Which Bimmer for Me?

Kinja'd!!! "Rev Hang Slows My Roll" (RevHang)
12/09/2013 at 18:28 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!2 Kinja'd!!! 44

The legendary E30?

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Pros: Cheap, Simple, Classic looks, Awesome handling

Cons: Fuel economy, Power, Safety, Reliability

OR

"The last real BMW" E46

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Pros: More refined, better economy and safety, more power and luxury

Cons: Higher purchase price, Harder to work on, Look like a sorority girl circa 2006.

Weigh in below.


DISCUSSION (44)


Kinja'd!!! Velocity- Peuguette Connoisseur > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:29

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Personally, I'd go E46. They've grown on me


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:31

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E46 M3!!!

And buy mine. I bought one M3 too many and am broke, haha

It only has 36,000 miles on it


Kinja'd!!! Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:31

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E30 because square car with round headlights. Also, E30s are soaring in price, and you could always hold it a while then flip it. Not that you would want to.


Kinja'd!!! Corey CC97, MAZDA DPI IS STILL BAE JOESTACTIV JOESTACTIV JOESTACTIV JOESTACTIV VISIT FLORIDA RACING LIVES FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:33

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E46 FTW!


Kinja'd!!! Rev Hang Slows My Roll > Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin
12/09/2013 at 18:33

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See, i think Im already behind the curve on e30's. But e46 prices are hitting rock bottom so if i get in now, i can ride the wave as it becomes a desirable classic.


Kinja'd!!! davedave1111 > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:34

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E30s are appreciating, E46s are still depreciating. What you really want is a four-door E30, though, because they're unfairly unloved and so go for much less than the coupes - the handling difference is minor, but the price difference isn't.


Kinja'd!!! Rev Hang Slows My Roll > Manuél Ferrari
12/09/2013 at 18:34

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haha too much of a good thing i guess. Not sure i would pick up an M car though. thinking more 325 330


Kinja'd!!! Trunk Impaired 318 > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:36

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E46, clean ones arent gonna drop much further in price


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:36

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yeah i went nuts. i got a 997, E90 M3 Sedan, and E46 Coupe all within a 2.5 year period. i'm a carohaulic...

if you get a 330 make sure it has the ZHP package


Kinja'd!!! Rev Hang Slows My Roll > davedave1111
12/09/2013 at 18:39

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true. hard to find four doors with manual though


Kinja'd!!! Montalvo > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:45

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Unless you are prepared to do some mods to the E30 to make it more reliable and fun stick to the E46. They can be had for not much more and offer a more complete package. There is a decent enough aftermarket for both cars that sourcing parts shouldn't be that big of an issue.


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davedave1111
12/09/2013 at 18:47

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I know what you mean, but it seems so impossible to find an unmolested E30 with an MT for a reasonable price. Even the clean 4 door ones have gone up there in price if the mileage is somewhat reasonable.

While I know the cars can last forever I'd rather not buy a super high mileage car. It always seems cheaper in the long run to pay a little extra for a (relatively) low milage car. Have you been able to find nice E30s that weren't marked up a ton? If so how did you do it!


Kinja'd!!! A3R0 > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:52

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'87-'88 e30! Classic plates and insurance always is a plus!


Kinja'd!!! A3R0 > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:52

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'87-'88 e30! Classic plates and insurance always is a plus!


Kinja'd!!! davedave1111 > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 18:55

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*Looks out the window*

Nope, not that hard, there's one sitting right outside on my driveway :)

Actually, that hadn't occurred to me because I never did an E30 hunt - I bought the car almost by accident. Are the coupes more commonly manual? I wonder if that's just a US thing.


Kinja'd!!! 911e46z06 > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 19:06

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Can't go wrong, bud. I own an e46 M3 now, and I've driven several e30s. It comes down to what you want, because the only similarity between the two is that they're both awesome.

If you're going to be daily driving it, I would probably lean towards the e46. It is tougher to work on, but it's a good road-tripper, way more comfortable, and has stuff like a working heater/AC. I'd say worth the extra scratch over the e30 for a DD. Just be sure to get the good one. All the e46s I've driven short of the 330 haven't really been under-powered, but you do wish there was a little more.

E30 for sure for a second car. There will always be something to wrench on, you can leave it in the garage when appropriate, and it kind of begs to be hooned more than the e46 (except for the e46 m3 of course, which is the ultimate siren of irresponsible driving). It's the perfect budget weekend car in my opinion.


Kinja'd!!! davedave1111 > Manuél Ferrari
12/09/2013 at 19:14

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I'm in England, not the US, so things are a bit different here. Manuals are a lot more common, but our version of high-mileage is a lot less than yours. Mine has about 120k on the clock, which is considered quite a bit.

I was lucky enough to find an E30 cheap when I was looking for something else, and it's in amazingly good condition. The main thing was working out what are the bad ways to sell a car - high starting bid, too much description, etc - and when are the bad times for Ebay auctions to end (for sellers) - mid-afternoon on a weekday, middle of the night, etc - and watching for stuff going cheap. That, and watching ebay every day for a couple of months at least, with varying degrees of intent to buy.

There don't seem to be many on US Ebay at all, though, so presumably there's a better place to look.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-3-Seri…

This one looks a little bit interesting. The starting bid's a bit high, so if it doesn't sell you could try sending him a message after the auction ends and make the seller an offer. It's not the cleanest, but there's nothing too terrible to see in the pictures.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-3-Seri…

This one appears to have been nicely sorted by someone, and is going for bigger money as a result. New paint is worth money, just as long as it's not hiding something horrible, and all the little additions like the OBC that Jalop-type owners tend to add seem to be there, along with the work that tends to need doing.

Both of them strike me as going for fairly reasonable prices, but not the kind of bargains that you'd jump at. If you watch for long enough, you'll run across something for the right price.


Kinja'd!!! Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/09/2013 at 19:21

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But think of the round headlights!


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davedave1111
12/09/2013 at 19:30

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Ah I see, you're lucky! Too many were sold here with the AT. And many of them here have close to or more than 200,000 miles. Everything is so spaced out here if you live in a suburb.

I will check those links out. E30 hunting is fun :)


Kinja'd!!! davedave1111 > Manuél Ferrari
12/09/2013 at 20:28

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The more I look, the luckier I seem to be :)

It helps to be broad-minded, as well. If you find a nice 5-Series of the same vintage - E28? I keep getting confused - for a really good price, that's almost as good. And if you open the net wide, you never know what'll turn up that you wouldn't have considered.


Kinja'd!!! wbizarre - OEM fetishist > A3R0
12/09/2013 at 20:51

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Can you daily-drive with classic plates though?


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davedave1111
12/09/2013 at 21:02

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I wonder how much each car will end up going for. The first one looks cheap because no reserve and a buy it now price. The 2nd one hasn't met reserve.

This makes me want to rent a big warehouse and buy all the MT E30s. Sounds like a good investment idea to me ;)


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davedave1111
12/09/2013 at 21:04

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Totally agree. If you find a clean E28 for a good price then it's best to grab it. Those cars have become very desirable.

Are you able to find Merc 190E cars with MTs? You can get the 190E for next to nothing here. But 99% had the AT...


Kinja'd!!! A3R0 > wbizarre - OEM fetishist
12/09/2013 at 21:13

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I'm in CT, but yes here!


Kinja'd!!! wbizarre - OEM fetishist > A3R0
12/09/2013 at 21:46

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In NJ you can only drive the car to and from car shows, and there are mileage restrictions. I don't know how strictly they're enforced, but it's probably pretty sketchy to be commuting with them.


Kinja'd!!! A3R0 > wbizarre - OEM fetishist
12/09/2013 at 21:57

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Classic plates? I could wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's the rules for a show car thats illegal here and imported under the "show car" category.


Kinja'd!!! davedave1111 > Manuél Ferrari
12/09/2013 at 22:03

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If you watch auctions for a while, you start to get more of a feel for what will sell, what'll get a good price, and what won't - and why.

"This makes me want to rent a big warehouse and buy all the MT E30s. Sounds like a good investment idea to me"

Not sure about that. They made a hell of a lot of them, and they're already getting expensive enough that they're not the obvious default choice for cheap fun lightweight RWD anymore. If they go up much more they'll be competing with some clearly better cars.


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davedave1111
12/09/2013 at 22:10

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I've been avoiding watching auctions because my father is an eBay junkie, haha. He'll wake up at 3am to watch an item he might want to bid on if it closes at that time. He goes to great lengths to get good deals on cars and car parts. I'm worried about getting sucked in too!

Haha I was kidding about trying to corner the MT E30 market. It would be fun to try though :)


Kinja'd!!! wbizarre - OEM fetishist > A3R0
12/09/2013 at 22:11

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I just did a cursory search about Jersey historic plates.

To be considered a historic vehicle, the vehicle must be at least 25 years old and only used for exhibition and educational purposes by the owner.

Maybe there's more information buried somewhere...


Kinja'd!!! davedave1111 > Manuél Ferrari
12/09/2013 at 22:11

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My dad used to have a 190e - auto, and he's only ever had manuals otherwise. I haven't looked, but I suspect that tells the story. Not in any sense a sporty car, anyway, though, apart from the hot version. Solid and comfortable, nice to drive, but not sporty.

What do MGB GTs go for over your side? There seem to be a lot of cheap ones around over here, as well as Reliant Scimitars - although I think they're rare in the US. (Actually, I started off looking hardest for a Scimi, but the BMW came along.)

If you have your heart set on a BMW, then that's what you should get. If what you want is something relatively cheap and that'll be fun to own and drive, there's bound to be something unusual which'll catch your eye at some point. I nearly bought a kei-truck just before I got the E30, and that's definitely not something I'd have gone looking for.


Kinja'd!!! davedave1111 > Manuél Ferrari
12/09/2013 at 22:15

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If you want a bargain, you pretty much have to haunt Ebay and similar. Although to be honest if you took all the hours you'll spend watching ebay and just worked them in your job, you'd probably not need to worry about finding a bargain :)

"Haha I was kidding about trying to corner the MT E30 market."

Yeah, er, I did realise. No idea why I replied like that. Apart from it being 3am here. Bedtime for me, I think :)


Kinja'd!!! A3R0 > wbizarre - OEM fetishist
12/09/2013 at 22:17

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Weird. My brother (190e30) has a '91 Audi Coupe Quattro that he drives to school every day and he has classic plates, but again, this is in CT. I'm pretty sure it's 20 years for plates, 25 for insurance here. The plates are only like 50$ cheaper (I think), but I think the insurance is a lot cheaper. I'm to young to even have a car... so I don't really know what insurance should/would/could cost.


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davedave1111
12/09/2013 at 22:22

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There was "sportline" version of the 190E that had the regular engine and a sportier suspension and steering setup. But it's very rare here. The super hot version would be awesome but it's expensive (though not nearly as expensive as an E30 M3 that's in good shape). A regular 190E with an MT would be fun even if not that sporty only because of the price. I've seen decent 190E cars for sale here for $1000. But all ATs...

I'm definitely a bimmerholic. My first car was a '84 E30 318i MT. I always wanted one with a straight 6. By the time I could afford one the E36 was out so I bought a used '94 E36 325is. I'm still nostalgic about the E30 though.

I have two bimmers now - an E90 M3 sedan and an E46 M3 Coupe. It's getting too expensive to keep both in addition to my other expensive car. So I'm selling the E46. The only way I'll be able to have another toy anytime soon is if I buy an older car for cheap. While there would be maintenance costs that wouldn't be a big deal since the car itself would be paid off. I financed both M3s and work pays the lease on the other car. A decent priced E28, E30, or even an E34 would be pretty cool. I've learned my lesson - spending too much money on slightly used cars gets tough. Buying much older used cars is better because they aren't depreciating much anymore or are not depreciating at all.

I've never heard of a kei-truck or Reliant Scimitar. Here is a super low milage MGB GT:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MG-MGB-GT-…


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davedave1111
12/09/2013 at 22:24

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Haha so true, especially since I'm self employed so the more I work the more I make (sometimes at least). That's why I never got big into bargain hunting like my pops.

Wow 3am is late. I hope you don't have to be up early!

I'm starting to like your idea of finding a 4 door E30. I think the sedans are less desirable to most people here as well. Probably way more deals.


Kinja'd!!! davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Manuél Ferrari
12/11/2013 at 17:39

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YOLO? Hope you find your E46 a good home soon.


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2013 at 17:43

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Haha yeah, the last few years have been the first time I've followed the YOLO mindset. I nearly went broke for real after taking too big of a risk in business. When I found a way to survive that I went nuts with cars.

Thanks I found an opponaut that wants to buy it next month if he can. I'm in no rush because I don't want to part with it. I just have to by spring because I have too many monthly payments right now.

Hmm maybe I can buy an E46 330 later when I can afford it. That would be a fun replacement with a lower entry cost and lower price to maintain.


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2013 at 17:47

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Or an E30 sedan.

God I'm too addicted to cars... Is that what your username means?


Kinja'd!!! davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Manuél Ferrari
12/11/2013 at 18:00

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Ha! Already scoping out the next one?

True addict behavior... Because of my family and my bred-in frugality, my addiction is mostly limited to magazines and websites. Not sure when I'll ever own more than one car, but at least I managed to get a sweet one in the garage for the foreseeable future!

Hope it works out for your M3 to stay in the OPPO family.


Kinja'd!!! davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Manuél Ferrari
12/11/2013 at 18:01

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Pretty much. Maybe it's a good thing I don't have any more expendable income than I do...


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2013 at 18:21

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Your addiction is much better :) Stop yourself before it gets expensive.

My pops is the opposite of frugal when it comes to money. He spends more of his income on cars than I do. So I had a bad role model, haha.

That will be great to keep the car in the oppo family. Then I will get to see pics of it. It will feel like a child I raised that left and started its own life

What ride do you have in the garage?


Kinja'd!!! davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Manuél Ferrari
12/11/2013 at 18:27

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Ha! So what is your dad driving now? And what has he owned?

I'm a fellow E90 M3 owner. You, sir, have impeccable taste...


Kinja'd!!! Manuél Ferrari > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/11/2013 at 18:36

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Awesome! Isn't it the best all around car? Matt Farah said it best in his video review - the E9X M3 isn't the best at any one category, but it scores really high in every single category. I was stuck in traffic earlier today and it didn't even bug me. I held a work call on bluetooth and time flew by. What color is your car? Mine is white on black. Just hit 40,000 miles. Bought it with about 27500 miles on it.

Right now his DD is an F car, the 612. His list of current and former cars is pretty long. The current project car is a '63 Porsche 356 he picked up for $19K! It had no rust or major dents. And while it wasn't running it was only because it needed some TLC. He got it running in 2 days.


Kinja'd!!! philipilihp > Rev Hang Slows My Roll
12/12/2013 at 09:34

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The 330's exhaust sounds money too. I would go for that. That was definitely my first BMW love...


Kinja'd!!! hgrunt > 911e46z06
01/31/2014 at 15:55

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I'm a current E30 (318is) and E46 (330i ZHP sedan) owner and agree with all of the above! The E46 hasn't been much more complicated or difficult to work on vs the E30. Both cars feel like BMW took a good amount of consideration to parts placement to make it easy to service things that are commonly serviced.

A ZHP-package E46 (they feel sort of like 3/4-scale M3s) is a decent compromise if you're willing to give up horsepower for more fuel economy, usually a lower purchase price, and lower maintenance requirements.

Did you have a specific E30 in mind?