E30 maintenance cost?

[Tilinho8]

Hey there I’m a college student looking to get an e30 this summer. I was wondering how much maintenance would cost if I am willing to learn and work on te car myself?

Also what should I look out for when actually buying a used e30? (eg. water pump, head gaskets?)

[MarcoZandrini]

Let’s see, you’re looking to buy a 30 year old car. While the E30 was a great car (I owned one for 15+ years), they are OLD, as in ancient. Any E30 you buy will be either a garage queen or a money pit. Look for something newer. As you’re a college student I recommend a Honda. Sorry. I’ve owned BMWs since 1974. There’s no such thing as s cheap bimmer. Sorry.

[Tilinho8]

Even if I buy a well maintained one? Like new water pump, new timing belt?

[jclausen]

It's old, hell most shops don't even want to see one come in, it's a bmw. I agree with the Honda recommendation. It's not a college car. You need to study not worry about how your going to fix an old car.

[ELVA164]

Yeesh, bunch of negative Nancies in here.

I daily drove a '74 2002 through college, and my current '87 E30 for senior year. It needed a lot, but doing the right things immediately and picking away at the rest was and is a perfectly fine approach.

Timing belt, water pump have to be done right away. All fluids should be changed as well. Make sure the brakes work, replace with blank rotors are Ate pads if they need help.

You can do the rest as you're able to in most cases.

Just don't get a car with rust problems.

[BigC986]

I've owned 3 e30's, two of them being swapped and heavily modified. Even in stock form with 200,000+ miles and me abusing them, they were VERY reliable. You could find a good example of one that will run you $5000+ or a decent project one for a few thousand. It all depends on your budget. They are old and like most old cars will need work and cosmetic work but are not money pits. There's also an extremely big surplus of information and parts for them as they're common in junkyards so no they're not expensive to own compared to newer bmw's. I say go for it.

[ross1]

A good example won't hurt you. They are a pleasure to drive and cheap to own if you are savvy and can do the work yourself. Parts are cheap if you know where to shop, everything is DIY-able and you'll get your money back(and maybe then some) when you sell if you don't F it up.
Avoid modded cars like venereal disease and get someone familiar with the breed to go looking with you. Rust is terminal, mechanical things can always be fixed, at a price.
A BAD example will sour you on the brand and cost you dearly.