How did you get into E30's?

[Julien]

I got into e30s because I couldn't afford an e36 back in 2001

[nick526]

Pops talked my Mom into busting the car budget on a brand new e30 325i vert back in 86. I was four years old. He had tons of different cars but that one was always my favorite.

I still remember my Mom and Dad rolling up in the driveway in that shiney red bimmer with the top down looking like a pair of movie stars. Quite an impression on a young kid!

[TroyShark]

My dad was never into cars. Friend of mine I grew up with got me into cars. Started liking the euro scene. Bought a 20th ae GTI for my first car, drove it for awhile and sold it. Friend of mine saved an e30 after it was in an accident. Seeing him rebuild it got me interested in them. Now I'm looking for my own.

[aaron325ix]

when i was 5 my mom and i flew into germany to meet up with my dad, who had already been over there for a month or two before us (AF pilot).

Upon picking us up from the Frankfurt airport, he had a beige 528 e12 i believe. As he got on to the auobahn i could not stop laughing as i had never gone so fast in a car before. Later on he got an e30. I believe it was an 82 323i henna.

About a year before we left germany in 87 he bought an e32 735i 5speed blue and brought it back to the US with us. That car was such a head turner in Austin, Tx you wouldnt believe.

So naturally my first car when i was 16 was an e30 84 318i 5 sp which we bought from his pilot buddy who also brought it back from Germany. Unfortunately I totaled that one, and moved on to some other cars, ie. 89 Rx7 (which i loved btw), VW golf (also fun). However after living in Vail, Co without a car. I decided to get back to hte BMW game and purchased an 89 325ix from a place in portland, Or and roadtripped it back to vail with my buddy. still DDing it 12 years later. :D

[E30_Pare]

Pops bought it new while he lived in germany. Brought it back with him to the states. Spent some time on the east coast/Tennessee then out to Cali. Car sat for a couple years in the early 2000s got it running & became my sisters car. I then inherited it & now she's dead. Sad story.

[Fusion]

Borrowed an early 320i from a friend. The first time the ass slipped, I knew I had to have one.
Studied up and decided I didn't like the M20 engines. Almost bought an M30 with overheat problems. Took a while to find a finished M50 swap. Went to check it out and payed a down payment (was there alone). Took a bus there a week later. The two hour drive home was probably the greatest drive in my life.

[canakami]

I don't think I've posted in here yet...

It was basically my father's doing. When I was in middle school he was looking for a nicer car for my mother to putt around in, ended up finding mint 84' 318i. Only problem was she was no good at driving a manual, so she got a new civic and my father kept the E30 for himself. Even then I knew it wasn't fast (also had a Mustang GT sitting in the stable) but he was always late bringing me to school, so on the windy stretches of road on the way there he'd be wringing it out. Wasn't hard to tell that it handled a damn sight better than everything else he'd owned so far. Fast forward to a couple years after the end of high school; the Volvo 745ti I had decided to die on me, and rather than continue to waste money on fixing it I knew it was time to pick up an E30.

Been horribly addicted to the damn things ever since.

[RecycledTeen]

Drove one back in mid-90's, reinforcing belief it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow, and was hooked (though didn't actually own one until next decade).

[karzrtoyz]

1984

Well, it all started back in 1984 when my mom bought a new 318i from Pacific BMW.
She paid $22,500 for the car, brown carpet, comfort vinyl seats, etc...
I was 11 years old at the time.
Here's a pic of the car with my grandmother next to it.
Diving boards were kinda nice when the car was new.




1989


Then finally, I turned 16 in 1989 and was promised the e30 as a first car,
but mom decided to sell it to buy a Blinged out El Dorado, so instead,
I was promised a new VW Gti so we went to VW Van Nuys to get one,
but got side tracked when my dad decided to stop
and check out the " Newest" car on the market that year- Lexus LS 400...
45 mins later he was driving it home! I asked him " What the heck?
Thought we were gonna get me a new VW?!? What am I gonna drive?"
He threw me his keys to his 1984 528e 5speed.
And said " I think you'll like the BMW better than a cheap VW"
So My first car was a 1984 528e 5speed with 77,000 miles!!!





2004

Then in 2004, I was a job site in Santa Monica,
when I spotted a Zinno 1989 325is 5speed chilling in the alley covered in dust,
saw a for sale sign in the pass seat. The car reminded me of the e30 when I was 16,
figured it would be fun to fix it up.
Called the owner, he had no one interested in the car at the time.
E30s were just junkers at the time and had no value-
got the car for $700 and that was common back then to find a plastic bumper 325is for that kind of money.
And that started at 50+ e30 car addiction that I have spread to my younger brother.
We have a total of 6 e30s today, I would have more, but have no more room to store the cars.


They come and go, grab them as we see them

[bigdrick323]

He threw me his keys to his 1984 528e 5speed.
And said " I think you'll like the BMW better than a cheap VW"
So My first car was a 1984 528e 5speed with 77,000 miles!!!





2004


They come and go, grab them as we see them


[/QUOTE]

That 5 series looks like the handmedown from my dad i got in 1996. Remembering that car got me wanting an e30.

[The München Monster]

I had just moved to New Zealand, and i got my learners license, and wanted a car badly. Managed to convince my dad to get me a car of some sort, so we were looking on TradeMe( NZ's brilliant mash-up of craigslist and ebay) for some cars. He wanted me to get a CR-X, like he had in the 90's, but i had my priorities: Boxy, European (If not German), and vintage. I was thinking volvo really, or a 70's Merc, but i was open. "What about this one i said", pointing at an ad for a 1986 318i for only $1600 NZD ($1300 usd?). We went to check it out on a rainy day, and it was so cozy. Ran fine. I didnt get to drive it cause i was on my learners at the time. Actually it wasnt listed for 1600, it was listed for 2000 but the guy was going to college the next day and was in a rush to sell it, so he lowered the price a bit. But man. We got it, my mom drove it home about 20 miles, only when we got home did we realise the handbrake was up (Her doing not mine), then we could smell it..... No problem though. Handbrake works fine now. Only other problems, front seats needed re-upholstering, trunk leaked, and needed new speakers and a better stereo.

(A year ago)Me with my new motor-carriage:



Fast forward to, now. Im sitting here, anxiously awaiting the manual conversion that my car is going to be enjoying in a week. Couldve had a friend do it but having my favorite mechanic do it just to be safe. Just blew a whole paycheck on a new clutch and an un-dented front right guard from a 1990 320 (That fit and matched well, i must say). I started with Bimmerfest. Moved on here to find something more E30 oriented. Love it. Before this whole thing, i didnt know what 318i meant. What an E30 was. M10B18 (aka the lawnmower engine under my hood). Its great. I work at BP actually, and every day i see at least one E30. Some come into the station, i even see a few Bauers from time to time. I get all excited when i see another E30. Or even my own. Mines not all done up and modified, nor am i going to lower it or put massive rims on it (Black alloys soon actually), im going to make it look like i want it to look. Not like a boyracer hoon-mobile. But thats just me. Cant wait for it to be a 5 speed.

My first car is an E30, and i plan to drive it until one of us dies.

[Lof8]

I was dreaming of getting an e36 m3, but didn't have the dough. Then I found the bimmerforums thread with hundreds of pages of good looking e30s. Then I found info on 24v swapping e30s and it was over. I could get an e30 cheap and build it slowly on a budget. I've loved every minute of it!!

[nickmcc92]

Growing up I saw these cars on the streets. I'm into muscle cars but I've always liked the shape esp. the rear view with wide tires :)
& it's a BMW.

The E30 is a classic car. People that drive it know class and have it.

[808e30325i]

I was never interested in e30's when I was young. I grew up with a ford and american muscle family. In 2000 I joined the Marines and needed a car and just so happened that my wife (girlfriend at the time) owned a mint 1986 5spd 325es with a full zender kit and perfect black vinyl recaro interior. I always had the tuning bug so I started throwing parts on and enjoyed every second in that car. The best part was when I bought the car it only had 42,xxx miles on it. I eventually sold the car to my buddy in the corps that really wanted it. I told him that I didn't want to sell it but he insisted on giving him a price so without thinking I told him 8k and he said ok. Next day he shows up with a check for the amount and In shock I handed him the keys not knowing that I'd regret ever selling my first e30. Now I'm on my 8th e30 and don't plan to stop. I have also had the pleasure of owning a e30 m3 for 3 1/2 yrs., Still looking for another.

[Van Westervelt]

I opened the door.