02/06/2026
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ - #๐ญ๐ญ ๐๐ ๐ช ๐๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ป
After moving on from the E36 325i Coupรฉ, my next car was an E30 325i auto saloon, handed down by my nan.
My grandad had passed away and she had upgraded to an E46 325i saloon in Siena red metallic. She asked if I wanted the E30 and I did not need asking twice.
The 325i never felt the same after the crash; it was tainted and was getting leggy, so the timing for a change could not have been better.
The petrolhead streak runs in the family. It started with my grandad, passed to my dad, then on to me. Even my nan enjoyed a spirited drive when the road opened up.
I keep a spreadsheet of the cars and bikes I have owned, north of forty at last count. I once asked my dad to list his and I am sure he had at least 80, so I am some way off his title yet!
His best almost story was the time he nearly bought an Aston Martin DB5 in 1978 for ยฃ500, advertised in the local Torquay paper.
When he went to see it, it turned out to be her late husbandโs car, which he had completely stripped down for restoration. She wanted to clear the garage of the bare shell and crates of parts everywhere, and didnโt really know what it was worth.
My dad was keen, but my grandad, never a fan of Astons, told him not to โ said heโd never get it back together โ and talked him out of it.
Gutted. We still wonder what became of that car.
Back to my E30. It was a good car that took me right back to my earlier 325i saloon. Even though the auto box never had the magic of the manual, the classic straight 6 soundtrack is hard to beat!
The most memorable moment came in stop/start traffic in town. There was a police car ahead. I was chatting away to a mate in the passenger seat and did not notice the queue had stopped again.
I nudged in to the back of the panda car.
The copper flicked on the blues, waved me over, got out, glanced at his bumper and mine, and said:
โI think weโre alright, arenโt we?โ
He gave me a nod and drove off.
What a legend ๐๐ป
