How much is your e30s upkeep?

[StereoInstaller1]

First E30 I bought had no records of any kind: $1000

Second E30 I bought had TONS of records, needed far more work than the first, but is now a nicer car: $500

3rd, 4th and 5th E30s had no records and were free.

My goal is to get another E30, with no information of any kind, but have someone pay me $100 to take it.

I think the need for records means you don't trust your mechanical sleuthing. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I generally trust no one else's opinion on ANYTHING to do with an E30, so I personally could not care less about records, maintenance, whatever.

No matter what it is, I am gonna fix it anyway, so why should I care?

[Disaster Inc]

Just a little bit of my heart and soul everyday..

Plus, a few dead relationships with girlfriends.

LOL at that one, I know the feeling...

[Ral]

4. Heated seats in an old jalopy - ahhhhh.

The (now former) girl got in the M3, which is much, much nicer than the 'vert, and goes "aww, no heated seats?"

[Rcicharde30]

In 14 years of ownership I spent about $12,000.00 on R&M. That was all done by mechanics so if you do your own wrenching you could probably cut that in half.

I paid cash for the car so that works out to $70.00 or so a month for a really nice car, not including insurance or tags.

[DCColegrove]

I don't want to talk about it....

Naw, It's not that bad.

The least expensive (service wise) e30 I have seen roll through here is the m42 powered 318i/is

----Just do not let them over heat.---

(or do what I've done to mine...bigfuckingmoneyimustbestupidornuts)

[Jand3rson]

My experience has been, when you first get the car, depending on if this all needs to be done, I'd spend about $500-700 replacing as much suspension, brakes, and RM engine bits as possible. Replace all the bushings, control arms, strut mounts, tie rods, belts, brake pads/lines/rotors, spark plugs, wires, distributor, cap & rotor, valve cover gasket, water pump, timing belt, all that kind of shit, and you'll have a car that will probably run for another 10-20 years with VERY little spending in between, aside from routine maintenance.

[eshghehBMW]

maybe 500 tops so far....I want to get some wheels but I can't justify the $600-700 spent in one blow.

dam this group buy is a good option...:-(

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=974071

[Jean]

If you get one w/o records, you'll spend another 500-1000 on it on stuff it probably needs right away (timing belt, hoses, shocks, brakes, bushings). Rest is up to you .

[elsabor67]

$500-800 dollars is what I've had to spend so far basically on the needy immediate parts (Timing belt, seals, other misc. things). I've been lucky when looking around for other things that I was also able to get my hands on like the sport seats(F+R $150) and other things.

[E30 Cabrio]

The point of records is that it shows a history rather then being a mystery.

Sure, you can examine the car, but with records, you know exactly what was replaced, when and by who and there are things that a visual check won't show.

[808BMW]

Initial purchase: $500
Needed upkeep: $1500
Useless mods: $4000
Current yearly cost (insurance and registration): $400

Not bad I guess for 6 years so far

[Lsb_E30]

I bought my 91 318is with 132,xxx on the clock, in a year its at 176,000! pretty much nothing broke.
Ive replaced wear and tear items
and probally spent 4-500 dollars on things the car actually needed. Ive spent more just for my own piece of mind however..

There good cars, parts are easy to find and cheap and theres plenty of knowledge/how-to's around.

[BBY1104]

2000$ a year I would say for me

[Motorsports]

The key is to get a clean example that has been well taken care of. Then just make sure that you keep taking good care of it. As long it is well maintained it should be very reliable.

[njansenv]

I've had my e for about 6 months now. I bought it to be an interesting DD for my fiance, and a project for me. It was $1200 to purchase, and I have about that much into it again in safety/deferred maintenance items. That said, for $2400, I now have a car I can give her without second thought as to it's safety or reliability. We've been putting ~600 miles a week on it for the past 3 months, trouble free.

Things done:
Master cylinder
Front brakes and rotors
E-brake cable and shoes and hardware
Tune up
SI board
Crank reference sensor
temps sensors
Vacuum hoses

I'd consider all of these (except SI board) standard maintenance items on a car this age, and had no trouble doing it. Theres a 60k mile M30 in the garage I've been collecting parts to install, and I'd recommend a clean (rust free!) e30 to ANYONE with mechanical aptitude. They're a blast to drive at anywhere from 1/10th-8/10ths even stock, and only get better with the appropriate parts.