Pet peeve: non-enthusiast E30 drivers

[funcrew]

In the Las Vegas area, about half the E30 drivers will return a honk & wave in traffic. The other half look at you like, "what are YOU looking at?" I don't think they realize that they are driving around a car with semi-cult status. At least 90% of E30's here are bone stock: full height on bottlecaps & pizza cutter tires, lots more diving boards than plastic bumpers.

How does that compare to elsewhere?

[Raxe]

Worse percentage here, maybe 10% know what they've got.

[daniel]

i would say around 75% of the guys driving e30s at whom i flash my lights or wave return the gesture.

currently, there has only been one female driver who has acknowledged any kind of car similarities, and she was a beautiful redhead with a white 325i/4 with some tasteful mods in the parking lot of a chevron.

basically if i see an e30 in ok or better condition, i try to make some kind of connection. otherwise its probably a lost cause.

but yeah, that is kind of a pet peeve of mine as well.

[Nicademus]

i would say around 75% of the guys driving e30s at whom i flash my lights or wave return the gesture.

currently, there has only been one female driver who has acknowledged any kind of car similarities, and she was a beautiful redhead with a white 325i/4 with some tasteful mods in the parking lot of a chevron.

basically if i see an e30 in ok or better condition, i try to make some kind of connection. otherwise its probably a lost cause.

but yeah, that is kind of a pet peeve of mine as well.

You live in Portland which I've always felt has a sweet spot for E30's and such (they also seem to like the old Volvo's). I live in Seattle and have noticed a similar interest in them around here but not quite like Oregon (Portland especially).

[StereoInstaller1]

Here, in a much smaller town, my car is apparently a local source of legend. High school kids talk about it in the parking lot of WalMart or the high school I drive past every day, old ladies smile at it, I get thumbs up every single day driving it. Buddies of mine at the bar tell their buddies "that's the car I was talking about" and I get offers two or three times a month to sell it. Sometimes I wish I saw it through their eyes!

To me, the thing is a 275,000 mile 20 year old car on big wheels and a big stereo with shiny "30 footer" 20 year old paint and a way too damn loud exhaust...but that is looking at it through my eyes, not theirs. Let them think what they want, I know the warts.

Most E30s in this town are stock, generally beaters...but damn near all of us who are into these cars know each other (all 6 of us or so) and know each others cars on sight.

Other E30 drivers do wave or at least smile, generally. Some E28 people, hell, even 944 guys wave! The older lady in the bone-stock Bronzit '87 325is always waves, but I think she might be uuuuum.....slow, she waves at everyone.



Luke

[Jall]

I've had a couple of waves from E30 drivers, most have been from E21's though and the occasional E28.
Never get waves from people my age (I'm young) and feel they bought the car for the badge (kinda sad when most of them are older than I am). All of my waves have been from 40yo+

[sefb222]

You live in Portland which I've always felt has a sweet spot for E30's and such (they also seem to like the old Volvo's). I live in Seattle and have noticed a similar interest in them around here but not quite like Oregon (Portland especially).

true. i recently moved to the area (portland) and immediately noticed a huge presence of clean and modified E30s. and old volvos!

i love this town!!!

[DSP74]

To most folks around here it's just a cheap car to drive......

[Turf1600]

I met a guy once with a black e30 on style 10s that was kind of nice. He liked my car quite a bit. Other than that the only people I've seen who have noticed my car were 2 indian dudes who had wrecked their e30 into a ditch.

There's tons in my area that people beat around in - but they are trashed and the people def. don't know what they've got. In fact, there's a red ES that parks at the house across from me. The new rear roundel is the nicest thing on it.

[z31maniac]

I get lots of looks in my small college town. But I haven't seen one E30 in the 5 months I've had mine.

[NC325iC]

i dont see alot of e30s really id say about 25% would know what e30 means if you said it to them. then theres another 45% that have clean e30s that have had some degree of care. then the remaining 30% are shit boxes that need rescuing.

[Mclassy]

To most folks around here it's just a cheap car to drive......

Ditto. Here in the Pittsburgh area, I really only know a few enthusiasts. One actually just lives down the street from me. All the others, just drive while I usually stare and drool.

[gearheadE30]

It annoys me too, especially because there are a lot of well-off people who live near me. A few of them have really clean low-miles e30s and they have no idea what they are. Most of them get stuffed into walls in the winter, unfortunately... :(

[N2MYE30]

I see a red/pink 318 4dr about once a week that is completly stock. Its rare to see an e30 in neck of the woods. But I do get looks from the newer cats driving e36, e46, and even the e90s.

edit: I do have my friends 89 m3 on my driveway...i got him into the e30 scene.

[Julien]

Suprisingly the e36m3 drivers usually have alot of respect for done up e30s... Even though they firmly believe that :

e36m3>god+the jesus

Julien