My Classic 1989 E30 BMW 325i SE – Part 1 (2022)

Ongoing BLOG, video reports & Instagram posts

Follow #BCGBMWE30 on social media Bookmark this page to follow my ongoing series with this car – everything that happens with the ownership of this BMW – one that I’ve owned for the second time. I used to own a blue one just like this back in the 1990s, and it was one of my most missed cars.

New pictures below:

How to replace the Antenna (Aerial) surround (grommit) on a 1989 BMW E30 325i SE. In a previous video, I traced the leaking of rainwater into the boot of my E30 to a brittle and cracked old aerial surround around the electric aerial. I ordered a new one, and in this video I show exactly how I replaced it.

Water leak in the book!! Where’s it coming from? And how can I stop it before it rusts the floor pan?

Which would you choose? Black BMW or Red Rover?

It’s been a couple of weeks since I got my 1989 BMW E30 325i SE #BCGBMWE30 back, so it’s time to clean it, and a chance to try some products that @Laysons – The Car Care Collection sent me. This is not a paid promotion – Laysons contacted me via my @BrownCarGuy Instagram and asked if they could just send me some cleaning stuff free of charge – although I’ve mentioned the prices for the products in the video. No obligation, for me to try and see how I get on. I tried the shampoo, polish and detail sealant on my car. See how I got on in this video.

My 1989 BMW E30 325i SE is back from being fixed at the Classic Project Shop, previously a dramatically increasing vibration turned out to be a serious issue with the front left wheel, and separately the odometer had stopped working. A new hub, replacement wheel and restored instrument panel means the BCG BMW is back in action. But out of this emerges a deeply concerning mystery, how did the problem with the wheel occur in the first place? Expert opinion leads to an alarming suggestion, that the wheel nuts had been tampered with! I really don’t want to believe that someone would do that, I still think some other little-known technical fault may have occurred – it would be great to get your opinion and feedback on what you think, might have actually happened with the wheel and hub.

Just noticed the my classic 1989 BMW E30 325i SE two-door is not racking up any miles – because the odometer has stopped working. Fixing that mileometer is an instrument panel removal job. Sheesh. Well, it’s all part of the joys of owning, and regularly running, a classic car. Stay tuned!

A dramatically increasing vibration tuned out to be a serious issue with the front left wheel on my classic 1989 BMW 325i SE 😲😬

Trying to do a temporary repair to the nasty scratch vandals inflicted on my classic 1989 BMW E30 325i SE Coupe. Absolutely Livid! 🤬

Why isn’t there more respect for other people’s cars?! Parked my Classic 1989 BMW E30 325i SE Coupe in the usual place last night, came down early this morning to find a couple of scratches and the lower sill gouged! It was clearly from a bicycle and I know the local kids play on their bikes in the car park sometimes now the weather is warm, but why try to squeeze it in this gap?! 🤬🤬🤬 Absolutely fuming as the scratches might be possible to polish out, but this gouge may need a repair! What would you do if you found out who did this to your car? Follow #BCGBMWE30

The electric power windows switch in my 1989 BMW E30 325i SE Coupe has stopped working again. It used to be the driver’s side window switch, a couple of months ago, I took it out, took it apart, cleaned it and swapped it. Here’s how to do that. Let’s see if it’s enough to get it working again, or if I have to get a new switch.

It’s getting hot out there – not for me, the car! The BCG BMW E30. It has to live outside, which is fine, but that dashboard has a few cracks and perhaps a few more emerging, the sun is going to make that a lot worse very quickly. So time to get a sunshade. This one cost about £10 at Halfords!

This guy is a typical BMW driver (or is he?) and he’s here to tell you how it works and what the controls do, well the ones he knows about anyway.

Testing out the GTechniq Ceramic GWash car shampoo on the BCG BMW E30 325i SE today – it’s supposed to have superior dirt removal, but also provide a protective coating. I give the dirty bimmer a wash, see how it is to use, and will check in about a week to see if it’s down any better at repelling dirt. And then try the second shampoo that GTechniq has sent to me on a regular basis. Stay tuned to find out how I get on.

See content from the 2022 Bromley Pageant of Motoring here

I bought these for the car

How ULEZ will affect the BCG BMW E30

Full coverage and pics here https://browncarguy.com/2022/06/04/queens-jubilee-classic-car-show-bushey-watford-3-june-2022/

Took the BCG BMW E30 #BCGBMWE30 to the Queens Jubilee and Classic Car Show at Metropolitan in Bushey, Watford yesterday with live show, stalls, food but most importantly, loads of amazing classic and modern classic cars – plus a tank! Here’s an extensive walkaround of the show! Full coverage and pics here https://browncarguy.com/2022/06/04/queens-jubilee-classic-car-show-bushey-watford-3-june-2022/

26 May 2022 – Cambelt Change and Service
Took the BCG BMW E30 back to the Project Shop in Bicester to finally get the cambelt changed and get it a full Inspection 2 Service. In this video, see how all that gets done (including how to get at the cambelt and how to line it up correctly), plus see if they found any other potential issues with car, and what else they were working on at the time! Thanks so much to Simeon Cattle and his team for doing the work and allowing us to film at his brilliant workshop. Find them at https://projectshop.co.uk

Get a model like it!

Standby full video on this soon!

People have asked if those wicked little wipers on the headlights actually work? In this video I find out – watch now to see if they move!

28 April 2022 – How to get Bluetooth music, hands free calling and even Siri on a 1980s Car Radio – the easy and affordable solution to my broken car stereo cassette player in my BCG BMW E30 325i SE from 1989.

13 April 2022 – 1989 BMW 325i SE E30 Expert Inspection at last! What horrors did we uncover? Bought online from Classic Car Auctions after only a cursory glance around in person, it looks okay to untrained eyes. But it’s time to uncover the truth and find out if this is a dog or a gem? I take it to the Classic Project Shop (ProjectShop.co.uk) in Bicester where Simeon Cattle and his team give it a proper once-over finally reveal the expert verdict on this modern classic bought on a whim at auction!

10 April 2022 – Bought at Classic Car Auctions a few weeks back, several of you have asked how much was it? In this video I reveal this 1989 E30 BMW 325i SE model’s price under the hammer and in total. I also look through the thick file of documents and try to ascertain its history, where it’s been, what happened to it, what’s been done. It’s lived in Germany for the last few years.

8 April 2022 – My new classic BMW E30 325i SE Coupe has its original radio cassette player installed. I finally figured out how to input the code on a 1980s BMW car stereo to unlock it and play the radio. But will it still play cassettes? I managed to dig out an old box full of audio tapes and try out my favourite. Find out what happens next in this video and then tell me what you think I should do?

2 April 2022 – Classic 1989 BMW E30 325i SE bought at Online Auction ( @Classic Car Auctions ) at the NEC Classic Restoration Show in Birmingham. On 21st April 2021, on the Monday after the show, I collected this BMW E30 325i – here’s the video from that day.