BMW 316i Touring Automatic

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A massively important car for BMW, the E30 3-Series ran from 1982 to 1993 and cemented BMW’s reputation as market leader in the medium sector, being the car that every Yuppie aspired to in the shoulder-padded Eighties.

In the eyes of many enthusiasts, the E30 was also the last of the real driver-focused models before BMW followed its rivals by making increasingly heavy and desensitised machines which may have been faster and plusher, but had also lost much of the pep and brio of the simpler and lighter models.

Beautifully built, with understated styling and a glassy, thin-pillared cabin (the work of Claus Luthe), it summed up everything that was good about German engineering. Light, agile and sporting, it enjoyed a classless appeal that made it as welcome at a posh country house party as it was at an inner city rave – qualities that apply just as much today as they ever did.

Although the base models made do with four-cylinder engines, the upper models in the range, with their straight-six power, rear wheel drive and perfectly judged steering, were the ones to have, sharing as they did much of the chassis geometry with the now legendary E30 M3, widely considered to be the finest handling saloon of its era and worth serious money today. But even the baby of the range, the 316i could boast a spirited 102bhp, its updated M40 engine getting Motronic fuel injection from 1987 onwards.

The original bill of sale from Stephen James BMW in London shows that this Sterling Silver 316i Touring Automatic was originally ordered with just one extra, a £250 radio cassette player and was delivered on 21st February 1992. Costing £17,540, it wasn’t a cheap car, but the new owners must have loved it as it has stayed within the same family ever since.

Now showing 75,720 miles on the odometer, it comes with a comprehensively stamped service book containing mainly BMW, specialist BMW and Leominster-based Gary Wescott service stamps. Also included are the original handbooks and nine old MOTs, the current test expiring in January 2017. Remaining in remarkably original condition, the BMW even has its original dealer number plates, window stickers and full tool kit.

Having covered a mere 300 miles in the last year, it only comes to sale because its 90-year-old owner has decided that it is time to retire from driving, so as the excellent Honest John website says of the E30: “grab a good one now – values are bound to be on the up soon.”