Spending $ On Your E30 - Am I an idiot for dumping thousands into my econobox?

[Swoozley Macklin]

I think it's dumb in the sense that I've spent probably spent 10X what I got my shell for in just parts. But the car makes me happy so I couldn't care. That's sorta how I've always looked at it. Yeah I could've gotten something nicer for the money I've put into the car.... But I put it together, it makes ME smile.

[hozzziii]

i can't sell my e30 because my dad has worked on it with me. he won't be around a pile longer, and it's gonna be the last car we worked on together.

Same with my dad. I was actually raised in my E30, watching my dad work on it and playing around it.
Now I know that I absolutely will not sell. No regrets.

[82eye]

I think the difference is that I know I will never sell the E30.

i can't sell my e30 because my dad has worked on it with me. he won't be around a pile longer, and it's gonna be the last car we worked on together.

[Northern]

I never question spending on the E30, but I rarely make big purchases for it - typically just a buttload of smaller ones.

With my other cars (my Outback and Mini) I have a hard time justifying modding them.
I'd keep my Outback much longer if it was basically a manual, flat six, legacy wagon. But to swap an STi 6-speed, supporting mods, Euro/JDM legacy bumpers/skirts/roof rails would cost so much that I would never do it.
For my Mini, I want to drop like $6k in Engine/Exhaust/Driveline mods but I've already thrown about that much at it to get wheels/tires/suspension and PO issues sorted, and that money could just go toward other things.

I think the difference is that I know I will never sell the E30.

[82eye]

That's how I felt when my E28 came up. Hadn't seen one locally at that pricepoint for years (even though I need to make floorpans for the car!)

Parts prices are getting wild too. I sold a spare ZF320 trans in early 2020 for like $350. Now they're going for over $1000.

Heck I gave away a running M20B25 a few years ago, now I see they are selling for $600+ all day long. At least I helped get another E30 on the road with that one. Karma paid me back when I was straight-up given some E30 parts to repair my baby after being rear ended.

I'm going to endeavor to keep as many spare/old parts as I can now. It's going to require some serious organization of my basement parts storage.

i'm past the point of being able to source anything local. even used parts were difficult ten years ago. now it's not even possible, i source literally everything online.

[Panici]

...thinking it was a "now or never" situation.
...I agree, everything we like is becoming very very expensive.

That's how I felt when my E28 came up. Hadn't seen one locally at that pricepoint for years (even though I need to make floorpans for the car!)

Parts prices are getting wild too. I sold a spare ZF320 trans in early 2020 for like $350. Now they're going for over $1000.

Heck I gave away a running M20B25 a few years ago, now I see they are selling for $600+ all day long. At least I helped get another E30 on the road with that one. Karma paid me back when I was straight-up given some E30 parts to repair my baby after being rear ended.

I'm going to endeavor to keep as many spare/old parts as I can now. It's going to require some serious organization of my basement parts storage.

[Holland]

I missed the FD RX7 by about two years. I was actually looking to import from Japan (15 years old vs USA 25 years old rule), and at the time I started looking they were just out of my price range. If I had finished school a year or two earlier I would have been able to afford the pricetag.

Going from memory, but they were easily under 20K CAD all-in at the time for a nice car. Now you can't even get a rough one for 50K.
Unfortunately that ship has sailed for me.

At least I got my 1990 Miata before the prices went crazy. It's like a baby FD right? 😆
Wish I had picked up a cleaner example though.

And I did grab the E28 for a fair price (even though it's rough), so I should count my blessings.

Grabbed my E46 M3 when prices started going up, thinking it was a "now or never" situation. Prices since have come back down a bit, but that won't be forever. I agree, everything we like is becoming very very expensive.

[4tDX]

When I look at the thickness of the stack of receipts I've accumulated it's frightening, but I like to just look at how much I'm actually paying per mile... I've DD my E30 for almost 10 years now and added nearly 200k miles. So, when I do the math it's actually extremely reasonable. On top of that these cars are appreciating and some of the work I've done has added additional value. And in the process I created a car I still want to keep driving, after all these years!

I missed the FD RX7 by about two years. I was actually looking to import from Japan (15 years old vs USA 25 years old rule), and at the time I started looking they were just out of my price range. If I had finished school a year or two earlier I would have been able to afford the pricetag.

Going from memory, but they were easily under 20K CAD all-in at the time for a nice car. Now you can't even get a rough one for 50K.
Unfortunately that ship has sailed for me.

At least I got my 1990 Miata before the prices went crazy. It's like a baby FD right? 😆
Wish I had picked up a cleaner example though.

And I did grab the E28 for a fair price (even though it's rough), so I should count my blessings.

It's scary to me how much almost every 'old' car is going for now. I put off buying a couple of projects and I really regret it now.

[Hartacus]

I’m over $20k FML

[DEV0 E30]

Plenty of great answers already in this thread. You don't have to answer to anyone, are you taking care of your responsibilities and commitments as a functioning adult?

You could be worse off, you could be addicted to meth.

As an adult, you can enjoy something that doesn't make total financial sense in the modern way of looking at transportation.

MOST people will never understand being into cars in general. We are becoming a more and more rare breed.

Does owning and modifying the E30 to your liking spark joy?




Marie Kwondo gets it. If yes, continue my son. If it does not, then that is the time to decide what your next moves are. You can sell it, regret it later. Or you can decide that maybe if you are second guessing a large purchase (such as seats) are not for YOU (again you don't have to worry about anyone else) then put those on the back burner. In nearly all circumstances, you won't get what you put into a car. Plenty of other insightful and good advice in this thread, what it comes down to is if you enjoy it or not. If you come to realize joy is not derived from vehicles, that's ok too --- but you have to figure it out. Life is short, find what you enjoy and do it. Those of us who have wives and/or partners that get it - are the lucky ones, or at least understand that it brings us joy - and understand again, everyone should have something.

[MrBurgundy]

Some people spend 4 hours on a Saturday at the golf course, spending stupid amounts of money on clubs, greens fees and lessons. I spend my extra cash on car parts - it makes me happy to get those package deliveries, and I love bolting the parts onto my car. 4 hours in the garage is 10x more fun than chasing a little ball around a field for as long. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I throw my clubs in the back of my E30 :p

I spend way less driving my fleet of older vehicles than one financed car at around 50-60k.

The Ranger, E39, E30 combo has been very rewarding. All very reliable, they look great and I'm spending probably around 500 or less a month across maintenance to insurance.

[Aleman]

Some people spend 4 hours on a Saturday at the golf course, spending stupid amounts of money on clubs, greens fees and lessons. I spend my extra cash on car parts - it makes me happy to get those package deliveries, and I love bolting the parts onto my car. 4 hours in the garage is 10x more fun than chasing a little ball around a field for as long. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

[Panici]

One of my dream cars _{(FD RX7)} is a fast closing door right now, rising in price faster than my income rises, and I think I may be making some difficult choices soon regarding my lineup, lest that car do what so many others have done in the last decade and go from "ouch" to "well that's a whole year's income, I can't do that".

I missed the FD RX7 by about two years. I was actually looking to import from Japan (15 years old vs USA 25 years old rule), and at the time I started looking they were just out of my price range. If I had finished school a year or two earlier I would have been able to afford the pricetag.

Going from memory, but they were easily under 20K CAD all-in at the time for a nice car. Now you can't even get a rough one for 50K.
Unfortunately that ship has sailed for me.

At least I got my 1990 Miata before the prices went crazy. It's like a baby FD right? 😆
Wish I had picked up a cleaner example though.

And I did grab the E28 for a fair price (even though it's rough), so I should count my blessings.

[varg]

I don't really justify it to anyone other than my wife, and she is happy to see me me do what I do within reason. I don't game, I don't party, I don't buy brand name clothes, shoes, watches, I have an old phone, I just like cars. My peers who aren't into cars will buy a new accord, tesla, lexus, spend more on that car than I do both of mine... so their opinions on the expense are really of no consequence if they were to voice one. As for the cost of individual parts, quality stuff is expensive, and it's only getting more expensive with time since everything is cheap junk now. So in the end it's best to just live within your means and ignore the rest of it. If your heart isn't in it and the money matters more, sell off and get a corolla or something it's the financially smart thing to do.

I'm up against restoring my E30 now, which I know is going to cost a pretty penny. Heck getting the driver's seat re-upholstered or replaced and fixing or replacing the cracked dash will cost more than I paid for the car. The engine in my E34 cost more than I paid for the car and I did almost all of the labor. Buddy, the fuel injectors in my E34 are more expensive than my first fun car was haha, the most expensive part on that car was the MS2 with sequential and COP mods . It's all relative though, I was living paycheck to paycheck in the late 2000s/early 2010s and now I am blessed with the fruits of my hard work and have a comfortable and easy life.

I guess what Im asking is, do you guys ever question yourself, or feel dumb buying thousand dollar parts for a car that you could have picked up for a few grand like 5 years ago?

Personally, this has absolutely zero impact on me. years ago my crusty E30 and its shoestring mods were all I could afford, I missed out on the cheap enthusiast cars, or at least the ones I give a crap about. Now nothing that interests me is cheap and nothing cheap interests me. I bought my car right before the prices started surging and couldn't afford another fun car. What is cheap now is of almost zero interest to me. One of my dream cars _{(FD RX7)} is a fast closing door right now, rising in price faster than my income rises, and I think I may be making some difficult choices soon regarding my lineup, lest that car do what so many others have done in the last decade and go from "ouch" to "well that's a whole year's income, I can't do that".

[uturn]

Final thought: How would I explain to a reasonable, non car guy I spent $3200 on Recaro Bucket Seats for a 40 year old, $10,000 car?

if you think explaining seats are hard, try explaining why you bought another e30 to keep your current e30 from being lonely.... then how they both got together and a third e30 appeared. 😆