[miatafreak]

Ok, so here's my story. Every day I take the bus to school, and nothing disgusts me more than what I see in my High School parking lot. Momma's mini van, an older Land Rover with cartoonish rims, and countless gray Kias, Hyundais, Toyotas, and Hondas. Over the last few years, I've become somewhat of a car enthusiast. Constantly reading blogs and racing in the simulator. Now that I'll be getting a license in a few months, it's time to check out cars.

At first, my heart was set on a Datsun 510. My ultimate dream car would be a Kenmeri Skyline, but that's not exactly a feasible option, so I settled on a 510. After hours of research, I went to my dad to see what he thought. Apparently no airbags is a no go. So then I got to thinking about my visit to the BMW Welt in Germany. What was my favorite car? Z3? Z4? 8 series? New M5? Nah, it was the E30 M3. So I looked into E30s on the Wikipedia, and found out they were made in 90 and 91 with airbags. I instantly decided that was my car.

So now I wanna hear your guys' opinions. Is an E30 a good first car? My budget's around 3 grand, so what should I be looking for at that price range? Ideally, I'll find a clean red 325is, but that's probably not happening. My brain's got that car, with some gold basketweaves, a slight lower, and a few choice performance mods to make it zippy on the country roads. Yay or nay?

 

[E36Dinan_801]

In most areas with 3k you could get the car and still have about 2k left over..... at least around here you could. They can go upwards to even above 3k for better condition and lower mi cars, but dont over pay. Your description sounds like teh sexx on wheels. They seem very dependable as long as normal maintainence has been upkept. People claim 250k miles on em.. so ya.

Yay :thumbup:

 

[LeVandaman]

In most areas with 3k you could get the car and still have about 2k left over..... at least around here you could. They can go upwards to even above 3k for better condition and lower mi cars, but dont over pay. Your description sounds like teh sexx on wheels. They seem very dependable as long as normal maintainence has been upkept. People claim 250k miles on em.. so ya.

Yay :thumbup:

My First (and only) car is a red e30 and I have to tell you that I couldn't be happier.
It is difficult however in rebuilding (minor stuff) while in college but it's more then worth it.
I like your taste!!! :thumbup:

 

[miatafreak]

In most areas with 3k you could get the car and still have about 2k left over..... at least around here you could. They can go upwards to even above 3k for better condition and lower mi cars, but dont over pay. Your description sounds like teh sexx on wheels. They seem very dependable as long as normal maintainence has been upkept. People claim 250k miles on em.. so ya.

Yay :thumbup:

The hard part around here is finding a 90 or 91 that isn't an auto. There's one or two up in Seattle but they're all sold by dealers and that's not how I wanna go. There's an iX a few hours away but I'm not too keen on AWD. I'll most likely have to wait a month or so to get the money. Hockey reffing doesn't exactly roll in the cash.

 

[_Ethrty-Andy_]

first off... not looking at an Mazda Miata/MX5s are you? haha. E30 is definately a good choice though. very easy to modify as well. if you want to do ricey mods then this isnt really the place for you, but this is a great resource if you do go ahead and buy one. dont let the fact that it is auto tell you not to buy the car, conversion kits are rather easy to come by

oh, and btw, dont be surprised if the results are somewhat biased xD

 

[anstead610]

e30 was my second car. first was a toyota celica, but getting left in the dust by a stock 86 325e just made me want one. so i did. i couldn't be happier. definitely get one, if you get snow for sure get an ix, from what i hear they're beastly. 3k would get you a clean car around here, maybe even mint.

 

[_Ethrty-Andy_]

stock 86 325e

how the hell did you know the year of it?? :bs:

 

[miatafreak]

first off... not looking at an Mazda Miata/MX5s are you? haha. E30 is definately a good choice though. very easy to modify as well. if you want to do ricey mods then this isnt really the place for you, but this is a great resource if you do go ahead and buy one. dont let the fact that it is auto tell you not to buy the car, conversion kits are rather easy to come by

oh, and btw, dont be surprised if the results are somewhat biased xD

Haha no. My name for all things internet is miatafreak, and has been since about 3rd grade. My dad's always had Miatas, so I've always loved 'em. There's nothing I hate more than rice. Back in elementary school, I had a bunch of Ricecop.com Ricer Tickets, and gave them out often.

 

[danielw05]

UNFORTUNATELY, an E30 wasn't my first car. My first car was my dads ford ranger, then a 92 vw cabriolet, followed by a 98 vw jetta gt, then before my first E30 was my 02 volvo S40. In high school, my best friend got an E30. Ever since then, I envied him through all the cars I have owned. Ten years later, I finally got one and am now on my second one. My advice is to get one now. Of course, be patient and get the one you want.

 

[markseven]

My first car was a '72 510

An E30 is a great first, second, fifth car. There are a lot of airbag-equipped manual 318is' out there; for 3K you should be able to get a nice one. Is your Dad cool with airbag components that are nearly two decades old?

 

[Hairy325is]

i think it would be a great first car i wish i had one for my first car instead of my old 84 ford LTD

 

[anstead610]

how the hell did you know the year of it?? :bs:

because it was steve's car i was racing you dumb ****

 

[noexceptions325]

If the IX is in your pricerange i would jump on it man, they are pretty sweet and handle really well... except finding parts is sorta difficult and expensive

 

[miatafreak]

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/1457550403.html
This one's been popping up on craigslist for a while. It looks meticulously maintained, but it's just out of my pricerange. And 187,000 miles with a salvage title for 3500?

 

[Zombots]

In most areas with 3k you could get the car and still have about 2k left over..... at least around here you could. They can go upwards to even above 3k for better condition and lower mi cars, but dont over pay. Your description sounds like teh sexx on wheels. They seem very dependable as long as normal maintainence has been upkept. People claim 250k miles on em.. so ya.

Yay :thumbup:

*drool* Rust free Western vehicles... at cheap prices... *drool*... what I'd do for that. Anyway dude, I bought 2 E30s as my first vehicle(s), and I can't wait to drive them, but uh, they need a lot of work still. :tsk:

 

[markseven]

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/1457550403.html
This one's been popping up on craigslist for a while. It looks meticulously maintained, but it's just out of my pricerange. And 187,000 miles with a salvage title for 3500?

Don't buy a salvage title car.

 

[miatafreak]

Don't buy a salvage title car.

So I've been told

 

[AnthonyD]

an 86 325es was my first car! you guys will love this story!

So i had about 1500 and i was all lined up to buy a 89 CRX, and use the rest of the money for mods to get me going... This was all to take place on a monday...

The Sunday night before i bought the honda i went to a friend of the family's house for dinner and noticed that their neighbor had a bronzit-beige metalic 2dr es for sale for $2100 at first i was skeptical and saw the dollar signs adding up because of the BMW badge on the hood! My parents were talking the car up all night so i gave in and decided to bug the neighbor for a test drive. As soon as he popped the hood i was in LOVE! i had never seen such a simple car with a hood that opened back to front... Plus the vinyl interior and the power sunroof I WAS SOLD!!! I knew that no one at my school would have a car like this! So i backed out of the CRX deal in front of the BMW owner, and handed him my money instead!!! SOOO glad i went the e30 route since then i currently own my second e30 and now i am considered to be obsessed!

 

[E36Dinan_801]

*drool* Rust free Western vehicles... at cheap prices... *drool*... what I'd do for that. :tsk:

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

hhahahah sir you are silly. Every where AROUND here has those. But this is utah... I live in SALT Lake City. all of our rain and snow is uber salty... makes for dirty cars and nasty rust (in some cases). But for the larger part the cars are ok

 

[_Ethrty-Andy_]

because it was steve's car i was racing you dumb ****

i know that. im sure it wasnt loosing to it that made you want one though, so i thought it must be some other car