Intro + Looking for Buying Suggestions

[Chuckles]

Hello all,

I am another member from Toronto, Canada looking to acquire his first e30. Prior to the e30 I have been in Mazda Miatas and am now looking to compliment my existing summer car with a practical, fun-to-drive daily driver. Basically, my experience indicates an e30 is like Miata in coupe/sedan form. I am big on the driving experience/feel and don't care much about features. If I can get an aux input and speakers that make sound that is enough for me in terms of creature comforts. I am mechanically inclined and will do all maintenance myself.

In terms of ownership I have been scouting the local/regional/provincial classifieds for the past couple of months and have come across two cars that interest me. I would appreciated your opinions as to which car (with why) you would opt for. Remember this is Canada and cars less 10 years old tend to rust out so my biggest criteria is a rust free body.

1) 1990 325i that has been stored during winter and has 125K km (78K miles). It has the leather interior (not sport) and I am not sure about the diff at this time. I believe e30 325 autos came with 4.10 lsd though?? I love the shape of the car, but it comes automatic. Swapping to a manual is within my ability a year or so out, but would the auto be a deal breaker for you?

2) 1991 318i (240km or 150k miles) which was freshly repainted last summer and has sit all winter because the diff is buggered. It is a bare bones car with cloth interior. I could pick it much much cheaper the 325i and from my research swap in 4.10 lsd medium case diff for $300-400. With this car my plan would be H&R springs with Bilstein sports and then drive.

I like the 200lb weight discrepancy between 318 and 325, but would like your opinions on the matter. Also if you could estimate what you would pay just as a benchmark that would be great (i.e. I know prices vary geographically).

Chris

[fiveightandten]

If you're going to daily drive the car, I wouldn't worry about getting a completely rust free example. These are old cars, and as such, they don't have the best rust protection. I wouldn't recommend buying a rust bucket. But something 100% rust free will be more expensive than something with a little rust on it. And if you're daily driving it, you're probably going to get some rust at some point.

Anyways. A manual swap will run you $1000+ and will put the car down for a solid weekend. It's doable on a daily driver, but more work than it's worth unless the car is exactly what you want otherwise.

A seat swap is easier. Though good condition leather sport seats are tougher to find than a working transmission, IMO. It all comes down to picking your battles and deciding what you're willing to deal with.

318's are cool and get great gas mileage. The M42 doesn't have a timing belt to worry about. But they do have the profile gasket failure issue. So if you're buying one that hasn't had that job taken care of, you shouldn't be surprised if the head has to come off at some point.

The M20b25 in the 325i is a more powerful engine, and more than makes up for it's extra weight. It doesn't do as good on fuel, and has a timing belt (if in doubt of the age, it needs to be replaced). If you want more power, this is the way to go. If you want to sip fuel, the 318 is a better choice, or a 325e (with the 2.7eta engine, which does great on gas).

Any E30 you buy will need a decent amount of work to be a reliable daily driver. People have different opinions of what kinds of projects they'd want to take on. You may want to swap a transmission, which is easy to find. And you may not want to spend hours and hours scouring FS ads for a decent interior if you buy a car with seats you don't like. Pick your battles according to your priorities and go from there.

[fiveightandten]

Oh. And BTW, without documentation, E30 odometer readings are nearly meaningless. The odometer gears fail on almost all of them. You never know if the OD stopped working for a period of years, and started again (through repair or sheer luck). The cluster can be swapped, or it could be rolled back. Documentation is the key. Otherwise, don't pay extra for an undocumented "low mileage" example.

[roguetoaster]

Hello all,

I am another member from Toronto, Canada looking to acquire his first e30. Prior to the e30 I have been in Mazda Miatas and am now looking to compliment my existing summer car with a practical, fun-to-drive daily driver. Basically, my experience indicates an e30 is like Miata in coupe/sedan form. I am big on the driving experience/feel and don't care much about features. If I can get an aux input and speakers that make sound that is enough for me in terms of creature comforts. I am mechanically inclined and will do all maintenance myself.

E30s do feel somewhat similar to NA/B Miatas. The stock sound system in the 318 is going to be four decent speakers, no amp, no tweeters, add premium sound stuff to that and you are good to go. The 325 may have premium sound already, a dead giveaway would be rear deck speakers that say BMW and tweeters in the front doors.

In terms of ownership I have been scouting the local/regional/provincial classifieds for the past couple of months and have come across two cars that interest me. I would appreciated your opinions as to which car (with why) you would opt for. Remember this is Canada and cars less 10 years old tend to rust out so my biggest criteria is a rust free body.

1) 1990 325i that has been stored during winter and has 125K km (78K miles). It has the leather interior (not sport) and I am not sure about the diff at this time. I believe e30 325 autos came with 4.10 lsd though?? I love the shape of the car, but it comes automatic. Swapping to a manual is within my ability a year or so out, but would the auto be a deal breaker for you?

325 autos may have that diff, it's easy enough to check by reading the tag on the back of the diff case. It's good that it was stored during winter, and the low Ks are really nice. The 325 will certainly be more of a change from a Miata, with more power and more weight, good or bad that's up to you. I would honestly pass on the auto car unless you can get it for a screaming deal.

2) 1991 318i (240km or 150k miles) which was freshly repainted last summer and has sit all winter because the diff is buggered. It is a bare bones car with cloth interior. I could pick it much much cheaper the 325i and from my research swap in 4.10 lsd medium case diff for $300-400. With this car my plan would be H&R springs with Bilstein sports and then drive.

I like the 200lb weight discrepancy between 318 and 325, but would like your opinions on the matter. Also if you could estimate what you would pay just as a benchmark that would be great (i.e. I know prices vary geographically).

Chris

All 318i models came with bare bones interiors, I believe the only real option was sunroof or no sunroof, and if the car has the latter it's worth more. H&R sports and Bille sports are a good combo, but if you want it as a daily stock springs, sways, and Sachs OE+ as they provide an excellent mix of sport and comfort. The 318 will certainly feel more like your Miata, but it feels like it has a bit more power IMO. The dynamics will be similar too, but remember the car has a semi-trailing arm rear suspension. I also think the 318 makes a more practical DD as it gets better MPGs and provides a very dual feel driving experience above and below 3500rpm. As to the diff, you can pick up a decent small case (which is what it would have had) for under $200 usd.

The 325i is probably worth north of 3500usd, and the 318i more like under 2000.

So, buy the 318 if you want a similar to Miata experience, buy the 325 if you want a more solid/powerful feeling car.

[Chuckles]

Thanks for the thorough perspectives. It is amazing how much an engine can change the feel of the car. I know there is less insulation in the 318, but I am guessing the 6cyl has some weight to it. Judging by the referenced price (vs. what is wanted) and Miata-like feel of the 318 I am leaning more and more that way. Beside the diff I like the unmolested nature of the 318. I am not into the stance craze and many of the examples up hear are on coilovers and too low for my liking (I know they can raised). Function over form has always been my direction. Not that they all coilovers are terrible, but the majority are the ebay variety and I hate paying for something I don't have value in. Once again I appreciate the input.

[elbrack]

Hello all,

I am another member from Toronto, Canada looking to acquire his first e30. Prior to the e30 I have been in Mazda Miatas and am now looking to compliment my existing summer car with a practical, fun-to-drive daily driver. Basically, my experience indicates an e30 is like Miata in coupe/sedan form. I am big on the driving experience/feel and don't care much about features. If I can get an aux input and speakers that make sound that is enough for me in terms of creature comforts. I am mechanically inclined and will do all maintenance myself.

In terms of ownership I have been scouting the local/regional/provincial classifieds for the past couple of months and have come across two cars that interest me. I would appreciated your opinions as to which car (with why) you would opt for. Remember this is Canada and cars less 10 years old tend to rust out so my biggest criteria is a rust free body.

1) 1990 325i that has been stored during winter and has 125K km (78K miles). It has the leather interior (not sport) and I am not sure about the diff at this time. I believe e30 325 autos came with 4.10 lsd though?? I love the shape of the car, but it comes automatic. Swapping to a manual is within my ability a year or so out, but would the auto be a deal breaker for you?

2) 1991 318i (240km or 150k miles) which was freshly repainted last summer and has sit all winter because the diff is buggered. It is a bare bones car with cloth interior. I could pick it much much cheaper the 325i and from my research swap in 4.10 lsd medium case diff for $300-400. With this car my plan would be H&R springs with Bilstein sports and then drive.

I like the 200lb weight discrepancy between 318 and 325, but would like your opinions on the matter. Also if you could estimate what you would pay just as a benchmark that would be great (i.e. I know prices vary geographically).

Chris

If you're going for a 318 I wouldn't settle for anything other than the 318is version.

318i are also not worth much at all on resale. I'd say they are one of the least desired E30s out there.

[Chuckles]

See the problem I see with going the low mileage 325i route is that I doubt I could snag it for anything less than $5K CND ($4500 US). That seems to be the going rate (usually 300k+ kms) and I imagine as the summer approaches the price will have less flexibility. At that price I would live with the auto for a year or so and then consider the swap down the line. As more and more rust out the prices may rise, but I am not sure how much more appreciation there is left. Miata(s) have been good to me on the buy and then sell front maintaining the initial investment. What are people's opinions on the prices of e30s 1-2 years down the line? They seem to have a similar cult following.

In terms of the 318i I like the convenience of the 4-door and I could possibly snag the one in question for $13-1400. Swap in an 4.10 LSD ($300) + H&R/Billies ($700) and I would be in $2400. I could potentially see it maintaining this price point. I guess I have a lot consider with all the variations of the e30.