Learn me E30's

e30's don't die because of mileage, they die of neglect. you can spot neglect. don't sweat tmu or high miles.

irish44j wrote: damn, and I thought we could start a little (very little) special club for people who have an e30 AND a GT6.... lol.

LOL. Yeah... I've been going back and forth about it for awhile... but ultimately, what I want/need is an auto-x car and that's not really the best job for an E30.

on what level, nationally? maybe not.

locally though, yes.

I have owned two e30's. Reading through this thread will inevitably lead me to Craigslist I am afraid. Not helping that I parked beside a pristine 325is today at lunch. I really like these cars.

On mine, rust appeared in the lower front fenders behind the front wheels and in the front floor pans where they meet the firewall. The only way to see this was to crawl under the car and/or pull up the carpet in the front floor wells. There may be other trouble spots, but this was my experience.

If I'm building a car specifically for auto-x, it would need to be nationally competitive. Otherwise there's no point. I don't need a "fun" car... I already have a bunch of those. The fault lies not with the car but with me and my poor research before buying it.

The M20B25 powered E30s are moving to GS to be with the other E30s and the 318ti. I don't know if they can also benefit from any of the new allowances.

HStockSolo wrote: The M20B25 powered E30s are moving to GS to be with the other E30s and the 318ti. I don't know if they can also benefit from any of the new allowances.

Yeah... I was giddy and all ready to de-mod my car for GS... until Per knocked the wind out of my sails (in a thread a month or so ago)... Apparently even with a fat front bar and stiff shocks, the springs are still scary-soft.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I can't find one worth a damn in my area for non-rape prices to save my life.

Yep, I suspect I'll never own another E30 again. Unless I hit the lotto or get some massive raise at work.

An E30 like I want to own, in other words, straight rust-free, mint interior, all maintenance with mods and GC coilovers, nice wheels, etc.

That's an $8-9k car nowadays. 2-2.5x if you want an E30 M3.

I know mine's a 4 pot, but I must have been lucky considering the prices you all are quoting.

E30's are commanding a premium, even the "junkers". You can get a E36 or even a way high mileage E46 for the same money.....

I had a line on a very reasonably priced e30 a few years ago. The seller was a friend of a friend, so he just gave me the keys and said "try it out". I took it into the hills and was having a grand old time, when the rear end stepped out a bit. I pulled it together and reprimanded myself for driving another person's car so hard. Then I looked at the dashboard and.... the entire display had gone blank! Once I'd convinced myself that there was oil pressure and the car wasn't overheating I drove it back - very carefully. I guess that such gremlins are fairly common on these cars, but in that case it scared me off of what would have been a very good purchase.

Deals can be found, but they've apparently gotten fewer and farther between. About 5 years or so ago, a MINI tuner I'm friends with knew of a 325is that was basically being given away. I tried like hell to get it, but it fell through. I have a set of IS sport seats in my attic (intended for my Volvo) I bought from one of his employees who got his car for next to nothing.

I think a combination of Spec E30 and their popularity as Lemons and Chump cars has dried up the market for cheap, good ones.

Yeah, any decent E30 325is is at least $6k now. You can practically buy an E36 M3 for that and I'd much rather have the M3...

In reply to docwyte:

+1 I sold my '90 325i a couple years ago and have been hankering for another. I can't find anything that's not a heap or a half-assed conversion for under $4k.

Very disappointing, as I was hoping to become the Jay Leno of 80s crapboxes.

Ian F wrote:

irish44j wrote: damn, and I thought we could start a little (very little) special club for people who have an e30 AND a GT6.... lol.

LOL. Yeah... I've been going back and forth about it for awhile... but ultimately, what I want/need is an auto-x car and that's not really the best job for an E30.

not really the best job for a GT6 either, unless you like to be sideways the whole time, haha...

irish44j wrote: not really the best job for a GT6 either, unless you like to be sideways the whole time, haha...

I've sort of BTDT with the Spit 6 I had, so the GT6 will remain a street driver.

You guys are crazy, there are plenty of $2500 E30's out there. I bought my old car for $3800, 318is with a vanos M50 swap, full suspension bushings and bilsteins, HIDs, and euroweaves. $6k can get you an S50 swap car...

Haha, I sold my M42 car last year for $6k.

You can buy something beat that needs work for that price but not a properly put together cat.

This thread is frighteningly relevant. I was just talking to my friend today about how hard it'd be to resist a clean 318i manual sedan. I could use a good DD for the coming years.

Perhaps we need a sticky with nothing but links to clean E30s for sale?

Kind of structure it as a support group? "GRMer's against hella-flush" or something similar, with "Save the old beemers" as a slogan?

I don't get the fixation on the E30 on this board. It doesn't make sense. They are fairly poor handling. The steering is slow. Gas mileage is horrible. The I6 engines are weak and heavy. Sure, they are nice, classic looking little bricks. It just takes a lot of work just to make one perform close to an E36.

In reply to HStockSolo:

Hush you! Post this AFTER mine is sold.

It's really only the looks that attract me to them. Driven both, i prefer the E36.

But i know i can make an E30 feel like that, but with the better looks.

I just refuse to pay the prices that i'm seeing out there. And i ONLY want a 325is.

HStockSolo wrote: I don't get the fixation on the E30 on this board. It doesn't make sense. They are fairly poor handling. The steering is slow. Gas mileage is horrible. The I6 engines are weak and heavy. Sure, they are nice, classic looking little bricks. It just takes a lot of work just to make one perform close to an E36.

What attracted me at first was the good looks, simple mechanical stuff, and the price. However from what I've seen lately they aren't much of a deal any more.

With prices where they are I'd be just as inclined to look for an E36. However my attention has since shifted to Acura Integras.

MR2Peak, care to show me some examples?

Fun to drive is what does it for me: they really are a hoot. I expect it's a combination of the upright seating position, great greenhouse and good (if not great) handling. Relatively easy to work on helps. Cheap parts, well made cars. I have a sedan I've slowly been working on for SWMBO. The E30 remains one of her all time favorite cars - she tolerates the E46 for now. ;) The E36's are a better performance buy these days.