Affording an E30? Your thoughts and knowledge needed.

[MT325is]

I say get an e30 it's an amazing car! So much fun! Always puts a smile on my face! With that being said.... There will be a lot of $$$ spent on maintaining/modding it. It's 20 yrs old.
Also DIY it bro, it's good to get experience and no need to spend extra money.
The Bentley manual as mentioned earlier is a very good book. Pretty much everything in there.. Then there is this forum.

Overall I think you will enjoy this car more then any jap car you can get. But be prepared for all your money pouring into it... Because soon enough it will be an addiction. And everytime you have money you can always get something better:)
Good luck!

[Heir2Air]

there are some fantastic responses here and a lot of good advice. welcome to our forum.

I would have to agree. You guys are fantastic, thank you for your responses. The feedback from Nick's E30 and kevvve were particularly impactful, with you two empathetic to my situation. All arguments are well received and simply getting a Honda(Acura)/Toyota for these years does seem to be the smarter move, albeit less fun. Again, thank you all for your time and please continue to weigh in if you feel so inclined.

And thank you for the warm welcome, flyboyx.

[evandael]

[devil's advocate]

Don't write off a Civic or Accord. The mid-90's examples are actually very nicely made cars and can be fun to drive with a 5-speed. However, they often command their weight in gold, especially if it's a model worth giving a damn.. one without the requisite rice-mods, Honda rust, or severe faults. Like any older car, they DO have maintenance needs. And the Honda modding scene is HUGE.. undoubtedly you will want to tweak your car.. and Honda's can actually be very very competent performance drivers. So you can't escape that money pit, no matter where you go!

[/devil's advocate]


Jump on craigslist and see what $2000 will buy you. Like other members suggested, save the $1000 for a set of jackstands, a jack, a set of tools, and a workshop manual for whatever car you end up getting (Bentley for the E30). The rest can go to dire maintenance needs and then save it for any problems that pop up. With the internet and your supposed mechanical know-how, all cars can be easy to fix..

[Vtec?lol]

Paying for your own insurance will kill you.

I was in your same situation my first two years in college although younger and made a little more money (which will further support my point).

I bought an e30 thinking it woul be good on gas and fun. It was fun. Got me plenty of chicks. Then life happened and it needed a new engine. Bought one and kept pushing. Then life happened again and the auto died. So I bought a 5spd. Kept going. Then life happened again and I had to rebuild the suspension and buy new tires. Decent 14" tires aren't cheap. With an e30 it's a MUST you get good tread or else the nimbleness will turn into a nightmare. Later the radiator went out, water pump, fuel pump, oil cooler, etc.... All within a year and a half.

In the end I sold my e30 and bought a 93 5.0 f150. Best choice I've ever made car wise. Bought the truck with 90k miles in 2009. It now has 201,000 miles and has only had the starter, oil, and spark pugs changed. Gas isn't too bad. Insurance was $50 a month for full coverage.

My girlfriend at the time had a 98 corolla and it's never had its oil changed. Still runs.

I said all that to say that the e30 is now in it's enthusiast prime. Prices are rising and so is the rarity. They are cheap to fix but require an extensive run through that easily cost $$$. I can guarantee that whatever you buy under $3k will need another $2k to be reliable. I'd get a civic in a heart beat or a corolla. Also consider a jeep or truck. All cars that wer designed to withstand neglect and DD.

[2mAn]

buy an eta. change the timing belt and focus on school

[Solarian]

As someone that will soon be graduating with a Masters in ME, built and raced a 240SX throughout undergrad, etc... Do it. The world doesn't need more clueless engineers. Working on a car will go a long way toward helping things make sense.
I TA for a living because my stipend isn't very large and grants are hard to come by, so I get to interact with a lot of young engineering students. There are a few that know their shit, and deserve to be in the program, but the majority I truly wish I could flunk out. Impressive mathematical talent is rare, as these types tend to steer toward more abstract fields, but common sense is rarest of all. That's a sad thought considering that it is what's most important in Engineering. Common sense will also go a lot further in helping you understand things and it's pretty easy to acquire by turning a wrench a couple of times. With that being said, do NOT, under any circumstance slack off in your Differential Equations and Linear Algebra courses.. Your basic Calc prereqs for it are important too, but if you walk out of Diff EQs without a near perfect grasp of it, you're doing yourself an immense disservice.

Honestly, my summary of a good Engineer is someone that knows how to do mechanic work and has a very firm graps of Differential Equations and Linear Algebra. You pretty much don't even need anything else. If you have common sense plus those two math skills, you can crack open any book on any engineering topic, and it'll just make sense. If you don't, it'll be gibberish.

[word is bond]

Do you have some other way to get to school, in a pinch? If there's a mass transit option, a car you can borrow at the last minute, or you live close enough to bike it, then I say go for it. I generally feel better about buying things I actually want. Just plan on an E30 not working when you decide if it's something you want.
School has to be your priority, so if there's no way you can get to school when something goes wrong, it doesn't seem like a great idea.

[mitchlevy7]

If your set on an e30, find the cleanest one you can, and forget about modding it.fight the mod bug. Buy it and do maitnence. Give it love and it will love you back. Maitnence really isnt that expensive on these cars. Otherwise, get the most reliable cheapest car you can find.

As a fellow mech e student, I would emphasize what others have said.... focus on school. If you need to take out a loan, do it. I would also reccomend looking for a coop or internship if you dont already have one. Many of these opportunities may pay more then best buy does, and it will pay off in the long run because internships lead to bigger and better internships and jobs. Then land a sweet job with your degree and build the sickest e30 you can.





Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[MNE30]

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

Yeah I'm a senior in high school and all of my sisters friends think it's really classic or vintage and that it is really unique. Which it is unique, I've only seen one other E30 in Minnesota.

[RondoAcapriccio]

Focus on School.. forget about jobs...be broke for one or two years..

I had to work 1 semester and my grades sucked.. was not worth the trade off when I could get an internship during the summer and make 3x what some retail job would pay.

Good grades got me the job I always wanted. Get involved in Engineering Programs.

[Nick_S]

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.

This is true. I picked up a decent mechanically but rough looking 318is for $2k. About $1k in maintenance later it was a solid daily. Still replacing and upgrading as I go and the car has been dead reliable. Parts are fairly cheap and they are easy to work on however if you're not going to do the work yourself expect to pay an arm and a leg for someone to do it for you. If you can find yourself one in good mechanical condition go for it as the M42 is reliable, efficient and fun.

[saturnv7890]

I'm in your shoes as far as a low income college student goes.

Everyone pretty much gave a mix of opinions all across the board, and they're all valid. My quick opinion from experience: Do it if you're willing to learn and work, don't if you're not willing to learn.

Heres what you can expect:
-$0 in bank account at all times
-Hours of time spent reading info about these cars
-Hours of headaches when you have a problem
-Long weekends rushing to get the car driveable for monday
-Hours of fruitless troubleshooting

It's not just the money in parts you have to replace, but the headaches that come with figuring out which parts you need to drain your bank account on.


So it's not a complete list, but a very short version of my e30 ownership. I love the things, and I've become a much more competent mechanic, but mainly because I'm willing to sit and read these forums every day learning, and actually getting off my butt to find a problem.

Owning a car like this is a lot of work, and if you're already considering taking it to a mechanic it might not be the smartest idea. You're talking a lot of labor hours.




But I'm not saying it isnt possible, I'm 20 years old now and own a turbo e30 that I will be daily driving. It's really about your willingness to learn and do.





_

[Heir2Air]

Thank you all for your advice and thoughts. I will indeed be looking for a co-op/Internship, however I took a schooling hiatus and changed my major from CompSci to Mech E, so I have no Mech E classes under my belt. At the moment, Best Buy will have to do.

As someone that will soon be graduating with a Masters in ME, built and raced a 240SX throughout undergrad, etc... Do it. The world doesn't need more clueless engineers. Working on a car will go a long way toward helping things make sense.
I TA for a living because my stipend isn't very large and grants are hard to come by, so I get to interact with a lot of young engineering students. There are a few that know their shit, and deserve to be in the program, but the majority I truly wish I could flunk out. Impressive mathematical talent is rare, as these types tend to steer toward more abstract fields, but common sense is rarest of all. That's a sad thought considering that it is what's most important in Engineering. Common sense will also go a lot further in helping you understand things and it's pretty easy to acquire by turning a wrench a couple of times. With that being said, do NOT, under any circumstance slack off in your Differential Equations and Linear Algebra courses.. Your basic Calc prereqs for it are important too, but if you walk out of Diff EQs without a near perfect grasp of it, you're doing yourself an immense disservice.

Honestly, my summary of a good Engineer is someone that knows how to do mechanic work and has a very firm graps of Differential Equations and Linear Algebra. You pretty much don't even need anything else. If you have common sense plus those two math skills, you can crack open any book on any engineering topic, and it'll just make sense. If you don't, it'll be gibberish.

I was looking at different activities to get into as a Mech E pupil and this did come up; however, I do not know how much time I would actually have to do it. This summer is almost garunteed no time with the 8-4 job and then the 5-9 job, plus my Calc I class which I refuse to have less than mastery of the knowledge by course end, I do not see where I would have time to work on a car. When school starts in the fall, assuming I am actually in school then, it may be easier. But, the car is needed this summer.

I would be able to get to class via bus if the car was down, but I would not be able to get to my jobs. Seems I may need to suck it up, go for an American made car (low repair costs, low insurance?) and get these 2/2.5 years done. Honestly, when I get a coop/internship, I may be able to upgrade my vehicle then. Again, all of the input has been substantially helpful. If you have any more thoughts, feel free to weigh in.

[e30Villain]

My e30 is my daily commuter and I am a college student myself. This semester has been pretty laid back unlike my last few semesters.At times owning an e30 can be frustrating and you will have to invest quite a bit of money shortly after purchase, to insure reliability. (Spark plugs, air filter, Distributor cap + rotor, Timing belt ( if it wasnt already done), etc. ) Once you get the ball rolling, it will be a fun and reliable daily driver.

[Heir2Air]

Just as an update, I'm looking at Ford Escort ZX2's. Found a '99 for $1900. Figure I will go as light a car as possible, latest year model, 5-speed, and two doors. Been reading that the ZX2 is reliable if you don't slam the trans all the time. Won't need it for too long, and when I go for my next car (E30!) I will probably have a much better budget.