Bit of a rant, trying to get back into BMWs

[gearheadE30]

Yeah, it's crazy. I still have my E30, just haven't spent much time on the forums or trolling CL in 4-5 years, but now I'm kind of looking for a second one to have a non-turbo daily. The increase in price is insane...when I got my 318is, you could get a really nice late 325is for like $2500 all day long. the cheapest E30 within a few hundred miles of me on CL is something like 3k and it's a clapped out M10 car.

[mrmckie]

totally agree...good ones do pop up every once in while for 1500-3000 but they go quickly. I missed a local 91 318 that sold in 1 day of being posted for 1300 a few days ago.

but at these current prices i'm honestly thinking about just buying a e46 330 or a e39 530i sport....

[Red_liner740]

Just to update:

Guess i lucked out. Found a 1989 325ix Touring imported from Germany, 20 min from my home.



From the add:
It has a rebuilt/refreshed head. Valve guides, valves re-grinded, new camshaft, and obviously decked. Also washed the valve cover and intake manifold. Nice and shiny!
Valves Adjusted
Replaced every coolant hose under the hood (not kidding) along with the radiator.
Timing belt/tensioner/water pump and accessory belts
Air conditioning converted to R134a
Brake pads (PBR Ceramic)
Injectors
Front Axle Shafts
Oxygen Sensor

Suspension- Koni Yellow's Adjustable with AP SportFahrewerke Springs. (Don't know the rate) Fronts are less than 5 years old


Wheels- Currently sitting on Team Dynamic 15" with nearly new R888's. Oh and it has the uber rare Recaros with the halo headrests.


Only thing is that it kissed a wall at a track day and he replaced all panels but did not paint them. Got a kid and lost all interest in E30's

car looks like this now but rides on Racing Dynamics 15" wheels



Picked it up for $4K CAD, which is like $3200USD.

He posted in on thursday evening, i called him and spoke to him that night, got up in the morning and went to see it. While i was closing the deal, another guy showed up and just missed out on it. Seller was telling me hes had a flood of offers but was a straight shooter and stuck to his deal at 4K.

Its at the paint shop getting fixed, all minor rust will be fixed and will be fully resprayed.

Its a side project for the body shop and he expects it to be ready by spring.

[e30onBBSs]

Did you guys buy your e30's planning to sell them or keep them as long as possible? I plan on keeping my piece of the pie!

[Navarone]

I bought mine to be a fun project with a buddy then sell, but my daily broke down, so I kept it. I'm not looking to get rich, just get out what I put in and wrench and talk shit with my buddy.

[e30austin]

I dumped too much money into either of mine to sell now. Guess they're staying with me til I go in the ground.

Nice purchase. Welcome.

[mrmckie]

i initially intended on keeping mine forever but needed the money when my home reno went way the hell over budget...lol

[CRAIG2]

No money down and no payments on this car which was heading to the crusher. Picked up this stock 3 Series (clear title) for a grand total of $0.00. Put in a battery and she came to life.
The car is far from pristine. This one will get parked beside my other stock 3 Series which is my 'official' parts car for my 1988 325ic. I have owned my 'vert' since 1993.

[mr2peak]

Prices aren't crazy, they are finally making sense. Some of us are aware of what it costs to get a car back to 90%, let alone 100%. These cars have a HUGE following, 2.3 million made means lots and lots of people have memories attached to these cars. Time takes it's toll on all of them, and it takes $$$$ to properly reverse that. You think prices are high now?? Hahaha wait until the next round of stuff goes NLA...

The economy will falter at some point, more e30's will have owners who give up on them during that time, and the clean ones will survive with owners who are even more aware of the costs.

[nando]

I just think it's funny that my car is probably worth just as much, if not more than I paid for it more than a decade ago.

no plans to sell though. actually, even though I don't have as much time to mess with it, by the time I do I don't think I could afford to buy another one. and then I'd be pissed.

[mr2peak]

There were probably 4x as many clean E30's around a decade ago, and they aren't making any more of them. Supply and demand.

[Stevoyayaya3]

I didn't read all the post, but not all prices are high. You just have to look. Youre gonna pay for what you want. If you don't mind doing work you can get pretty good deals. there are some idiots who throw numbers at the wall to see what they can get. IMO that's what drives prices up. I own two and got great deals. Honestly I would rather the prices be a little higher to keep the idiots away who do terrible things to these awesome machines

[88BlackS-ETA]

In August 2010 I paid $2,950 for my supereta.... The guy wanted $4k but it had "hail damage" (more like a baseball bat) and he got an insurance write off. Of course it did have 88,352 original documented miles (now 105,000) but needed everything.

Not sure about where you live, but, here in Pennsylvania prices go up and down quite a bit and half the people think they have a super eta and think thats worth more. Im looking for a winter car now and am surprised at the prices for Audi A6's, not to different from E30 prices.

[mr2peak]

Here's a good article from GRM about the cost of restoring a car:

http://classicmotorsports.net/articles/whats-it-really-cost/

[Kevinl]

Here's a good article from GRM about the cost of restoring a car:

http://classicmotorsports.net/articl...t-really-cost/

I already have 7500 in my e30 if I make everything the way I want I'll be in it 20k easy:crazy: