1992 BMW 325i e30 Convertible White with Grey interior 93k miles

Price: - Item location: Moline, Illinois, United States
Description:

1992 BMW 3-Series Convertible

1992 BMW 325i Convertible White with Grey interior 93k miles
Nice lower mileage e30 convertible.
We purchased this car in 2011 and used it for several years as a daily driver. It has always been a very reliable and enjoyable car to drive. Always parked in a heated and air conditioned garage since we have owned it.
I hate to sell it but I just have too many hobbies at the moment and need room in my garage. It has been sitting unused for the last 7 months or so and I would rather see someone else enjoy it rather than having it sit.
At the time of writing this it has 93398 miles. That may go up a bit as the car may be driven a bit before the end of the auction.
I like to be as clear as I can when selling a car so I try to point out any flaws I know of.
The car runs very good but it has always been a bit loud since we got it. I suspect an exhaust leak close to the engine somewhere but I'm not 100% sure. I realize these engines have somewhat noisy valves but I think there's a leak somewhere. I was always going to have it fixed but it never got worse and it was never addressed.
The AC system looks to have been converted to r134 at some point. Not sure if it was done correctly but it has always blown cold air and worked fine. Since it hasn't been driven for some time I can't be 100% sure that's still the case. Sitting in the garage idling it feels cold but that's not a great test.
The transmission has always shifted fine. After sitting for the last 7 months I noticed a couple of little drips of what I think is transmission fluid on the floor. Level on the dipstick appears to be ok.
Convertible top is in what I would call good condition. Previous owner told me the car had a hard top at some point (no, it doesn't have one now, sorry) and the original top was rarely used. It looks to have a few pin hole repairs but it's still very usable and presentable. The plastic back window is also in fairly good condition. The are a couple of blemishes that I think were from it being down for long periods of time but overall It cleans up nice with plastic cleaner.
The top is set up to be manually operated as the original electric mechanism no longer works (except for the top compartment lid, that mechanism still works with the interior switch).
Previous owner took apart one side of the emergency brake for some reason so the ebrake doesn't work very well (I wouldn't trust it on a hill). I have the parts in a bag ready to be reinstalled.
The rear valance looks to have a patch job below the tow hook. I assume it was a rust repair as that's a common rust area on these cars. It's looked the same since I purchased it so it seems to be holding up well.
Previous owner rigged up an on/off switch for the electric radiator fan. Probably just needs a new thermo switch in the radiator. I always just flipped the switch in hot weather and had no problems. Not sure if the switch is rated for the load though so I would recommend a proper fix.
Leather on the seats is decent but could use a good leather treatment along with some color touchups in the typical bolster areas. There's a small tear on the driver's side bolster. Back seat has the typical convertible seam tears at the top of the bench. Overall though, still a very presentable interior for a driver and could be very nice with a little bit of work. Heating elements in seats work very well.
Dash is in very good shape and I could only find one small crack (see picture) that isn't visible unless you're really looking for it.
Dash computer seems to work but can not really tell since the backlight is burned out. It randomly chimes from time to time. In certain light I can see the screen say something about an outside temperature warning. I believe the outside temp sensor is missing which may be causing it to think it's below freezing outside.
The body is in good shape and cleans up nicely. It has a few dings and small scratches typical of a car this age. I believe it's mostly original paint but the drivers door may have been repainted at some point. There is a small area of clear coat peeling near the door handle on that side.
Driver's side door has to be locked from inside car. I had this working better when I was driving it every day and it may just need to be lubed.
Very little rust considering it's a Midwest car. Any surface rust I found along with any missing paint was brushed with por15 to avoid further problems.
As you can see in the photo it's missing the front plastic valance and there's a bit of a crease in the hood above the BMW emblem. Previous owner told me he opened the hood too close to a workbench and bent it in that area. I have a good hood from a salvage yard the buyer can have for free or I'll sell it separate if you don't want it.
Since the car has been sitting for quite a while it could probably use a new battery.
Timing belt was replaced at 79800 miles.
Tires are in very good condition, all match with lots of tread left.
Overall a very nice driver. Could be excellent with a little bit of work. It's hard to go wrong with e30's at the moment with the prices going up.
I encourage any prospective buyer to contact me to have a look at the car.
Because of it's age it is, of course, being sold as-is, where is. Even though the car has been very reliable for me, no I don't recommend driving it from here in Illinois to California, lol. Sorry, but I know I'll see that question. :-) And unfortunately I don't have the time to help with transporting or arranging transporting. It will have to be picked up in Moline, Illinois.
. As expected I keep getting the same question about driving this car from my location to point "b" and they want me to give my opinion on if it will make it with zero issues. Again, this is a 25 year old car that has been sitting for the last 7 months. I just drove the car a few miles around my neighborhood today and it runs and shifts great but it just doesn't seem like a great idea to go on a cross country trip without at least a quick check over.
$200 paypal deposit required within 24 hours of sale with the rest in cash in person only.