The
BMW 325e was first released in the
United States in 1985, in both a two and four door model. It joined the
318i as the second
BMW to use the
e30 chassis. It came standard with a 2.7 litre
SOHC straight-six, producing 121
bhp @ 4800
RPM and 170 lb ft @ 3200
RPM. Production of the
325e and its variants, the
325 and the
325es, continued until 1989, when all 325s were equipped with the more powerful 2.5 litre inline six.
The theory behind the
325e (the 'e' stands for '
eta') was that large amounts of low-end
torque would make up for lower
horsepower, allowing for good performance combined with good fuel economy. The
M20 B27 power plant is very rugged and reliable, but is not as fast as the 2.5 litre
M20 B25 motor, which produced almost the same amount of
torque, but developed 170
bhp.
The general
longevity of
BMW engineering combined with the reliability of the B27 motor means that many
325e model
BMWs are still on the road. They can be had for $1500-$3000 (or less, if the buyer is willing to do
repairs), and will still provide years of
reliable transportation. Problem areas include leaky trunk and tail light
gaskets, some
idle issues caused by failing cold-start injectors and idle control units, and breaking
timing belts.
The 2.5 and 2.7 litre motors in the
325 series cars used a plastic
timing belt between the
crank and the
camshaft. If this
timing belt breaks, the
pistons will contact the
valves, and at a minimum, the
cylinder head will need to be
rebuilt. This problem can be avoided by changing the
timing belt every 40,000 miles. A buyer of a used
325 would be well served by replacing the
timing belt as soon as possible unless documentation verifying that the belt was recently changed is available. The
replacement requires removal of all
v-belts and
removal of the
timing belt cover. It is not
difficult for someone with
auto repair experience, but probably not a good first
project.
In conclusion, the
BMW e30 325e is a solid
car that will provide
reliable transportation for a low initial cost.
Quirks such as the
timing belt make it much more
economical to own if the owner can do their own
maintenance.
The Robert Bentley e30 BMW manual is an invaluable resource, as is
Google.
(the author makes no claims regarding the accuracy of this information - it's not my fault if you can't tell a metric wrench from a hole in the wall, and i will not be held responsible by the use of this information)