practicality of an m3

[nando]

I doubt he'll spend any more a month on an M3 than what I wind up spending on my 325is, lol. It's a disease really, it makes no difference whether it's an M car or not, once you've got it, it's gonna cost you. There is always SOMETHING that "needs" to be done, or if I'm honest about it, I "want" to do to it. So many things, so little money. So I just keep chipping away at it and he will too no matter which old E30 he chooses. The MAIN thing is, enjoy it. That's the purpose in owning one, NOT practicality. If I wanted something practical, I would have bought a used Honda Accord, NOT an E30. But that's not why I bought the E30. It's all about the passion for cars and the passion for driving cars. There's something that an E30 has that is intangible, but it's there, that je-ne-sais-quoi. So, in the end, your decision comes down to this: Do you WANT a practical car? Or do you want a car that is an expression of your passion for cars?

this is true but remember the M3 rule.. it costs 3x as much to do anything to it. an M20 is cheap and simple to work on, you could easily dump $10k into an S14 rebuild. I have about $14k into my car including the purchase price, and that's 3+ years of repairs and upgrades. you could easily spend $14k on just the purchase for an M3, and then $10k in repairs/upgrades. they just don't compare..

[bmws50b30]

i personally wouldnt consider a car i had to take a loan on in the first place. id buy a nice 318 or 325 and wait till youre older and your wife can afford more.
if youre thinking you my not be able to afford it you shouldnt be driving 1.
be patient and youll have your dream m3 when youre older and have more loot

i was going to say the same until I read your post. words of wisdom from an old man

[M3 Ryan]

Look, take it from me. I have owned E30 M3's for over 4 years now, and I have loved every minute of it. Those minutes have also cost me a ton of cash. I spend around $400/mo average on rutine maintanence on my M3. Keep in mind, I put 5k miles a year on it, and it is a weekend-use only car. I have spent over $40k on my current M3 in the last 3.5 years of ownership for mods and maintance. I blew the motor in the first month, swapped it out and blew the second engine after another 15k miles and 1 year. Then I built a 2.5L because I needed a new crank and pistons anyhow. See where I a, going with this? I love my car, but it is very expensive. I am a BMW Dealer Tech, so my parts are all purchased at cost, my labor is free and I have access to all tools/info that I need for any task. It is still expensive to own.

Do what you want, but I am telling you right now, you will be sorry when your car needs a major repair (and believe me, it will) and you don't have the money to fix it, its your only car, and nobody will loan you the cash.

[golde30]

i know the car armen is talking about. its my friends car. and he has spent stupid amounts of money maintaining this m3. he also has all the records on the car since purchase. the whole motor was replaced once by the origional owner back in like 91 under warranty. the second owner had the head replaced about 60k miles ago. chassis has 200k miles. car is solid.

[armeN]

yea maybe i should have gave some background on the car. like he said wth the heads replaced it has 80k on it. the car looks very clean and well maintaned. I guess the question I was really trying to pose is: how reliable is the car. I'm not too worried about cost of repairs rather than how often I would have to repair it. If I'm going to have to drop over 200 every month just to keep the car running then that sounds a bit far fetched to me but if the car is willing to break down every 3 months or so then I can handle it lol. any more feedback guys this has all been good?

oh and as for what happened to buaaa tssss well this is it. I'm torn between the m3 and an srt4. I would so go with the m3 if it turns out practical. Hence why I'm asking for feedback. Will this car break down every month with ginourmous expense or every so often?

[DEV0 E30]

If you really want to keep it find out how much storage would be or even better free storage and cover it until you are sure you want to be spending the money it will require.

Take the advice from people who do own them or have in the past, they know what's up.

[armeN]

well owners.... how reliable is the car? am i looking at repairs every month or somwhere around every couple months?

[Bavarian3]

They aren't reliable.. 8)

[Eric Giles]

well owners.... how reliable is the car? am i looking at repairs every month or somwhere around every couple months?

armeN-

The E30 M3 I owned for two years (which I paid $12,500 for and it had 102k miles in 2003) only required new A/C compressor bushings, a water pump, one exhaust manifold stud and and two nuts, throttle cable grommet, timing chain tensioner, and the main relay. These were the things that basically 'broke' or just were in desperate need of replacing. This was in 10k miles of driving, mostly as a weekend car. My car was very reliable, however the previous owner did a ton of preventive maintenance work over the years. That is the only reason I had such a good experience with mine.

If you are going to use this car as a daily driver, it is important to note how far the drive would be from your house to work/school/etc. One of the reasons I did not daily drive mine was because I live two miles from work. This short of a distance never lets the S14 get the oil up to operating temperature, and during the warm up time S14 engines run VERY rich. Constant small driving trips like this are not good at all for this motor.

But I can tell that you really want this car, and nothing we tell you will probably change your mind. I was the same way before I bought mine, however I knew mine would be a weekend only car and I did have most of the money required for maintenance. The E30 M3 is a superb car, but I am back to the realization that an E30 325i or iS is a much better car for daily use-and that is what I will be on the lookout to buy again in the very near future.

You have been forwarned by others in this thread. Just make absolutely, positively sure what you are getting yourself into. Then take the plunge and you will find out soon enough if the E30 M3 is the car for you.

[bmwm3n528]

well owners.... how reliable is the car? am i looking at repairs every month or somwhere around every couple months?

armeN-

The E30 M3 I owned for two years (which I paid $12,500 for and it had 102k miles in 2003) only required new A/C compressor bushings, a water pump, one exhaust manifold stud and and two nuts, throttle cable grommet, timing chain tensioner, and the main relay. These were the things that basically 'broke' or just were in desperate need of replacing. This was in 10k miles of driving, mostly as a weekend car. My car was very reliable, however the previous owner did a ton of preventive maintenance work over the years. That is the only reason I had such a good experience with mine.

If you are going to use this car as a daily driver, it is important to note how far the drive would be from your house to work/school/etc. One of the reasons I did not daily drive mine was because I live two miles from work. This short of a distance never lets the S14 get the oil up to operating temperature, and during the warm up time S14 engines run VERY rich. Constant small driving trips like this are not good at all for this motor.

But I can tell that you really want this car, and nothing we tell you will probably change your mind. I was the same way before I bought mine, however I knew mine would be a weekend only car and I did have most of the money required for maintenance. The E30 M3 is a superb car, but I am back to the realization that an E30 325i or iS is a much better car for daily use-and that is what I will be on the lookout to buy again in the very near future.

You have been forwarned by others in this thread. Just make absolutely, positively sure what you are getting yourself into. Then take the plunge and you will find out soon enough if the E30 M3 is the car for you.

How are you liking the zhp? Any regrets?

[Eric Giles]

How are you liking the zhp? Any regrets?

Not really. This is my third E46 so I knew how it would be going in. However, the one thing that really hurts these cars is the electronic drive by wire throttle. It is slow to respond making it hard to rev match, and in turn it makes the car seem slower than it really is. I do miss the low end torque and responsiveness of the E36 M3. But an E46 330 has to be one of the best everyday use cars on the planet. It is very refined and comfortable, but at the same time likes to be pushed hard and driven.

I still miss my E30's....but I hope to rectify that soon ;)

[KenC]

I blew the motor in the first month, swapped it out and blew the second engine after another 15k miles and 1 year. Then I built a 2.5L because I needed a new crank and pistons anyhow. See where I am going with this?

It sounds to me like you're saying the S14 is an unreliable piece of shit.

[Digitalwave]

well owners.... how reliable is the car? am i looking at repairs every month or somwhere around every couple months?

The thing is... if your car goes 3 months without breaking, are you going to be saving that $200 every month or spending it because you didn't need it on the car?

And just cause the head was replaced 80k ago doesn't mean the engine is going to last you. 200,000 miles on a stock bottom end is a LOT on an S14.

[parkerbink]

My 92 Twin Turbo 300ZX which had been well maintained by the previous owner and was totally babied by me (maintainence wise) started costing over 400 a month to keep running, first one afm, then the other then a tranny, then a cylinder head etc. When the flywheel broke a tooth after the second tranny had just been replaced, I was done. I sold it for 5k when it had at least 10k in upgrades & was worth at least 12k but I just needed it gone.

With cars like these you have to be ready for costly maintainance is my point. If you can't afford for it to be down while it is repaired (daily driver) then I think it is a bad idea to get involved with it.

Just my 2cents

[Dave]

i personally wouldnt consider a car i had to take a loan on in the first place. id buy a nice 318 or 325 and wait till youre older and your wife can afford more.
if youre thinking you my not be able to afford it you shouldnt be driving 1.
be patient and youll have your dream m3 when youre older and have more loot

i was going to say the same until I read your post. words of wisdom from an old man

Ditto to this. Never buy a car if you can't pay cash. I paid in full for all three cars I have and my wife's Sienna when I got them.