BMW E30 Madness

impactbumper · 06-16-2016, 03:56 PM

I learnt how to fix cars on E30 BMWs and I have dealt with quite a few of them in my lifetime. It has been a while since I had one at my shop. Today pulls in this beautiful Alpine white 318is coupe. Needs some work. I talk to the owner and he says he wants all pending things taken care of and car be 100% operating. Okay, I took down notes and made a list. I asked him if he would go on a test drive to demonstrate some of the complaints such as rear end noise etc. We did that. After we came back, I asked him to stay a little longer and allow me to do a visual inspection on the lift. He said if it takes more than 30 minutes he rather have me contact him via phone.

Long story short after the due diligence on my end, I finished up the estimate.

Mind you, this car is very clean and relatively low original miles (63k).

I will not go through the whole list on the estimate but it came back a little over $3500.00

Now I am thinking, "mann, this might be too much for an older BMW". I called my customer, and told him if he is near by a computer there is an estimate in his inbox. We went over the estimate, and I got authorization to move forward with the repairs.

We then talked a few minutes about cars, and at one point, he said he intends to sell this car since they are becoming highly valuable. I was not aware of that.

After I hung up, went online and checked the prices....

Looks like E30 is the new thing. You can not touch a decent one under $10,000.00 and all the way up to $25,000.00 for clean cars.

Shocked.

Norm K · 06-16-2016, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by impactbumper

Looks like E30 is the new thing. You can not touch a decent one under $10,000.00 and all the way up to $25,000.00 for clean cars. Shocked.

And yet you can buy a 190e 2.3-16 for under ten grand. Go figure.

impactbumper · 06-16-2016, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norm K

And yet you can buy a 190e 2.3-16 for under ten grand. Go figure.

Those have not caught up yet. Shortly

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

slow&rusty · 06-16-2016, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norm K

And yet you can buy a 190e 2.3-16 for under ten grand. Go figure.

Maybe a ragged out slushbox

Norm K · 06-16-2016, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

Maybe a ragged out slushbox

1987 Mercedes 190 2.3 16v COSWORTH

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

^^^^ I'm glad I don't live in Colorado. Mrs Noah is probably glad, too. That car looks like a lot of fun.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-16-2016, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norm K

1987 Mercedes 190 2.3 16v COSWORTH

So much want. Along with a 500E.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Yeah, the factory Hammer has always had a soft spot in myheart, too.

aschen · 06-16-2016, 07:49 PM

10k should still buy a pretty fantastic e30, there maybe some dreamers asking big money

E30 m3s are considered gods chariot and are 40k + for a nice one now

WPOZZZ · 06-16-2016, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aschen

10k should still buy a pretty fantastic e30, there maybe some dreamers asking big money

E30 m3s are considered gods chariot and are 40k + for a nice one now

I had an E30 M3. I prefer a nice 3.2 Carrera or 3.0 SC.

Matt Smith · 06-16-2016, 11:01 PM

I have a 2.3 Cosworth.
There is a lot of history and Crazy good engineering for the price. Euro ones have a bit more HP, but all are bank vault builds. Never owned an E30 M3, but had an E30 2.5 M Sport which was quick but sooooo lacking in quality compared to the Benz. In their day the Benz was too expensive for most, perhaps adding to the 'E30 is better' attitude in the mindset of those who were playing the stockmarket at the time.
Granted the E30 is a legend, but the 16V Demands Attention ,with the same high hp rev limit, same 265 Getrag gearbox, and better designed 16V four with steel crank . Way better build quality..

SiberianDVM · SiberianDVM's Garage

Chump Car has probably contributed to the rise in E30 prices. E30 325i(s) cars have been the benchmark the last few years. We run them hard, wreck them, then go looking for another.

klaus · klaus's Garage

You want to see E30 madness, or perhaps insanity, just look at this:

BMW 3 Series Alpina | eBay

I see a few red flags in the pictures, and a bunch of inaccurate "facts" in the listing. If it sells anywhere near the asking price it will be a new high water mark for car with the performance of a E30 325is proving people are not buying them for the experience, but for some perceived value.

I'm happy the E30 is getting some love, but these prices are just stupid. When I can snag a nice E36 M3 for less than a good E30 325i something is wrong in the world.

beepbeep · 05:18 AM

How ironic. Me and a friend bought a 318is eight years ago for 1300$, as cheapest possible track car. It has been doing mostly track time for years, so we contemplated either selling it or "building it up". Now it turns out that good old "tin can" is actually worth something?
Luckily we decided to do some mild tuning (136hp gets kinda old after couple of years) , so it is getting fitted with cage, coilovers and bored/stroked/ITB:ed M42 engine...

Tobra · 06-17-2016, 05:14 AM

Warmed over, how about swapped over for silky smooth 6?

BReif61 · 06-17-2016, 05:21 AM

Take a look at Enthusiast Auto Group's website for some eyebrow raising E30 prices if you get the chance.

sc_rufctr · 06-17-2016, 05:38 AM

They were great cars in their day and looking at them now I can see why they are appreciating in value.
My brother had 1990 from new and he sold it about 6 years ago. (360,000 km)
That car never missed a beat and aside from regular servicing the only work it had done was normal wear items.
Brake disks, pads and a rear muffler & that's it!

And they still look good!

BMW have never hit the spot since like they did with this car.

beepbeep · 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobra

Warmed over, how about swapped over for silky smooth 6?

And make the car nose-heavy? No thanx

This M42 (well, at least the head is M42 albeit ported) has more power than S14 in E30 M3 and the car is lighter. So it is basically an athletic cousin of E30 M3 for much less money...

Shaun @ Tru6 · 06-17-2016, 06:19 AM

Found this

1987 BMW 325is E30

and this seems like a special car.

1990 BMW 325iS S50, LSD, GC suspension, UUC Brakes and more....

What is so great about these little E30s compared to a longhood or an SC or a 240Z? Or?

Tobra · 06:43 AM

My buddy had a grey market E 30 M3 Evo 2. That thing was pretty amazing for a 4 banger. Kind of loud for a daily driver, but that would not have bothered me a bit. Cool looking too.