Affording an E30? Your thoughts and knowledge needed.

[Heir2Air]

Alright, some background is needed to properly assist with my posed query.

I am a 22yo male with (very likely) two jobs this summer and Calculus 1 on Mon&Wed nights. So, this summer, I am a very busy individual. Come fall, I will hopefully be going back to school full-time and keeping the Best Buy job part-time. If I am unable to go back to school full-time in the fall (finances), then I will be working Best Buy full-time until I can do so. So, on the assumption that I hold both jobs over the summer and return to school in the fall, I will be making a whopping $14.5K in 52 weeks (52 weeks in a year)! Now, my earnings need to go towards my schooling and being a Mechanical Engineering student, I do not foresee myself having the time to work on my car for maintenance upkeep while also holding a part-time job. I am trying hard to get a fun, driving-experience oriented vehicle, but my options are limited. At its worst, I would put $9K towards my schooling this year, though it doesn't seem realistic and shouldn't be remotely necessary. I say the most I would want to spend on a vehicle itself would be $3K and maybe $5K needed for schooling. Honestly the schooling figure is quite dynamic at this point and will not be more static until mid/late summer, many weeks after the car will be needed. Here are some car choices I have come by.

-E30 318i/S seems the best fit; reliable, good on gas and can make for an engaging commute, but could I afford to not be my cars mechanic with this income?
-Miata is somewhere in the running as well. I'm simply not the biggest fan of its impracticality. Nor its looks, honestly. But I hear its fun, gets great mileage on a tank of gas and is as reliable a little car as they come.
But driving year-around? (Live in the DC area)
-240SX is there as well. Decent mileage, fairly reliable, can throw the tail out a bit when me desire for avoiding the pump is disregarded.

With all the money and time going towards the inflexibles, having a car that could help keep me sane from my numerous transitions from (parents ) house to job site 1 to campus to job site 2, would be ideal. Now, if I am not financially set to go back to school in the fall, my Best Buy job will turn full-time and my income would increase by ~$10K, so I there wouldn't be an issue with the E30. Problem is, I won't know if I'll be turning to BB fully until mid/late summer.

So, with that information presented, how do you weigh in? Would I be able to have this car for a year with an income of $14.5K and my expenses without being a DIY-er? Should I just go for a Civic and call it a day (pleassee do not affirm this question)? Would the Miata or 240SX be better vehicles for my situation? I am a male under 25 (clean driving record) paying for insurance solely, how much should this impact the decision? I would much rather have fun commuting than be able to go to the occasional movie or hit the club, etc. Besides, getting girls to pay for stuff like that isn't hard. Lol. Thanks for weighing on and giving me your time. I look forward to your responses and other vehicle options.

[peytonracer4]

quite honestly, if you absolutely need to depend on your car and you've only got $3000 then get a camry or a civic. get a cheap, reliable import and save up for a better car later. none of the cars you listed (maybe the miata) are going to be all that reliable. and all of them will require constant work at your price point.
i do think the cars you have chosen are great cars. and driving all of them is a good time. BUT with them being the only form of transportation you have, as well as not having time or money to work on them make them bad choices.

while in school buy a reliable beater. once you have more money buy your desired car. even then though, i will absolutely not recommend a 20+ year old car be your one and only. not unless you're paying near $10k for a completely sorted car.

you also mentioned not being a DIYer. if that's the case DO NOT buy any of the cars mentioned. old, cheap cars like the ones mentioned are slowly dying. if they are not fully restored and looked over they will constantly need parts fixed. i'm sure just about every DIY member on here has had to fix something in their e30 on the fly in a parking lot somewhere with no tools. i know i have multiple times. while i somewhat like that quality, that's because i'm a DIYer and a mechanic with unlimited time on my hands. it's also not my only car. if you do not have the time, money, or will to be always working on your car whether it be small or big problems then a $3k 20+ year old car is the worst choice.

[JinormusJ]

TLDR

Honestly, I'm a 20-y/o full-time school/work student and I own an iS; I have no time during school to mod, but I can handle basic hiccups and maintanence. Personally, I will only have time this summer when school is out, but nothing more than a 5-speed swap and basic maintanence.
My e30 is my only car, but if things go south, I do have my parents beater to drive while it gets sorted out. You on the other hand don't have the luxury. My e30 as well is kicking very healthily, I just finished all the maintanence, and am confidently dailiying it everywhere without an issue

You can own an e30 right now, but you wouldn't be able to extensively mod, mainly only do basic maintanence. As your only car though, with your schedule, you won't be able to mod/maintain and have your car in downtime.


If you're lucky enough to find a car like I was (I'm not even $2k into my car yet), then go for it and maintain the shiz out of it. If not, go for a beater and wait for this season to pass for the next

[Komzorz]

Assuming you acquire a well maintained unit for that 3k, you should be fine.

Realistically, all three of those cars are roughly equivalent in terms of maintenance costs, and none of them have as low of an overall cost to own as grandma's buick you could buy for 1k.

My personal opinion: don't be a waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles, buy an e30, a bentley manual, do this, and go for it.

Realistically, most things that really prevent an e30 from hauling you around can be fixed rather easily. Life is too short to drive shit cars everywhere.

[george graves]

My personal opinion: don't be a waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles, buy an e30, a bentley manual, do this, and go for it.

^dang - that is one heck of a deal. I'm tempted to buy one just to keep in the truck because of the organizer.

Don't own an e30 without working on it yourself - almost no-one on this forum takes their cars to a shop. Most people get creative and borrow friends garages when they need to do repairs.

You could buy a well sorted car....but that's hit and miss. You'll be kicking yourself if something major goes wrong, and you have to pay a shop.

Honestly - I hate to talk you out of getting an e30 - they are such a blast once modded....

....but if you're an ME student, you're in for a bumpy ride. The smart advice is to focus on school - *don't* take a year off and work. Get student loans and put your nose into a book for the next 5 years - when you come up for air, you'll be making enough money to save up for a really nice e30.

If it was me....I'd buy a $2000 e30, spend a few hundred in tools, and put $1000 for future repairs.

[kevvve]

Search CG. Get something cheap and reliable. Focus on school, get the degree, get the car and into the hobby if that's what you're thinking about.
No e30. No 240. Finding one that is in decent shape thy requires minimum maintance will be pricey for your budget. Furthermore becoming a DIYer is going to cost money(tools and time).

I was in your shoes not to long ago I wish I got something cheap so I didn't have work 40+hours a week plus go to school full time to make my car payments and tend to my mod bug.

[Andrew325is]

Just buy the car you like. It's the only way you're gonna be happy. All cars pretty much take the same maintenance and most cars have parts made by the same OEM suppliers, i.e. Bosch, Lucas, Lemforder, etc. There's usually generic parts you can use instead of "genuine" as well. I recommend using synthetic oil in any vehicle so there's nothing to consider there. I've been using Shell Rotella T6 in our V8's. I haven't tried it in an E30 yet but most agree it's a very good oil. I've seen an analysis of different oil's used in a M62b44TU and it outperformed about 10 other oils including Amsoil (don't get me wrong. Love me some Amsoil :)). It has a high zinc content which is what you want for flat tappet engines like the M20. I just noticed there's currently a rebate on it: http://www.shell.com/rotella/promoti...promotion.html. Obviously most of your money will go to gas so if you get a gas guzzler then take mass transit or ride your bike most of the time. There's also no need to spend money on a non-factory service manual like a Bentley unless you like something nice to read while sitting on the toilet. Most car manufactures have factory repair manuals you can download online such as BMW's TIS or Land Rover's RAVE. Refer to those for factory correct maintenance procedures and proper torque specifications.

[E30 Wagen]

Sorry but I can't recommend an e30 to somebody in your situation. It will be smarter to find a solid, economical car for <$2000 that will only require basic maintenance. There are lots to choose from, but unfortunately not many are RWD.

[87e30]

I've typed out several responses and just don't know what to tell ya.

The one thing I can say is you can't own an e30 (on any kind of budget) and not work on it yourself. You also can't own an e30 and expect things not to go wrong.

[K1CKBAC]

I'd focus on school. Enjoy your time in college. Better to set a foundation for life than to worry about cars. When you are set, affording an E30 will be a breeze. Seen so many people in college worry too much about cars an not enough about a career.

[MNE30]

I'm in highschool and just bought an E30.

Personally, probably not the best idea, but is it fun? Yes. Do chicks dig it? Yes. Do I like it? Yes. Have I spent a good amount of time under the hood? Yes.

If you can wrench your own shit, it's not too bad of a car.

[george graves]

I'm in highschool and just bought an E30.

Personally, probably not the best idea, but is it fun? Yes. Do chicks dig it? Yes. Do I like it? Yes. Have I spent a good amount of time under the hood? Yes.

If you can wrench your own shit, it's not too bad of a car.

Ahahahah - cool - but funny - girls think of it as "vintage" don't they?!?!? Like you're driving a VCR or something....

[Mr_Tripp]

Ahahahah - cool - but funny - girls think of it as "vintage" don't they?!?!? Like you're driving a VCR or something....

I daily an E34, as you know it has pretty much the same lines and design as the E30 just a bit bigger, besides the people who know what it is majority are blown away when i tell them that its 20+ years old.


To stay on topic- I'd say get a simple commuters car like a honda or toyota and wait till you have the time and money to afford an E30 and all that comes with it because believe it one not owning a older bimmer is somewhat of a life style and diy-ing and time are definitely two things you need to enjoy this life style. Sacrificing school isn't worth it in the end. Just my

[nrubenstein]

If you can't/won't DIY, you can't afford an E30. That's just how it is. Particularly if you need to depend on it as a daily driver. And really nice, well sorted E30s are pretty rare in the $3k range these days.

[flyboyx]

wow. you did a really nice job of writing up your situation and as a result, there are some fantastic responses here and a lot of good advice. welcome to our forum.