Average Cost Of An E30

[einhander]

technically it is, seeing how is has a vvti engine, that is very popular in the toyota. I know it is not as jdm as many other awesome cars, but still blood lines run deep hahahaha.

wtf

[adamthehossboss]

Sorry,
I was trying to make a joke about how my "designed in America, Assembled in Japan" car was JDM because of the engine. The only thing JDM about that car is the fact that it was built in the Toyota Tsutsumi plant in Japan. But my ability to type yesterday was f***ing terrible. My Bad.

[naplesE30]

Like everyone said prices can be all over the place depending on what you want. Its what you would expect from a 20yrd old car, as conditions are different as well. However, even though prices have risen the resale also has risen so it cancels itself really. That is unless you rice the car out in which case youll get screwed.

I look for factory paint/panels, reputable tire brands all matching, maint records, and oem parts/accessories. Thatll be 5k plus but it will hold value. Please dont buy a oem car and put tein springs and shocks a wing, blah blah blah. Remember the oem look is what drew you to the car in the first place.

[peter321]

I wouldn't pay over 3k. I only just purchased one but have been regularly (every week) checking craigslist, ebay, and here for the last 2 years on e30s. I don't know what it is, but prices have really changed. When I was first planning on buying an e30, I was expecting to pay 1500!

However, it cannot be forgotten that all value is subjective. There are still sooooooo many people that have no clue what kind of car they have. Thats who you buy an e30 from.

Heres my tips:
don't buy off ebay, and look at craigslist.

Expand your search areas!

Don't search with "e30" do searches of "1989 bmw" "1990 bmw" "1991 bmw" etc. You want people who are so stupid they don't even know they have an e30. People who when you email them saying "is the e30 still for sale?" they say "yes, but its a bmw 325i"

Get one with a working odometer, and one where the timing belt was just done. People will tell you broken odo is common, miles don't matter when its that old, whatever. All I can really speak from is experience, and in my experience I have only ever looked at e30s with working odds under 200k. There are more out there.

Get up and go see them! Don't just email and call. Talking/seeing the person says a lot. A bullshitter is a bullshitter and you can spot them a mile away. Walk away from those guys.

My last tip? Don't fucking settle. Deals are out there. I paid 2700 for mine and got everything I could ever want in an e30 (except a 5 speed!)