switch2ap

Hey all,

What are your opinions for a daily driven e30 m3? How reliable are they and how expensive are they to maintain?
Are they expensive to modify and have fun in? (autox and track events)
How much reliable power are they capable of?

And lastly, how does it compare to our s2000?

thanks in advance!!

jsalicru

I think they are great... kind of costly, but nice. Throttle body gaskets tend to go out and valve adjustments are a pain.

switch2ap

Thanks for the input? Any more?

Maybe the topic is a little misleading? I don't have pics of an m3. I just want to know your opinions on the car.

VTEC_Junkie

i think an e30 m3 is very old, meaning most of them will have been through a lot of miles and are worn out, both mechanically and structurally. e30 m3s will still cost somewhere in the ballpark of $10-$15K, and since they are rare breeds, parts for modification will be rare and costly. personally, i think you are better off with an e36 325/328 which can be had for around that price. e36s have great chassis and superb inline-6 motors. there are also abundant modification parts available for that car, and performance-wise, you can easily make an e36 perform and handle just as well as an e30 m3, if not better.

mvf4s

great car but i wouldn't wanna depend on it daily. buy one and get a civic also.

jsalicru

Good point.


Parts are available, but the man up top there has a point. The car is oooold.. so unless you dont mind restoring a lot of parts of the car, or paying top dollar for one (yes, by that I mean 15k+), then yeah, most definetly make it a weekend car..

My buddy used to have a 76 2002 with that motor in it... stroked with EVO cams..
The car was fairly dependable.. not too many issues, except the above mentioned matter with the gaskets..

loki

I'll chime in with the others. I LOVE the E30 M3 and was almost going to buy one last year but decide to get something more reliable. Typically the used market will be from $10-15k for a clean one with 90-100k+ miles. Either the person you will purchase it from or you will have to start replacing parts on the car so be prepared to at least spend 3-5k after you buy it if you want to make it a reliable daily car.

I spoke to the Evosport folks who use to campaign an E30M3 and their recommendation was to buy an E36M3 which was more reliable, maintenance was less and there was more support. The engine can be hopped up pretty good but the more you do it, the more maintenance will be required... when setup for the track, these things are on rails!

Personally I still have a soft spot for the E30M3 and I'd like to have that along with a 2002 Turbo someday.

rloewy

Love them. They are a rare breed of a reasonable daily driver sedan/coupe that is very very entertaining to drive. As everyone else pointed out - maintenance can be an issue - especially for the "unique" items - if you blow a S14 it will cost you nice amounts of money to replace/fix it. The fiberglass wheel fenders are not inexpensive. Having said that - if you get a good one and do not skimp of upkeep - they are reasonable as daily drivers.

I saw a one owner car with around 68K miles last year about 2 hours north of my place. He was supposed to bring it to be inspected at a BMW dealer - but before the day we arranged for it someone swooped in and bought it as is. A friend that owns both an E36 and E46 BMWs told me that they are wonderful but when things go wrong - they can become very expensive very quick.

As a daily driver - I would agree with the idea of an E36 - they are bigger, less problematic and expensive to maintain and still a lot of fun to drive (I prefer the E30, but the E36 is a rare good "family" car as well). For a weekend car - they are wonderful.

I hope to add one to the stable one day.

Ron.

MDXLuvr

I luv, absolutely Luv E30's. However, they are defintely not meant to be daily drivers. The reason are stated above. If you plan to track the car then a E36 M3 is a better place to start. They are cheaper to mod, and they usually cost only a couple of grand more than the E30's.

switch2ap

Thanks everyone for their input! Lots of great info. I was looking to drive the car everyday so maybe the e36 is my best bet. I just like the way the e30 looks much better!
I found one going for 13k and about 90k miles. I wish the s2000 had a back seat!!