More e30s for grown ups?

[AlexHale]

I received an e30 when I 11, I got my e30 from a grandparent. When I turned 16 I got an e36 to drive daily. Have been in a wreck in both types, e30 and e36, never driving, but was seriously much less hurt in the e36. The lack of safety features makes a teenage driver much more careful, as well as the work put into them. Atleast to me. Does anyone rember the article in rounded about how e30's were the perfect teen cars?

[Rustyduktape]

on the other hand, not many blind spots in an e30.

[mr2peak]

E30's are no where near as safe as most modern cars.

Shoot, we all watch Top Gear right? I really really hope I never end up in a rolled E30.

However, there are much worse choices. I almost ended up in a classic mini years ago. My Civic hatch was probably a lot less safe than an E30..

[e30onBBSs]

I stripped my doors and now I'm like... Going to look both ways before going through every light because all there is is some mirror roller upper mechanism and a 26 year old piece of metal btwn me and that potential car.

Have any of you guys ever gone to a safety course where they make you lose control of the car? I have a friend in France and to get insurance there you have to do it. They cover a big area of asphalt with water and there is this like spike strip thing but instead of spikes it can shoot out water. So they make you get up to like 30 and then they make the water shoot somewhere in front of you and you have to avoid it and keep control of the car before they will give you insurance. It's a small example but I think that's a really good/cool thing to help people react fast and realize how fast most cars can lose control, leaving the rest up to the driver to compensate. Also like how cops take I'm assuming to be rigorous driving classes to have the most control when something happens.

I'm by no means against traction control and abs and everything because they are great safety features but like someone else previously said, they can definitely be a false sense of security.
One of the reasons I like driving my e30 the most is because I know it's up to me. The threshold for error is so much larger because at least on mine there is no ABS or traction control and it has a welded dif, which makes me "sit on the edge of my seat" and in this like zen focus state when going quickly, because I know if the tires start to spin or something it's purely up to me, not some computer to stop it.

I second not buying kids cars too. If I'm ever a parent idk what I will do but I know I baby my e30 a lot more than my parents cars, like acceleration wise and everything. If our mini cooper breaks, it's not coming out of my pocket where as on the other hand if my e30 breaks it's all coming from me. Also I just have liability so it's like "I spent 2/3 of my money on this, DO NOT let that go to waste and hurt yourself or others cuz you were being a dumbshit."

And a question for the parents out there. If your kid has a passion for fixing/driving, and he worked legitimately for his/her money and is going to pay for insurance and do all the registration and everything, do you let him get that e30? or that 300zx? or that 1999 rs? whatever car, no bias because it's a BMW! I really like my parents policy, but I don't know if it's the best way to parent or not. Their philosophy is "it's your money, we will give you our thoughts on the purchase (if it's something big big like this) but at the end of the day it's up to you. Since it's their house and driveway they of course can say no because they don't want my car taking up room and everything but they knew how happy owning this e30 would make me so they let me get it. What do you guys think?

[e30vert]

It does seem that less of the youth of today are itching to jump into their first car with exuberance. Its hard for me to identify with because I was the sort of kid that HAD to drive as soon as possible and for as long as possible.

Growing up in So Cal during the 80's influenced me to drive at a very early age. I drove with abandon. People who saw me drive would sometimes say that I had a "death wish". I had two speeds. Stopped and pedal mashed.


Legal driving age was 15 1/2 with a learners permit. At that time I was pushing my dad's car out of the driveway and down the street at night when he was asleep. Then I would just jump in and drive with the spare key that I had. I would head over the hill into Hollywood to try and get into the clubs.

This was a weekly event until one night on my return trip back home I was coasting down the street in neutral after bringing the car up to about 40 with the lights off so that I could coast up into the driveway in"stealth" mode and as I rounded the corner into the driveway my father was standing dead center in the driveway waiting for me.

Lets just say it was not pretty.

I was always looking for a way to get to drive somewhere. Pulled the " Hey, someone needs milk , I will go to the store for you and pick it up " line about a million times.

Nowadays I dont see that spark in most youngsters eyes (especially young girls) that leads me to believe that they have any where near that level of motivation to drive.

Some actually have un-natural fears of operating a motor vehicle which is totally foreign to me.

In the end I got my wish to drive though as I now routinely put 28 K miles yearly on just one of my vehicles and this does not take into account the other vehicles of mine that I drive.

I strongly agree with the statement made that the single best piece of safety equipment is right behind the steering wheel!

Oh, e30onBBs - Your parents rock! They understand that fate has a hand in everything that we do and the choices we make and even with the best guidance, concern, and love it will not stop what is destined to happen.

While driving to a location I can make the best speed and lane position changes in the safest car which allows me to get to my destination safely only to open the door next to a drowsy bus driver and be taken out in an instant.

All we can do is make a series of good calculated decisions to try and insure our (and others) safety and well being.
Please continue doing so. :)

[Vincent Brick]

I stripped my doors and now I'm like... Going to look both ways before going through every light because all there is is some mirror roller upper mechanism and a 26 year old piece of metal btwn me and that potential car.

My car has had euro bumper trim with no side markers since I got it, and lacks the euro marker on the fender, I had the car a while before it occurred to me I have no side lights at all and should be more careful pulling out of places.



I can understand the younger generation's lack of interest in driving, especially those close to metropolitan areas. I have lost interest in it myself a bit, a part of me almost desires to live in an urban area and rely on public transportation and my bicycle, I never would have imagined that a decade ago. Car ownership lost a bit of its luster now that I moved to California and can no longer afford my own place to wrench, having always relied on my own mechanical ability to save on typical operating costs. The costs associated with wrenching as a hobby, along with gas prices in recent years (of course not applicable for the short term) likely cause it to appear out of reach to kids in areas with higher cost of living and/or those of lower. *shrug*

[e30onBBSs]

Now that I think about it again I realize how cool they are for letting me get my e30. I used to like daydream out loud like "guys when am I gonna be allowed to get my own car that I can work on and drive?"

Not until you have your own house blah blah blah...

over time I took some mechanics classes just learning basics with voltmeters, brakes, decarbonizing, random stuff, and then I decided I want to go to massbay automitive for BMW which means I will be at home for another 2 years cuz it's 8 mins from my house.

Then in late august one of my best friends comes up to me, his name is mike

Mike: DUDe I got an e30
me: what is an e30?
mike- old bmw 3 series, you gotta come check it out!
me- do your parents know about it?
mike- nah haha I am storing it in my friends barn cuz they wouldnt let me buy it
me- oh shit! That's so stealth bro!
next week I go to mikes friends house, we park on this backroad so his friends parents dont know about it either. Open the barn door, it's like a single garage kinda thing. They own probs 30 acres and this is a drive from their house and they have a 5 car garage and a ferrari so they never go to this barn cuz they are rich as hell (his friends parents)

Open up the door not knowing what to expect, this bright blue, lowered, BBS'd bmw is sitting there, and I'm just drooling. "this was 1700$??" Thats IT?
mike- yea man haha lets go for a drive!
me- hell ya bro!
he drives it around and it is so loud and obnoxious and it's super fun and sketchy and some people hate it some people love it, and I'm like WOW I can get a car like this for less than 2G?? I was looking at old soobies that are rust buckets for like 3k...
so this blew my mind. You know I go home and tell my parents about the car and I'm like I want one of these... yada yada
3 months later, Mike tells his parents about it.
Let's just say it wasn't pretty either. They have a strict rule about "It needs airbags and ABS" so he's getting fried, and they drop the bomb that he has to sell it of course. Me being the great friend (and newfound e30 enthusiast lol) am like YO! I will buy it if my parents let me.
Stages of parents approval goes like this
1. absolutely not, we don't want another car at our house.. ur gonna waste ur money... its not safe blah

2. I start to get my mom on my side because she's the one who signed me up for the classes and stuff

3. my dad starts to come to terms too, but he had 2 conditions, no parking it at our house, and no fixing it/ having parts laying around the driveway and shit, so no fixing it here either so I'm like... I can't work on it at my own house and I have to ask one of my neighbors to park it or something? houses here are spaced out cuz we are in the woods so it's not like I can go up to my neighbors and have them say yes cuz I don't even know them, so I'm like AHHHH this is so close but so far.

4. after telling my dad it's rwd he went from yes with the conditions to NO. talking to Laura (my mom) like this is a bad idea, it's dangerous, not practical, rwd cars this.. rwd cars that. He went from being nice to uber mean and condescending. I wasn't expecting to get it but when he crushed my dream right there it was one of the worst feelings I've ever felt because this opportunity is right in front of me, an opportunity to open my life to so many experiences I want working on cars, having a project that is one of those things like "every morning I wake up to..." fix and make this car better and more fun than it already is. So I told him that he should have never even said those conditions if this was going to happen because I am really excited about the possibility, and now it's all gone. All the logistics and calls to insurance to get quotes and looking up inspection laws and if e30's are reliable and everything is all to waste now, and I felt like until something like the e30 comes into my life I will be missing something. I have the money, I have the understanding of the risks of it breaking/ dangerous etc, and I won't be able to do it because it's rwd. If you can't tell it's either this e30 or nothing at this point, in my eyes.

5. a week later or something I bring it up again and we worked it out, because the main reason was that he really worried about me driving it in the winter. (Good dad!) My bro had just crashed our 2005 3.0r outback . He totaled his motorcycle, our minivan, and now the outback which was an awesome car, maintained uber well. My parents take him off insurance and say "you have to get your own car". This DID NOT fly with me. Their logic is completely straight but so was mine. I'm like "So parents, it takes totaling 3 vehicles in 13 months to be allowed to get my own car?" GET ROCKED haha so they were planning on selling the mini cooper for some reason, but I was like guys the mini just got a new clutch and stuff so let's keep it because it's a good car and I will drive that in the winter instead of the e30. Oh and Btw can I park it at the end of the driveway on the grass down the street down there?
dad- uh yea why not.
me- so I can get it?
dad- laura is that okay with you?
laura (mom)- yes its fine with me
me-YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! I"M GONNA HAVE AN E30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW IS THIS REAL??? ya it was actually like that no joke. I was freaking out. Best feeling it was like crazy drugs that dont even exist.

Then I tell mike.
mike- oh shit. This guy wants to trade his miata for it.
me- Oh, okay. Well I hope it's a good car man. (feel really sad and stupid for thinking he wasn't going to try and sell it/ trade it for a car that would meet his parents rules). accept the fact that he's probably going to take the miata because mike loves cars too.

time goes on, the miata guy doesn't show up, the deadline of when he has to sell it is coming up, and I've got a blank check in hand, ready to buy it.
mike- dude I want to see this thing when we come back from college so come get it! I know you are going to love it and not let it be shit so I'm going to sell it to you.
me- Alright dude! can you pick me up right now so we can go make the deal?
mike- yea I will be there soon!
me- :D

And the rest is history. They painted it white, fixed the driveline, bought a transmission with 50k miles on it, and he actually paid the PO 2k in the end instead of 1700, so it was good for both of us. I did the look around because I had to play mr skeptic for my own sake, looks nice. Some nice parts in case something happens I can sell, looks amazing, sounds as I remember, let's do it!
Drove it around for like 40 mins and had an absolute blast. I still haven't been able to drive it like that since because it's not inspected yet, but I'm patiently waiting. Since then I've been working on it and ordering the parts and pieces it's missing. Slowly though because I am 18 and my job rn is inconsistent. So Thanks to my rents, me getting a job, my friends parents, and our loves for cars, I have an 89 325i in the driveway! If you read this whole thing thanks for reading :D

TL;DR My parents went back and forth and crushed my dream really badly one time, but in the end let me get the e30.

[Shaba]

Great stories here! I started getting into cars at a really young age and it really hit me when I was about 12. At that age my grandfather bought a 2009 dodge charger Hemi and the addiction began. My uncle has a n54 335i and when I first went in his car, I was amazed at what a bmw (performance car in General) could do!

When I realized that the charger was not going to fill the needs that I eventually wanted in a car, and that it could only go straight lol, I started looking at e30's (best decision ever)!!! At the age of 15 almost turning 16, my grandfather and I searched for and bought a 1988 325i 5 speed. I hate to say it but I am really more of a car enthusiast than he is haha. He also has a 1974 vw beetle that he wrenches on but I am in the garage practically 24/7 working on and thinking about the e30. My grandfather said that he would buy the car for me to go to school in but I have to do maintenance and pay for any sort of mods that I want to do myself. I agreed. The car has a few mods now. Now as I am saving and saving learning more and more, I am also saving to pay him back!!! But he does not know that. Hopefully I should have enough money by the end of this year!

I've been driving from a young age ( my grandfather is a driving instructor) and there is nothing that compares to driving an e30 (even in normal conditions). I find it odd that not many young people are into the mechanical or driving aspect of cars. I love the feeling of man and machine working together! To me there is nothing more comforting than thinking about or working on cars.

I want to both share and receive so much to and from this forum but don't want to bore you guys lol.

Just thought it would be cool to hear the opinion of a younger/youngest? Person on this forum. Thanks for listening!

[markseven]

It does seem that less of the youth of today are itching to jump into their first car with exuberance. Its hard for me to identify with because I was the sort of kid that HAD to drive as soon as possible and for as long as possible.

Growing up in So Cal during the 80's influenced me to drive at a very early age. I drove with abandon...

This is EXACTLY the way it was for me, too.

I clearly remember asking my dad for months if he had taken the day off of work on the date that I would turn 15.5 so that we could go to the DMV. And like you, once I had my permit I was driving anyone who wanted to go anywhere, just so I could have seat time.

I remember being ten and sitting in my dads car, pressing the clutch and shifting gears like I was driving. Driving was almost an obsession.

[F34R]

Yet I've seen e30's hold up to bigger impacts then some newer cars

I rear ended a Mazda many moons ago due to a jerk driver...besides the point, I changed the fender and the headlight and was good to go. They got a flatbed because it totaled that POS! Serves them right for passing me on a double line and ebraking in front of me.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

I rear ended a Mazda many moons ago due to a jerk driver...besides the point, I changed the fender and the headlight and was good to go. They got a flatbed because it totaled that POS! Serves them right for passing me on a double line and ebraking in front of me.

My point exactly haha.

[slammin.e28]

Using this site as an example....I'd say most e30s are owned by 12-15 y/o adults.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Using this site as an example....I'd say most e30s are owned by 12-15 y/o adults.

Wish I had my e30 at this young.

[Shaba]

Wish I had my e30 at this young.

Just wondering if you guys were eager to work on cars at a young age like this too?

[slammin.e28]

Just wondering if you guys were eager to work on cars at a young age like this too?

I bought a 1986 300zx when I was 15. $500. I put a brake booster in it, and drove the poo out of it until I wrecked it. After that I got my e28 for free, and it snowballed from there....

This was when I decided I liked working on cars.....or I decided I could do shit and not have to pay someone $75+/hour to do it for me.

I've been saving and spending thousands of dollars on old BMWs ever since.