Are any of these cars worth it? And which one?

[jasonbk]

How come there are so many nice, cheap, and clean e30s in US and none in Canada? I've seen at least 5 people in Canadian BMW forum looking for clean e30, willing to pay $4k~$6k. Even one of my schoolmate is looking for clean white e30 vert which he can't find anywhere. I picked mine for $4k after 8 months of looking for a rust-free coupe and I thought that it was a fair deal.

[Bullwings]

ya the m20 is old school to your s2000.

It just sort of goes tons of torque. Geared way lower than you would think too kind of like a truck. kind of goes high or low...its funny like you can have the same hp in 2nd gear at x rpm as 3rd gear at x-1000 rpm and it makes no difference its just using less gas.

The m42 is dohc, its gutless till you hit the top so youre an economy car till you get going...

your s2000 uses two additional technologies to make the top end roll. so youre changing gears, then your keeping the rpm high sort of interacting a touch more.

weight is similar. you will be suprised that an e30 weighs the same but has back seats, and a big trunk.

Yup, DOHC, multi variable valve timing and revving to 8K+ rpms (FC22). It's also a momentum car and is very rewarding to drive on track. you have to work with the gearbox alot and keep RPMs above 5800 to stay in that vtec power band (lots of heel-toe shifting).

I'm not in any rush. I'll definitely wait until a steal comes along. I might even end up in a 325i. I just want 4-doors.

I personnaly like m42. It is a sporty motor with is easy to modify for cheap and work on.

e30 with m42 will make you think it is a RWD Civic. Light and Economical, Sporty and High revving. Not as fast as m20, but definately more fun driving. You can r3dline m42 all day long and still get 20+ mpg in the city easily.

Yes, this is what I'm looking for along with the classic car look.

How come there are so many nice, cheap, and clean e30s in US and none in Canada? I've seen at least 5 people in Canadian BMW forum looking for clean e30, willing to pay $4k~$6k. Even one of my schoolmate is looking for clean white e30 vert which he can't find anywhere. I picked mine for $4k after 8 months of looking for a rust-free coupe and I thought that it was a fair deal.

Supply... There were way more sold here. Also, in California, we have awesome weather, so they aren't completely rusted and beat to hell - good luck in Canada with all that snow, salt, and gravel all over the roads. Also, verts are all over the place in sunny SoCal - I HATE them... LOL!!! i don't think too many people want a vert in Canada.

[jasonbk]

Actually, I often see verts in sub par condition asking $5~6k all the time around here. What I can't find is a coupe. For one whole last year, I saw only 4 clean e30 coupe that was for sale. And I bought one of them.

Next time, I should take a road trip to California and buy a clean e30, and drive back home.

[stamar]

a convertible in canada is extremely rare. It is valuable in germany also.

also, due to money distribution there are more people willing to spend more on a used car there.

Just plain and simple the average canadian makes and has more money than the average american. We have billionaires and poor people.

[KenC]

neither are profile gaskets that failed, timing tensioners that were junk when they were new, and timing chain sytems that basically fall apart by 200,000 miles.

See how much it costs to replace an entire M42 timing chain setup and compare to how much you'd have spent on timing belts for an M20 over the same mileage. it's not even close.

I like the M42 from a driving the car standpoint - but mechanically, it's not one of BMWs best engines.

After owning an M42 car for five years (three engines), I'd agree.

If you're willing to dump $700 into an M42, you can make it a pretty damn reliable machine though.

MPG in the M42 is only marginally better than the M20.