Slight theory about E30 enthusiast ownership

[lolcantturn]

Have you ever thought about the average person owning an E30? Like let's say, your neighbor. No mechanical experience at all, has never even put on a spare. Would they be able to pick up a $3000 E30 and use it without EVER maintaining it besides changing the oil? As in, you know how we usually pop the hood on our E30's every weekend or whenever we can do adjust or fix something minor. Let's say they never do that. They just drive it. Noises that would bother us, wouldn't bother them. Do you think they'd be able to own it without it breaking down on them?
The point I'm kind of making here is that, do we work on our cars because we want to, or do we work on our cars because we HAVE to? Does the fault lie in the car, or does it lie within us?

[straight6pwr]

i owned an e30 from 140k to 210k miles over 6 years. in that time frame, all the car needed mechanically to keep driving was:

oil changes
clutch slave cylinder went out once
alternator died once
coolant hose split twice

i'd say yes, if you got one that was well maintained you could basically just change oil and run it for many many miles. however, the small things that break and dont affect how the car works would go unfixed. i.e. obc light dead, tail light gasket leaking, suspension parts getting worn and making the car ride rough, etc. we work on our cars because we want them to not only run as long as possible, but to function 100% and look nice while doing so.

[Quadrajet]

Since I come from a mechanical background. Owning older cars isn't a big deal. I've always liked not having a car payment over my head and doing the work myself.

But I can tell you from what I've observed of most of my neighbors, except for 3 houses out of 20, there is a procession of new cars every 4 or 5 years. So if those folks were to buy an E30, it would be a harvest market for me to pick up some cheap parts cars.

[Turd]

GAH...how DARE you try and blame this on a poor E30.

You choose to work on it, don't sugar coat it.

A car thats 20+ years old has faults. The reason you chose to work on it is because most of these cars fall into the hands of mildly intelligent cheap bastards who will throw a buck, or ziptie anything to make it better.

[Quadrajet]

Were you talking to me sir? Or the OP?

[87e30]

I don't think the e30 is on par with a lot of the Japanese cars of the era as far as ease of owning, I think we notice a lot more of the faults and the wear parts wear out pretty noticeably.

THe m20 is rock solid though, I'd anticipate the e30 would run pretty well, but a lot of the little shit that brakes wouldn't happen on a japanese car. Each would still be running well.

[Eric]

when Yan bought his E30 M3, the hood hadn't been opened in 5 years!

[BergerNJ]

don't forget when the m20 was a new motor back in the day.....Mobil decided to use it for their 1 million mile advertisement test .....You can find it on youtube

When they pulled it apart, it looked brand new....and I forget what they found, but I'm almost positive they found everything to be in factory spec, with just a tiny bit of normal visual wear on the bearings themselves.

[BoxDriver86]

don't forget when the m20 was a new motor back in the day.....Mobil decided to use it for their 1 million mile advertisement test .....You can find it on youtube

When they pulled it apart, it looked brand new....and I forget what they found, but I'm almost positive they found everything to be in factory spec, with just a tiny bit of normal visual wear on the bearings themselves.

My future father-in-law is a chemical engineer at Exxon Mobil. He talks about this test all the time and sites it as the reason he drives BMWs only. He said that as the process went on, the parking lot at the Paulsboro, NJ location looked like a BMW dealer.

Back OT, I replaced my e36 with an e30 partly because I wanted something I could work on more frequently. I own older cars not just for their character and build quality, but also because the garage is my happy place and I like having reasons to be there. Although I am sure I could run this thing for another 200K with just basic maintenance, I'd be bored out of my skull.

[StereoInstaller1]

because the garage is my happy place

[nando]

Actually, the *only* E30s I see are driven by the types of people that you describe. They don't know anything about it, it's 100% stock. They just drive it.

Most of the "work" I've done to my car, was either because I broke something, or I modified something, or I fixed something that wasn't broken in the first place (and likely broke it on the way).

[Roysneon]

Actually, the *only* E30s I see are driven by the types of people that you describe. They don't know anything about it, it's 100% stock. They just drive it.

Most of the "work" I've done to my car, was either because I broke something, or I modified something, or I fixed something that wasn't broken in the first place (and likely broke it on the way).

x2

[Nairb]

x3.

I live in the retirement capital of the world, and I see PRISTINE 325i and 325ix's rolling around here sometimes, driven by like 90 year old women. You know, the type of women who you tell her it's a nice car and she replies with "oh but it's got so many miles.. 32,000... I haven't been able to get rid of it.."

*sigh* Someday.

[M-technik-3]

when Yan bought his E30 M3, the hood hadn't been opened in 5 years!

Ditto, My M3 had criss crossed the country 4 times and had 263K when I purchased it.

[call me jack]

All cars need work eventually.

I would say the average person who buys an e30 buys it because they're an automotive enthusesest(sp), and like to work on cars once and a while. but when i look out in my schools parking lot, i typically see 2 e30s, both of which are driven by women. i'll let that speak for its self.