Faults:

Required a tune-up when purchased, but fine thereafter, until recently; Economy has gone from 34-35mpg to 30-31mpg under same (hard) country driving conditions, and despite another recent tune-up, where no faults were discovered. Performance is unaltered in every way, but economy is down... Very frustrating.

Required a new timing chain and sprockets when I bought it - £300 parts alone.

Had a broken rear coil spring when I got it - £140 from BMW for the pair... Had to go to BMW as it's relatively rare and after-market places don't do many parts.

Otherwise, exceptionally reliable.

General Comments:

I had an '85 Audi 80 Sport for 13 years and 250K miles, and could not replace it, it was such a great car; light, quick, economical, stiff, good handling, cheap to run and utterly reliable. Finally though, it started to get rusty and I cast around for a replacement. After a recommendation I looked at a few and bought one of these little BMWs.

Initially, and still even now to be honest, I miss the torque and driveability of my old 1800 Golf GTI engine in the Audi. Conversely, the BMW has great throttle response, especially on heel-and-toe downchanges, and it's a willing engine with reasonable economy (32mpg).

The chassis however, is great - very well balanced in dry and wet assuming you have the right tyres on the car. I put Koni shocks on it with standard springs and ride height, and though the ride is a little jiggly, the handling is really rewarding, so well balanced compared with a front-drive car - even something like a Pug 205.

The brakes were renewed before I bought the car and they are very good as standard - good bias and plenty of stopping power.

The driving position lets the car down a little for me - not a patch on most Audis. I had to make brackets to allow the BMW Sports seats to go further backwards, for my legs, but then am too far from the wheel for my liking (too many years rallying and racing...)

I find the car OK, but not brilliantly comfortable for long distances beyond about 2hrs.

The best bit though, is returning to the car after a while like say a holiday, or having driven something else, especially a more modern car.

It feels so alive, lithe, responsive and informative, with no rubbish like ABS, traction control and other electronics to stop you having fun, that it never fails to impress me.

And despite 155k miles, it still has many more left in it, and looks tidy to boot. A pity that the E30s have a bad reputation as a 'chavs' car, because they got softer and less communicative after that.

Faults:

There are two instances that this car had failed to do its purpose and that it needed immediate work. First is that the car didn't start. It didn't even crank so I had to call a tow truck. Cause: the starter motor burned out. That was unpredictable. That costs about $600 from the BMW dealership to have it replaced. Second is the coolant leaked out of the throttle body. It was still drivable, but I had to go straight to a mechanic. They did a temporary fix, but eventually leaked again and I fixed it myself by putting some silicon sealant or gasket maker to seal the connection. The connection by the way is pitted or corroded. The reason for that pinhole. As you know, coolant is under pressure and a pinhole is enough to have all the coolant leak out. Cost to fix the leak is $0.99, a tube of silicon gasket maker and some elbow grease.

General Comments:

The car I got is in very good condition, maybe because it only had 80,000 miles on it even after 14 years. Sometimes I wonder if this cars odometer reading is true. Other ways to find out is by the condition of the car like the seats, steering wheel, shift knob pedals, etc. All seems to be within reason. Leather seat has no cracks, steering looks good, rear seats looks like new.

The only stuff that needed replacement is the typical stuff that requires replacement, like:

Flex Disk

Transmission Mount

Front control arms and bushings,

Brake pads,

Shocks, shock bushings

Belts and timing belts.

But overall I like the car, but we all know eventually something will require fixing or replacement that will cost more than the value of the car. I think that will be the auto trans. So I don't know what I'll do. I either have it fixed for about $2000 or sell it for $2000. But who'll buy a $2000 car if it requires $2000 to make it run.