Living with an E30

[AlexS]

So recently I bought my first car. I bought a front-drive Ford, something I thought would be reliable, cheap to insure, cheap to fuel etc. It is just that, and a bit boring I find. I've always liked the look of the E30's, and it seems that I could afford one. Needless to say, I'm tempted to make the switch. I always see these E30's for 2-3 thousand canadian. They often have sub 200k, and I'm often tempted. Many of them seem to have the maintenance up to date, and lots of life ahead of them, but I'm never sure. I know a bit about cars, but not really enough to know for sure if a car is in good order. I paid a mechanic to inspect the ford, for example.

So, my question is; what is it like living with an E30? How do you find the reliability? How much do parts cost you?

If I bought one, I think I'd most likely get an older 318is or 325is. I like the interior, and the stiffer suspension of the sport models appeals to me. The two door is also attractive to me. I would buy a 5 speed. I wouldn't really have any intention of modding it much. Maybe some seats if I bought a non sport model.

Tell me about your car, the cost if you care to share, and your experience with its reliability etc. Do you maintain it yourself? Take it to the dealer? Someone else?

I think that at this point, I will insure my car for the balance of the 6 months I agreed to, and then flip it. That's if I get a favorable response here.

PS- My dad's got a 2.8 2000 Z3. I love it, and I think it's that car that got me onto BMW's. Would a 6 cylinder E30 have any of the same feel? The ride? The smoothness? Some of the speed?

Please help!

[Garageaholic]

Parts are relatively cheap if you look in the right places. The reliability is good if you treat her with respect.

I bought mine for $1300 87 325e and all i needed was a rear engine seal. i've since put 15,000 miles on it and now it needs an alignment, new tie rod and a new rear bearing. It's not a bad car and definitely beats making monthly payments!

[ivo316]

My experience is great, bought for +/- US$1.000, needed head gasket and head resurfacing (also had to weld/refill water passages in the head, I assembled it and (besides I'm halfway painting it) it has been a great experience, the car has been driven for 4000 miles, it runs great, it was never maintained properly and it will need parts soon, but it's extremely reliable and a great quality car.

Just think what a car costs when new and compare, a car that costs twice as much as another HAS to be better, therefore better in the long run also. :) .

[Gleb]

Great cars! You will not be sorry. In many ways they are probably better than most BMWs.
Parts are cheap and for the most part it only requires basic maintenance.
Where in Canada are you? There is a guy in Toronto, a long time BMW club member who is selling his E30 in almost mint shape.
PM me if you want his info.

[StereoInstaller1]

Reliability? Crap
Smoothness? Crap
Power? Crap.

I have turned down offers of twice or thice what few dollars I have into it.

I am building one for my GF because she loves mine too.

Is there another car I can afford that I would want? No.

I love this thing.

Oh yeah...welcome to R3V!

Luke

[Jordan325iC]

^^Haha, true... true...

But seriously. These cars are as reliable as 20 year old cars can be. They were built to be tanks though. I've owned 2 m20 powered cars in the last few years, a 528e at 300k when I sold it, and a 325is which is at 250k and I DD it... and rallycross it... and autocross it.

They will last forever. You just might need to get your arms greasy at some time during your ownership.

[Funkmasta]

These things are tanks.
I would recommend getting an E30 that has sport seats. You cant go wrong. I have only owned 1 that didnt have sport seats... never again.

[Jean]

It's a disease.

[Garageaholic]

Welcome to the addiction that is E30's.

But seriously, What I love about the E30's is that they aren't cookie cutters like you see with the E90/E92's now. I just think that BMW really broke the mold with the E30's and that they really were technologically ahead of their time.

Nicely reliable
Cheap to replace parts
Simple enough to replace yourself/diagnose
Great gas mileage

I can't complain

[FredK]

The best part of owning an E30? They don't have subframe issues like the E36, E36/7, E36/8, and E46, and all those other shitboxes.

[Axxe]

Fun cars going for a great price. Very modular car, in that parts are easily "upgraded" by using certain parts from newer BMWs. Excellent brakes, excellent driving feel, decent power if you buy a M20B25 motivated car (not enough to win races, but plenty enough to have fun and get in trouble with), LSD's widely available, the list goes on and on. I get compliments about my beater every day, and it's not much to look at from closer than 10 feet. Still has the classy "you definitely know it's a BMW" lines.

[Bimmernaut]

ahem... if i may add, you also have a solid knowledge base here at r3v to help you with modding/maintenance/bullshitting :)

[AdironRider]

Two things that need to be said.

The first is that I hope you plan to do all the work on the car yourself. While these cars are pretty reliable, you have to understand that when buying a 20 year old car, things are going to break more often. Repairs are often not a problem if you do the work yourself, but if you bring in a BMW to your standard mom and pop repair place, you can practically see their kids tuition check being cashed, at least in my personal experience. Do the work yourself and your golden, but be prepared for 1000+ repair bills if you bring it to a shop.

The second thing is that we all have the modding bug, and with that bug you drive harder, dump more money in parts, etc, all increasing costs to own. If you just want a fun daily, get a 318is w/ a decent suspension, and dont do a thing more. You start adding more and more parts, and start driving it harder and harder, and the costs increase substantially.

Or you can just say fuck it like most on this board, drop a shit ton of money into a car youll never see your investment back in, and love every second of it. I know I have.

[ebelements]

You want a daily that doesn't need much in the way of attention, get a 325e.

Whatever you get will need suspension, tires, and a short shift anyways, so budget for that.

Or you can just say fuck it like most on this board, drop a shit ton of money into a car youll never see your investment back in, and love every second of it. I know I have.

I have more into getting my suspension to it's current state than the base car is probably worth. Then again, I'm apparently mildly retarded. I've bought and sold newer cars than the E30, but it still sticks around. Fuck a dog, an E30 is man's best friend.

[Dave]

if you bring in a BMW to your standard mom and pop repair place, you can practically see their kids tuition check being cashed, at least in my personal experience.

That is if they will touch it at all. Some "general" garages dont want to touch anything European.

If you run into issues you cant or wont do yourself, find out the local independent BMW repair shop in your area. Most of those guys do the owrk as good or better than the dealer for a lot less. It'll still cost you, but not as much.