z31maniac wrote:
irish44j wrote:
Darksider203 wrote:
The miata is less expensive, with more parts available.
say what? e30s can be found all day in good running and ok cosmetic condition for $2k or so, and less if you get an ETA or M10 car. I never see decent Miatas anywhere near that, at least not in this area.
Parts available? Perhaps, but that's mostly because the Miata has more aftermarket than most any car out there. As aftermarket and OEM/OEM-replacement parts go, it is DAMN easy to find e30 stuff, and it is DAMN inexpensive for the most part.
Plus it's simple to find e30s in pick-n-pull yards for replacement parts, engines, transmissions, etc. Miatas, not so much.
No question the Miata is a superior track car in terms of performance, but the e30 is simple to work on, parts are cheap, and the cars are cheap.
Links?
Or does "OK Cosmetic condition" mean rusty battery tray, rust developing in the sunroof, etc?
I what "most" would consider a "nice" car, for an E30 you'll need to double that figure.
I could link you to the one I bought for $1000 just over a year ago (go see my build thread), with 2 small rust spots in the floor and that's it. Also came with a set of euroweave 15x7's, 8 bottlecaps, a spare engine, spare tranny, and I filled the 4Runner with spare parts. .Yeah, it needed some suspension refresh, but that was a few hundred bucks at most. Interior was in decent shape and complete. Body had a respray but wasn't rusty. A few leaks here and there, but nothing that a $5 seal or gasket wouldn't fix.
Granted it was an early M10 car, but $300 got me an M42 engine/tranny that is an easy swap. If you're trying to find e30s at dealers or something, keep looking. Join the local e30 facebook groups, some CL areas, and the forums. ETA cars come up all the time for under $1k on our local FB group.
The cost vs. "nice" is all relative anyhow. I have a $28k WRX that many people wouldn't consider a "nice" car.....
...also find it funny here that people want a "nice" 25+ year old car for peanuts....If he's buying an e30 (or miata) as a track toy, I would expect he's not looking for a turnkey track/street car in great shape, but instead may want a project that requires "some" work to be "nice."
CL who knows....there are steals and there are scams..."needs body work" or "needs paint" who knows...can't know until you look.
http://smd.craigslist.org/cto/3615605074.html
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/3628180055.html
IX that needs a few things but looks to have a very nice interior and exterior.
http://martinsburg.craigslist.org/cto/3593831223.html
M10 car that looks to be in great shape but needs a tranny (and I just sold TWO M10 trannies for next to nothing....they're cheap and easy to find)
http://smd.craigslist.org/cto/3615605074.html
that was 2 minutes of looking.....IDK what to tell you. No ETAs up there right now but 2 guys in our race group picked up low-rust, ok-condition ETAs for under $1k within the last year.
all in all the bottom line is there are good deals for those who look hard and wait for the right deal, and not good deals for those who don't look hard or have to have it "today." We all know that here on GRM I think.
It's funny, I thought about getting a Miata before I got the e30, and looked around and the only Miatas I saw for under $2k were totally trashed. But a year later, when I'm not looking, I see decent ones for less than that here and there......because I'm not looking :)