What does it mean/say about us who drive E30s?

[TobyB]

damned hipsters...

t

[Bearmw]

Others see us as anal expulsive according to Freud, with a little bit of retentive as well.

[UlrichFennec]

I get the feeling that a lot of people see the kidneys and the roundel and go "that guy's driving an old BMW. He must be loaded to be able to keep that thing running."

I get a lot of thumbs up and conversations from more elder folk, curious why some 21 year old would pick an old, rattly BMW over something more modern. Most of the time, they're approving and tell me it's good to see kids my age appreciating the classics and they tell me stories about their cars they used to have. It's a really nice experience. The E30 can always spark a conversation from multiple age groups in parking lots. "Wow, that's pretty clean!" "How much did you pay for that?" "That's a nice BMW!"

Brightens my day a bit. I mean, it's got faded and chipping clear coat, scratches and everything, but it's my pride and joy and I'm glad if I can keep it for a decade or longer.

On the other end of the age spectrum, I have a bunch of fartknockers who think I want to race all the time. Look, it's an almost 30 year old BMW. You're not impressing anyone. If I have the top down, I'm cruising. Leave me alone. And besides, I'm the heaviest of the E30s, I'm at 6000ft, so I've got a big power loss coupled with drivetrain loss. Until I go the forced induction route, I'll just have fun with corners. Stop trying to race me.

[estoguy]

Hey guys and gals,

Was thinking about this the other day. Sometimes driving certain cars say something about the owners, and of course I was thinking how attached I am to my E30.

What do you think driving an E30 (especially as a daily driver) says about us as drivers? How do you think other driver's perceive us? Are we hipsters or something else?

Since many of us are DIY, I certainly think it says a lot about our commitment to our ride - these cars are over 2 decades old know at the youngest, and it does take a certain amount of care and respect to keep them going.

I don't know how may random people have started conversations with me over my car. I think that because of relative rarity of seeing E30s anymore (especially here in Ontario), it certainly attracts curiosity and some amazement at seeing a 31 year old car still on the road and being used daily.

I'm interested to see what the rest of R3V thinks. :)