1987 BMW 320i SE

Registered as new on the 1st of January 1987, this incredible E30 BMW 320i SE has covered just 60,000 miles from new – and, what’s even better, is that you’d think the mileage was just half that if you didn’t know better.

With just the one previous family owner since new, it was originally purchased by the father, who proceeded to put most of the recorded mileage on it in the first couple of years. He then sold it to the son at some point, who then sold it back to his father. Sadly, the father died, and the 320 was put into storage.

The son then had it (expensively) recommissioned by BMW itself, before selling it to the vendor. It is, therefore, in a stunningly original and highly usable condition.

It’s a car that rewards careful examination, too; yes, black with chrome trim is a great combination but it’s the details that stun; the panel gaps, the alignment of the various pieces that comprise the bumpers, and the condition of the interior all conspire to produce a car that is much more than the sum of its parts.

It helps, of course, that the engine is a creamy smooth inline six-cylinder, and the manual ‘box slicks through the gears with ease. All-in-all, it’s a wonderfully nostalgic slice of late eighties automotive culture especially if, like us, you couldn’t afford one when they were new…

We would be delighted to welcome you to The Market HQ here in Abingdon and let you take a trip down memory lane to view what might be the nicest, most original 320i SE on sale today.

Black is an unforgiving colour, and the lighting at our premises is unrelentingly harsh, yet the condition of the coachwork has impressed us even under these less-than-ideal conditions. It helps that it is the much-desired three-door shape, coming from a time that pre-dates BMW calling this body a ‘Coupe’ and charging more for less…

The body panels are in great shape, and the paint is still glossy and even. We think almost all, if not all, of it is original, and it has weathered the intervening years well. (The front grille seems to have been an exception to the rule, but it has been replaced with a new/old stock genuine BMW item, so not all bad news, eh?)

The panel alignment is good, but what really caught our eye is the front bumper. Comprising many different parts, it all aligns perfectly, which leads us to believe that this is a car that has led a charmed life and has no secrets to tell.

There are, of course, a very few minor marks to the paintwork but we think a decent three-stage machine polish would remove almost all of them, leaving only the very lightest, barely discernable patina.

The brown tinted glass is in great shape too, and the rear opening quarterlights are a fascinating insight into a period we will never see again.

The electrically operated windows and sunroof work well too - most of the time, but occasionally all together go "AWOL" - although just for a few minutes - they then open and close as they should and seal well - likely an easy fix by cleaning electrical connections, possibly in the fusebox and often caused by long periods of inactivity. This BMW 320 SE has a headlight wash/wipe system (remember them?) and the front spoiler has survived 21st century Britain’s speedbumps and miscellaneous traffic calming measures with impressive aplomb.

The original equipment "bottle-top" alloy wheels are in, what we believe to be, unrestored condition, which means that while they are in good shape, they do have the odd chip nibbled away from their edges. It’s not a huge problem, but we can see that the car’s new owner might want to refurbish them to bring them up to the same great condition as the rest of the car.

They are shod with quality Kumho tyres too, all of which still have good tread as they have only been fitted very recently.

As we will never tyre of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

Problems seem to be limited to some very slight pitting on some of the chromework, plus the need for a good polish of the paintwork. That’s it. Not bad, eh?

The Pearl Beige interior is in very, very good condition indeed. While everyone thinks they want a leather interior, a cloth one like this reminds you of the material’s many benefits, benefits like being warm to the touch, providing a grippier surface that holds you firmly in place without having to fit sports seats, and an ability to add texture and context without leaving you feeling short-changed. The rear seats, looking virtually unused, come with a centre fold down armrest.

It is, in fact, a bit like the classic four-spoke BMW wheel, which is in great shape and epitomises the company’s mid-eighties understated cool, a period in which the German firm let the car’s simplicity speak for itself; if you compare and contrast with the stuff it is churning out now it’s not hard to come to the conclusion that we’ve lost something special.

The rest of the interior is similarly good, and is as robust as mythology would have had you believe. BMW really did used to build the Ultimate Driving Machines, and vehicles that lasted well and looked good for decades. Clearly, value engineering was still an alien concept to it in the eighties.

The rear parcel shelf features Pioneer speakers, and the dashboard is home to a headunit from the same company. The rear parcel shelf also has its own sunblind, which works well and is in great shape, and the glovebox still has the torch that BMW fitted when the car was new.

The National Trust sticker in the windscreen and the AA Member’s Handbook (price £3!) from the early eighties give an insight into the family that owned the car. Gentle, law-abiding people who appreciated quality and were prepared to pay for it and, crucially, look after it well. Our sort of people, in fact.

The boot is very clean, and even the metalwork under the spare wheel is free of rust and wonderfully preserved. The spare wheel and tyre itself still bear the BMW dealer sticker to show it was inspected on the 29th March 2018, which isn’t something we’ve seen before and is a lovely touch.

The boot is also home to the toolkit, which is missing a couple of minor items, but has an extra spanner so, swings and roundabouts, eh?

The only issue we know of is the fuel gauge, which lies. Given the car has had a new fuel tank and pump, we suspect that the sender unit wasn’t calibrated properly when the work was done. It should be a cheap and easy fix, but we’d hate the new owner to trust its reading and run out of fuel…

NB. The odometer reads 80,000 miles but we are informed that this is due to a change of instrument when the car was being recommissioned at the BMW main dealer. We are advised by the seller this was the only original BMW odometer available at the time and that the true mileage is 60,000 miles.

The car has such sentimental value that the original owner’s son asked his local BMW main dealer to recommission the car when it came out of storage.

The work done to it was exhaustive, and came to almost £6,500. It included a new fuel tank, hoses, relay, filter and pump, and this work alone accounts for a page of miscellaneous items including clips, mounts, studs and nuts. Say what you like about main dealers, but when they do a job like this they don’t stint.

Other work includes repairs to the instrument binnacle, electric windows, and the heater blower. The cooling system was drained and the radiator removed to flush it properly – twice - before refitting it and filling it with fresh coolant.

New brake shoes and wheel cylinders were fitted, as was new brake fluid. The car was also given a BMW Inspection II service, which includes things like new spark plugs and a timing belt, at the same time.

It drives well, with no squeaks, shakes or rattles. But, the star of the show is that wonderfully smooth, effortlessly powerful straight-six engine. It really is as lovely as we all thought it was, back in the days when we didn’t really know our backside from our elbows.

The engine bay itself is original and well-presented, but could do with detailing if it is to fulfill the promise it hints at. It even still has its underbonnet sound insulation, which is very tidy and free of the sort of damage you might have expected it to incur over the years.

The underside is in exactly the sort of condition you would expect, which is to say it is clean, largely free of even light surface corrosion, and wonderfully preserved.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s low mileage. The current MOT certificate itself expires in April 2020.

The car comes with the original owner’s wallet, handbook, service history booklet, a spare key, and even an old tax disc. Plus, of course, that staggeringly expensive invoice for the recommissioning work.

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 then recommissioned 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 think this one will sell for between £7,000 and £10,000, which seems like staggering value to us given the versatility it offers, and the quality and originality of its condition.

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.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings of any auction, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles we have for sale. While we use our trade experience to assess every car that comes through our hands (and between us we have bought hundreds of classic cars over the years for our personal use…) we are fallible, and our assessment of a car may contrast with that you might form yourself.

This is why we offer a far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange a professional inspection on their behalf of, each vehicle prior to bidding than any traditional car auction, and we will never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this by coming to see it in person.

That said, we do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or those formed as a result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.