Sell my e46 m3 daily for an e30 or something else?

[adept]

Hey guys, since we are all car peoples I figured this conversation would be great here. Plus I haven't posted on r3v in what seems like forever. If you don't want to hear the past story and skip to my choices... skip to the second part.

So I've had an e36 m3 for about 5 years now. Around 2 years ago I slowly started turning it into a race car, and then about 6 months after it had a roll cage without any interior I realized that I didn't like daily driving it anymore.

Well I wanted to be a cheap ass and keep as much money as I could for racing, so I bought a $2000 1997 acura integra. That p.o.s. had me hating myself every day I drove it, even though I do think those cars are pretty cool and I spent some money cleaning it up. I thought I would just live through the struggle on my 5 mi commute to work, but then the engine blew apart and I had to spend $1,500 to get it running again. This pissed me off so much that I sold it immediately after fixing it.

Again, the whole reason I bought that car would be to spend all my budget on HDPE events, which at that time I was doing at least once every two months, usually more like once a month. Anyways, I figured that e46 m3s were getting cheap and that it would be nice to have a comfortable, fast and sporty daily driver again. Plus, how cool would it be to own two M3s? So I purchased a fairly clean, higher mileage e46 m3. This was all about 6 months ago. I promptly realized that it had a few issues so I have since spent ~$5k total fixing up the e46 m3 so far in 6 months. And I've noticed myself barely ever going racing nowadays.

Anyways, there are two issues I have with my current daily driver: the e46 m3 platform is expensive to maintain and is prohibitive to racing my e36. I can imagine spending about $2-3k a year on upkeep on that car alone - that's roughly 5-6 HDPE events. Secondly, the interior is falling apart, and I can't get myself to spend the money to fix the interior since it's just cosmetic. With the interior falling apart it keeps me from enjoying it as much as I could (first world problems).

....

Anyways, I'm thinking of selling the e46 for something else and I'd like to get your opinion... because it really sounds like a stupid idea. The e46 is fantastic to drive. I could sell it and buy...

1. a very clean e30 with ~150k miles, and pocket ~$10-12k - huge nostalgia factor here since I found one that looks identical to one I had 10 years ago
2. a subaru brz with ~30-50k miles, and pocket $2-5k - mainly just thinking that maintenance will be minimal-zero $ so I can have peace of mind

***My main concern with making this decision is that I have already spent $$$ maintaining the e46 m3, so besides the interior it is in great shape. I wonder if I am already over the hump of spending a lot on maintenance then that will free up my future budget to continue racing, all while having a fantastic daily driver.

Do you guys think that buying an e30 will also have the same amount of maintenance cost ~$2-3k/year? If so then I don't think I care about pocketing the initial money and I'll keep the e46 m3.

[Kevinl]

I would get an e30

[Nesset]

Only god's chariot is god's chariot...

E30>All

[Das Delfin]

I think I've spent 3-4k in three years of ownership not counting the cost of the car. But a chunk of that has gone into the interior

If you want to grab an e30 I would do it soon. What about a stock e36?

[ELVA164]

Looking at the factors here, I'd go E30. Nostalgia factor, future appreciation factor, extra money to do what you'd like to it factor.

[stonea]

My buddy bough an e30 a while back (2 years ago?) and he's barley had to put any money into it. Just make sure to take your time and buy a really nice e30 and it'll treat you good.

[BobombETA]

I think I've spent 3-4k in three years of ownership not counting the cost of the car. But a chunk of that has gone into the interior

If you want to grab an e30 I would do it soon. What about a stock e36?

I second this. Another e36 would give you parts interchangeability if something were to break or wear out. You could find a super clean e36 M3 and still net out money wise.

[mjimport]

Looking at the factors here, I'd go E30. Nostalgia factor, future appreciation factor, extra money to do what you'd like to it factor.

Appreciation x2
Even if you put money in, there's still a good chance of getting it back in a few years. (No, not guaranteed) The other cars you look at will have the opposite effect.(depreciate)

[Charlie]

Given what the E46 M3 market is at right now, and how finding a good non-shitbox E30 that would be worth DD'ing is going to be 6-7k, how exactly are you coming out ahead by 12k?

[adept]

Thanks for all the inputs guys. :)

I think I've spent 3-4k in three years of ownership not counting the cost of the car. But a chunk of that has gone into the interior

If you want to grab an e30 I would do it soon. What about a stock e36?

Around $1k per year is about in line with what I've heard. This is all DIY right?

You know, I don't know why a second e36 didn't cross my mind. An e36 m3 is not going to be too far off in terms of price. And the parts/maintenance will probably be equivalent to an e30... maybe even less with the availability of used e36 parts.

Looking at the factors here, I'd go E30. Nostalgia factor, future appreciation factor, extra money to do what you'd like to it factor.

Agree with all those factors. Only thing is it won't be quite as fun (seriously the e46 is awesome to drive) and won't have creature comforts.

My buddy bough an e30 a while back (2 years ago?) and he's barley had to put any money into it. Just make sure to take your time and buy a really nice e30 and it'll treat you good.

Definitely need to find the unicorn to make this worthwhile.

I second this. Another e36 would give you parts interchangeability if something were to break or wear out. You could find a super clean e36 M3 and still net out money wise.

You're probably right.

Given what the E46 M3 market is at right now, and how finding a good non-shitbox E30 that would be worth DD'ing is going to be 6-7k, how exactly are you coming out ahead by 12k?

I'm figuring that I can sell my e46 M3 for $20k and buy an e30 for $8k (post maintenance).

[Kevinl]

I dumped a lot of money into mine the first couple years but now I hardly spend anything on it probably only $300 a year

[Das Delfin]

Mine has been all parts costs, no labor. Also everything I've spent has been either maintenance or bringing the car up to date. And I mean everything. There's a lot of little nit picky things which you don't need. But I don't pay as much anymore. Also I try to combine maintenance with upgrades. If something is worn out see if there's an upgrade for it and get two birds with one stone.

I think purchase price an e36 will be cheaper... I 'm talking like a 328i four door for a few grand. Don't be afraid of buying a semi-clean e30. My car is pretty clean now with a weird history (no rust has been the mainstay) and I'm still into it for less than your budget accounts for.

I DD my car and it's fine. Sometimes you just want stuff to work, like the r134a A/C system an e36 would have..

[Bimmerman325i]

I also have an E36 M3 that got slowly turned into a pain in the ass to drive on the street. My daily for a long time was an E30 and a Subaru, but after selling the E30 and the Subaru dying, I needed another DD.

So I bought a clean, well-maintained bone stock M3/4/5, because I had a large set of spare parts from the track car and fluency with repair.

I have since had to replace the steering rack, full cooling system, shocks, and clutch/fly/ throwout bearing/5th gear lean. Granted, the car has 152k, and none of those had ever been replaced (yes, including the cooling system), but it was quite a lot to fix in a year and a half. Going forward, I'd say it's fair to budget $1-2k for maintenance/tires per year, depending on what is needed. I'd hazard a guess that I've spent $12-13k on the car including purchase since buying it in 2014, if that helps on the financial side. Just about $2k/yr in maintenance, and I've taken care of the big ticket items and the surprise-I'm-broken! item (steering rack). Should be cheaper going forward.

I would do it again in a heartbeat though. The stock M3 sedan is a blast to drive as a daily, and the parts commonality and repair familiarity really help me keep the costs down. The stock M3 has also given me a new appreciation for both how good an E36 can be when set up to be a track car, and also how staggeringly good it is as a completely street driven bone stock car. I'm driving a rental right now since my car's getting its bumper fixed, and good god do I wish I had my 20 year old car back!

A nice E30 is $6-7k, as is a decent stock E36 M3. If having parts and repair commonality isn't a main factor in your purchase, then an E30 could be a good choice. They're dependable, fairly reliable (different set of quirks to an E36 e.g. timing belt and valve adjustments), and parts are still readily available. Consumables are cheaper too. I'd honestly buy the best condition car within your budget, E30 or E36, but it is kinda nice having two of the exact same car.

[unloadedak]

i would stick with the e46 m3. i gave up all of my e30s for mine and haven't looked back. i also recently started a 95 m3 track project. i can see what you mean by the e46 taking up too much time and money but what do you expect with an s54 daily driver lol.

also; if you must have all your spare money going towards the e36, why would a nostalgic e30 be a good choice? seems like you would want to make it nice and do some work on it. yeah it won't be as much money as the e46 but it's still money being spent on something that isn't the e36.


or

buy a kia, get one free, and go to all the hpdes.

[dereliiict]

I'm figuring that I can sell my e46 M3 for $20k and buy an e30 for $8k (post maintenance).

Must be the nicest high mileage, falling apart interior, unknown year model e46 m3 there is.

Or you smoke crack.