Just what is it with E30's ? heart/soul/character ?

[anton]

hi all,
just a thought, we all seem to love our e30's and are passionate about it, some of us because its all we can afford, but there's more than that in it i think.
I know of people that have a e30 and a e46, their eyes light up when they talk about the e30... just what is it about the e30 that gives it such character?

is it over-engineered?

why exactly are we so easily prepared to spend what we payed for our e30's just on restoring and customising them?
when, well in south africa anyway, what they can be insured for is less that what one pays for one in a good condition...

i've been working on mine on and off doing some of this some of that for 2years now, if someone should steal her or she should get written off/totalled it would be a financial disaster!

so its definitely not a financial thing, i think if you take what you pay for a good 325i and what u end up spending in total, one could probably pickup a 318 or even a 320i E46...
but yet we dont do that... performance aside ofcourse..

if one thinks objectively, why are we so obsessed about our almost 20yr old cars?



cheers, just some random rant here from cape town south africa

Anton

[Cook318IS]

i went into my local dealer the other day, anyway one of the chaps came to look at my car and he loved it! he was throughly looking around it and complementing me on it too. i've even had older people asking me about it in places like currys car park who love it and random people giving me a thumbs up (i've had alot of people do this or similar now, latest was last night!). i don't know exactly why we all love it, but i am abit OCD with mine. i personally wouldn't say its easy to afford only being a slave , erm i mean apprentice but i deffinately wouldn't swap it for an e36! (thought i'd go on a bit of a rantish too )

[DINGLEDONG]

E30's were the first popular sporty affordable beemer about. their basic old school appeal is what does it for most, how many car's can you get these day's that are as much fun and as simple to work on as an E30 [and well loaded with mod con's for their age]. In a way i compare them to mk1 + mk2 escort's, they've just got that wow factor [1 that you can't quite put your finger on]. I've always had a buried passion for them since they were in popular circulation, so when I stumbled across mine [in need of TLC granted] it unleashed the passion, lol. There weren't many car's around that could compete with em back in their A-day

[robbo86]

old school charm for me-there was a bunch of muppet like e36 drivers around near me though not seen them for about a year-one twat who followed me so close i could not see his headlights and i vowed never to drive a3series-then someone offered me his e36 but i wasnt quick enough so i started to look for others and the more i looked the more i decided i liked the e30

[Felix79]

the e30 has a cult status and is a cool modern classic. I have loved the e30 since i was 4 years old. It amazes me how many heads my cab turns and i do enjoy how many young lads look with envy at my pride and joy

[mrLEE30]

i think the shape of the car has a lot to do with its appeal - ask a child to draw a car and it will have a bonnet a boot and generally be quite square, much like the E30.... so it must be in our genes sort of a cave man thing!!

oh and look at it parked next to arguably BMW's finest modern car to date..... 3000 pound car parked next to a 50000 pound car and it does not look outclassed...

[anton]

just what model car is that standing nexto the e30 ?

[pony2]

Good looks and good engineering which you can work with, either modify or restore there's lots of options.

I think the main reason for popularity is the fact that the majority of other cars from the era and modern cars are so distasteful and clones of each other. The E30 stands out from the crowd.

[mrLEE30]

just what model car is that standing nexto the e30 ?

E52, or a Z8 to you and me

proof that Chris Bangle is not such a bad designer of cars, although some may argue he had a good base in the BMW 507 to copy so it was hard to get wrong.

oh and the S62 V8 (E39 M5) engine helps too

[e30bmlover]

lee... take the bbs tat off of the cab!! and put those schnitzers back on!

[SDM]

BMW put heroin in the metal, now its starting to rust it gets everyone addicted.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Because they're so old and sh*t, you actually have to drive them properly to get any sort of 'performance' out of them. Whereas most modern turds could out perform e30's in their sleep.

[DINGLEDONG]

Because they're so old and sh*t, you actually have to drive them properly to get any sort of 'performance' out of them. Whereas most modern turds could out perform e30's in their sleep.

That's good point actualy [could of been worded better though,lol], E30's have to be driven, unlike modern car's with esp, tcs and all that crap that jus have to be pointed in the right direction and the ECU does the drivin for ya

[E30BeemerLad]

the 3 box looks have aged well compared to other angular designs of the same period, they were reasonably well built and are affordable fun cars now. Defo have some cult status to them and in many years time there will be plenty of owners on here who are regretting the amount of weighing in and fragging going on, a-la MK1 & MK2 escorts and the values they are at now.

[Pete-M]

I like mine because it does exactly what I expected from it. Being a motor trader I get to drive all sorts of exotic and humble modern stuff and yet when I see the ol' E30 at the end of the day it still gives me a little buzz of satisfaction to just look at it. It always starts, everything still works as it should (bar the bloody drivers seat adjuster), it's smaller than most new stuff but it's still got that special something that the E30 always had.

My E30 was a cheapy picked up on ebay for under £300, but it was a spectacularly good buy even if I say so myself. Diamond black 325i auto with 15" BBS, AC, LSD and leather (albeit 'comfort' leather), needed a bit of tidying to make it presentable - a front passengers door, rear wiper arm, front spoiler lower edge valance thing, speedo sender rewire and a headlamp wiper - but it passed it's MOT with a touch of very minor fettling and has been utterly reliable. I use it for everything from carrying guitar amps etc to gigs to cross europe runs to the Czech Republic and back and there is nothing else available for the money that I'd trust to do the job without worrying.

Last run to Czech and back was a middle of the night job at significant speeds, 2000 mile round trip and it didn't use a drop of oil or water, or indeed even lose a 'service' light on the run. 3 up, full of luggage and averaging 115 mph for hours at a time on the de-restricted bits of Autobahn...

[Cotty]

why exactly are we so easily prepared to spend what we payed for our e30's just on restoring and customising them?

Still cheaper that buying a new one. Buy a good one, drive it, use it.

It is still a good car. You want perforamce, you can get it, cheaply.


Its just a quality car that you can pick up reasonably cheaply and use without worrying about depreciation etc. Just keep up top of jobs that need doing, prevention is better that cure.

[fuzzy]

its a decent, cheap old car. nothing more nothing less.

[oguz327]

I like the rust

[Diotima]

Mine has a sense of humour, I like that in a car

[spook]

I like the air conditioning that comes up thru the floor.

[MJG]

Cheap, look awesome, simple, well designed (none of them "D'OH, why did they make it like that!?" scenarios), easily upgraded as they are so simple (ie you can fit most engines in and it will work well), lightweight, great handling/chuckable chassis. Those are the main reasons for me personally.

[Speedtouch]

Coming out of Asda's car park tonight, I was stopped by a rather thuggish/Pikey-looking geezer (studs in nose, skinhead, bovver boots, etc.) with an equally rough-looking van parked in the opposite aisle asking if the Sport was original, after gulping, I replied yes and he smiled, grunted a compliment and said he was going to look at one in London later. Phew, I thought I was about to be car-jacked, but it just goes to show, they definitely have appeal.

I for one, love the six-cylinder exhaust note and the way they're comfy and easy/undemanding to drive when cruising yet have a sporting character when you're in the mood to press on

[Andyboy]

its a decent, cheap old car. nothing more nothing less.

That's about the long and short of it. I've had around 20-25 E30's and the problem for me is that it doesn't feel like an old car even though I remember them as a new car in 1983. They were a very good car but the four cylinder cars are very, very ordinary. The white 320i I just sold drove very well though, pity it wasn't a 323i!