The "Big Plans" Revealed. You asked, Here they are

[Sean]

Wow...I got the car in time then.

Shit Kris, this is AWESOME!! Dude, I'm gonna be there to help you, my chance to learn, ya know?! 8) :twisted:

So, were YOU actually the one thinking about that car? Not "a friend". Why you... :P

This is awesome, soooo awesome. And, no way, E30's forever - and convertables do suck - coupes are much more rigid!

I had known about kris' idea to get an E46, but this sounds like it'll be so much more fun! :D

[rwh11385]

Kris, I'd have to say "DO IT" "DO IT"....(in Starsky's voice from the movie.....) but I can't. I have to be logical.

You're going to be a doctor? How many do you know that put $16 into an E30? Not many. For nearly that much, I think you could grab up an E38. A silver 740i on some M parallels would be a much more appropriate car when you get out of school.

How many years do you have to go? Make 2-3? Just drive a stocker until then. Or buy a **slightly** modded E30. It's get you around campus for the next couple of years.

If you put a lot of dough into an E30......if you want to "grow up" and get a "real car".....you'd be hard pressed to get any of that $$ out of it. On the other hand, but a modded $5k E30 and spend 1-2 on it over the years, you will still probably get $5k out of it in the end maybe. Not suffering a large drop in funds.

IOr.....do what I'm planning on maybe doing. I'm looking at 4-5, maybe 6 years at Purdue. Hopefully either Doubling on Engineering/Business....or Grad with Masters for Engineering, or MBA for Business....depends how things turn out... ANYWAY. With the new weld scars I've found, I don't really want to try to dress up the E30 after school. And although I love the E30, I don't think I'd buy a second to swap all shit into.

Rather, take my E30, strip it of interior, put in a rollcage, and run it in club. Then buyself a X5 4.6is, 740iL, M5, 540 sport, etc, or 911 even. These cars should retain more value than an E30, and be more "suited" to your profession later in life.

I do think the idea is really awesome, but someone has to be logical or reasonable. You don't need a lot of buddies to be "Yes" men......so there is another view about it.

P.S. E46 Ci's are sexy and very cool. Maybe on the heavy side, and soft, but oh well. 323's scoot, but a 330 is worth the wait. If you save and drive a "plain" tuned E30 through your days, you could pick up a 330CiPP out of Med School. (My friend told me that they ARE bringing 330 coupe performance packages to the US)

[CiLK WuRM]

Hmmm, some incredibly important points made in that post of reason. I'm just glad it's not me being that voice

[bimmerphile]

Getting out of med school is like 7 years away man....

Then when i'm out, I have a 4 year residency, and at least a year of fellowships. It's a long ways away, no doubt. Granted it's food for thought. We'll see.

Yes the 330Ci ZHP (PP = premium package) are coming to the US. They will arrive in april.

For about a day I considered leasing one.

That didn't last long after I saw the insurance.

[bimmer8604]

wow, sounds like you have thought this through and are willing to make your ride, well, yours. Cant wait to see the project and progress that you make with the car. Be sure to document EVERYTHING you do and take TONS of pictures, will make for a great story someday!

Good luck!

Kyle

[rwh11385]

Alright I wasn't really thinking about #'s when I guessed. Plus, je suis tres "tired." My eyes are about shut. So you got a while then.....to say the least.

That may change things, but the fact still remains it doesn't make very much economic or fincancial sense. Maybe for an E30 M3, as those are rare enough their value does not depreciate really anymore, etc. etc. Or something Clangsten was saying......

Talk to Lukas. You'd more or less go down the road he has. Except for instead of years of progress, you're jumping right into mods. Ask him if he'd do it again. His car is kick ass, but still. Do you want a $15K or whatever 15year old car? Just something to think about.

At least your E30 you spend $20K won't be stock and have metal bumpers. :D ah, I'm not going to really miss that kid.......

[bimmerphile]

Alright I wasn't really thinking about #'s when I guessed. Plus, je suis tres "tired." My eyes are about shut. So you got a while then.....to say the least.

That may change things, but the fact still remains it doesn't make very much economic or fincancial sense. Maybe for an E30 M3, as those are rare enough their value does not depreciate really anymore, etc. etc. Or something Clangsten was saying......

Talk to Lukas. You'd more or less go down the road he has. Except for instead of years of progress, you're jumping right into mods. Ask him if he'd do it again. His car is kick ass, but still. Do you want a $15K or whatever 15year old car? Just something to think about.

At least your E30 you spend $20K won't be stock and have metal bumpers. :D ah, I'm not going to really miss that kid.......

Damn right, If I'm blowin' 20K, my car's gonna MOVE.

I understand investment-wise, that it doesn't make much sense. Hell, I put all that into a car, I'll be lucky to get 8 grand out of it total.

But, here's the few things I think about:

1. I'm not planning on selling this car
2. Cars are an investment that depreciates in value anyway. At the time I would be looking at selling my E46, the car would have a value of about 8k, which is estimated to be in 5 years.
3. Doing a mass-replacement in parts this early on will breath new life into the car. Hell, how long do you think Jordan's E30 is going to run for :idea:
4. I will mod whatever car I get. It's a disease. We all have it. Starting off with a 17k E46/15K E36 M3 just starts me at a higher mark.
5. I will not be satisfied with whatever speed I get out of an E36 or E46


Believe me, I'll talk it over with Eric. I'm sure he has a ton of insight.

Cheers


PS, le mot que tu cherche est "fatigue"

[Sean]

He's got his plan guys. Don't make him change it.

I think it sounds awesome. Really good point on the modding aspect. ;)

[Chris E30 Cab]

Sounds like a great plan, hope it comes to fruition soon :)

The only thing I'd add is a piggyback unit. My Unichip piggyback gave me 15rwhp & 14rwtq extra. I'm sure it would have a similar result on a slightly modded S50.

Have fun with it & good luck!!

[mikeedler]

not to sound like a bad guy either, but that does seem like a bit of cash for a E30. One question, you want a car as a daily driver, the mods you are talking about will take quite a bit of time to perform. what are you going to drive till then? It wont be much of a daily driver when you are finished---It'll be too nice. I know this from my M3, I cant stand to get it dirty even. I think whoever said that about a E30 M3 was dead on. for that cash, you can defiatelly get a S14 and have the 5 lug thing already done, and the car will do nothing but rise in value! Whatever you do, I'm jelous, it will be a bad ass car when it is done. by the way, if you need M tech II parts PM me when the time comes, I just came across the complete sides of one and Im willing to let em go for the right price.

[Jand3rson]

Re: The "Big Plans" Revealed. You asked, Here they

• Angel Eyes (blow me if you don't like them)

[franz]

all those e30 X5 4.6 etc etc will depreciate a lot too, and a lot more than 16k in fact. I am a 40 year old engineer who LOVES my e30. DO it, don't drive an X5 or a 740 or whatever until you are half dead. There are a lot of people on the internet who can't afford to do it and would drop their allegiance to e30 if they could afford to but there are a few here who would (and some do) spend whatever they want on their e30 and have no intentions of selling. It is a fantastic platform and a good hobby.

[Z3Jonathan]

Alright I wasn't really thinking about #'s when I guessed. Plus, je suis tres "tired." My eyes are about shut. So you got a while then.....to say the least.

That may change things, but the fact still remains it doesn't make very much economic or fincancial sense. Maybe for an E30 M3, as those are rare enough their value does not depreciate really anymore, etc. etc. Or something Clangsten was saying......

Talk to Lukas. You'd more or less go down the road he has. Except for instead of years of progress, you're jumping right into mods. Ask him if he'd do it again. His car is kick ass, but still. Do you want a $15K or whatever 15year old car? Just something to think about.

At least your E30 you spend $20K won't be stock and have metal bumpers. :D ah, I'm not going to really miss that kid.......

Putting $15k into a 15+ year old car doesn't seem to make sense on paper. But they are durable cars, and I think BMW enthusiasts recognize this (ie, there will still be people wanting to buy these farther on down the road). Obviously it makes even more sense on an M3, but $15k will only buy an M3, not cover the mods/repairs/upgrades.

Honestly, for $15k you could buy a Cavalier/Civic/Neon/whatever, and in 6-7 years down the road, you'll be lucky to get $4-5k for it.

[bmwannabe]

just a helpful hint, but this is a project, so dont plan on hitting the price you projected. the $ you spend will rack up really quick and could possibly be more than you anticipated. Just a quick blurb from me, but it sounds like a great idea. god speed my friend!

[Rob]

what gabe said. also, you need to itemize the priorities. Decide whats most important, and do that first. Nothing is more annoying than having a car that has 7 different projects all half-finished.

If it were me, I go in this order, and I'dcomplete a project before starting the next : Suspension, learn to drive, brakes, learn to drive, wheels/tires, learn to drive, bodywork cosmetic, interior shit, then lastly the motor/HP stuff. With doing all you're doing, getting distracted and forgetting the really important minute details will be really easy if you dont plan correctly.[/b]