E30 M3 info request
Discussion
Does anyone care to shed any light on a few cars I have found out about recently. I am living on the continent now and now the wonderful world of lhd and http://uk.mobile.de are my recent havens. Firstly a car I have always been fond of, BMW e30 M3, there seem to be a few for sale all around the £7000 mark. With some special additions like Cecotto and Sport Evo. I suppose I am asking a lot but what would be of concern to drive one of these as a daily driver, talking 50kms per day plus weekend fun.
Next is the Audi Quattro or sometimes listed as Urquattro, from sort around 1984 , these things are still prices up anywhere to £9000, anyone care to divulge why they are so expensive. I really like the chunky styling and wide arches similar to that of the M3, but know very little about this car….
And one last one to ask about saw a car with OPEL badge and GS/e written on the back, think it may be an old Kadett, much to know about these? Would they be rwd and hence a drifter ?
Next is the Audi Quattro or sometimes listed as Urquattro, from sort around 1984 , these things are still prices up anywhere to £9000, anyone care to divulge why they are so expensive. I really like the chunky styling and wide arches similar to that of the M3, but know very little about this car….
And one last one to ask about saw a car with OPEL badge and GS/e written on the back, think it may be an old Kadett, much to know about these? Would they be rwd and hence a drifter ?
Where to start...
The E30 M3 is a great car but these days it is becoming a bit old fashioned in terms of comfort in a daily drive scenario, if you are doing 50kms through town I would recommend finding something a bit more modern but if your commute is, for example on A/B roads you will have a blast, they are not that fast anymore, a decent hot hatch would be able to keep up but you would be having more fun! Although I find them perfectly comfortable cruising on the m/way a bit loud but no problem. For the most part they are reliable cars as long as you change oil regularly etc
Because they have no turbo there is less to go wrong and when you first let that little engine go all the way to the redline it just sounds fantastic, you do have to stoke them up to get decent pace but the engine loves it! Also when on m/way the fuel consumption is surprisingly good.
As for which model, the limited editions are great ie the Cecotto, Ravaglia, Europameister, Evos 1 and 2 and Sport Evolution but they will cost you more to buy and will in theory hold their value better but you might lose this advantage if running one everyday. I would say you would be better off saving some money and buying a later model standard car, the later models have a power upgrade from 200bhp to 215bhp which is what the Cecotto and Ravaglia had. Although you would be hard pushed to notice the difference on a day to day basis. As they are getting on a bit know the running costs will be a bit high but the engine is very strong and the car itself is well built but things will wear out.
I am no expert on Audi quattros but again they are of a similar era and are great fun. I do know that they can be very expensive to run but I do not know enough to advise you.
And the Opel, sorry have not got a clue!
Hope this helps
The E30 M3 is a great car but these days it is becoming a bit old fashioned in terms of comfort in a daily drive scenario, if you are doing 50kms through town I would recommend finding something a bit more modern but if your commute is, for example on A/B roads you will have a blast, they are not that fast anymore, a decent hot hatch would be able to keep up but you would be having more fun! Although I find them perfectly comfortable cruising on the m/way a bit loud but no problem. For the most part they are reliable cars as long as you change oil regularly etc
Because they have no turbo there is less to go wrong and when you first let that little engine go all the way to the redline it just sounds fantastic, you do have to stoke them up to get decent pace but the engine loves it! Also when on m/way the fuel consumption is surprisingly good.
As for which model, the limited editions are great ie the Cecotto, Ravaglia, Europameister, Evos 1 and 2 and Sport Evolution but they will cost you more to buy and will in theory hold their value better but you might lose this advantage if running one everyday. I would say you would be better off saving some money and buying a later model standard car, the later models have a power upgrade from 200bhp to 215bhp which is what the Cecotto and Ravaglia had. Although you would be hard pushed to notice the difference on a day to day basis. As they are getting on a bit know the running costs will be a bit high but the engine is very strong and the car itself is well built but things will wear out.
I am no expert on Audi quattros but again they are of a similar era and are great fun. I do know that they can be very expensive to run but I do not know enough to advise you.
And the Opel, sorry have not got a clue!
Hope this helps
As I will definately need the car everyday I dont really want a compromise given my current car, Rover 75....so its must have aircon and a dark coloured interior...as I dont like the grey or beige inside's... as I will be adding some cloth recaro's in good time. Is it better to by a cheap one and just run it til it dies...or spend the money on a nice one and keep it together....the prices are sky high for such an old car, 14 years etc....
Agree with everything Chippy says. I would however add a couple of things: Europameister is generally regarded as the least desirable of the 'specials'...down on power coupled with extra weight of too many 'extras'. EVO 1 is rare but offers real no performance advantage over 'first edition' 195 bhp cars. The reality is on the public road you probably won't notice much difference between any of them.
In my opinion A/C is not such a good idea on one of these....remember how old these cars are now?Additionally, the system weighs 70Kg on it's own...that's like carrying another whole passenger around with you all the time!
I agree,in a straight line, these cars can no longer be considered as really fast...Loads of newer cars will humble you on the public road if you play them at that game but see my last post on the M3 v 330i thread below to see why I decided not to sell mine in the end
In my opinion A/C is not such a good idea on one of these....remember how old these cars are now?Additionally, the system weighs 70Kg on it's own...that's like carrying another whole passenger around with you all the time!
I agree,in a straight line, these cars can no longer be considered as really fast...Loads of newer cars will humble you on the public road if you play them at that game but see my last post on the M3 v 330i thread below to see why I decided not to sell mine in the end
all very true derin, esp about aircon, I have aircon in mine and I wish I didn't as not only does it weigh a fair amount it also seems to greatly effect the engine when you turn it on, I guess because the engine is relatively small and lacks torque.
You could compromise and think about getting something like a E36 328i Sport as a compromise.
You could compromise and think about getting something like a E36 328i Sport as a compromise.
I own a Sport Evo as my daily drive. You always get a smile from driving a 'legend' and it gets plenty of attention
pic here www.zen36704.zen.co.uk/cars/cars.htm
Sean
pic here www.zen36704.zen.co.uk/cars/cars.htm
Sean
dtmpower said:
I have seen locally here in Luxembourg, a Sport Evo , is that the model with the recaro "harness" seats and the adjustable spoiler on the back...and a few suede editions in the interior...if it is, then thats the model I would like...seem hard to come by though.
Yep that's the jobby (see my profile picture). it's also got a 2.5 engine rather than a 2.3
When I sold my car at the beginning of the year I was getting enquiries from mainland europe so don't be surprised if it takes a good while to find one. Prices have also been going up in the last 4 years as mine sold more than I bought it for and so have a few others that I know of.
IMHO an Evo II would be a better buy as they cost £4/5k less than a sport evo but if you've got your heart set on one make sure the chassis number is correct (the last seven digits should be AC79001 - AC79602). One guy I spoke to thought he bought a sport but in fact had ended up with a convincing copy based on a regular cat car
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