People who got dirt cheap E30s, how did you do it?

[ArtFoodBMW]

I've purchased 4 e30's under $700 each in the past 3 years. It's about finding people who don't know what an e30 is, and finding a way to talk them down. Also, I might add, all the e30's I've found have had severe problems (Front end damage & water pump, bad auto trans, wrecked front end, and bad manual trans/trashed field find).

"You get what you pay for" is the lesson I've learned over and over and over..

[roguetoaster]

Like has been said, you have to get lucky, and troll craigslist/r3v like crazy.

I reflected on my USDM E30 purchases over the years, and have listed when purchased, how much, what sort of shape it was in when purchased, and how I found it.

'91 318i 2010 - 1,000 7/10 -CL
'91 318i 2011 - 600 4/10 -CL
'91 318i 2011 - 1,800 7/10 -CL
'91 318i 2012 - 1,100 5/10 -r3v
'89 325i 2013 - 600 6/10 -CL
'86 325es 2013 - 400 3/10 -CL
'91 318is 2014 - 1100 5/10 -CL
'87 325i 2016 - 2200 8/10 -friend

Not sure if I am buying fewer E30s because of increasing prices or just getting off track on other projects/tourings.

[craz azn]

Pure luck IMO. Both E30s I currently have I got just out of coincidence and I wasn't even looking for one at the time.

[Powling]

Its a combination of luck and a lot of hard work to find them out in the wild, hoping that the owners dont know what they have.

I snagged mine from an older lady that was selling her son's 318is as punishment to him for getting a stunt driving ticket. Right place at the right time to be honest, it was dumb luck.

[rturbo 930]

You're too late to the game. Either you get super lucky or it's not gonna happen.

[tiger_e30]

I've seen a fair number of stories of E30s purchased for $1,000 and under. There's some guy on /r/E30 who got a very good looking car with a cracked oil pan for $325. Yet every time I check craigslist, the best I've found is a totaled car with half of the parts already gone for $1,000. Even checking CL across the country with searchtempest, there's almost nothing.

Where are you people finding these deals?

If your near TN https://tricities.craigslist.org/cto/6063093519.html

Only one picture so suspicious but could be a great deal

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[E30 Wagen]

Fact is they don't really exist any more, you just have to get super lucky.

[stairmast0r]

I've seen a fair number of stories of E30s purchased for $1,000 and under. There's some guy on /r/E30 who got a very good looking car with a cracked oil pan for $325. Yet every time I check craigslist, the best I've found is a totaled car with half of the parts already gone for $1,000. Even checking CL across the country with searchtempest, there's almost nothing.

Where are you people finding these deals?