How good is your e30 as a DD?

[Calico540]

My DD is an e39 540i sport and my wifes DD is a 1991 325ix automatic. I would gladly trade with her any day, but she doesn't like the heavier car. Once I got a maintenance baseline on the 325iX, it has been good as gold. Never get rid of it. Maintenance is fairly easy (except when I had to replace the starter) and I actually want to get another one so I can park the e39 in the winters. Stick with the e30 !!

[quikveedb2]

It went to 327k on the original engine and trany before I sold it.

holy shit! that is impressive.

[RainierHooker]

I have used my current e30 as a DD exclusively. It has never given me so much as a hiccup, and I have a 45 mile round-trip commute.
My previous e30 was also my DD and the only problem it ever gave me was when I broke my alternator/H2O-pump belt. It went to 327k on the original engine and trany before I sold it.

[e30maniac]

man i drive mine all the time, never had any issues getting it home. it also is beast especially in winter.. thats right i need some studs...

[quikveedb2]

While it seems a lot of you have good things to say about DD-ing your e30 I'm still on the fence. It's serving as my townie car right now which is fine, but on longer trips I'm still driving the Audi. It's just more comfortable (and quicker) on long rides. Additionally, last night the BMW randomly cut off on the way to a friends house only a few miles away. I coasted to a stop, and it restarted immediately when i tried, so until i can track down that little gremlin I'm hesitant to commit to it being my only car. I think eventually the BMW will be my primary transportation, but for the moment it's good to have choices.

[SamE30e]

I've had 2 E30's in 3 years. And in those 3 years, it only left me stranded once, and it was my fuel pump wire shorting out and I couldn't solve it because it was freezing out. Hell when I bent a valve in my 318 I was still able to drive it home.

[epyx]

my current daily is a 2.7t S4

Yay, another S4 owner!

As for using an e30 for dd duties mine has been absolutly flawless. I've put about 300 miles per week on mine for the past 2 years without a hitch. It puts a smile on my face everytime I hop in the car.

P.S. If your windshield is very pitted I would suggest replacing, it will make a world of difference in your daily commute.

[quikveedb2]

...when did a 2.5 litre inline six with 170HP become 'little'? More to the point - when did it become a concern to go UP AND DOWN HILLS in it? BMW sold this car very successfully in europe with much smaller engines - and they regularly went up and down much steeper mountains. I am somewhat at a loss?
OP: apart from the above, get good season tyres, check that your LSD is actually working, watch out for rust (wash the underside frequently) and go to a few HPDEs.

Dude, the elevation gain between Denver and where I live is 5000 feet in about 90-100 linear miles. That's a lot of hill no matter what you're driving, and my current daily is a 2.7t S4, so I'm used to climbing with a bit more than 170hp. I just don't want to be crawling up Berthoud Pass at 20mph, in the snow or otherwise! You guys have had some great input, I appreciate all the thoughts!

[Conrad311]

I bought a 87 is about 3 months ago for a grand,216k on it and it is in pretty good shape, and i have put over 4 thousand miles on it, and the only things i have done so far is a new fuel filter, valve adjustment and switched it to Mobil 1. So far it has only let me down once when the soild fuel lines by the filter cracked open, so after replacing a few feet on line, its been a champ ever since, and im not a very gentle driver.
Im working on getting an 89 IX and I dont think ill ever want to drive another car, I love having an e30 as a DD

[lgb240]

My summer daily driver for the last 4 years and 41K km's has been my 325i touring - no issues, just regular maintenance (timing belt, brakes). It's a joy to drive. Even with low suspension and stiff bushings everywhere, it's a great DD.

For the last 4 winters I've been daily driving my 318is. It's cost me more maintanance $$'s, but, it was only a $2K car to start with so it had some issues to fix before I started putting on the miles It's never left me stranded in more than 50K km's, and is about to start another winter season.

Conclusion - E30's are great DD's, regardless of climate, weather, elevations, ect.

lgb240

[Brian 89 325i]

I have been DDing E30's since 02. Took some time off with a MKIII but then promptly got back into a real car ASAP. My current car runs: IE StgIII/Bilst. crash correction strut mounts, GC rear mounts, stock sways w/new links/bushings.

Nothing new here, but as long as your are up to date on maint. then you should be fine. Just make sure you replace things in groups. If you have to replace one thing, just replace pretty much everything near it, or anything you have to remove to get to the part you're replacing. That way, little things aren't ALWAYS breaking.

If it were me though, I'd get another beater car/truck for winter. That way, you can spend some time and money on your E30, and not have to stress about not being able to get to work when one car is down for serious work.

[Nic01101011]

mines good to drive every day minus it being so low. not a problem if you put on a reasonable suspension

[nmlss2006]

...when did a 2.5 litre inline six with 170HP become 'little'? More to the point - when did it become a concern to go UP AND DOWN HILLS in it? BMW sold this car very successfully in europe with much smaller engines - and they regularly went up and down much steeper mountains. I am somewhat at a loss?
OP: apart from the above, get good season tyres, check that your LSD is actually working, watch out for rust (wash the underside frequently) and go to a few HPDEs.

[RickSloan]

A swap car is the BMW BMW should have built at the time...it would have dominated the world, but yeah, I DD my E30.

Ed

i have never put a quote in my sig until now...

[ed94r]

E30 S50 driven 12 months a year, 15K a year. Been driving the swap for about 5 years, and before the swap it was my wife's car (M20), which was replaced with a SUV. We bought the car in 1999 with 104K and now it has 260K. I maintain it religiously.

Did I mention that the same car that I DD gave no point-by's in 2 sessions at the last PCA VIR HPDE, and I drove it there and back..consuming nothing but brakes and gas.

It continues to bring me to work, the grocery store, and the track as we speak.

A swap car is the BMW BMW should have built at the time...it would have dominated the world, but yeah, I DD my E30.

Ed