Bit of a rant, trying to get back into BMWs

[Navarone]

Yeah sorry was running on little sleep.

[haggardfab]

there are still plenty of cheap e30s out there, you just cant look on forums for them, ive bought 5 e30s in the past 3 years, all of them were nice, one VERY nice, and ive never paid over 1300$..
you need to find normal people selling the cars, not kids that are "in the scene" they are the ones that want a ton of money for stock cars..
anyone that puts a car forsale as an "e30" wants too much money, you need to search craigslist for things like "325i" or "325e" and you can usually find reasonably priced cars

[abrokenframe]

My pointless opinion- I don't expect these cars to ever be cheaper than they are today. Don't think it's a drift tax either. They still have a large fan base (for good reason) and are 25 years old. They will be true classics before we know it... and like all classics, clean unmolested examples will fetch more.

Even at these "high prices" if you buy a nice one today, you will not be disappointed in five years and will kick yourself if you don't.

just buy one dammit.

[HennaE30]

Bit of a rant, trying to get back into BMWs

Supply and Demand. That it why I'm stockpiling my E30s while they're still around.

Also E30 prices are a product of their environment. In SoCal and other places, a nice stock E30 is 5-7k, here I can get the same exact car for 4, and I don't have to deal with rust like you northerners :). It all depends on who you buy from, and how lucky you are.

[blck325is]

there are still plenty of cheap e30s out there, you just cant look on forums for them, ive bought 5 e30s in the past 3 years, all of them were nice, one VERY nice, and ive never paid over 1300$..
you need to find normal people selling the cars, not kids that are "in the scene" they are the ones that want a ton of money for stock cars..
anyone that puts a car forsale as an "e30" wants too much money, you need to search craigslist for things like "325i" or "325e" and you can usually find reasonably priced cars

Truth.. also keeping a watchful eye around your neighborhood. I got my second e30 for $500 simply from asking about one that had been sitting in front of a friends house. Be patient and something will surely come up.

[phreshkid]

I'll tell you this. The real 2002 and e9 coupe guys are starting to look at e30s with intent to purchase. It's not secret that a nicely sorted, or largely stock 88-91 325iS is commanding premium dollars right now.

E30s are catching the eyes of more than just the broke-ass, baggy pants, stance kids of r3vlimited. Where once we were free to roam and pick up cheap e30s, is no longer the case. Things have changed. Things are changing. Things will unlikely be as they were three years ago.


But this is all speculative. I don't have evidence to back this up. All I have is experience, a huge brain, and the ability to use them both simultaneously.

[brbahner]

the way i see it is there are two kinds of people in this community. The ones who bought cheap and put a lot of money into restoring (or modding) their e30 and realize they will hold on to it for a long while because even with the rise in price its not worth it; and the ones who bought their cars cheap did hardly anything to it but barely keep it alive and now realize they can make 100% profit.

Of course there are the older one owner or second owner types who don't look at the market but they are the rare ones people say to look out for.

[kickinindian]

look at this in cali

http://fresno.craigslist.org/cto/4794642306.html

might be worth a flight

[E30SPDFRK]

I managed to find a deal out here on one at the beginning of the year, but it took me over a year to find it. And when I did find it, I had to pay more than I paid for my 5 previous e30's combined.

It's tough doing that when you're used to $500 getting you a good driver, but the times have changed and they're not just late model nothing cars anymore. All cars have a bell curve for depreciation, e30's hit the annex a few years ago and will never be the same again. Get one now while they're still realitively affordable.

[SubDad]

When I bought my '86 Euro M20B20 I didn't realise that I was buying into this imminent classic car/rocketing value thing. I didn't mean to, I just wanted a fun car to drive on weekends but now it seems I have an obligation to posterity and I'm afraid to let my kids drive it. Once I sell my car to some rich guy that'll only drive it to concours shows when it's not raining, what do I buy for a fun car to drive on weekends? A miata? A Golf GTI? Geez.

And this is just about sig-worthy:

All I have is experience, a huge brain, and the ability to use them both simultaneously.

[Navarone]

Bit of a rant, trying to get back into BMWs

I bought mine for $400 and put like $1000 into it plus dozens of hours, blood, sweat and tears. No way I'm letting it go for a pittance. Hopefully you can still find those $400 cars, I know I see them on Craigslist about once a month but they're gone faster than you can click reply. I found mine from an old guy that doesn't know what Craigslist is and he got it from a tow yard next door. Try making mechanic friends and tell everyone you know that you're looking for a bmw. Word will get around and one day some old guy will call you asking to tow his away.

GTI and Miata are very good hobby enthusiast cars, but they are just as popular, maybe even more.

[redsubdivisions]

there are still plenty of cheap e30s out there, you just cant look on forums for them, ive bought 5 e30s in the past 3 years, all of them were nice, one VERY nice, and ive never paid over 1300$..
you need to find normal people selling the cars, not kids that are "in the scene" they are the ones that want a ton of money for stock cars..
anyone that puts a car forsale as an "e30" wants too much money, you need to search craigslist for things like "325i" or "325e" and you can usually find reasonably priced cars

This is true. I avoid typing in E30 in craigslist because of this (unless I'm looking around for parts). Shit, even typing in just BMW in cars for sale by owner will net you some interesting results (at least it did for me).

[Red_liner740]

Agreed. I'm sure if you were to post your e30 there would be a mile long list of parts replaced and work done. I cant fault you for asking $$$. No-one would fault you for asking more.

What irks me is the "survivor" for sale posts. They just make my eye twitch.

Bone stock, nothings done to it you want 7k. Sure, great, its bone stock, but then again you havent done any maintenance either. I dont care how great your car looks when every rubber bushing is about to fall off and every rubber hose will burst with just by looking at it.

These are now 25+ year old cars. Even just sitting around there are wear and tear parts that deteriorate no matter what.

Its cool, if there's one thing i have is time. Moneys sitting in the bank, waiting for the right opportunity.

I bought mine for $400 and put like $1000 into it plus dozens of hours, blood, sweat and tears. No way I'm letting it go for a pittance. Hopefully you can still find those $400 cars, I know I see them on Craigslist about once a month but they're gone faster than you can click reply. I found mine from an old guy that doesn't know what Craigslist is and he got it from a tow yard next door. Try making mechanic friends and tell everyone you know that you're looking for a bmw. Word will get around and one day some old guy will call you asking to tow his away.

GTI and Miata are very good hobby enthusiast cars, but they are just as popular, maybe even more.

[Navarone]

Bit of a rant, trying to get back into BMWs

What's a "survivor" sale ad? I'm in the SF Bay Area and everyone on Craigslist does all caps "RARE" on every single E30. It's horrible. Is that pretty much the same thing?

I think my car is decently price at $2500 obo and will probably get about $2100-$2300, I can hope for more but it's not exactly a jewel.

Half the stuff replaced was broken plastic or rubber. Ether that or a piece of plastic broke getting to the part to replace. Luckily in California there is no rust!!

[HennaE30]

What's a "survivor" sale ad? I'm in the SF Bay Area and everyone on Craigslist does all caps "RARE" on every single E30. It's horrible. Is that pretty much the same thing?

I think my car is decently price at $2500 obo and will probably get about $2100-$2300, I can hope for more but it's not exactly a jewel.

Half the stuff replaced was broken plastic or rubber. Ether that or a piece of plastic broke getting to the part to replace. Luckily in California there is no rust!!

Here "survivor" and "unmolested" are used all the time in conjunction. Unless it was genuinely "unmolested" (PO actually kept up with maintenance using only OEM parts, and has documents of this), I tend to stay away.