E30 Zone

I'm 17. Looking for an E30. 316/318i and wondering if it's even possible to get insured for less than about 4 grand.

I've been getting pretty good quotes for 1 year NCB at 18 though so I might wait it out.

Any advice please. Thank you.

Buy a cheap run around for your first year and get some driving experience behind you. You are more likely to bounce off some hedges etc in your first year of driving and I'd rather do that in a shitebox I don't care about than any E30.
The money you'll save by not insuring an E30 at 17 will help buy an E30 when you're ready and insurance is more reasonable.

Have you tried naming your parents as named drivers?
When I first started driving my insurance was cheaper with my parents named.

Do you have any driving/ mechanical experience?

If none, I would pick up something of a similar age but FWD. (mk1/mk2 golf or fiesta) Have your fun, have a bump or two, learn how to fix and maintain it, then pick up an e30 when your a confident driver / confident spanner monkey. (for no other reason than you learn a lot in your first year of driving and you will be devastated if anything happens to your e30, your fault or, more than likely, not, the standard of drivers on the road these days is appalling)

Even better, if you've got the funds, pick up a nice solid e30 with the money you would of spent on insurance, and also something like the above to get around in.

Work on the e30 as and when you can, spend all your wages on it, turn it into the car you want it to be, then, after a year or two, once your a little more seasoned, bust it out and be king of the road.

I had an E30 at 17, and have had E30s ever since. I paid £800 for my first year insurance, but that was 8 years ago.

pierce wrote:Do you have any driving/ mechanical experience?

If none, I would pick up something of a similar age but FWD. (mk1/mk2 golf or fiesta) Have your fun, have a bump or two, learn how to fix and maintain it, then pick up an e30 when your a confident driver / confident spanner monkey. (for no other reason than you learn a lot in your first year of driving and you will be devastated if anything happens to your e30, your fault or, more than likely, not, the standard of drivers on the road these days is appalling)

Even better, if you've got the funds, pick up a nice solid e30 with the money you would of spent on insurance, and also something like the above to get around in.

Work on the e30 as and when you can, spend all your wages on it, turn it into the car you want it to be, then, after a year or two, once your a little more seasoned, bust it out and be king of the road.

Hi. Yes. I am buying an E30 primarily to work on it and of course drive. But I enjoy the mechanical aspect much more! I've worked on 2 Triumph TR6's that my father owns and an E30 325i before. Full restoration on the TR6's. Was a 5 year journey with my dad and the second one was much quicker!

I'm by no means an experienced driver but I have had 2 years track experience in a TR6, was a hobby and pretty fun. Nothing crazy.

So an E30 would definitely be my first choice -- but it all comes down to the insurance price. I get quotes £4k-ish on compare the market. Am I looking in the wrong places?

Thanks.

maxfield wrote:I had an E30 at 17, and have had E30s ever since. I paid £800 for my first year insurance, but that was 8 years ago.

1600cc?

I was driving an E30 320i when I was 17, but that was years ago, when insurance was cheaper.

An E30 is a brilliant car to learn mechanical skills on.

Unless you can find cheaper E30 insurance or stomach the big cost, get yourself a cheap first car and spend the saved cash and extra time to find a decent E30. And you'll have time to work on it before you start driving it.

jackov7 wrote:

pierce wrote:Do you have any driving/ mechanical experience?

If none, I would pick up something of a similar age but FWD. (mk1/mk2 golf or fiesta) Have your fun, have a bump or two, learn how to fix and maintain it, then pick up an e30 when your a confident driver / confident spanner monkey. (for no other reason than you learn a lot in your first year of driving and you will be devastated if anything happens to your e30, your fault or, more than likely, not, the standard of drivers on the road these days is appalling)

Even better, if you've got the funds, pick up a nice solid e30 with the money you would of spent on insurance, and also something like the above to get around in.

Work on the e30 as and when you can, spend all your wages on it, turn it into the car you want it to be, then, after a year or two, once your a little more seasoned, bust it out and be king of the road.

Hi. Yes. I am buying an E30 primarily to work on it and of course drive. But I enjoy the mechanical aspect much more! I've worked on 2 Triumph TR6's that my father owns and an E30 325i before. Full restoration on the TR6's. Was a 5 year journey with my dad and the second one was much quicker!

I'm by no means an experienced driver but I have had 2 years track experience in a TR6, was a hobby and pretty fun. Nothing crazy.

So an E30 would definitely be my first choice -- but it all comes down to the insurance price. I get quotes £4k-ish on compare the market. Am I looking in the wrong places?

Thanks.

maxfield wrote:I had an E30 at 17, and have had E30s ever since. I paid £800 for my first year insurance, but that was 8 years ago.

1600cc?

Good lad! Go get yourself an e30 then boyo!


Try and befriend a driving instructor.

Lived with one for a few years when i was younger. (at the time he was the youngest instructor in the country) Saved around £700 a year if i remember correctly.

Hi guys. Thanks for the reply. I got a 3 grand quote on a 318i with my parents as named drivers. I'll investigate further but hopefully i'll be able to solidify it and go hunting for a decent E30 that requires work.

If not, i'm a patient individual and could surely wait another year or two! Thanks again. I'll update in the future if everything goes to plan.

Yes my first E30 was a 1600cc M40. It wasn't the fastest thing in the world but could get you in trouble on a wet day if you drive like I did

Just looking at insurance quotes for my lad who's 17 next month. The big advantage of an E30 for him is that it's free, whereas he'd have to buy an alternative, so he can afford a little more on insurance.
No problem getting reasonable quotes while the 'L' plates are on - sub £700 is easily found, for a 318i, but quotes for after the plates are discarded are somewhat more - not far of £3000, but if he accrues a year's NCB in the meantime, then that will be considerably reduced of course.
I did a little research for quotes a couple of months ago as well, and I'm sure I found one with a company specialising in young drivers that fitted a 'black box' to the car, for just over £1000, but I didn't save the quote.

It's been a long time since I passed my test but a year's NCB makes all the difference. I smoked about in a Peugeot 205 for a year and then got a M40 powered 316i the year after. The 205 was probably the quicker car though!

Rav335uk wrote:I was driving an E30 320i when I was 17, but that was years ago, when insurance was cheaper.

During the war Grandad???

Brianmoooore wrote:Just looking at insurance quotes for my lad who's 17 next month. The big advantage of an E30 for him is that it's free, whereas he'd have to buy an alternative, so he can afford a little more on insurance.
No problem getting reasonable quotes while the 'L' plates are on - sub £700 is easily found, for a 318i, but quotes for after the plates are discarded are somewhat more - not far of £3000, but if he accrues a year's NCB in the meantime, then that will be considerably reduced of course.
I did a little research for quotes a couple of months ago as well, and I'm sure I found one with a company specialising in young drivers that fitted a 'black box' to the car, for just over £1000, but I didn't save the quote.

^^
I forgot about the insurance company's that will give you a cheaper insurance quote as they are able to monitor your driving through a "black box".
This is well worth investigating!

darkchild wrote:It's been a long time since I passed my test but a year's NCB makes all the difference. I smoked about in a Peugeot 205 for a year and then got a M40 powered 316i the year after. The 205 was probably the quicker car though!

Ime it wasn't the years ncb, but having had your license for one year. A rough example was saying I'd had my license another year took 300 off the price. An extra years ncb? £80 decrease!

I had a 316i Lux at 17 and loved it, that was in 2001 mind you so want yesterday!!

Have you looked into classic car insurance

I'd try looking at other places than just on the comparison websites. Aviva was half the price of compare the market for me. I'm 22 paying £370 for a 325I, but do have a few years ncd. Might be worth trying Adrian flux too.

When I was 17 they were still new!

daboy3000 wrote:When I was 17 they were still new!

When I was seventeen, they weren't even on the drawing board, even as a concept!

Nobby_N wrote:

Rav335uk wrote:I was driving an E30 320i when I was 17, but that was years ago, when insurance was cheaper.

During the war Grandad???

I'm still younger than you Nobby.

my first car was an e30 when I was 19 ( 15 yrs ago lol), cost £1200 under my parents name, they forced me to trade my beloved e30 for a fiat punto 1.1 which I crashed in the lanes a week later. See I had respect for the e30, as I quickly found out, when you don't, t'ings get a bit hairy!

I've had my 318i for 2 years, and my insurance cost me £328 with 4 years no claims when I was 22 - if that helps at all?

I'm only just 20 and have been driving my 318iS for 6 months now. Insurance is not cheap and classic car insurance companies wont touch me because I'm not old enough - guessing you'll be the same. Original quote was £2300 but I knocked a grand or so off it by shopping around and changing who's on my policy too.

I'd say go for it if you can work on cars. I had a Lupo before my E30 so I got a bit handy fixing that when it broke (it broke more than my E30 )

i had my first 316 at 17, think i paid around £900 8 years ago. The car only cost me £500


look at those rims

She's a beauty. I'm working and have a few grand. My dad says he'll cover the cost of the car if I cover the insurance. So i'm just looking for a decent yet not too decent 318 so I can actually work on it. Been quoted at about 2 grand for a 318 with my mum and dad on the quote. Patience. now, looking for the right one.