To 30 or not to 30...

[Iamalexnotyou]

I'm a college student with a 45 mile daily commute. I have $5500 max to spend on a daily driver. I have my service manuals, some tools, and room to do the various DIY repairs that need to be done. I don't want to overstate my experience; I haven't any aside from fixing some bicycles. Repair costs must also fall under that $5500 mark. I drive very smoothly and am not looking to race. I just want to drive a good handling, semi-luxurious, fair MPG, classic bimmer. I love the look and the simplicity of design, mechanically and aesthetically.

So, for $5,500, is an e30 an appropriate choice for a daily, or am I going to find myself with more costly repairs than I can afford?

Thank you all.

[Vivek]

Do it.

[russc]

Do it.

[LivingLegend06]

Don't do it. Its getting too hard to find a decent E30 for a reasonable price. If you want something that you actually consider a "nice" car then you cant do it for your budget. There might still be nice cars in Cali but up here if you find a nice car you are going to have to really pay for it.

Keep in mind that I am budgeting for some mods though because who really wants to drive a stock E30?

[Iamalexnotyou]

Me :) Thanks for the input everybody. One thing that scares me is the fact that true mileage on these cars is so unknown. Is a stock 3xxis more fun and/or more reliable than a miata? Also, there seems to be so much documentation on the E30, and support here, that I feel like I wouldn't encounter any problems that haven't already been dealt with. And if not an E30, what? Another thought/concern I have is the reliability of E30's vs. E36 and above models. It looks like I can get a E36/46 with about 150k miles in what looks like good condition for cheaper than a similarly conditioned E30, but I am worried that any problems they have must be dealt with at the shop. Is that true? Thanks!

[JinormusJ]

To 30 or not to 30...

Don't do it

Unless you have a reliable means of cash flow, $5500 is gonna pop in a few months with an e30 budget. Also putting your savings in a car is a poor economic decision. God forbid, in a second, it can all go away and you'll be stuck between a rock and a hard place and be hard pressed to scrounge up money for repairs

I might be drawn and quartered for this, but if you just need a beater to get from point A to point B, look into a Miata. They are cheap to buy, good on gas, and still have the RWD fun factor. If you want strictly BMW, try looking into an e34. Both cars are moderately easy to work on: heck, early e34s (525i) even have an m20 which is the same engine in the 325i e30s.


Most of us got into the game when e30s were still moderately cheap or found a good deal. These days, a good deal means finding a decent late-model 4-door for under $3500.

[Iamalexnotyou]

...werd

[dannyyisntt]

$5500 worth of cocaine would be a better investment. Tho e30s are just as addictive

[Andy.B]

Do it. I own a miata and an e30. I'm selling the miata. The fun of a miata as a daily wears off real quick. The class of an e30 just gets better with age.

As long as you are careful, and thoroughly check out any car you consider, you should have no problem staying under 5500 for a daily drivable e30. Avoid fancy wheels, euro bits, mtech parts, coilovers, and the hunger for more power, and the e30 makes a great cheap commuter car.

Think about it like this... If you figure the most expensive component to replace on any car is the engine, well then the e30 is about as cheap as it gets.

These days everyone is pulling their m20's for the newest hot swap, so they can be had in good running condition for several hundred dollars. Rent/borrow/buy an engine hoist, and you can swap it in a weekend, if not a day.

I started with an e30 that hadn't moved in 6 years, and needed a lot of refreshing. I did all the work myself, but not counting the cosmetics or go fast bits, I had a reliable, safe, comfortable, and fun dd for well under 5k.

Just don't buy a miata to daily. They are tons of fun, but driving a car that feels like a go cart gets old fast.

[cwatt]

I say do it. $5,500 is a good budget for sure. Yes, high milage vehicles can be of concern, but the real draw-back is the engines just get a little tired. I would however try to save a little money for unexpected repairs.

The thing to consider is that most people end up dumping their money into e30s doing modifications. If you can resist the urge and you leave it in stock trim, these are very cheap cars to drive, parts are for the most part readily available (even more so for you in California, less so for us Canada guys). They are fun, have a style that's guaranteed to get you laid, and their increasing popularity is actually likely to increase in value.

Consider this - I once paid $1000 for an e30 and drove it for a year and only needed to replace a rad hose. ...which I got second hand for $10.

[naplesE30]

^ Ha ha I have never got laid from any car I have owned or driven. You need to work on the quality of women your putting the wood to if they are willing to give it up becuse you drive a 25yr old bmw...

E30's make great dailys if you dont mind a little less safety than relatively modern cars. I have had several daily e30's and as long as you take good care of them, stay on top of maint they are reliable ,and can be sold for purchasing price or more down the road,,and you dont mind wrenching on it yourself. All that said I think the e34 is a tad better than the e30 for daily commuting espc if highway travel is part of your daily routine.

[Vivek]

Honestly idk what you guys are talking about. I live in an expensive area for e30's and you can get a late model is, enthusiast owned and maintained, for easily 4-4500. That leaves him 1k for things that go wrong, which is more than enough. I didn't have 5500 saved up when I got into e30's and at this point I probably have 8k into mine. Granted they were a bit cheaper to get a couple years ago, but IMO not significantly so. I've noticed the top tier e30's are the ones people want 5 figures for (which is more than it was a year ago) but for a decently clean, maintained, and lightly modded e30, 4-5k has stayed fairly steady. You can get a car for that much that someone's put hundreds of hours and $7-8k into.

[ParsedOut]

Like anything it all depends on specifically the car you buy and the decisions you make going forward.

It's easy to drop $3k on an E30 that "looks" nice to the untrained eye, but in short time you'll be nickel and dimed to your max budget with nothing left over.

It's also very easy to do the exact same thing on a Miata or Civic... the make model doesn't matter.

If you educate yourself, have a pre-purchase inspection and go in knowing what you are ok spending and what you plan to set aside for repairs and modifications, it doesn't matter what you buy.

Buy whatever tickles your balls, but just make sure you do your due diligence before rushing into a purchase.

[agent]

Spend $2500-3000 on a Honda, save the rest for if/when you need it. After you graduate and get a job, go buy the E30 you really want.

[ButtJuice]

Where in Cali are you? The shop I hang around has two e30s for cheap, you could use the rest of the money to fix them up nice.