E30 BMW M3: Most Overhyped Classic? - AFTER/DRIVE

[CrusherCurtis]

[BlackbirdM3]

That was a good review of the M3. I still can't think of another car I'd rather drive that was built after 1974.

Will

[89AlpineM3]

The hemi cuda of our generation......

[reelizmpro]

The title is a little misleading. I thought they were going to say how overrated the car is but it's just the opposite. They really rave about the car and bring up points I've often made to others over the years. Those guys sold the lachssilber M3 with BBS RK's in NY for $28.5K with 160k miles.

[F34R]

28k is just a basic car now days...I would rather own a piece of history than a cookie cutter Honda blah.

[e30Villain]

It is really depressing to hear that the prices are going up. It is my dream car and i really hope to own it in the near future. I did however find a pretty clean one for 16k on CL just. Little bit of hope restored.

Also i would have to agree, i hate when people rip out the s14.

[E30 Wagen]

Yeah, I've given up hope of ever being able to afford one. If prices were the same as they were 5+ years ago I could probably get one, but now it's out of the question. Hopefully more affluent, conservative owners means that less are treated as track "toys." I know they're meant to be driven and enjoyed, but I always hate when people have that kind of wasteful attitude toward cars, as if it's no big deal to get another one if they put it into a wall.

[reelizmpro]

There were a couple of beat up/salvaged swap cars that sold for 11K within a week of the posting here in the LA area. I even walked away from one of them, thinking it was overpriced for what it was but it still sold.

[mohamed...]

i two cannot stand when people tear out the s14 and turn it into a track car. breaks my heart.

[gte175x]

Having owned both the standard e30 and the e30 M3 (current) They are both great cars....

[mrcheezle19]

Well there goes my chance of owning one lulz.

[Kevinl]

I don't understand why everybody doesn't want prices of e30's & e30 m3's to go up these cars have been abused for years and years it is time for them to be treated like they deserve to be that means not making them affordable for 16 year olds

I also agree with not ripping out the s14 unless its to put in a S38
the S50/S52 are not worthy of these cars

[Herr Faust Schinken]

i think its really funny that they are saying the e30 m3 is overhyped, because every week or two theres something on jalopy about the e30 m3, they are wondering why the cars are going for so much when they them selves are doing a lot of the hyping up

[FredK]

Yeah, it really felt like a bunch of E30 forum members just sitting around and chewing the fat about the E30 M3. I think a lot of their points were valid, in that the car is now getting to the point where collectors want to just park it and sit on it rather than to drive it.

Again, the most expensive cars will follow the pattern of other investment-grade cars--that is, the panels are original, the engine is original, and the paint is as well.

No one thinks that putting a car into a wall is something to just shrug off. These days M3s are sufficiently expensive that putting a car into a wall, you'd likely rebuild on the same chassis.

[bimma360]

You know the e30 M3 going up in price just makes me happy to be honest.

Many many years ago someone on this forum, I forget who, told me that i wasn't a "true e30 m3 enthusiast." I think today I finally agree with him. I utterly love the e30 M3 styling, but never really cared enough about the drivetrain like a true die hard.

I am utterly obsessed with the e30 in general, and am perfectly happy experiencing it with a power plant different than the S14. If I so desired I would feel totally fine replicating the styling of the M3 on a 325i body, and let the "collectors" snatch the actual examples off the market. As unfortunate as it may be.

However, I think the part that makes me happy about all of this is simply where the normal e30 will go from here. I think as prices keep rising on the M3 so will the prices on the normal e30 models. I think this will eventually out price the youngsters, and the more mature enthusiasts that have some coin to spend but don't want to necessarily spend thattt much on an M3 will become more prevalent in the scene.