 trips from Liverpool uk to the Nurburgring, then on down to Munich to the bmw museum, about a dozen drift track days and 3 regular track days. Only let me down once when a slave cylinder burst. BMW’s were built properly back then.
Interesting to see and revisit classic 80s BMW..it's odd to me that the sunroof on this 94 later touring has a power sunroof, when the 86 or 87 E30 325i coupe my dad had power windows, but a manual sunroof. I would guess they only made power sunroofs in the early 90s models and stopped doing manual ones altogether for the E30. I always remember my dad's coupe fondly with its cool-looking gray, patterned fabric seats, dark silver color, classic styling, and the classy OZ racing wheels he put on it that did a good job of modernizing the look of the car. it's really interesting looking back and seeing how basic, small, and utilitarian they are by modern standards. He bought it used from a coworker and had it as a daily driver throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, before selling it to his mechanic when it became too much of a project.
I had an 89 E30 coupe with the manual sunroof...passengers always got a kick out of seeing that thing operate - in a car with power windows, mirrors, antenna etc. And now here's the opposite - manual everything, but power sunroof and headlight adjusters, so wonky! These cars are built like tanks too, mine had almost 300k miles on it but was still rock solid when I sold it for 4x what I bought it for a few years ago.
@@shehandesilva7530 Yes, I remember enjoying how the sunroof crank worked. In general all the window switches, touchpoints, and controls were enjoyable to operate. It was definitely a minimalist interior, but everything about those cars feel solid and tank-like, even as an older car.
These were pretty common here in the UK and I always quite fancied a 325i Touring.
The proportions were pretty much perfect and sitting on wider, lower profile BBS cross-spokes the thing looked properly planted on the road. Good luck whoever buys this one - enjoy!
☝️☝️ CONGRATULATIONS FAN, l HAVE GlFT 🎁 F0R Y0U....
E30 Touring with an S54 swap has to be one of the greatest things ever conceived by mankind.
Yes 🫡
My mother had an E30 320 with an automatic box, it was a fantastic car. We took it from Plymouth England down to the south of France, via a sea ferry, she didn't miss a beat. 900 miles like it was nothing.
☝️☝️ CONGRATULATIONS FAN, l HAVE GlFT 🎁🎁🎉 F0R Y0U,....
Love the car since seeing Jason Cammisa's 325 and his videos about it. They're so expensive now though
There was no E30 Coupe. It was available as a 2 door sedan, 4 door sedan, convertible, wagon and there was the odd "Baur Convertible", which still has a fanbase. Love the E30. Was my first car when I was 19, back in the 90s. Greetings from Cologne /Germany. Keep up the good work. Love your channel.
Cool color. Kinda has a purple hue to it. At first I thought it was a dirty Techno Violet :D
We have to stop calling the prices of these cars a shame. Someone has put time, effort, money, and interest into bringing this car in excellent condition to 2023. The thing has more than 30 years. Old classics are expensive because they are scarce in this condition. If people like them so much, buy one when they are cheap and take good care of it for the rest of your life or don't whine when they are cool again and you want to be the coolest in your cars and coffee
Lightness and tossability are unmatched! You know how there's no replacement for displacement? Yeah, there isn't a replacement for this either! ❤️
Did over 170,000 in the e30 325i mtech touring we had for 8yrs probably the best
& most reliable car I ever owned
doug you should review early bmw alpina models
I saw an E30 325ix on the road last week, unreal! In the winter too someone was using it as a winter beater ha! You only live once enjoy the drive
As a wagon it looks so much like the 5 series of the time, very “substantial”. Did a double take when I read the title and saw the thumbnail!
I think the E34 Touring looks better.
@@damilolaakanni Yeah same actually
I've owned my E30 320i touring for 6yrs now, i love it more every day, always looking forward to get out of my other modern cars and have a drive and enjoy it.
☝️☝️C0NGRATUIATl0N FAN, l HAVE GlFT 🎁 F0R Y0U
As a Brit, referring to a E30 touring as a sub compact is mind-blowing
by MODERN standards! modern subcompacts are same size here as in the US and the thruth is that this weighs 100-200kg LESS than a new Fiesta.
Its the same size as new 1er bmw and its not sub compact definately ...
the Parking Light is not only for "tight" or "not unnecessary oversized" Streets, but for general better visability for roadside parking, similar to a daylight running light and you see from afar there has someone parked and not just stoped
This car was bought in Germany by a Hoonigan's crew guy, they have a video showing everything in their channel
It's not the same car tho. I thought the same, went back to look at hoonigan videos and theirs BMW has different german plates and few diferent cosmetics on the front.
@@Difaro5 oh shit, fr? That's a huge coincidence hahahaha thanks
I love my stage 4 S52 89 Touring. Such a fun ride.
That white Mercedes was totally tailing you for a while......your indeed becoming famous there in SD
i am owning 525i e34 touring and it is also amazing car. i am looking forward to see your review on it!! hello from Russia :)
I saw one where i live in detroit. Parked next to him in my humble e34 and asked about it, he said his is one of two in Michigan
I love it!! I have an E30 Coupe, and I would love to have a Wagon as well
Import one from Europe, there are a lot of them. 316 are pretty cheap, I'm sure you could swap something else in the engine bay for good price. There are so many M20B25 swapped for example.
My first car was an E30 coupe 323i. The handling is unrivalled.
Aah the good old days when BMWs still had turn signal stalks
the wagon 5 series from that era, looks good also
I appreciate the old school BMW styling much more so than the new styling.
this is why i love this channel
Doug is the sort of guy who likes to toss it around.
Toss; he likes to toss it around...😉
IMO, the ideal engine for the E30 is the 1.8l 16valve model with sufficient power for its size yet less weight over the front axle.
Mine's a newer one, an E91. But I think it's very stylish and I know it's not very common in the US. Had an E46 wagon and wish I had never let it go.
I’ve got an e46 wagon now on m3 rims waiting for a swap. It’s my favorite car I’ve ever owned. Hope you find another one!
I have an e91 too!
My boy has a white 325i e30 wagon, it’s my favourite BMW I’ve ever driven!
Oh, look at that 😍 I'd love to have that thing! Only if it were cheap, tho 😆 I don't NEED a 3rd German wagon draining on my wallet 😅
What other 2 do you have??
One of the best cars I ever owned,I had two E30,s a baur 2ltr and a 25ltr estate here in UK, wonderful car.hindsight..
Sounds just driving an NA/NB Miata if it came in a wagon 😃
I can tell you that 's true. I owned an E30 pre facelift in the ninties and today an Mx5 NA....
I have had NBs and NAs as well as E30 2 and 4 doors. The E30 is much more planted and not as skittish. Enjoy driving both, but a good E30 manual is hard to find.
How do you spot a true car enthusiast? He drives EVERY super car that exists and then loses his mind over an E30 :D
Back in the 80's and 90's and outside of the USA you were lucky to get window glass as standard equipment on BMW's other than the 7 series.
Ironically just purchased a 1993 E30 Touring in Daytona Violet with Design Interior yesterday... :)
Dammit! These are gonna get too expensive now!!
As an owner of one in South Carolina. Thank you big dawg!!
I once owned a 1989 E30 325IM and it was so much fun, actually the most fun car I ever owned and Ive owned lots.
Awwww man whenever I see these for sale all I can think is what I would do to get my hands on one 😂
I would do a legal sanctioned murder without consequences. 😂
Thanks to Doug, I'll know EVERY little quirk and feature as a mechanic, and luckily, it's not just luxury performance cars
Love the wagon, I think it looks better than the sedan. This one is quite odd. It's relatively luxury spec, but with base engine. Pretty much the opposite of mine :)
I owned the e30 325i and now a manual honda fit. Doug wrote he hates the fit on auto trader but I don’t see how you could dismiss it and like this car. Similar curb weight and makes slightly more power than the 318i. Fun to drive. Practical
☝️☝️ CONGRATULATIONS FAN, l HAVE GlFT 🎁🎁🎉 F0R Y0U,....
This is genuinely one of my favourite looking wagons of all time. I would love to M57 diesel swap one. It would be a perfect daily driver.
It's a great mix of 90's BMW and a wagon.
yea throw a 150kg heavier engine there... ugh nope
As much as I love an M57, even the aluminium ones got to be too heavy... Maybe I am wrong, I havent looked up the engine weight of this one.
@@piuthemagicman perhaps an ALH than?
1:41 BMW E30 was sold from '82 to '94....the non facelifted version from '82 to '86 or '87 then the facelift version up until '94 and also had a version called baur tc...which is a combination between coupe and cabriolet version and a 1 of 1 made pickup version
☝️☝️ CONGRATULATIONS FAN, l HAVE GlFT 🎁🎁 F0R Y0U,....
Old stationwagons are just straight chefs kisses
12:16 Headlight leveling was no thinking, it was the law to have it (still is).
Was it just me or that Mercedes in the back was following you? In any case, you were like Takumi, leaving it behind with the "slower" car which is amazing for that little wagon.
☝️☝️ C0NGRATUIATl0NS FAN, l HAVE GlFT 🎁 F0R Y0U
Maybe they just had to go to the same place?
Doug d'Muro:
The 316 in Europe came with an 1.8 four cilinder engine and was detuned hence less power than the 318!
Next episode: Alfa 33 Sportwagon (SW). These are from the same era as this BMW E30 Touring. ...if you can find one!
They came with 1.3, 1.5 and 1.7 boxer engines. There is even a 4x4!
Correction: The shown single front and rear parking light is only mandatory in Germany. BMW and VW have this feature for sure. So will other brands. Not sure French cars in Germany do.
Italian FIAT cars do two parking lights on front and rear.
The pre facelift has a 1. 8 liter 90hp carburettor. Thq 318i has the same engine but with injection an about 115 hp. The facelift version all have injection, and the 316i has actually a 1.6 liter engine and so does the 318i has a 1.8 liter engine. Now the type number match with displacement. Horses i dont remember from these engines. (European cars)
@@Intelcroa nice to own so many E30 's. Bone stock or modified?
@@Intelcroa that counts as stock.!
(or go crazy on color, rims and stance😉)
Hehe Cars and Bidzzzz crowd gets it first
What?
I would like to wholeheartedly assure you that nobody cares.
@@snakeeyes9246 I think he means that the people who bid on this online gets to see it first before the TH-cam video
I saw that it was reviewed by Doug and there was no video when I last checked, so here I am! I’m always on cars and bids lol 😂
Ah yes, a German license plate from the city of Mönchengladbach. I love it.
In Europe there are also Touring versions of every 5 series from the e34 on till today!
Even an e60 m5 wagon
There's a company that makes wallets with an identical fabric as that you see in the seats.
Been using mine daily for 10 years and the only wear is from when the beagle got hold of my work pants when she was a pup.
I wonder how much did the original owner pay for the "Jersey City, early 90's, 'Bus Seat cloth', interior package". They even got the matching Bus steering wheel.
@@Intelcroa I am joking but my sister's boyfriend had one of these (the sedan) and it is really fun to drive. It's a great car. I agree, no one should pay much for these ugly seat covers. :)
Whar a great car ,motortraders used them as an everyday user in the UK so reliable . 👊
Doug is the kind of guy I want to become🌟
The white C-class coming behind and Doug is looking into his rear view mirror. That's when you can tell a good driver appart because he was ready to move forward a little not to be rear ended.
E30, E36 and E34 wagons are so underrated
Here in FInland they are overrated
Never knew that the E30 BMW had a station wagon version. That's cool
Doug: casually races a Mercedes while talking how underpowered this BMW is, and wins! 😄
Doug Demuro channels James May talking about his Fiat Panda. It’s not how much power it has, it’s can you use all the power? James would say put it on skinny tires and have fun!
Is that the one that Vin from Hoonigan imported?
So THAT’s how the city lights are turned on. We never got those on US spec cars.
E30 production run was technically 1982 to 1994.
Also S50/52 swaps were the big thing 10/15 years ago. S54 and N52 are the hot ticket now.
To give you some hindsight, Doug, that gap between the E30's taillights is known as the "beer crate gap." The opening is wide enough to slide a crate of beer in and out of the Touring.
Ahhh, Swartz Micah....I remember that color well from Gran Turismo German car dealerships. Funny how purple and orange actually go really well together, it's like so like Spree candy, the 1970s, or the Denver Bronc-oh, no...wait.... scratch that last one. 🤣
BMW also made an E30 coupe utility (El Camino type), but only one unit. In 1986, they needed a little pickup for use around the factory, so they took an E30 convertible (which already had the reinforcement on the rear end that they needed) and cobbled together a bed for it.
The E30 served the factory until 2011, when a new ute based on an E93 convertible was built as its replacement. BMW actually teased this one as a new model headed for production as an April Fools joke that year. They even went so far as to test it on the Nurburgring to help sell the story. 😂