Pro's/Con's.. Should I buy an e30/e36?

[mkcman17]

If you buy a $1000 car, EXPECT it to break. You get what you pay for.

this is a false statement. i bought my '89 for $900 and have only really done routine maintenance. the car was in immaculate shape in and out, only really needed tbelt etc. i'm around 200k and running very strong.

[DrewSkii]

Thanks guys, Made up my mind on the e30. Now to sell my current car so I can buy it! :D

[Mike The Bavarian]

pretty funny that people are tryna say that e30's are unreliable and expensive to fix. Almost every part can be had cheaply. mine needs a wheelbearing and all the suspension replaced and it's never left me stranded anywhere. You're also thinking how a car person thinks. the general consumer isn't going to go through the car and replace everything.

[Bimmerman325i]

Having owned an E36 M3 and an E30 325i, I'd go with an E36 personally. You can argue pros and cons of both cars until you are blue in the face, but the simple truth is that an E30 or E36 will appeal to you differently and for different reasons than others here.

I wanted a car that I can DD comfortably in all weather conditions, go to the track and be competitive without spending ungodly sums of money, and still be comfortable enough to drive friends around, have AC that works, amazing mpg (33 hwy) nice stereo, and some luxury. For me, that was an E36; I realized it would cost way more to build an E30 to what I wanted than it would cost to just buy an E36, so I sold the E30 and bought the E36.

For other folks, an E36 might not be the ticket. The E36 is nowhere near as raw and visceral as an E30, but after flogging both cars on track I don't care: the E36 is far and away the better and more fun multipurpose DD/track/fun car for me. For others, that might not be the case.

TL;DR: drive both cars, think about what you want out of the car, and proceed from there. There is no wrong answer.

[kingston]

I miss my E36 and will most likely go back. I will keep the E30, though, especially since I'm putting an M50 engine from an E36 in her.

Yes, the E36 series had plastic water impellers (which I believe the E30s started life with as well. You want a metal impeller pump for either generation.

THe E36 has other plastic parts for the cooling system, though, which the E30 does NOT have. Having said that, the plastic parts last EASILY 100,ooo miles, and aren't terribly expensive.

The E36 door panels are known for coming unglued. There sadly is NOT an easy fix for that.

The E36 headliners are known for drooping. They are pretty easy to replace. I pity you if you have ever have to replace an E30 headliner...which requires removing every piece of glass on the car, pretty much.

The E36's have better engines, brakes, suspension, comfort, and, in my opinion, styling.

The E30s are chunkier, more heavy-duty and solid-feeling, but look and feel much more dated.

E30 M3s ARE classic cars, no doubt about it. But both E30s and E36s were Germany's Honda Civics. Each one has it's own following. Heck, so do Civics!

E30s have more A/C problems than E36s.

Both cars need regular maintenance, including replacing the rubber bushings that helps the cars handle so well.

The E30s are marginally easier to work on, but the E36s are pretty simple, too.

Which car makes your nuts tingle when you look at them?

[almostM]

I miss my E36...but i'll never go back..

[mr2peak]

Plenty of e30s on the road just because they are used as transportation.

That is one of the reasons why it will become a true classic, many many people who aren't true car people enjoy them and still choose to drive them. It's a very good looking car for the 80's with a celebrated racing history. Look at the Mini Cooper, it falls into the exact same category. A clean E30 is still worth as much if not more than a comparably clean E36..

[blacqjak]

i have both !

[87e30]

Clayton did you inspect the rubber suspension components of your accord ?

No, it was also newer and less valuable so for the money of an e30 you have the option to move into something newer which will potentially be less headache. The more I thought about my post the more I realized what I was writing pertained to older cars.

e30s have their quirks, and I'll bet most on this board have at lesat some odd thing going wrong - it's just the nature of the car imo. It doesn't make it unreliable, but it makes it a project, again in my opinion. (temp gauge replacement, si board, one of the gauges working intermittently, glove box falling apart, check panel etc)

In my experience the e30 has had more quirks that begin to drive me insane than other cars. I would prefer to have a daily so I could set the e30 aside when I needed to address it.

This is all my perspective, and perhaps I shouldn't have used the word unreliable.

[Dave003]

OP ill give it to you strait I picked up my e30 back in december for $800 and not being able drive i gave it to my sister (yes gave for free) and forgot about it. I've only put $900 into it to replace the clutch which i paid top dollar for to be installed by the local bmw guy and this repair was only due to my sisters horrible driving. The m20 has somewhere over 240,000 on it and shows no sign of giving up just yet. Ive taken this car on back to back 500 mile trips each month with no fear of failure. Overall it has been an amazing car with almost zero maintenance and i will now own many e30s in the future cause of this BUT theres the silver lining. The PO in the 3 years he owned it replaced the fuel pump, water pump, had the suspension gone through, and installed a new valve cover gasket and all new belts before i bought it. So every car needs maintenance but if the PO was attentive of the cars needs you could drive your new purchase to hell and back without ever checking the oil.
Now onto deciding between the e30 or the e36. Since i've never owned an e36 somebody elses word might be better than mine but from what ive heard they drive faster, turn better, and are more comfortable which sounds like the better car to the general public. That being said ive heard more people say they are complete shitboxes that break down soon after purchase and are not worth fixing. I like most of the forum have to say e30 hands down cause on top of the stock e30 quality you can upgrade it with an m50/s50 swap and e36 seats but u probably arent looking to buy a car just to upgrade. The e30 is a drivers car with less frills and nick nacks like i want but buy a car that suits YOUR needs. So sorry for my biased opinion but whatever your decision enjoy the road ahead.

[walktheboard]

Plenty of e30s on the road just because they are used as transportation.

this is kind of ironic, you're calling them unreliable but plenty of people that most likely aren't mechanically inclined are DDing them.
I bought mine about a year and a half ago and the only NECESSARY parts I replaced were the CPS and timing belt. There are plenty of quirks, but for a DD this car needs nothing.

[JasonC]

Just because it's a law doesn't make it true. There are plenty of e30s <25 years old and plenty on the road everyday driven by random people. A classic is a car that wouldn't exist unless properly cared for by a diehard fan of that automobile. Plenty of e30s on the road just because they are used as transportation.

true. Cause S10's came out around the same time. There is plunty of enthusiast for them too. But people don't go around calling them classics. I know an e30 and S10 are completely different. Im just trying to make a point. And imo i dont think the e30 will be a classic in five more years either.

[evoe46m3]

In general e30s are very reliable cars. Of course they need parts that any car that age needs and they need their timing belt changed every 50 thousand miles. Clayton did you inspect the rubber suspension components of your accord ? I guarantee you they would be just as rotten as an old e30. Japanese cars did not you some special compound of rubber that never rots. What problems have you had that makes you think that e30s are so unreliable? My car had over 300 thousand miles on the original engine and it was still running when I took it out. I have a friend that is running a car with over 300 thousand miles and he even legitimately passed emissions without doing anything to his car and he is on the original non rebuilt engine. How many Japanese cars do you hear of doing that.

In general

Audi a4 with auto<e36<e30

in terms of reliability

And to the person who started the thread if you think your a4 is reliable just keep holding on to it. Your going to be having some fun soon enough with repairs. and they are not cheap like an e30.

[87e30]

The first E30 was made over 25 years ago, thus qualifying it as a classic car :)

Just because it's a law doesn't make it true. There are plenty of e30s <25 years old and plenty on the road everyday driven by random people. A classic is a car that wouldn't exist unless properly cared for by a diehard fan of that automobile. Plenty of e30s on the road just because they are used as transportation.

[mr2peak]

I think it may be a little early to call this a classic, but hey that's just me...

The first E30 was made over 25 years ago, thus qualifying it as a classic car :)