e30 in College?

[Vivek]

Only in my dreams would I find a decent e30 in Florida for 2k
But yeah, I wouldn't have this mindset with any car, much less a 25+ year old one.
How much a year should I be expecting to spend on maintenance and repairs?

What's your budget for the car? Buying a more expensive e30 will generally cost you less in the long run.

[Das_Uber_E30]

I go to the university and I wouldn't miss my E30.

In general I am the same opinion like Tim; in case that you won't only drive an E30, you will spend a lot of money in maintenance and care products :D

But it will be worth ;)

[e30Villain]

Here is my experience.

I bought my e30 in high school and now i am a junior in college. I bought mine a piece of shit in high school and built it to be reliable. 3 and a half years later my car has never left me stranded. That being said there is a lot of preventable maintenance; which for college students, hits your wallet hard. However if you get a decent e30, a PT job and college will be enough to maintain a great e30.

[Boule30]

^ Again, depends on what shape it's in when you get it - do you have any from ads in your sights? Post 'em here and we'll look!

I'm looking to spend between 4-5k

http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/4298684428.html

^ That's one that I've been confused about for a while; for such a clean e30, it's the same price/cheaper than a lot of other worse examples I've seen in my area. Rebuilt title maybe? Also it's automatic. How much would it cost to swap the transmission?

http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/4363152770.html

^I've seen this posted here on r3v before and she's really not willing to go any lower, so this is out of my price range. I'm just wondering if she's right to expect that much out of the car.

http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/4380727082.html

^Other than the spray bombed dash, I don't think the interior's all that bad. Was thinking he'd maybe come down on the price a little, seems like he's asking a little much, especially since he's had this car up for months.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=317618

^Here's one up on the site right now. Thoughts? How much would it cost to take care of that rust?

And then there's a 318is that I'm talking about buying from a guy. The cars got nearly 300k miles but he says the engine's been rebuilt. The car looks really clean, all stock. If the engine is in good condition, should I be worried about other parts of the car giving up soon? He wants 4k for it.

[Stanley Rockafella]

You'd be far happier in the long run by buyin a honduh and using the extra time you'd spend on e30 repairs, for pick up ladies and bang em.

dude, trust me on dis.

[Mab1957]

You have a decent budget and some good options there. Any consideration of a sedan? My son had a 91 318 sedan that was ideal for a student, maybe not quite as sexy as one of those sport models. Of the 4 you show I'd go for that R3V posted alpin 318 with the rust. Save some $ on the purchase, get those rusty bits patched and the pain touched up and buy some nice tires.

[brbahner]

You have a decent budget and some good options there. Any consideration of a sedan? My son had a 91 318 sedan that was ideal for a student, maybe not quite as sexy as one of those sport models. Of the 4 you show I'd go for that R3V posted alpin 318 with the rust. Save some $ on the purchase, get those rusty bits patched and the pain touched up and buy some nice tires.

WTF NO!!! dont buy a rusty e30, the pain and suffering of actually fully killing the cancer is a lot worse than anyone ever thinks. sometimes it is impossible. a word of advice id give you is you will forever be doing preventative maintenance, fixing leaks, finding little parts you dont need but want for the interior, small mechanical parts will fail. but if you are fine with working on a car in college (we arn't talking engine swap or transmission rebuild here, just little upkeep) then your budget is right on point and you will enjoy it. Girls arnt going to care what car you have unless its freshly painted and whips their head back until 4th gear. (thats what the lady says to me at least)

[brbahner]

also this would be my choice, same quality as the 7,000 one just without an engine swap.

http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/4298684428.html

[Reichart12]

Another e30 college kid checking in, it can be great to have if you find the right one. Definitely more appeal to me than miatas or Hondas. But watch out some girls wont ride in them due to the lack of airbags. (safe to say shes not being offered rides anymore)

[coldweatherblue]

also this would be my choice, same quality as the 7,000 one just without an engine swap.

http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/4298684428.html

+1

I already have an AWII '89 325i Coupe and I want to buy that car.

OP you can absolutely have an E30 in College. I drove an '88 325i from junior year high school til a year after I graduated college. you will likely have to do work on the car, but if you have tools/jack/stands and a place to work it really isn't too bad. I had a cheap motorcycle ($700) that I drove in college (and still have today) as alternate means of transport when the E30 needed parts.

Overall though my car was very reliable, never left me stranded in 7 years of driving, though on 4 occasions it broke down the moment I pulled into my then driveway lol.

[Boule30]

WTF NO!!! dont buy a rusty e30, the pain and suffering of actually fully killing the cancer is a lot worse than anyone ever thinks. sometimes it is impossible. a word of advice id give you is you will forever be doing preventative maintenance, fixing leaks, finding little parts you dont need but want for the interior, small mechanical parts will fail. but if you are fine with working on a car in college (we arn't talking engine swap or transmission rebuild here, just little upkeep) then your budget is right on point and you will enjoy it. Girls arnt going to care what car you have unless its freshly painted and whips their head back until 4th gear. (thats what the lady says to me at least)

So no on the rusty one huh?
100% fine with working on a car in college, I was just worried about major things breaking and leaving me carless for any period of time
And yes, this is the reason I'm not happy with the answer of "Just get a Honda and get the BMW when you get a real job"
I want to enjoy my vehicle!
The ladies think the miata is "cute"
But that's alright, the car's not what gets them anyway

[TimbyMaTombo]

I am also in college and have two E30s. One is at home in Tampa waiting for me to get the parts to fix her back up and one is here in Orlando with me. My $700 E30 is doing quite well. Every time I have been stranded or it started running crappy, it took less than a day to fix once I had the parts.

Granted, it is nothing pretty to look at and a few of my friends are scared of my car, I quite like it. The paint and interior suck and it's straight piped, so I don't think I'll be picking up many chicks with it, but I'm oddly fine with that.

Edit: also, my car has ~400k miles on it and is still going strong.

[Vivek]

You have a decent budget and some good options there. Any consideration of a sedan? My son had a 91 318 sedan that was ideal for a student, maybe not quite as sexy as one of those sport models. Of the 4 you show I'd go for that R3V posted alpin 318 with the rust. Save some $ on the purchase, get those rusty bits patched and the pain touched up and buy some nice tires.

OP please don't do this. A rusty car will just be a pain to work on and 100% not worth it. Bolts are hard enough to remove without them being rusted to shit, and you'll be kicking yourself every time you round off a rusty bolt or nut and have to spend 10x the normal time removing it.

[Boule30]

+1

I already have an AWII '89 325i Coupe and I want to buy that car.

OP you can absolutely have an E30 in College. I drove an '88 325i from junior year high school til a year after I graduated college. you will likely have to do work on the car, but if you have tools/jack/stands and a place to work it really isn't too bad. I had a cheap motorcycle ($700) that I drove in college (and still have today) as alternate means of transport when the E30 needed parts.

Overall though my car was very reliable, never left me stranded in 7 years of driving, though on 4 occasions it broke down the moment I pulled into my then driveway lol.

This is exactly what I want to hear! Lol
That car is automatic though, what's the cost of swapping the transmission?
And as for the right tools, are there any special tools I need?

[Boule30]

you'd be far happier in the long run by buyin a honduh and using the extra time you'd spend on e30 repairs, for pick up ladies and bang em.

Dude, trust me on dis.

ಠ_ಠ