Skyrocketing E30 prices. Is it worth it anymore?

[hopefule30owner]

A few years ago you could have picked up a very clean car for $3,000. Now even mediocre high mileage cars are listed at $5,000+. Would you tell your friends looking for a budget project to buy an E30? If not, what would you recommend?

I love the E30, but I'm leaning toward an E36 now.

[blue plates]

You need to look around more. I was in the same boat a month ago and picked up a very clean eta for $2000.

[ParsedOut]

Here's the deal. People who are enthusiasts that put a lot of time and money into their cars are starting to realize they can usually get a higher premium for their cars from like minded individuals. Then there are the people who have a clean "beamer" (*sigh*) and are willing to sell for a reasonable amount, those examples are getting far and few between. Lastly there are the beaters and project cars, that's where you find the majority of the cheap E30s nowadays. Basically buy a car from an enthusiast, pay premium, find a diamond by an uneducated seller (good luck) or pick up a beater/project for cheap all day long.

[deutschman]

For BMW yeah I guess an e36. How ever I just drove a Miata that was all built up with coil overs and so on, and it was SOOOOOOO FUN! I would actually buy one of those for a autox/track day car. Not for a show car though.

[fiveightandten]

Prices have gone up, but as someone who was just in the market up until a few weeks ago, i'll tell you what's going on....

People list E30's at completely stupid prices. The cars look amazing in pictures and are listed as "no rust", "perfect paint", etc. Then you get there and the thing is a rust bucket with the paint chipped off the fenders from aggressive tire fitment and holes rotting through the frame rails from the undercoat being scraped off.

The seller will then come down on price. Way down. As an example, I went to see a late model red coupe with euro houndstooth interior that was listed here and indeed looked amazing in pictures. I won't go into detail, but the car was far from as clean as it presented in the FS ad, or was described. But in the ad, it did look amazing. Asking price was originally $7200. I looked the car over for about 20 minutes and said no thanks. Seller came down to $5500. Still, no thanks. Seller came down to $4500. Still, no thanks. Ok, howabout $4K? No thanks. The car was too rough.

I happen to know the car sold for $4K (best of luck to the guy who paid that much). But here's the issue...now the seller posts "SOLD" on the FS thread, and everyone thinks the car sold for $6 or $7K. This is happening with a lot of E30's, and it gives the next guy a completely distorted viewpoint as to what the market value of his car is.

I walked away from 3 cars that were listed on this forum because they had big rust issues or notable body/chassis damage. All were listed as "rust free" and "near perfect". Many sellers have a pretty distorted viewpoint of what a rust free car is, and what a car in nice condition is. They list the car at a completely unrealistic price point, and noone knows that they come down as much as 50% or more from their asking price. It's driving up the price of E30's.

I love my E30 and E36, but in different ways. It's the same with my E46. My E36 M3 still remains to be, IMO, the best car i've ever driven. If I had to choose one car of the 3 I own (E30, E36, E46), i'd choose that one. It simply blows the E30 chassis out of the water in every way. But, it doesn't have that old, quirky raw mechanical feel of an 80's designed E30. And some people just really love the look of an E30. This is totally understandable, they're gorgeous cars.

E36's are stupid cheap for what you get in return. That's for sure. E30's are overpriced at this point, and there's an epidemic with sellers being out of touch with the condition and value of their cars. But that will plateau sooner or later.

[hopefule30owner]

That's exactly it. I like the E30. But the E36 M3 is the clearly superior car. As their prices inch closer, I have to go with the M3.

[Ether-D]

That's exactly it. I like the E30. But the E36 M3 is the clearly superior car. As their prices inch closer, I have to go with the M3.

Suck.

[Farbin Kaiber]

I had an e36 m3 once, I cut it up to swap into my e30.

[Dj Buttchug]

That's exactly it. I like the E30. But the E36 M3 is the clearly superior car. As their prices inch closer, I have to go with the M3.

....uhhh







no

[Julien]

....uhhh







no

uhhh yeah. quit being a fanboi

[ST1G]

I had an e36 m3 once, I cut it up to swap into my e30.

Lulz. It's not like it was driving...

[Farbin Kaiber]

^But I could have put it back together had I the desire to own an e36. The wife even begged me. But, why put +$2000 into an m3/4/5 when you can cut it up and get $52.76 for the shell?

[einhander]

I remember when this forum hated the E36. Now that they're cheap, people love them.

Laff.

Prices for good E30s have gone up. Prices for lousy ones seems to be the same, adjusted for inflation anyway.

[Benjamin_Button]

Prices have gone up, but as someone who was just in the market up until a few weeks ago, i'll tell you what's going on....

People list E30's at completely stupid prices. The cars look amazing in pictures and are listed as "no rust", "perfect paint", etc. Then you get there and the thing is a rust bucket with the paint chipped off the fenders from aggressive tire fitment and holes rotting through the frame rails from the undercoat being scraped off.

The seller will then come down on price. Way down. As an example, I went to see a late model red coupe with euro houndstooth interior that was listed here and indeed looked amazing in pictures. I won't go into detail, but the car was far from as clean as it presented in the FS ad, or was described. But in the ad, it did look amazing. Asking price was originally $7200. I looked the car over for about 20 minutes and said no thanks. Seller came down to $5500. Still, no thanks. Seller came down to $4500. Still, no thanks. Ok, howabout $4K? No thanks. The car was too rough.

I happen to know the car sold for $4K (best of luck to the guy who paid that much). But here's the issue...now the seller posts "SOLD" on the FS thread, and everyone thinks the car sold for $6 or $7K. This is happening with a lot of E30's, and it gives the next guy a completely distorted viewpoint as to what the market value of his car is.

I walked away from 3 cars that were listed on this forum because they had big rust issues or notable body/chassis damage. All were listed as "rust free" and "near perfect". Many sellers have a pretty distorted viewpoint of what a rust free car is, and what a car in nice condition is. They list the car at a completely unrealistic price point, and noone knows that they come down as much as 50% or more from their asking price. It's driving up the price of E30's.

I love my E30 and E36, but in different ways. It's the same with my E46. My E36 M3 still remains to be, IMO, the best car i've ever driven. If I had to choose one car of the 3 I own (E30, E36, E46), i'd choose that one. It simply blows the E30 chassis out of the water in every way. But, it doesn't have that old, quirky raw mechanical feel of an 80's designed E30. And some people just really love the look of an E30. This is totally understandable, they're gorgeous cars.

E36's are stupid cheap for what you get in return. That's for sure. E30's are overpriced at this point, and there's an epidemic with sellers being out of touch with the condition and value of their cars. But that will plateau sooner or later.

Can attest to what fiveightandten is saying. Been looking for a clean example of an e30 for a while. The owner of a particular e30 I found on Craig's blatantly lied to me claiming "absolutely no rust". Needless to say when I got there, the thing was coated with cancer. These days when sellers refuse to send me additional pics I don't even bother. Usually means they have something to hide.

[shameson]

In my area there are still plenty of e30s for under $3k that are decent cars that might need a little maintenance, even some are sub $1k that have a blown HG, that just need a new engine if your mechanically inclined. Get a cheap M20 and your set.

That being said, if you want a well sorted one that's ready to be daily driven expect to see them at $4k+. The owner put work/money in it and wants money out of that. It really all depends on your ability and budget

Or you can find that diamond that you can snag for $2500. But it's uncommon