RE: You Know You Want To: BMW E30 M3

[estoril]

Any excuse...here's mine..

[melvster]

estoril said:

Any excuse...here's mine..

That pic has been the screensaver on my phone for about 3 years, each time i have upgraded, i have sent the picture across, love that car. I need to go to Beemer fest at Gaydon.

[melvster]

E30 M3 - BMW's best car ever IMO.

[estoril]

melvster said:

That pic has been the screensaver on my phone for about 3 years, each time i have upgraded, i have sent the picture across, love that car. I need to go to Beemer fest at Gaydon.

See you there!

[sim16v]

I sold this one for £4500 about 12-13 years ago, and I thought I'd done really well as I only paid £3k for it!





I regretted selling, but the money meant I bought some other great cars after it.

I still managed to get a couple more tucked away, just need to start the restorations now!

[monthefish]

Did Wheeler Dealer not do one of these about 5-10 years ago?

I seem to recall he went to Germany to buy a red one and it only cost about EUR12,000.

[chrisr29]

MarJay said:

Yep, the E36 M3 (particularly the Evo) Is a superior car in almost every way.

Really? Can't think of anyway it's superior. Maybe a bit more poke in a straight line but other than that they're just a bit average and drive pretty much like any 6 cylinder e36.......ecxept maybe a 328 sport, which drives much better than a e36 m3.

[estoril]

monthefish said:

Did Wheeler Dealer not do one of these about 5-10 years ago?

I seem to recall he went to Germany to buy a red one and it only cost about EUR12,000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83qyAWnXPSQ

[J4CKO]

E30 or E36, now I like both, but which is best, FIGHT !

Would make a nice Monkey production, a track and a standard example of each, perhaps some road driving involved as well, easy to set up, perhaps throw an E90 into the mix as well.

[monthefish]

estoril said:

monthefish said:

Did Wheeler Dealer not do one of these about 5-10 years ago?

I seem to recall he went to Germany to buy a red one and it only cost about EUR12,000.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83qyAWnXPSQ

£10k - not bad.

[s m]

J4CKO said:

E30 or E36, now I like both, but which is best, FIGHT !

Would make a nice Monkey production, a track and a standard example of each, perhaps some road driving involved as well, easy to set up, perhaps throw an E90 into the mix as well.

I've got a link to the Steve Soper/Colin Goodwin article from Autocar if you want?

E30 M3 Sport Evo vs 3 litre E36 M3 round Goodwood

[Tyrewrecker]

trackdemon said:

Real bargain is a 318iS: 80% of the driving experience for 20% of the price! Same power delivery, delightful steering, same architecture & same biddable balance - skimpier tyres ensure grip/power well matched. E30 M3 ('86 vintage) one of the most enjoyable cars I've ever driven though.....

Delightful steering? The 318is I drove was like a boat and no good for oversteer due to little power and no lsd (On that particular model). Not TERRIBLE to drive though.

[s m]

Tyrewrecker said:

trackdemon said:

Real bargain is a 318iS: 80% of the driving experience for 20% of the price! Same power delivery, delightful steering, same architecture & same biddable balance - skimpier tyres ensure grip/power well matched. E30 M3 ('86 vintage) one of the most enjoyable cars I've ever driven though.....

Delightful steering? The 318is I drove was like a boat and no good for oversteer due to little power and no lsd (On that particular model). Not TERRIBLE to drive though.

A 320is is close as well but they fetch quite a bit

[Maxus]

g3org3y said:

Depends if you want to drive it or polish it?

There's something rather cool about a well used dirty example .....

Just for you

[melvster]

Maxus said:

Just for you

love that, workhorse look.

[PPPPPP]

On the same theme, one of those "I thought the 2.5 motor was much coarser, less willing to rev, and the extra grip on wider 16-inch rubber killed most of the playfulness. " Not


http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=161&i=193...

[Cheib]

chrisr29 said:

MarJay said:

Yep, the E36 M3 (particularly the Evo) Is a superior car in almost every way.

Really? Can't think of anyway it's superior. Maybe a bit more poke in a straight line but other than that they're just a bit average and drive pretty much like any 6 cylinder e36.......ecxept maybe a 328 sport, which drives much better than a e36 m3.

Having owned an E36 M3 Evo, E36 328 Sport and E46 M3 all from new I can't disagree. I bought the 328 Sport in 1996 and then bought the E36 M3 in 1997.....was the 328 better ? Probably. I remember thinking at the time the M3 wasn't worth the extra £10k. The E46 M3 was a completely different animal....a much,much,much better car than the E36.

[chrisr29]

s m said:

I've got a link to the Steve Soper/Colin Goodwin article from Autocar if you want?

E30 M3 Sport Evo vs 3 litre E36 M3 round Goodwood

Yes please.

[melvster]

PPPPPP said:

On the same theme:

http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=161&i=193...

worth over 50k now, remember when they were 30k not that long ago.

[daveco]

Here's a question for you E30 afficionados-

Would an E30 325 with uprated brakes and suspension give an M3 of the same a run for its money on the twisties? Surely from an ownership point of view the 6 cylinder 325 would be a nicer engine to work with and listen to at the very least?