Wil the E30 ever become classic?

[SPADGE]

One thing you all seem to be overlooking when talking about the E30 M3, RS Escorts etc etc....Is racing heritage!
One thing that will escalate any car to proper classic status together with its value is its racing pedigree and that is why the Mk1 Mk2 Escorts etc....all command a hefty price tag these days.

[karlos71]

i study automotive design at uni, look at new cars day in day out and i rekon the overall e30 design is the 'classic' bit that everyone remembers. i love em although 6 cylinders, an enthusiastic right foot and 1.20 a litre is getting expensive!!! cheers

[Morat]

"To experience the full thrill of Ocean Racing stand under an ice cold shower and tear up £50 notes"

was that Clarkson? he did a powerboat feature on his "Extreme Machines" series. (think thats what it was called)

Nope this is sailing - It was one of our professional but private yacht owning round the world type skippers

Old quote though, originally it was attributed to Lipton when he was campaigning for the Americas Cup in J boats... it was fivers back then.

[grantfk10]

As for the E21, they are worth less than a good pair of jeans

Brilliant!

[daimlerman]

was that Clarkson? he did a powerboat feature on his "Extreme Machines" series. (think thats what it was called)

Nope this is sailing - It was one of our professional but private yacht owning round the world type skippers

Old quote though, originally it was attributed to Lipton when he was campaigning for the Americas Cup in J boats... it was fivers back then.

Agree that the original quote refered to fivers,must be at least 50 years since the guy made the quote..am I THAT old...

[78dude]

Its a bit nice to see how diffrent nations have a view of what a classic car is. In Sweden to an example, the E30 is just an old 3 series from the 80s and most of them are rusted to a shed or have awfull styling. Frankly speaking, the E30zone is the only place I have found this passion for this spesific model from BMW.
I know that the British people are crazy about old Fords... Mk2 Escort 2-door in England to an example is worth a lot over a grand if its looks tidy. The Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts here in Scandinavia is just a Ford and you pay "Lego" money for them. If you ask 10 grand for an Escort Mexico in Sweden, well maybe in 2075 you will get rid of it by some one who want to pay that sort of hi money for it. I do think today its hard to get more than about 5 or 6 grand for a Mk1 Escort Mexico in Stockholm to an example.

But if you have something big and massive made in Detroit its worth a lot of cash!

[Felix79]

A Classic was once a car that was of 25 years or more in age.

A fair few cars of the 80's are now classed as modern classics, The 205 Gti , Cosworth RS500 , M3 , 190e Cosworth.

[Blitz]

A Classic was once a car that was of 25 years or more in age.

A fair few cars of the 80's are now classed as modern classics, The 205 Gti , Cosworth RS500 , M3 , 190e Cosworth.

Shame 25 years or more does not mean tax exempt.

[NatDJ]

Shame 25 years or more does not mean tax exempt.

At least we're exempt from the huge hike in tax. My S-max & X-Type will be £400 each in 2 years!

[Felix79]

I thought ours were included in the tax hike.

I was driving with my roof down today ( 1st time ) and so many peoples heads were turning , when I parked it at the petrol station I found a group of people around my cab taking a good look at it. One of them jumped into his 08 MX-5 and the other jumped into an E36 Cabbie

[Nic01101011]

Its a bit nice to see how diffrent nations have a view of what a classic car is. In Sweden to an example, the E30 is just an old 3 series from the 80s and most of them are rusted to a shed or have awfull styling. Frankly speaking, the E30zone is the only place I have found this passion for this spesific model from BMW.
I know that the British people are crazy about old Fords... Mk2 Escort 2-door in England to an example is worth a lot over a grand if its looks tidy. The Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts here in Scandinavia is just a Ford and you pay "Lego" money for them. If you ask 10 grand for an Escort Mexico in Sweden, well maybe in 2075 you will get rid of it by some one who want to pay that sort of hi money for it. I do think today its hard to get more than about 5 or 6 grand for a Mk1 Escort Mexico in Stockholm to an example.

But if you have something big and massive made in Detroit its worth a lot of cash!

There are plenty of forums out there dedicated to e30s. Here in the US many would agree that the e30 is the 3 series to get, and pristine examples sell for more than an e36 or even some e46s.

M3s have been selling for more than they were originally for quite a while, and the price of normal e30s(at least 325is and 318iss) seems to be going up. I could probably get 5 figures for my car if I tried($10000).

As for the car being a classic, I don't think it's old enough for that. To me it's just a BMW.

[Simon13]

Nick $10,000 is about £20 or 25 euros at moment with the way america's fine economy is!

[Nic01101011]

Well at least I only bought the car for 15 euros.

But cars in general are cheap here. $10k e36 M3s are not uncommon at all(but a bit beat up).

[BMWAlpinaC2]

M3 is a classic, no question. Will an E30 in any other form be a classic? hard to say. Sports are attracting a premium but whether that is going to last - who can say. I think the classic market is far too picky to elevate a whole range to classic status. Collectors only want the very best, especially if the basic car was mass market to begin with.

I would predict that E30s will continue to be crashed, trashed and broken at an accelerating rate as the last mainstream enthusiasts cannibalise the survivors for spares. At some point the cost of spares will rise so that E30s are no longer fun cheap motoring and they will fall off the radar. Then only people with cash and a real enthusiasm for the model will still be in the game and it is the prices that these people are prepared to pay that will decide whether E30s in general get the status of a true classic that someone from outside the "scene" will regard as a good place to put some money.

My personal prediction would be that Sports, Msport Cabs and possibly other cabs are the only models with a chance of joining the M3 - and they'll never be worth M3 money.

Which is silly because we all know that Tourings are best:)

M3 Money? That's right, But, my Alpina C2 2.7 convertible cost me 13k!!! was I stupid or am I a real enthusiast!?

[BMWAlpinaC2]

Shame 25 years or more does not mean tax exempt.

At least we're exempt from the huge hike in tax. My S-max & X-Type will be £400 each in 2 years!

Exactly, my 3 E30's are staying but 2 of my missus' car are going to have to go, she can trot along on the bus to work .

The E30's will never go, missus gets annoyed when every half hour when in bed at nite she sees me looking at my E30's from the widnow like a DOG!

When I got the C2 cab I told her she's going to have to stay in the shed for the night , the beast was going to get some treatment!

Nearly got 6 inch heels thrown at me that day

[GrindCulture]

You've got issues mate, I like my car as much as the next guy but I'd much rather share my bed with my girlfriend than a ton of hard cold steel...

[Speedtouch]

Practical Classics mag now list the 325i cab, saloon and Sport as separate entries

[AlpineAde]

Classic car insurers over here in Australia don't really differentiate between models (2 doors, 4 doors, convertibles). It's all about condition. If your E30 is in exemplary condition then someone like Shannons (classic/marque insurer here in Australia) has no problem whatsoever insuring the car for what they consider a fair value upon their inspection. My 4 door 325i is insured for just under 6000 pounds (the insurer's valuation) and I pay less than 200 pounds a year to insure it fully comprehensive. To them ~ it's a classic marque vehicle.

[Dr Firefly]

We're all the same milk, just from different nipples.

Lol, where did you think up that statement? Sounds like a f**ked up version of something Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela would have said

[djk]

We're all the same milk, just from different nipples.

Lol, where did you think up that statement? Sounds like a f**ked up version of something Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela would have said

Can't remember now, think I read it somewhere in my teens and me and my mates started using it - I think it was a Harley owner who got the hump about other bikers sneering at his chrome n' tassles nonsense. It's all about spreading the love!!

I acquired a 325i touring the other day - I get more 'nice car mate' comments about it than either my cab or my minty mint 4dr, and it's just been sat on the drive having its rusty tailgate attacked with a wire brush. Weird, coz I always think tourings are a bit more 'modern-looking' than the saloons, and hence more anonymous in modern traffic. The 'classicness' of e30s for me was their old school 3-box shape that you just don't see so simply executed in newer cars.

I was discussing this subject with a pal the other day, and we came to the conclusion that an e30 is a classic because (stay with me):

From the sixties to the early eighties, everyone had a cortina,

cortinas were a bit rubbish,

Ford replaced the cortina with the Sierra which was just as rubbish and looked like a bogey,

while the e30 was introduced and was like a cortina but incomparably better in every conceivable way,

But not every tom, dick or harry could have an e30 and so they still secretly hanker after one. (except folk like us who have let it out of the closet...)