E30 M3

[SEBRINGGREY325I]

I am looking at buying 1 in the next few weeks Munich legends and fourstar classics have my details .
My budget is 25 to 35 k just about where evo
2s start .
There is a normal black m3 with beige leather interior on pistons wads that looks very nice but I was hoping for silver or Macau blue .
Anyway is the m3 easy to live with can it cope with long trips etc , what's the drive like compared to the 325?
Is there a site dedicated to the e30 m3 .
Anybody selling or know someone selling a nice example please let me know .
Any info most welcome .

[Morat]

Note to broker:

Buy Vaseline shares.

[SEBRINGGREY325I]

What do you mean ?

[Gavla]

He means that if you are looking at buying from Munich or 4 Star you are about to be shafted

[pacerpete]

No matter who you buy from and how much you pay , be sure to get an independant 'autopsy' carried out ! Many of these cars are tonced up pigs with a murky past

From an investment perspective , it is better to buy a nice Evo 2 than a perfect standard car.

Mileage is what decides value over everything else so be aware if you are going to do 25000 miles a year it will seriously hurt your pocket in both value lost and maintenance.

[SEBRINGGREY325I]

Wise words Pete but what happens if the standard car has low miles ?
Is there such thing as an evo 1 ?
The one on pistons heads is very nice the only mod being a scorpion exhaust , what's wrong with the factory set up ?

[pacerpete]

An Evo 1 is not really regarded at a premium over a standard car . A '90 model year onwards 215 car has all the good bits standard .

Scorpion exhausts are nasty and particularly so on a M3. A complete Scorpion system is reputed to cut power by 20 BHP ! That car with the beige trim also appears to have tints and nasty speakers that require an axe to fit on the rear shelf.
That car rings a bell and I am certain a mate owned it . I will speak to him.

[Fastroad]

Scorpion exhausts are nasty and particularly so on a M3. A complete Scorpion system is reputed to cut power by 20 BHP ! That car with the beige trim also appears to have tints and nasty speakers that require an axe to fit on the rear shelf

20BHP loss interesting stats there, must mean the one that I had fitted to my M3 must have been special as I got an increase of 5 BHP a˜Ž (ok nothing to sing and dance about) and the noise was just great.

Each and everyone to their own when it comes to exhaust, sound and tints as these are easily rectified if required.

[SEBRINGGREY325I]

Yeah just spotted the boom box speakers deffo not my thing .
For the sort of money m3s command I want 1 to be as orginial as possible the way bmw intended .

[Fastroad]

Yeah just spotted the boom box speakers deffo not my thing .
For the sort of money m3s command I want 1 to be as orginial as possible the way bmw intended .

I am sure you would not be buying a M3 for the sound system it has installed.

Every M3 I have ever owned gets the treatment of having the stereo deleted and speakers thrown in the trash.

If you get a good one with the right mileage then it could be a keeper and stereos, wheels and exhausts is not really a major thing as they can all be changed with minimum effort.

[harry_p]

Mine had a scorpion and only made 170bhp. Decent service, cone filter replaced with an oe evo airbox and a supersprint exhaust and it made a a much more reasonable 204bhp.

M3s are perfectly happy in day to day use. Every bit as driveable as a 325i, BUT I think you'd be mad to spend £25k and then use it every day.

Sadly they're getting to the point where you can't really enjoy them properly any more without worrying about devaluing them.

Then again, if you've got that much money to spend in the first place you're probably not short of a bob or two, so if you want to use it every day then go for it

[S14M3]

www.s14.net for all your e30 m3 needs

[SEBRINGGREY325I]

I don't mean using the m3 as a daily that would not suit the m3 at all .
I was thinking more like trips to Wales and Scotland once in a while just to give it a good run .
Boom boxes after market wheels they are a huge turnoff , I suppose the key is finding an unmolested example that goes for an e30 but as you say it all depends on what rocks your world

[pukar]

good luck finding a good one, they are out there... make sure you take an experienced zone member with you or you WILL get shafted!

[Fastroad]

Nowadays.....Unmolested = someone has returned it back to its original state.

I have had these cars from when they only had 20k-30k on the clock, 3 yrs old and they still had some sort of modification .... Sometimes good sometimes bad, council pedals here and shiny gear stick there. I never let these things get in the way of me buying a good car and I just put them back to the standard I preferred (which also may not be to some people's taste)

[Fastroad]

I suggest do your homework and go visit the most expensive advertised cars on the market so you get an understanding of what you get for your money (condition wise) when it comes to an E30 M3.

[cecotto_singh]

Having owned a few myself the biggest thing I would be concerned about is RUST!

Get the least rustiest car as possible. Everything else can be sorted!

I used a m3 as a daily for over 10 years. They don't like being parked up.

[Fastroad]

Having owned a few myself the biggest thing I would be concerned about is RUST!

Get the least rustiest car as possible. Everything else can be sorted!

I used a m3 as a daily for over 10 years. They don't like being parked up.

+1

I have had many that I drove as my daily drivers (not sure where the fuel goes ... Lol). They definitely are better when driven but the only problem in today's climate is that you can not really park them anywhere as some scumbag will be along to pluck something off and sometimes that could mean the whole car.

[SEBRINGGREY325I]

Gorgeous looking M635 highline for sale on car and classic looks to be good value and can be bought now instead of a lengthy wait for a nice evo 2 to turn up .
Going from comments the evo is the only 1 to bother with .

[pacerpete]

Gorgeous looking M635 highline for sale on car and classic looks to be good value and can be bought now instead of a lengthy wait for a nice evo 2 to turn up .
Going from comments the evo is the only 1 to bother with .

There is no such thing as 'the runt of the litter' when it comes to M3s. A nice example of any model is a great car. Obviously limited edition cars and nice spec 215 cars are more sought after and have better investment potential than a boggo '87 car.

The M635 is a whole new world of pain compared to an E30 M3 ! BE VERY CAREFUL ! And yes, these do suffer from chain issues and 70/80k between changes is considered pushing your luck. To do just the chain job and other 'while you are there' type jobs can easily hit 3k And then there is the rust............

[billgatese30]

The M635 is a whole new world of pain compared to an E30 M3 ! BE VERY CAREFUL ! And yes, these do suffer from chain issues and 70/80k between changes is considered pushing your luck. To do just the chain job and other 'while you are there' type jobs can easily hit 3k And then there is the rust............

What is the price of front wings up to nowadays

[Z3I]

good luck finding a good one, they are out there... make sure you take Pacerpete with you or you WILL get shafted!

A days wages plus X's for him would probably be the best investment you'll make.

[Fastroad]

E30 zone here, post your 6 Series BS talk to the pub section. Hahaha

[M42]

You have a pm sebringgrey

[M42]

You have a pm sebringgrey

[andrew_baran]

I can feel my dreams slowly sliding away reading this thread