1991 BMW E30 325i SE Touring

We are delighted to be able to offer this 1991-model year BMW 325i SE Touring with the rare and desirable “Lazurblau” metallic paint finish on the outside and the unusual silver striped upholstery on the inside. It has had only 3 previous owners, and the mileage is fully backed by a superb service history.

Originally supplied new supplied in August of 1991 by Carl Norris of Kidderminster, the original owners kept it for the next 18 years. Meticulously maintained with annual services by the supplying dealer, it covered an average of fewer than four thousand miles a year.

The second owner then kept it for five years before passing it on to the third and final owner in 2014. Another E30 enthusiast, he spared no expense in maintaining and modifying it, even going to the trouble of converting it from an automatic transmission to a manual. (That should tell you a lot because no enthusiast is going to spend that much time and money on converting a dog of a car, are they?)

Freshly serviced, including a new timing belt, the engine has been recently tested on a rolling road; the result was 170bhp, which is exactly what the factory claimed for the straight-six engine back in 1991. How’s that for proof that these legendary cars just go on and on and on as long as they’re looked after properly?

The paintwork is in very good condition, being glossy and even and demonstrating why Lazurblau is such a popular - and bewilderingly unusual - colour. But it’s the body panels that caught our eye when we first saw the car. Not only are the shutlines razor sharp and beautifully even but the metalwork itself is fabulous, being free of the sort of dings, dents and scrapes or rust bubbles that even the most carefully curated cars pick up. It is difficult to be sure, but we believe it has been repainted at some point, but it has been done to a very high quality, at least as good as when it came from the factory. The repaint is not a fresh blow-over either as there are some stonechips in the front, so the complete lack of any rust is a genuine plus-point. Please do check through the photos, but we think this has to be one of the best-presented E30’s left for sensible money.

Sure, there’s the odd stonechip but it’s really rather wonderful and we strongly urge you to come and take it look at it for yourself in order to fully appreciate how good it looks in the flesh; even Angus, our legendary photographer, hasn’t been able to do it justice and that’s saying something...

In accordance with the SE specification of the car, the door mirrors and bumpers are also painted, as opposed to the standard black plastic. And it’s got front fog lights and (we are told, working) headlamp wipers too, for the win.

The 15-inch BBS alloy wheels are in fabulous condition and shod with matching Toyo tyres. But then you’d already guessed that an owner as obsessive as this would have taken invested the time and money to fit matching rubber, hadn’t you?

Oh, and just look at that stance. We tend to forget how good relatively small alloy wheels can look with sensible sidewalls. That combination, in conjunction with a perfectly judged ride height, brings a tear to my eye…

For the sake of completeness, we should add that it’s not perfect because a bit of white paint on the BMW roundel on the tailgate has flaked off.

The interior is draped in the silver striped cloth upholstery, which is unusual in itself but also rarely found in this condition as it is not quite as resilient as the more common “houndstooth” material.

When we tell you that only two things disappoint us about the interior of the car (that there’s an unfilled hole in the centre console from its previous life as an automatic and that a replacement JVC headunit has been fitted, if you’re asking) you’ll start to understand just how good the interior is.

Whenever we look at the hideously complicated and incoherent interiors that blight modern BMWs it only acts as a reminder of how beautifully simple and clear the interiors the 1980’s car are: If we went overboard with the hairspray, eye liner, and shoulder pads back-in-the-day then redemption can be found in the conservatory styling of a contemporary Bee-Emm.

In addition to its outstanding overall condition, this E30 is fitted with many optional extras including power-assisted steering, an electric sunroof and window lifts, and a digital trip computer as well as the rare and desirable M-Tech II sports steering wheel.

If it were ours we’d be tempted to fit a good secondhand centre console to get rid of the hole. We’d also source a period headunit (2 original units are supplied along with a roof rack) and fit that, along with a Fischer cassette holder (remember those?), before sitting back and basking in the admiring glances the car’s going to receive.

The car has received some tasteful and practical modifications in recent years, including a modern remote-control for the central locking system and a stainless steel rear exhaust silencer.

As part of its preparation for sale, the car has received a comprehensive service including the all-important new timing belt and a new clutch. Moreover, it is offered with a new MOT.

The engine bay itself is clean and tidy. The service history confirms that this car has received continuous and excellent servicing throughout its life. We have spotted no significant issues on the short drives we have completed with the car, and we are told by the vendor that all the electrical features work well.

As befits such a beautifully preserved car the BMW comes with its original supplying dealer number plates, mud-flaps, toolkit, first aid kit, warning triangle, and floor mats.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s mileage. The car comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus a seriously thick history file comprising the service history book that confirms that it has a full service history, plus masses of old invoices and bills.

Interestingly, it also comes with some old brochures and the original bill of sale, showing an original purchase price of £24,600!

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained and serviced to the very highest standard.

The BMW E30 range of cars has everything the youngtimer enthusiast is looking for: classic good looks; enough performance to be interesting; and bulletproof reliability. That they are still massively undervalued (bar the E30 M3, obviously) just adds to the appeal.

How undervalued are they? Well, we’ll let you lot be the judge of that because the owner is so confident of his car’s quality (and the integrity of our readers) that he’s agreed to offer this stunning example with no reserve. Yep, that’s right; it’s going to sell from the very first bid so really, what have you got to lose?

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.