I need some advice from r3v

[BergerNJ]

I purchased my vert thinking I could rely on it as a DD for a little while until I had enough cash saved up to purchase a real DD and keep the vert in the garage where it belongs.

Long story short-After pouring in a little over 2000 in parts and service to get it running OK(after paying 4000 for it).......I have barely any money saved up and I found oil in my coolant...

To spare myself of an over heated m20 I parked it and haven't driven it since.

I can't afford to fix the vert and then buy a real DD in time for the winter. I want to let it sit in my garage and buy something reliable-get enough money together to fix it over the winter and finally have rebuilt/replaced everything besides the head/bottom end/tranny.


Should I just dump what I have to get it fixed correctly? or should I use the money I have and will have in the next few weeks as a down payment on a daily driver?

I really have no clue what to do and I WILL NOT part with my e30.


Id rather have something I can rely on to get to work and class rather then my vert which I want to take care of properly.....

[der affe]

If you can do the work yourself, a head gasket is really not that bad to do or expensive. Can you fix it and drive it a while and save money to buy a dd to then keep it off the road?

[Vtec?lol]

just fix it. car notes are never a good idea. especially if you are barely able to keep up the e30

[BergerNJ]

I can afford keeping the vert on the road...I just don't want to daily drive it...it doesn't deserve the treatment the NJ roads have to offer in my opinion...especially if I cant put the top down-which needs to be tended too as well since it decided to start leaking on me recently

I want to make it my summer/weekend vehicle.....It has important sentimental value in it as well....

Fixing the e30 is not my trouble and neither is making a responsibly sized car payment...

I just don't feel comfortable at all driving the vert in snow.....it makes me sick actually to think about it


I was thinking a nice Honda or Yota to keep me on the road reliably while working on the vert during the week ends


My buddy just got his hands on a shop and tools as much as he wants...I know we can do the job but getting the head decked/leveled and inspected properly is something I need done for me

[BergerNJ]

If I do get a daily driver and make the vert my second vehicle..it leaves me with a lot more room to work on the vert myself and not have to worry about down time.

I guess a better question to ask is what kind of car should I look at?

Whats reliable and not something I wont enjoy driving....I'm not asking for a sports car...just ideas...

btw any outside opinion and attempts at giving me outside perspective is greatly appreciated....

[yert315]

seems like you already have your mind made up. Buy a DD and fix the vert when you can

[LuckyHenriksen]

Buy an old beater eta to use as a winter driver

[BergerNJ]

Buy an old beater eta to use as a winter driver

lol this crossed my mind but we are still talking about at leasttttt a 19 going on 20 year old car....Im not into getting another e30 running right just to get from point a to point b...and plus my girlfriend and my family would think Im crazy......

seems like you already have your mind made up. Buy a DD and fix the vert when you can

I think you are right.


I like the Honda crv..Its practical, its not over priced and it still has the same reliability as the civics and accords...Too bad Tacomas are expensive if its low miles

If I had the money to blow on gas Id just buy a nice dodge 1500 because I love Mopar but I want to spend that extra gas money on the Vert.....

[e30Rooster]

What did you spend 2k on?

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk

[325ix]

Buy an older civic. They are super slow, but get incredible gas mileage and I used to have so much fun driving it. They are light and kinda tossable although they don't handle all that well.

[blocke]

FWIW I am in somewhat of the same boat. My E30 was not intended to be my daily, but things changed with my job and now I may have to commute 3k miles a month. I have a new GTI that I don't want to run the miles up on. But I don't think the E30 is reliable enough to get me to work safely and on time. I'm considering parking the E30 and keeping it project car status, and buying a cheap Civic or CRX to drive the shit out of. Keep my E30 on track to restoration, Keep the miles off my new car. Win Win.

[BergerNJ]

So after a long time of shopping before and after this thread.....I found a few ugly imo Hyundais, two toyotas-over priced....and a bunch of Hondas...


I found an 05 Honda CRV with 78k on it at a Dealership. Got the price down to 11,495...having a shop look at it and measure the rotors since they were turned by the dealer, then check for any unknown accidents...after that I think I'm signing the loan.


I spent 2k on small parts, then a water pump, v belts, coolant system refresh, intake manifold gasket+ labor on all....didnt have the room for down time and had to get it done by someone else...

After getting the Honda I will be trying to service mostly everything in the car because I actually will have a set of wheels to depend on if I take long or screw up

[Mullet Bullet]

just buy a beater subaru for winter and a DD until the vert is back up to par. subaru's are very cheap to run and maintain and are built like tanks.

[dannyyisntt]

just buy a beater subaru for winter and a DD until the vert is back up to par. subaru's are very cheap to run and maintain and are built like tanks.

Mullet bullet has a point here...I know that I for one would rather drive a subbie any day, then drive a Honda. Especially if your taking a loan on it. Though I'm an American autoworker and through personally experiences, have a bad taste in my mouth when regarding Toyota and Honda, so I figure if your gonna go Japanese, might as well buy something respectable.

On a different note, I've actually considered buying an sti in the past, but the lure of no payment and something with more character (old bmw's) tends to win.

[wodcutr]

If you really are an E30 enthusiast, 1 E30 is generally not enough. It is a disease, you know, that you can't stand to drive anything else. I also was told once that if you own one you have to own two in order to always have a running vehicle while you are working on the other! Anyway, I say buy a so called reliable beater E30, one that the paint may not look so hot but the motor is well maintained, and enjoy both for what they are. I happen to have a reliable so called beater for sale so I might be a little biased but I do own 4 other fully functional and running E30s so I can have my cake and eat it too!