E30 Zone

That is the question but what is the answer!

When I eventually get a replacement engine or bottom end I'll always have in the back of my mind that it could go wrong again and end up costing me a 3rd rebuild.
However, the car is so much fun to drive and I love them to bits.
All it needs is new bushes all round and maybe a new suspension kit to raise it a little and tighten it up again.

The other option is to sell and buy one of the cars Ive always wanted - a 3.0 M3. Nice reliable power and handling if a little less fun in the twisties.

Personally, I'd never buy an E36. Theres shed loads of them about and lots of iS's done up to look like M3's. IMO E30's are a special looking car and have character unlike E36's. I do appreciate where you're coming from with regard to reliability. Why not spend the money you would need to put towards an E36 and get your E30 engine completely rebuilt by a professional? That why it'll be running like new and should be unlikely to let you down, AND you'll still have an E30!

Its up to you at the end of the day mate and if youve really had enough of the E30 then why not go for it.
I would prefer to spend the money on an E30 rather than buying an E36 - even the M3. I just dont like the look of them.

If youre going for the E36 M3 you will need to spend your money, or you will just end up with the same amount of problems your having now, but more expensive to fix So many of the M3s have ended up being thrashed by young chavs, that you really do need to buy the best you can find.

If the E30 is in good nick, you could always price up an M50/S50 conversion for it, instead of rebuilding the M20. The M52 2.8 is a good motor and should shift quite nicely in the E30

For the price of a good E36 M3, you could build yourself a decent E30 328i with the handling bits and pieces to match

I could have bought an e36 m3 or m3 evo but didnt, id rather have my sport anyday, its cost me a fortune lately but its worth it when you see it sitting there mint, not many clean ones lift, keep the sport!

Any other opinions? I'd love to chuck 5k at the sport and make it MINT and drive like a god but I'd never see any of it back and who knows how long the engine will last.
At least with the M3 its a reliable 280-300bhp.
Decisions decisions! lol

Okay, this is the way I see it - If you sold your sport, you would get 2-5k for it (i dont know its condition sorry, but pics for valuation purposes are always welcome)

If you bought an e36 m3, you are looking at spending Ԛ£4.5K+ on one. The cheapest in the autotrader are Ԛ£4.5/Ԛ£5k and they go up from there! So, my view-point is, that even if your sport is minty fresh, your only gonna get 5k for it.... barely enough to buy a dog of an e36 m3! AND you are probably going to have to spend a couple of grand AT LEAST to make it as nice as you want it, AND you'll be without an e30....not good! Why dont you spend a bit on your sport and put the rest towards an e36 runabout (318iS maybe, or another 2.5 that will chew up your weekly mileage and keep it off the sport. This way, when you DO drive the sport, you will appriciate it a LOT more!)

Just my view-point of course.

Thankfully I dont use the car for everyday driving, it only comes out for fun and for popping to the shops etc so it doesnt rack up many miles.
The car is in pretty good condition and looks mint from about 10ft away but the paint could do with freshening up as there are a few scratches etc which you can see from up close.
All the car needs really is a full respray to make it look like new. It could do with a full set of bushes though as its a bit vague at anything over 70.

Its hard to know what to do.

pics looks cool, reminds me very much of my dads one he used have years and years ago, same colour, wheels etc. Anyway choice is yours at the end, it depends on how much money u've thrown at this car, if aint been too bad, then keep it because they are reliable and plus aren't that expensive either compared to others but if its been an endless money pit then I'd sell it as I had that same problem with my last car, endles money pit, never had a trouble free year of driving at least and in the end got so fed up sold it on. Depends if you want the power as well cos those 3.0 litre M3's are well rapid so no one on the road will try and take the piss with you. But I would really take your time looking at an E36 M3 as there are bangers out there.

to be honest , i think the general opinion is always going to favour the e30, since its an e30 site, but id keep the e30 as well

having had an E30 325, and a 3l M3, I would rather have the M3, the only reason I sold it in the first place was because I moved into bigger house further from work, and thought I wouldn't be able to afford to run it back and forth!!, however after having the 325i it turns out that the e30 325 used more petrol... If I had the disposible money now, I'd buy another e36 m3,

bad points for the e36 m3, is that as said above there are a lot of lookalikes, some good replicas, some are obviously not!!!

and the main dealer servicing was a killer, where as the e30 325 I'd just do it myself and not worry about the stamp!!!

you must bear in mind... I have never done a track day, so the handling was not the most important thing to me!!!

id say drive both cars on the same day.
see what u think.


the e36 M3 is so much of an advanced design over the e30 325i and it shows. the drawback of this is that the limits are much higher.
but dont let ppl tell u the handling isnt top drawer on the m3, cos it is.
its just more aimed at the road than being an out an out racer - but then so is the e30 325i sport.

I honestly cant say-i'd be fairly miffed right now if I were you

damn car has cost you a fortune-twice!!

personally, i'd be getting rid of your current e30, as its getting to the "good money after bad" stage

I tend to operate a "3 strikes and your out" policy with cars. If it has 3 major mechanical failures, or incidents like break-ins etc within the first couple of years of ownership, then its byebye time.

As for the e36 m3-it honestly is a good car, build quality is ok-performance is "adequate" as rolls-royce put it
the 3.0 is nice and reliable.

However the image aint the greatest, and the e36 is currently in the place where e30's were 7-10yrs ago-council chav chariots.

SCOTT325SE makes a good point about the discrepancy in price between your sport and the e36 m3.

for the 4.5k, you could get other cars that offer similar performance/running costs, but better image

eg

1994 MITSUBISHI Lancer EVO 2 GSR
Turbo 2000cc, 72000 miles, White, CAT1, OZ alloys, remote locking, aircon, climate control, Turbo Cooler, electric pack, mama wheel, fully undersealed,. Ԛ£4,250. ono. 0781 6526447.Fast,well balaced,driftable!
1995 N Reg VOLKSWAGEN Corrado 2.9 VR6 Storm3 Doors, Manual 5 speed, Coupe, Petrol, Metallic Green. 12 Months MOT, 12 Months Warranty, bumper and mirror in color, central doorlocks with remote control, mirrors electric, power steering, windows front electric, ABS, Alloy wheels, Electric sunroof. Ԛ£4,495. Bloody good cars-fairly tough too, handles well for FWD

1989 TVR S1 2.8, 57000
miles, 10 months MoT, grey leather interior, hand built exhaust, vgc, garaged, property purchase forces sale, re-advertised due to timewasters. Ԛ£4,600. ono.
Tel: 07773 596572
Distance: 338 miles
Price: Ԛ£4,600ono.Proper arse out machine

1999 SUBARU LEGACY 2.5 4 Cam 5dr Auto Estate,
Petrol, 59,000 miles, . Full Leather Pack, Electric Mirrors/Windows, Twin Sunroofs, Climate Control, Full Electric Pack, All Wheel Drive, Alloys, Mot and tax till end of year, Excellent Condition. Ԛ£4,000.
Tel: 01443 681243 or 07915 651264
Email: Email Advertiser
Distance: 291 miles
Price: Ԛ£4,000 bit of a Q car-very rapid, practical, 4wd drift slag

1985 ROLLS ROYCE SILVER SPIRIT,
Cream with Beige leather, 10 months MOT, new tyres, service history,. Ԛ£4,850.
Tel: 01373 830300
Distance: 321 miles
Price: Ԛ£4,850 oldskool class-veryvery big and wafty-sideways is no problem either
1990 PORSCHE 944 S2 FH 2+2
3.0, H reg. guards red, FPSH, recent service including belts and new tyres, complete new brakes, full MoT, full cream leather, full electric pack, 18 alloys, Cat 1 alarm + multi lock, absolutley immaculate condition.. Ԛ£4,450. ovno.
Tel: 07966 210498 or 0191 2801020
Distance: 116 miles
Price: Ԛ£4,450ovno. 3.0 straight 4, RWD and comfortable
1982 MASERATI Quattroporte 4.9 LHD,
Y reg. 4dr, met. red, a/c, alloys, leather trim, had new MoT, ex/condition for year, collectors car, value for money at. Ԛ£4,750. 01633 896196.
Small Car Co. a bit wacky, could be a rust bucket-ideal hoover (usefull for picking up bits of fluff )

RANGE ROVER 4.6 HSE, M reg.Auto, Metallic Green, Immaculate . e/w. pas. c/l. alarm. leather. e/seats. climate. e/s/roof. alloys. s/steps. privacy glass. looks and drives superb. viewing essential. px/hp/wrty/swap/c-cards www.kars.co.uk. Ԛ£4,795. 01494 890156 07974 025569. "repeat after me... GET ORF MY LAAND, you scoundrel"

1996 BMW 540 V8, P reg.
rare manual version, service history, alloys, full leather. Ԛ£4,995. p/ex welcome. QC Cars.
Q C Cars
Tel: (01473) 744911
Distance: 333 miles
Price: Ԛ£4,995 BMW v8 rwd, manual and big enough to take 5

Biggest reason people that like the E30 dont like the E36 is more the front end than the handling IMO. The E30's front end looks absolute magic, while the E36's front end looks square and ugly. E46 brought back the old charm.

Theres that old saying, better the devil you know.

There is a reason the E36 M3s go upwards dramatically from the ones in your price range, and though the 3.0 seams to have a good reputation, it is breakable by someone who is willing to thrash it badly. Then theres accident damage and faults etc. After having one, you could smell a bad E30 a mile away, but the E36 would be more a grey area.

At this stage you know exactly how much needs to be done to your sport, and what it will cost. The E36 could have even more problems, certainly does have a lot more things that *can* go wrong, and is a car that attracts the type of owner that you dont want to buy any kind of car off. And ///M means ///Money. :\

Ive been thinking about it alot recently and Ive decided that if the engine doesnt let me down this time I'll keep it and go the whole hog on it.
The rebuild itself doesnt matter who does it as its relatively simple, in fact I'd probably do a better job than some mechanic who just wants it out of the garage as fast as possible.
Hopefully this time the parts wont let me down.

To be honest I'd rather spend my money on restoring a classic car to its full glory than spend it on something that will just blend in with all the other boring cars on the road. The E36 is a sweet car and I will get one but I think I'll give the good old E30 another chance.
Once the engine is in and running the zone shop is gonna get a visit!

good man you know it makes sense

LOL! Everytime I see the car I love it again and realise just how much I'd miss it. I'd feel almost guilty for not bringing it back to how it should be.
Planned shopping list in the future:

H&R Cup Kit
Z3 shifter
New track rod arms and bushes all round
Maybe a different back box
Zone chip
Sort out any rust starting and full repsray
Get decent brakes