how reliable would it be to have a daily driven e30 m3? i am thinking of getting one with around 70k miles. What needs to be replaced? Are there any manuals that could help me with maintenance? i currently have an e36 m3 that i dont want to drive every day cause it has such low miles and i have heard many good things about the e30 m3 so i am interested in it. should i just get a e30 325 for now?

There is already a good bit of information out there on this question already, and I doubt I can add anything useful, but here goes. I think I am fairly qualified with my opinion since I own a '90 M3 and a '97 M3/4.

The E30 M3 is not an unreliable car at all, but...the maintenance it requires is more frequent and expensive than what an E36 M3 needs. There are people that use an E30 M3 as a daily driver-at times, I do the same. But, the E36 M3 is MUCH better in the daily driver role. The E30 M3 is not a car to putt around town in. It has limited torque at low RPM's and has a much stiffer ride than the E36 M3. Plus, it is nowhere near as refined. But, it was built for one purpose-as a race car. The E36 M3 was not.

Before I bought my E30 M3 earlier this year, I had read many comments such as mine regarding the E30 M3 as a daily driver. I listened, but didn't really take heed to it. After I got the car I understood EXACTLY what everyone meant. You really need to drive one to see if it is for you or not. I would most definitely not buy one as a daily driver. My E30 M3 sits in the garage almost everyday while I use the E36 M3 as the daily driver. I view my E36 M3 as dispensable-I cherish my E30 M3. I cannot bear to part with it, and hopefully I never will!

If it was me in your situation, I could care less about the miles on the E36 M3, no matter how low they are! 70K miles on an E30 M3 to me is LOW considering the age of the cars.

My advice-drive an E30 M3 FIRST before you purchase one. In the end, an E30 325 is a much better daily driver (I know, I had a '90 325iS which I sold to get the E30 M3).

I agree with the previous post. I started with a 96 E36 M3, and traded it in for a 90 e30 M3 when I went back to school in 98.
I had to drive the e30 for work and school. It was exciting to drive, but the maintenance becomes tiring. Driven for work at 3 to 4 days a week, it requires a minimum of 2 visits a year to the mechanic, and as it gets older it becomes 4. The expense isn't too bad, but it gets hard to schedule everything. And if it needs new parts, the time to get them can be long. 15 days for a stock muffler from Germany. Since BMW bought up the aftermarket company that originally made the stock muffler.
Like the other reply, I too can't part with the E30 though. I am replacing the entire interior, updating the rims, designing some mods for the back seat, and soon enough driving it again.
I hope this helps.

I use my E30-M3, as my daily driver and weekend auto-xer. It is significant amount of mods, including very stiff suspension. What the other post say is correct. The E30-M3 is less refinded than the E36-M3. The E36-M3 has more luxury to it making it a better around town driver.

If you are one which likes noise and a certain roughness in your around town ride then the E30-M3 is for you. One or the other is not better or worse than the other. They are very different cars, which were engineeried with different objectives.

Either way you cannot lose.

Russ, how many miles does your m3 have on it?

Originally posted by e30evo
Russ, how many miles does your m3 have on it?

Approx 102,000 I did a rebuild about 5K ago after spinning a bearing, and made some significant engine changes.

The car has been very reliable. I believe in driving cars. I bought the E30M3 because of what it is. I never pass up a chance to drive it.

Since I bought the E36 M3, I have left the E30 M3 pretty much alone for about a week at a time. The E36 is such a nice daily driver it isn't even funny. My E30 M3 has a lot of miles, and I swapped the engine for a rebuilt Evo-2 unit and Euro CR transmission.

My intention is to turn the E30 into a track/street car. 6-point cage, custom suspension, full interior, AC, a bit of stereo, and a balls-to-the-wall S14 under the hood.

The M5 is my old-school occasional driver car. It will soon get an Euro S38B38 so I can make sure the E36 M3 never gets the upper hand (in a straight line, at least).

I guess I'm just getting old and soft, but the E30 M3 is no longer on my daily driver list.

I agree with James,

The E36-M3 is a lot better daily driver, because it signficantly more quiet, comfy and generally more refined. The E30-M3 is more primative in a sense. Tthe two cars were build for two difference purposes and it certainly shows on a daily basis.

Originally posted by RussM3
I agree with James,

The E36-M3 is a lot better daily driver, because it signficantly more quite, comfy and generally more refined. The E30-M3 is more primative in a sense. Tthe two cars were build for two difference purposes and it certainly shows on a daily basis.

exactly. a daily driver would be a 325i e30 or an e36