About 14 years ago I bought two E30's ...a 1989 325i Touring and a 1991 318is.
The Touring was my daily summer driver for 7 years. I then put it in storage, and didn't drive it again until last summer. The wagon was never imported to North America, so back then, the car was a unicorn and drew all sorts of attention...it still does all these years later as they are still very rare over here. The 325 chassis is a terrific platform. Motor is strong and moves the car around very well. Lots of aftermarket support for power and suspension mods. It's a great driving car. Still love driving it to this day. The 325 has a rubber timing belt, replacement every 80K km. Buy a complete kit that includes the water pump. It's easy, required maintenance. The 6 cylinder is pretty bullet proof with regular maintenance.
Buying a Touring.... you know about rust. It's a 30+ year old car. Buy the best one you can, and check for options you would want. Many were sold as base models with very little options (roll up windows, no A/C) Mine is rare with pretty much all the power options, including a glass sun roof.
The 318is was bought at the same time as the Touring to be used only for winter driving. The 318is 2 door chassis is just terrific. It's a nimble, tossable car that is a ton of fun to drive. The 4 cylinder is more than capable and loves to rev. It gives up about 40 HP to the 325, but, that doesn't matter. I drove it for 8 winters and it never let me down. Watch out for the cooling system...there's a plastic elbow under the intake manifold that gets brittle with age and multiple heat cycles. It's a big PITA to replace. Also watch the water pump. The cooling system can be a pain to bleed, but there's trciks around that. Just don't let the car run hot or you'll take out the head / head gasket....typical stuff.
I loved the 318, but replaced it with an e46 xi Touring with a 5 speed. The e46 is Unstopable in the winter with AWD, and, truth be told, is a much more modern platform than the e30 platform.
Either way, good luck with your search. Decent E30's are getting rare and expensive. Buy the best one you can afford / find. There's lots of support for parts and knowledge. Stay away from the overly modified ones. Do whatever mods you want to suite your driving style after you buy one.
