I just got in a car accdient and i have always loved the e30 m3 and if my insurance if not to muhc i might getoen... also key factor are they pretty realiable and hows the repair costs on them... i heard they are alot but whats the ins and outs about the car.... bad and good

The good is they are essentially a roadgoing early-90's dtm racer for the road. People who own them absolutely love them. As track buddies, they still may be considered the best M3 to take down to the local DE or club race. They are, in my opinion and many others, one of the best looking BMW's, and have an extremely knowledgable and experienced enthusiast base bellow them.

The cons are also very substantial. Maintnence is killer, just to cite an example, a timing chain tensioner job will cost you 1500 dollars... IN PARTS. This is pretty much a mandatory job at around 90k (thanks einhander... we were actually discussing this tonight!). A lot of things with the engine can go very wrong very quick.

The simple reasoning for this is that BMW made the engine, saw that it was great, and threw it in a street car, without really developing it for longevity that people expect in a street car.

Performance wise, once again, they are great. They are the "slowest" m3, netting 0-60 times around 6-6.5 seconds, but I've heard they are also the most fun M3 to drive... still.

And, risking a flame, some people still consider them the only "true" m3's... as they are almost purely devoted to racing.

This may not be the car you are looking for... maintnence and repairs can drain your budget real quick!

Steve

Yup yup. The engines are generally pretty robust as long as they are maintained.

A general rule of thumb when looking for a car is the "$15k Rule. "
Essentially, a car needing minimal work will run about $15 grand. A car costing $13grand might need $2grand worth of work to make it perfect.

You can get parts cheaper at some places than others- dealers obviously cost more. But if you buy right and do your maintenance you won't have much to worry about. I wouldn't recommend purchasing a car that needs a lot of work as you'll go broke really quick.

And yes, owning one puts you in an elite club as there are only so many people who can say they own a real m3....heh heh.

yeah so u all think getting later e36 m3 is better choice then e30 m3.... yeah i always heard the e30 needs lots of fork aroudn 100k.... also u have to replace the intake manifold gasket like every year which i dont think is that mad..but im going to college right now and i need failry dependable car sicne i got my volvo turbo wrecked

can't you convert the S14 over to the E36 style chain/tensioner?

Yes, and according to Einhander that makes the whole system last a bit longer, but it will eventually need tensioning again.

Steve

well, its not like the E36 M3 is any cheaper to maintain. Any ///M car is gonna cost you bucks. Its worth it tho :-)

JT

Originally posted by zenon
can't you convert the S14 over to the E36 style chain/tensioner?

Yea, but you still have all the rails and guides which are a stinking arm and a leg!!! Then the chain and other little plastic parts which cost millions of dollars.

Don't ask how I know :D

you sound like you're whining again bryan, I'll be over to confiscate your M3 2morrow.