How much have you spend on your beloved E30?

[cheffy30]

$26k more or less since i bought it 15 years ago... all maintenance, all oem...
it's my daily beast...

[Mustachio]

Hmmm, I think there's a generational difference to consider as well. A lot of the owners on this forum have owned their cars for decades now, during which, the prices went through various ups and downs. So someone who bought a decent example 10 years ago for 2k, spent just as much on parts, is way ahead of someone who buys it today for 10x as much. So maybe we should consider inflation on top of this lol.

Anyways, I imported my car into Canada from California and it cost me 8500$ after fees, taxes and exchange rate BUT, the car had new paint and zero rust. Something like that would be a unicorn here, and if you find it, it will cost you over 10k. Since then I put about 12k into the LS1 swap, will be adding another 10-15k more in the future. So 30-35k total?

That may seem like a lot, but that's because you are trying to rationalize the irrationable I.e., the VALUE that we place on the car, does not equal the price.

[UlrichFennec]

I've put in about $6-7k into the vert, mostly in suspension overhauls and fixing various problems and nitpicks I've had with the motor. A small chunk of that went to my wheels, brakes, tires and exhaust, though. A few things I took to my indie, a few things I did myself...mostly deferred maintenence from the previous owner, oil changes, etc. Whenever I do body/respray, I'm sure it'll be $10k all in. Paint looks like ass and there's dents/scratches all over the damn thing lmao

Runs pretty good now, but I'm sure I could do a valve adjustment soon. It's been about 10k since it was last done according to the service records.

[Hooffenstein HD]

I purchased a fairly clean 318iS with a blown M42 for $2,000. A few years later I'm in the mid teens.

There aren't a lot of stock parts left in that car though. Rebuilt 2.7i M20 swap, medium case LSD, full suspension upgrade/overhaul etc.

Of course, I'm in Upsidedownia, so that is probably more like $10,000 US dollars.

[ttrousdell]

I really don't want to know because it's a lot. I've owned my 325is for 8 years and in that time it's had 5 different engines and several brake and suspension setups. Wish I had just settled on my current setup much earlier. I'd have a lot more money.

[decay]

i was about $25k into the white m42 vert.

hopefully staying a little saner on the baur.

[RainRider]

I'm in the 10k-15k range by now. Its a moving target. Still can't bring myself to spend on bodywork/paint.

[Vincent Brick]

About $10k. Needs another $2k as soon as I can afford it, and badly needs paint/bodywork.

325i with 250k miles, been daily driving it for 3 years.

[squidrope]

My car looks like **** and I have well over 13k into it. Doesn't help that I'm building a track car but I can't believe what this costs.

[Nader393]

I'm a bit older than the rest of you. I have few "interesting" cars, and have a pretty good idea of the classic car markets. A clean 325 driver is still a $20K car, sooner or later. If you spend enough on a regular 325 to buy an e30 M3, then you've probably gone too far. As much as I like the 325, the e30 M3, however slow and awkward looking it is, will always be valued more.

[coldweatherblue]

Just did a rough guess based on $3.5k purchase price, wheels x1, tires x 2, total suspension, driveline work, oil pan, timing belt x 2, and all the other routine maintenance stuff..

about $11k over 5.5 years, dialy driver the whole time.

Really not bad considering it's been absolutely reliable and is in pretty good condition, no rust, good paint, intact sport leather interior..

[jeffnhiscars]

I don't count routine maintenance such as fluid changes, timing belts, tires, gas or insurance as I think of these as consumables that any car would need.

My cabrio cost $1000 plus another $600 to haul it home. Counting the interior being done now, new head, 5 spd swap, hard top, e36 rack & steering, suspension, BBS wheels, 100% new AC etc etc (read my build thread for more details), Id say Im in the $12-14k range...could be more but Id rather not know :-)

The ETA cost $1300, plus suspension, e36 rack, BBS wheels, rubber & mechanical refresh from stem to stern I=m guessing we are in to her for $6k. The 731/motronic swap will probably add $2500.

[Das Delfin]

I'd guess I'm in it for 8-10k including the price of the car, doing 99% of the work myself (except a smoke test and having tires put on). Most of it has been little odds and ends, maintenance, or upgrades. I updated the interior a few years ago. I have a binder with most of my receipts but can't bring myself to total it up!

[nachbarx]

$18k so far. Maybe 3k more and I'm happy.

[bobdavisnpf]

Just over $12K since acquiring in Dec 2016, but depends on how I look at it. For "purchase, repairs and upgrades only" I'm still under $5K.

purchase price $500 from an excellent friend (talked him up from $10 - he just wouldn't take $3K for his baby)

"routine maintenance" $7K to local shops (top re-cover, tires, fluids, timing belt & all related, some hoses, fix all leaks, shocks, suspension bushings, alignment, etc)

"repairs" $2K to local shops (springs, electrical troubleshooting, dash refit, windshield)

"parts" $3K (interior & exterior trim & fittings, lights, lenses, hood/trunk/top struts, CD43 upgrade, speakers, tools, etc etc etc and the beat goes on)