Why I'm Still Driving a 35 Year Old BMW | 5 Years with an E30 BMW

It's been quite some time since the last video on my E30 Touring, and many of you have asked if I still own it, to which the answer is of course yes! So, I thought it would be good to get the car back on the channel and revisit all the things I love about it!
In this video we summarise my first 5 years of ownership, why I still have the car and what my plans are going forward.
Hope you enjoy the video!
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foot.to.pedal
Music from Epidemic Sound:
www.epidemicsound.com
#e30 #bmw

[@StudioMagnetique]

Had a 316 (non injection) back in the day and I loved it. Me and my mates used to call it 'The Terminator' because just as we thought we had killed it, the thing would spring back to life and serve another one of us as a runaround whilst our main BMWs were being repaired or upgraded. Had HUNDREDS of thousands of miles on it last time I saw it, and still felt like it had been carved out of a solid lump of metal. Incredible machine.

[@FootToPedal]

Love that! The beauty of simple engineering, hope it's still on the road somewhere!

[@Thuds593]

Did you make love to it when the sun went down?

[@liverpoolscottish6430]

I owned a pristine 1989 G plate E30 318i touring from 1999, until May 2023. It was a superb car. I bought it from an auto-electrician who owned it for nine 9 years. It was always garaged and immaculate. It had 36000 on the clock when I bought it, and 216,000 when I *VERY* reluctantly sold it to a local mechanic. The E30 has superb build quality- built like the Bismarck battleship. 50/50 weight distribution, lithe and a pleasure to drive. The E30 is fare superior to the E46 I also own. My E30 was still rust free when I sold it. Tremendous car- the E30 and E34 represent the zenith of BMW saloon car design and build quality. The cars they manufacture today are lightweight in build quality and have awkward aesthetics- corpulent lumps.

[@teedee4964]

I miss my 325i E30 touring. Probably my favourite of all the cars I’ve owned. Had a 320i convertible as well, oh and an E28 528i. Currently driving a 3door Mk 5 GTi. 57yrs old and still a little boy 😊

[@FootToPedal]

A great array of cars you've had there!

[@SaulidSnake]

Great to see you’ve still got yours 😎

[@FootToPedal]

Of course, it's going nowhere!

[@berwhaletheavenger]

I don't drive it so much now, but I still have my 316,000 mile E32 7 Series from '89 after 21 years. I daily a 30 year old E36. I had a few 325i's, but 320i's as well. I rescued a 1990 320i Touring from Copart 15-20 years ago and did some trackdays with it. H710XUL iirc,

[@FootToPedal]

Sounds like you'll be very familiar with these older BMWs then, the E32 is a very cool thing, 316k miles is impressive! Also great to hear you've rescued an E30 Touring!

[@maxmouse3]

This is one of the prettiest BMWs ever made, if not the one. Very cool!

[@melaniezimmermann-jv7th]

My tech teacher and a friend of my family had exactly the same (interior and exterior) but in turbo diesel version one with climate control and sunroof, the other with climate control and slick top... Fantastic cars to look at. 😍

[@e28forever30]

Beautiful car! Enjoy it! I got myself an E28 525i 7 years ago in Spain, drove it home to Belgium (2000km). Absolutely love it, this was a great era for BMW.

[@FootToPedal]

Bet that was an incredible drive back home, the E28 is awesome too. Glad you're enjoying it!

[@e28forever30]

@@FootToPedal Yes, it was epic, leaving there in the evening, driving over the Pyrenees at night with a worn out rear exhaust silencer, having a nap in a tiny French village, coffee and croissant the next morning and then conquer France!

[@FootToPedal]

Love that, sounds incredible! Bet that exhaust sounded pretty good too 😂

[@quattroTorsen]

an e30 for every need is so true, I drive my stock awd e30 in the summer and winter for leasure 😁

[@FootToPedal]

Awesome to hear, the AWD E30s are cool!

[@bigal24698]

She’s a beauty for sure 👌

[@JasperV70-205CT-BX]

Really engaging camera angles and great montage! Thanks for the video! Enjoyed it, especially the sound!

[@FootToPedal]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!

[@8t9]

Nice to see another lad using an older BMW as a daily, currently, my daily driver is an 1989 525i. I've had it 18 years but only in more recent times have put it on the road. Like you, I drive it when I can, I use it for everything, it's a hoot to drive and an excellent long distance cruiser. It has some modern twists like it's standalone ECU and 6 speed box to start for example, but those are more for reliability purposes. F96TOY was it's old reg when it was in the UK

[@FootToPedal]

Awesome, always liked the E34. Great that you're so passionate and use it as much as you can! Enjoy the car 👌

[@MegaRetr]

Awesome E30))

[@FootToPedal]

Thanks man 🙌

[@mry82]

Never sell! Missed your videos when Appalachia was rocked by Helene! The Devil's Whip (road in my Miata video) is in partial ruins after the flooding. :(

[@FootToPedal]

My E30 is certainly not going anywhere! Sorry to hear about the damage to your local roads, I hope they get them fixed up soon!

[@robi6713]

After 3 years of E30 when I struggled with m20s, I finally got to swap to m50 and I can say that it is a completely different car

[@FootToPedal]

Bet it's pretty quick with an M50, seen quite a few people do this swap!

[@robi6713]

@@FootToPedal Mine was factory 320i, I swapped the m20b20 to m50b20, its still a 320i haha, but with a more linear powerband and the engine sound its better too, I recommend the m50b20 to any e30 chassis for a daily driver

[@altblechasyl_cs2093]

​@@robi6713 Such afford for a only B20 ? Impressive. Friend of mine swapped an original B25 to a M50 with an upgrade to B28. This will change the E30 totally into a little M3.

[@robster6868]

Loved my e36 but braking was terrible with no abs into corners,I have an e91 320i m spot now,still good looking in my opinion and handles brilliantly.

[@paullockwood7219]

Beautiful.

[@constantinrenoir8273]

Very very great job! Thanks for the pedalcam! Could it be possible to make pure driving videos with your car (and others ;) ) with multiple angles (and including footcam in full screen) for the future please?

[@FootToPedal]

Thanks a lot! Yes we are planning to do more driving videos in the future and they will include pedalcams too!

[@constantinrenoir8273]

@@FootToPedal Great! :D You can include pedalcam shots in full screen please for next videos. ;)

[@Jamesmorley1999]

Great video, where are these roads? They look great - would like to drive them when my e30 325i touring is fixed

[@FootToPedal]

These roads are in the North Pennines in England, this particular road cuts across the Moors from St John's Chapel. Great driving roads for when you're 325i is back out!

[@ravefalcon325]

Hi, I’ve seen a few of your videos and they are super practical and informative, great work! I have a question: I recently had an E30 in for a pre-purchase inspection, when I turned it on there was a VERY strong whiff of petrol coming from the front, upon close inspection the mechanic told me there was a head gasket leak and pointed to areas with visible oil stains from underneath the car. Apart from that the car is in pristine condition. As a beginner, is it worth purchasing a car like that and go about restoring it, or is it better to just walk away and wait for better one to come along?

[@FootToPedal]

Thanks for watching, glad you found them useful! In answer to your question, I think it depends what is important to you. You might be able to find other examples that are mechanically sound but have rust issues, which is probably going to be way more expensive to fix than a head gasket. I wouldn't necessarily be put off from the car, especially if your mechanic can have a good look at it beforehand and tell what the car would need, the engines and drivetrain are quite simple overall and there's not too much you need to worry about. So depends what bothers you but I'd say rust/corrosion is probably a much larger issue so finding a car that is solid in that regard is a good start

[@richardntsizwaxaba2663]

E30 south Africa's favorite, unfortunately we didn't have alot of touring variant 😢

[@FootToPedal]

That's a shame, the Touring is a very cool variant

[@PB200559]

Nice car.

[@trevorfromengland]

Lovely

[@lusarshameli7057]

Mine is 41 years old. 318i M10 with the chrome bumper.

[@FootToPedal]

Awesome, those early E30s are pretty cool 👌

[@BillLaBrie]

Back before they were disposable.

[@ObsLevelCrossings]

Speedo not working?. Lovely car .. 👍🏻

[@FootToPedal]

Well spotted! Has been intermittent in recent times but the day we shot this it didn't feel like working at all! Will be changing the speed sensor first to see if it's that. Thanks for watching!

[@SwayyAllTheWayy]

@@FootToPedal check your wiring at the sensor at the back of the diff, the wiring likes to eat itself

[@FootToPedal]

Thanks will do, appreciate that!

[@paulwoodburn4474]

Timeless classic bmw, do you still have the e86?

[@FootToPedal]

Agreed! Unfortunately sold my E86 last year, great car

[@paulwoodburn4474]

@@FootToPedal awww well least you enjoyed it and made some good content, I'd been looking for years at getting one and watched ur videos..... Eventually got one

[@FootToPedal]

Indeed, was a great car to own! And that's awesome to hear, hope you are enjoying it?

[@rickydub6950]

Lovely 👌

[@MrLifia]

May I ask which shocks and coils you used for replacement?

[@FootToPedal]

I just bought OEM Sachs springs and dampers for this

[@hemtet5500]

As someone who knows nothing about fast driving why were you pressuring the brake and accelerator at the same time?

[@FootToPedal]

It's called heel and toe downshifting, not really 'necessary' for driving on the road but it's fun and engaging. Essentially the aim is to rev the engine to the RPMs it needs for the next gear down. This is much more important in racing because it helps to retain the weight balance of the car under deceleration and also allows for quicker downshifts!