E30 or E36.

[BenDem]

This, but Id probably say the E34 (which in my mind went through the mid 90s?) is old school as well.

I'll go along with that.

[Thizzelle]

E30 cuz quality

[Sea Aych]

Because i hate those idiotic rocker panels.... among many other reasons already stated in this thread



That said, i do like stock 328i convertibles.

[mulletman]

I love my E30.



That said, for the right deal I'd sell it for an E36 M3 in a heartbeat.

[brbahner]

24v swap and you have yourself the best of both worlds OP.

obviously your trying to get pros from both sides, but why don't you just ask yourself a simple question. Do you want a modern feeling car or a classic feeling car? the gap between the e30 and e36 is exactly that, you'll have different issues along the way so you cant really compare the experience of owning them, but one feels like a raw driving experience where the times didn't require you to need airbags, and abs really does nothing; and the other is a modern fully leather and plastic experience that has you stuck in this fake world of luxury (fake because the e36's of today are literally falling apart quicker than the e30's)

Also if you are a smart investor you might go take a look at the e30 prices over the last 5-10 years and then also go look at the e36 prices. you'll notice one is still going down and one has skyrocketed for no explainable reason.

[TobyB]

4 valves and a really good rear suspension. That's what an E36 gives you over the E30.
Oh, and ABS that mostly works, and airbags that might. And several hundred pounds, at least.

The rest is subjective, I suppose. and yeah- the E30's 'classic', the E36 is 'modern'.

t

[ahlem]

2002 with mods.

[LJ851]

Because i am heterosexual.

[MPLFoster]

Because i am heterosexual.

[F34R]

E30 looks SO MUCH better, does not feel fat in the corners and many other reasons.

[Jackhdmn]

The e36 seems to be a more comfortable car but the e30 is just so much more fun to drive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[peter321]

I can't believe this is a question

[E30NJ]

If I say so myself, E36 aren't bad (that is if you find a good one). They are a bit more comfortable in my opinion as a daily driver, but don't get me wrong they still have some issues. As far as maintenance they just don't seem to hold up as well as E30's do. It depends, there are MANY E36's out there and you really have to do your research and sift through the junk. E30's are just fun all around but maybe not so much as a daily. Depends though its what you like. test drive a couple and see what you like.
Enjoy!

[fiveightandten]

I chose both. I'll base my opinions on good condition stock vs good condition stock (base 3'er vs base 3'er).

E30:
The E30 is an old car. It feels much older than the E36. The chassis feels like a wet noodle, there's more play in the steering, more play in the gear shift, the driveline doesn't feel as tight. The steering rack is slower, the pedals and shifter take more throw to complete their actions. It has more road noise. The dashes crack if you look at them the wrong way, the plastics and carpet aren't as nice as the E36, the seats have the rigidity of a wet cracker. The M20 is a dinosaur compared to the M50/52. I can go on.

That being said, when you're driving it...you don't care! The E30 is a beautiful car. Even rust bucket, roached out E30's still look cool rolling down the road to this day. The E36 is a nice looking car as well, but for an E36 to look nice, it has to be clean, and in nice shape. The front end of an E30 is just plain gorgeous. Many E30's came with an LSD in the back, whereas the E36 only had them in M3's. They're easy to swap in, but still. If you *drive* the car, an LSD is a must. E30 sport seats are fantastic, and better than any seat offered in the E36. The E30 is just a cooler car in the sense that it was built before cars started becoming homogenized. It has character. The E36 may be a better machine from a technical standpoint. But unless it's a nice M3, noone really looks twice at them. The E30 is a car that people love even if they're not car people.


E36:
It's a newer design. It's more sophisticated. The chassis is stiffer. It has less road noise and more sophisticated suspension feel without sacrificing road feel. The steering is tighter and quicker. The pedals take less throw, the interior has less creaks and rattles. The plastics and carpet are nicer. The car feels more composed over bumps, more composed when driving it hard. The stereo sounds better, the car just feels tighter overall. The rear suspension geometry is better, the car feels more planted and delivers higher levels of grip. The driveline feels tighter. Technically speaking, it's just a better car.

That being said, the E36 feels like a mass-produced throw-away car compared to an E30. It was the first 3 series that was completely CAD designed and built with modern automated equipment. It feels like it. You don't get the same endearing old school feel, like you do with the E30. The E36 is stuck between modern and classic. It's that awkward phase when you decide to grow your hair out and it's not quite clean cut, yet you're not quite a rock star just yet.


I love both cars. My personal E36 is an M3, which is now pretty highly modified. If I had to choose between that car and my 325es (just suspension mods), the E30 would be out the door in a heartbeat. But base E36 vs base E30. I think the E30 is a cooler car. If you want the technically superior automobile, the E36 is it. It's a good car. But the E30 is a looker, it's unique on the road today, and it's great fun to drive at any speed. Both great cars.

As a daily driver, the E46 blows both of them away, IMO. I DD an E46 330ci, and that's an utterly fantastic car. Base E46 > base E36, every day of the week.

[R1ckM]

Had two e36 m3's a 95 and a 99. I really enjoyed the way the engine worked well with the transmission and the overall balance of the M3s. The interior and other little parts seem cheap and just have a miss placed overview.
With that being said I loved driving a e36 m3 sitting in some vaders.

The e30 has a more genuine feel to it, like it was a leap of modern automotive engineering but retains a sweet classic look to it.
Timeless....

Engine pulls well and shifts are snappy but not like the e36 m3 i owned.
I will most likely do engine mods or swaps at the very end of my new project e30 I have. Trying to sort out the bit of rocker panel rust and paint, along with new lights. Then suspension if my donor cars isn't up to par, then new seats, wheels. Finally either bolt on a turbo kit or a engine swap for more power.