Best DD for the money?

[dnguyen1963]

I bought my 86 325e for 200 bucks put in a used auto trans bought off of a rev 3 member and paid 500 to have it installed and all fluids changed. my wife has put 20k miles with zero issues.

I just paid 600 for a 87 325i 4 door manual with cardinal int. needs a DS that i just happen to have in the garage.

You have to search for good deals but they are out there.

I plan on putting 100k on both of my cars before retiring them.

Count yourself lucky that you live in a state where you can find cheap E30s. I cannot find a salvage yard with an E30 anywhere in the Midwest. The for sale ads here contain very few E30s for less than 2K. Most are 5K and above these past two years.

[rikaro]

i'm DDing my 318is right now. imo having owning the civic, everything about the car is far more cheaper and reliable to own. However the 318is is obvious more luxurious and drives better, and plus you get more compliments :)

The civic is just better on fuel consumption, cheaper insurance, cheaper replacement parts (although it only depends on certain items) and fwd so it's easier to drive in the snow.

If you're covering a lot of distances then I'll just stick with a civic. The 318 to me would be nice for a daily, but would stay away from driving long distances because I don't want to rack up the mileage too much :P

[GillesBigCowboy]

Life is too short to dd a car that you do not LOVE to drive. Every car is an equation full of compromises, you just have to choose your priorities.

[motomaster99]

325e makes a very decent DD if you do freeway commutes due to the low revving nature, and returned me around 28mpg on a recent 3 hour drive.

I bought mine from a family friend who said the odo stopped around 5 years prior to me owning it at 293XXX(kays). ive driven it non stop for about a year too, so im gonna assume this thing is getting close to 400 thou. Done the usual maintenance and it still goes perfectly fine seeing it spends all of its life below 2k rmps (auto). i recon i will see another good few years if i treat it kind.

mine has 357 k on it Carfax says mileage last reported at 300,000 in 2009. Was my dd until the swap. e34 replaced it as a dd, very nice dd at that, now I have a 79 c10...lets just say I'm excited to drive me e30 again.

[lolcantturn]

I bought my 318is slick top for very cheap and I've put 12,000 miles on it and never turned a single wrench except change the oil. You guys just buy shitty cars. My car is my DD and I trust it more than the 2010 Nissan Sentra we have at home

[XW70]

325e makes a very decent DD if you do freeway commutes due to the low revving nature, and returned me around 28mpg on a recent 3 hour drive.

I bought mine from a family friend who said the odo stopped around 5 years prior to me owning it at 293XXX(kays). ive driven it non stop for about a year too, so im gonna assume this thing is getting close to 400 thou. Done the usual maintenance and it still goes perfectly fine seeing it spends all of its life below 2k rmps (auto). i recon i will see another good few years if i treat it kind.

[NeoMishMoo]

I bought (actually my dad gave me a 70 something crew cab long bed dodge, that I traded for) a 87 eta 10 years ago when I was 16. Drove the shit out of it, tried to keep it nice. After a few years, few fender benders, and discovery of major rust takeover I gave up on making it nice and made it my point A to B car. Little bastard has rust like a mother, suspension is just about totally shot, in bad need of a retirement and total resto, but every car that I get to replace the eta craps out before I can get the eta tore down. Tape, Spanners, a jack, some ether and that little west german monster will roll forever.

One of the best vehicles I've ever known.

[Skunkworks]

Tell me the final price after you get done with this car for it to be a reliable dd. We all started out with 2k or so and then after about 5k later the car is still not done. E30 is a great car if you do not mind to get your hands dirty. For anyone who is looking for a reliable way to get from A to B, it might not be the right one.

I bought my 86 325e for 200 bucks put in a used auto trans bought off of a rev 3 member and paid 500 to have it installed and all fluids changed. my wife has put 20k miles with zero issues.

I just paid 600 for a 87 325i 4 door manual with cardinal int. needs a DS that i just happen to have in the garage.

You have to search for good deals but they are out there.

I plan on putting 100k on both of my cars before retiring them.

[dnguyen1963]

Eta with broken timing belt. 2K plz.

Tell me the final price after you get done with this car for it to be a reliable dd. We all started out with 2k or so and then after about 5k later the car is still not done. E30 is a great car if you do not mind to get your hands dirty. For anyone who is looking for a reliable way to get from A to B, it might not be the right one.

[Andy348]

I bought a '91 318is to be a daily. On paper it sounds great: 2600ish pounds, 134hp, 30mpg, RWD, 5spd with LSD. Can be had for under $5k in good condition. Not too many light RWD cars out there that get 30mpg for short money; MR2 and Miata are the only others I can think of. Only problem is I haven't actually gotten to drive mine daily yet... it's been getting worked on for the past 2 months :(

And then once it's running you'll take another two months to mod it to where you want it to be. Once that's done, you'll decide on an S50 swap, and it'll sit in the garage for another two months.

It's a disease.

[InuFaye]

E30 is not cheap anymore. Have you seen the asking price lately?

Eta with broken timing belt. 2K plz.

[MazterDizazter]

I bought a '91 318is to be a daily. On paper it sounds great: 2600ish pounds, 134hp, 30mpg, RWD, 5spd with LSD. Can be had for under $5k in good condition. Not too many light RWD cars out there that get 30mpg for short money; MR2 and Miata are the only others I can think of. Only problem is I haven't actually gotten to drive mine daily yet... it's been getting worked on for the past 2 months :(

[bmw325_num99]

The answer is Subaru

Manual transmission, 4-cylinder Subaru wagons (but not the 1998-2002 2.5L variety, 2.2L are fine). Anything before and after works. I am on my 5th Subaru wagon and could not be happier.

[dnguyen1963]

This.

E30 is not cheap anymore. Have you seen the asking price lately?

[uofom3]

Whats wrong with e30?
Its cheap, reliable and easy to fix...

This.