Someone Saved This BMW E30 After 30 Years in a Barn

It's a six-cylinder five-speed car that was parked in the 1990s and forgotten ... until now.

BMW E30 Detail

Photo by: YouTube

Christopher Smith

By: Christopher Smith

Jan 12, 2025 at 9:00am ET

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Who abandons an E30 in a barn for 30 years? This particular 325i has BMW's inline-six with a five-speed manual transmission. Next to an E30 M3, this classic 3 Series is a BMW enthusiast's dream. And it was dumped in a filthy barn for three decades.

Temper your anger, because this story has a happy ending. The WD Detailing crew were tipped off to the car, which had been purchased by the neglectful owner from a police auction in the early 1990s. She drove it, then her son, and when he headed off to college, the car was parked. It's a tragically simple story for such a cool car, but the new owner has big plans.

After literally dragging it out of the barn (all four wheels were locked up), the WD Detailing guys jumped right in with a thorough wash. Something had leaked onto the trunk lid, and with the paint being a single-stage lacquer, it lacked the usual clear coat surface for protection. Fortunately, the car was at least stored inside, so the paint was actually in good condition overall. After considerable elbow grease, it came out looking almost like new. The stain even came out, albeit with some sandpaper and aggressive polishing.

But that was only part of this extremely thorough wash-and-wax session.

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The interior looked straight-up gross, but like the body, it was at least in good condition under all the grime. Save for some stains in the carpet, the tan greenhouse made a miraculous transformation. The trunk came out good, too, despite being full of sandwich toothpicks and trash. Under the hood, numerous rodent nests were found and everything was degreased, but alas we never hear the BMW run. Presumably, that'll be the next phase of this restoration process.

At least it looks good now. The new owner surprised his E30-loving girlfriend with it; based on her reaction, we reckon it will be up and running very soon.

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