The story of my E30 M3 starts off with the story of my first E30, a 1991 318iS.
After owning my E36 M3 (Canadian Edition) for a few years, I had read enough about the E30 M3 to seriously consider owning one, but I suspected that the idea might be better than the reality. Having read about the "poor man's M3", I decided to look for a 318iS which would give me a proper taste of the chassis, and a close approximation of the M3 based on it. I had no idea how rare they were in Canada, but I ended up very lucky and my dad found a great one for me weeks after I made my decision:
I bought this car for a terrific price with only 108,000 kilometres on it from the original owner in need of moderate restoration work, all of which I did myself to build my skills and confidence. No sunroof, sport cloth interior, limited slip differential, air conditioning... it was a great car, and it made me love my commute again. The more time I spent with it, the better it fit me. After having completed my restoration work I realized what a special car I had created, and I made the difficult decision to put it up for sale so I could pursue an M3 before they climbed in price beyond my reach. It sold in a week to the first person who came to see it.
After forcing myself to sell the 318iS, I invested the proceeds into an E34 M5, which I partially restored and sold on in turn. By the time the M5 sold I had enough saved up to start shopping for really nice examples when this car, which I had been interested in when it was listed two years earlier, turned up for sale again. There were no manuals and not much in the way of service records with the car, so I passed on it and continued my search... until weeks later, when the seller dropped the price to the point where I couldn't resist it.
It's got just under 79,000 kilometres on it, is completely rust free and it has a perfect interior with the exception of a small hole in the sunroof panel fabric. I've owned this car since 2010, and would now be priced completely out of the market for these, so I'm very happy to own one.
I'm looking forward to maintaining this thread over the years as I continue to enjoy this car and start tackling some projects.
After owning my E36 M3 (Canadian Edition) for a few years, I had read enough about the E30 M3 to seriously consider owning one, but I suspected that the idea might be better than the reality. Having read about the "poor man's M3", I decided to look for a 318iS which would give me a proper taste of the chassis, and a close approximation of the M3 based on it. I had no idea how rare they were in Canada, but I ended up very lucky and my dad found a great one for me weeks after I made my decision:
I bought this car for a terrific price with only 108,000 kilometres on it from the original owner in need of moderate restoration work, all of which I did myself to build my skills and confidence. No sunroof, sport cloth interior, limited slip differential, air conditioning... it was a great car, and it made me love my commute again. The more time I spent with it, the better it fit me. After having completed my restoration work I realized what a special car I had created, and I made the difficult decision to put it up for sale so I could pursue an M3 before they climbed in price beyond my reach. It sold in a week to the first person who came to see it.
After forcing myself to sell the 318iS, I invested the proceeds into an E34 M5, which I partially restored and sold on in turn. By the time the M5 sold I had enough saved up to start shopping for really nice examples when this car, which I had been interested in when it was listed two years earlier, turned up for sale again. There were no manuals and not much in the way of service records with the car, so I passed on it and continued my search... until weeks later, when the seller dropped the price to the point where I couldn't resist it.
It's got just under 79,000 kilometres on it, is completely rust free and it has a perfect interior with the exception of a small hole in the sunroof panel fabric. I've owned this car since 2010, and would now be priced completely out of the market for these, so I'm very happy to own one.
I'm looking forward to maintaining this thread over the years as I continue to enjoy this car and start tackling some projects.
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