Need opinions on buying an e30.

[trevor144]

Rust is a PITA those dents won't "pop" from the inside. That car is ROUGH. I would pass.

I am a body shop manager so take my knowledge as an educated guess.

Why would the dents not pop out? I only need a car to drive to work and school for the next year or two, so some sand paper and rustoleum stray paint should drastically slow the rust.

[Shangsta]

That is not surface rust, there is some rot, and yes that car is definitely not worth the asking price. I sold my 325e for 800 and the body was in way better condition than that pile. There are e30's coming up for sale all the time in Tennessee, I would wait for a better deal to come around. rather spend slightly more now then have to throw money into fixing that car which if you tried to sell would not fetch anything

[igor2]

The E30 is my third potential classic (after a Fiat Spider and Volvo 1800ES) The one rule that stuck with me is : Buy the nicest one you can afford.

The cost of parts and labor disappears into these cars - have someone else eat it.

(PS: I am not talking of a fully restored $5k E30s, but you can get a nicer car than that even for under a grand).

[trevor144]

I don't think you all understand. I'm not trying to restore an e30 and auto-x it. I'm just trying to find a reliable ride to school and work that I don't have to constantly dump money into unlike my most recent car ('91 240sx). If anyone knows about any e30's in east tn/nc area for less than $2000 please let me know. Thanks

[igor2]

Trevor, I am in a similar boat as you. If you need a daily driver, engine becomes more important than body, but do not get into a rotting and rusting car.

Dings and fading paint? meh ... but rust's a bitch - if it's deep you are looking at cutting out pieces of sheet-metal, welding in new ones, then prepping and painting ... mui expensive and a pita to deal with.

If you are in a rush and all you have is $2k, then broaden your scope. There are other fun(ish) reliable cars. Your other choice is to wait and keep looking.

You have three options: buy quick, buy cheap, or buy well. Pick any two.

[trevor144]

I guess what I need to know is how much longer a car with that kind of rust will last before it becomes a danger to drive.

My original idea was to just drive the car until it fell apart, then park it, find another e30, and use the rust bucket as a parts car.

[TurboJake]

At the prices people are asking nowadays. By that time, the price of an E30 will have skyrocketed to $2.5m each

[StereoInstaller1]

I don't think you all understand. I'm not trying to restore an e30 and auto-x it. I'm just trying to find a reliable ride to school and work that I don't have to constantly dump money into unlike my most recent car ('91 240sx). If anyone knows about any e30's in east tn/nc area for less than $2000 please let me know. Thanks

I am gonna say this as clearly as I can: do not buy an E30 if that is your goal. A nice condition E30 is great as a Daily, but the cheap shitheaps you are showing have zero chance of being reliable without a ton of money/work/time to put into them.

You just might be a dense motherfucker though. A guy who runs a bodyshop told you "it ain't so simple" and that car is damn near a flintmobile, yet you seem to think it is no big deal.

Its your money though, right?

(fucking kids these days, get off my damn lawn!)

[MikeDE]

You just might be a dense motherfucker though. (fucking kids these days, get off my damn lawn!)

I lol'd.

True though, they're getting up there in age and neither the cars nor the parts, new or used, are getting any cheaper.

Just get a nice Civic/Corolla/Camry/Accord/Elantra or other boring-ass reliable daily.

[5Toes]

Not to conflict with the wise words of Luke above.. my $1200 pile has managed to be very reliable thus far!

Timing belt, oil change, spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter, just a bunch of basic stuff and I am golden.

I lol'ed too. HARD. in class

[Brinkley]

If you want a beater30, this could be alright, though he is asking too much. The big issue is how bad is the rust? Are the floor pans about to fall out? Will it pass an inspection?
I am also looking for a cheap e30 but personally I'd pass unless he's willing to go <$500 as others have said. Keep looking.
If you aren't afraid of some work then get a decent body auto car and do a 5 speed swap.
Mechanical work is much easier than body

[trevor144]

I am gonna say this as clearly as I can: do not buy an E30 if that is your goal. A nice condition E30 is great as a Daily, but the cheap shitheaps you are showing have zero chance of being reliable without a ton of money/work/time to put into them.

You just might be a dense motherfucker though. A guy who runs a bodyshop told you "it ain't so simple" and that car is damn near a flintmobile, yet you seem to think it is no big deal.

Its your money though, right?

(fucking kids these days, get off my damn lawn!)

I dunno, my last e30 (i bought for $700 and had rust btw) had a wheel fly off at 45 mph. I put the wheel back on and drove home no problem. Now that is my kind of car. You all really have no faith... I'm tempted to buy this rough ass car and clean it up just to prove my point, but i'm just going to hold out as long as I can and see if more e30's pop up on craigslist, if not then i will buy the flintmobile.

[TurboJake]

Oh, I have faith. Mines rusty. Was 1k. But I have a thick ass folder full of service records.
And it's getting thicker this weekend (Blunt FTW). IDGAF if it it's rusty. I'm still going to maintain it. The only thing wrong with it is the body. A/C even works.

Pretty soon it's going to be car that's worth a lot of money in rare parts. But can drive home to be parted.

But my 1k car is leaps, bounds, miles, kilometers, titsnasses, whatever measuring system you use better than the OP's (Your) link... That one looks like roseanne used it for a sex toy.

[trevor144]

Oh, I have faith. Mines rusty. Was 1k. But I have a thick ass folder full of service records.
And it's getting thicker this weekend (Blunt FTW). IDGAF if it it's rusty. I'm still going to maintain it. The only thing wrong with it is the body. A/C even works.

Pretty soon it's going to be car that's worth a lot of money in rare parts. But can drive home to be parted.

But my 1k car is leaps, bounds, miles, kilometers, titsnasses, whatever measuring system you use better than the OP's (Your) link... That one looks like roseanne used it for a sex toy.

I think the body is in fair shape, besides the rust. It only has the two dents, which i'm pretty positive i can take the door panels off and pop out.

The man selling it is older and only uses it to drive to work and back (highway), so i'll have to see how long he's owned the car and go look at the car myself to see how bad the rust really is.

[trevor144]

Ok i know this is a bmw forum, but i found something else that interests me:

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/2616342253.html