Ok. Bmw's never really crossed my mind until I got hooked on GRM..then the e30's sounded cool. Anyway, I'm still looking for a future fun,reliable daily driver with good mpg's. I came across this locally:
http://www.classifiedsohio.net/index.php?a=2&b=84089
I know nothing about these cars and I'm not the greatest mechanic. But I am interested. Give me some insight on what it would be like owning/driving/gas mileage, etc. I do know enough that its the e model, so decent mpg's but not that quick?
The 325e has a lower redline, economy gearing and is generally pretty sluggish but makes better torque than the i. You can make them work "better" but without the revs they never feel as sporty.
I don't know where your budget is but were I buying yet another E30 I'd be looking for a rust-free southern 88+ 325is. I'd expect to pay $4k or more for a well kept car.
a 325e with shorter gearing and a chip is makes for a really torquey fun street car, but then youre turning higher rpm (a jeep 4.0L has a higher redline), need 91+ fuel, and sort of negating the intent of the eta (the eta does respond VERY strongly to a chip though). a 325i is going to be more fun, and has more potential, but if you check out that car and its a clean example that feels tight its hard to go wrong as almost everything is swappable between them if you felt the itch later on for more oomph. M50 swap ftw
personally i'd love a 4dr 5sp slightly regeared 325e for a DD.
When they said lower redline, they mean really lower, like 4500. Pass, IMO. Find a 325i instead.
I have driven a 325es before, I didn't notice any of the things this board says about how horrible the engine is, it seemed fine to me. What I did notice is that 95% of e30s are way past being a daily driver as purchased, it would be more like a $6500 project then after that it would probably be decent.
Travis_K wrote: I have driven a 325es before, I didn't notice any of the things this board says about how horrible the engine is, it seemed fine to me. What I did notice is that 95% of e30s are way past being a daily driver as purchased, it would be more like a $6500 project then after that it would probably be decent.
There isn't anything wrong with the 'e' motors - they just are not sporty and people looking for an e30 are usually looking for a cool, old sporty car.
As far as $6500... that is w/o getting your hands dirty doing any work yourself. I bought a nice 4dr 325i for $2k in '07, put another $1k in it and drove it for 80k. I hit a deer, fixed, caged and used it as a race car for another season, then pulled it apart - did a 5 lug swap, S52, and full race coilover suspension, Wilwood brakes and a LOT more. I still only have just under $7k in it.
I think it has a bit to do with the area im from too, e30s are major beaters here, when I considered buying one a big part of the reason i didn't is not a single owner i called knew what a timing belt was.
my e30 is an e and i think whether or not it is a problem depends on what you want to do with it. autocrossing. i actually think the e's can be a bit better than the i's if there are a lot of sped changes. it is definitely better in the low rpm grunt. however, if it has a lot of long runs, the i's longer rpm range definitely helps. just get an LSD or you will waste that low end grunt on tire spin. for road racing tracks, the e motor is definitely ia problem on long straights. i can generally hang with the i's through the twisties, but they pull away when speeds are better than 80mph or so. if you arent racing it, i dont think it really matters.
eta's are fine cars, provided you never drive a 325i. 
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