Newbie Advice on buying an E30 M3

[EluZivWerkZ]

I hope I am not violating some rule about posting (lol) so here goes. I own a an X5 but have been wanting to buy an M3 to add to the stable but haven't had the best of luck finding one in Hawaii. Which brings me to an 1989 I found with 69k miles. It has a salvage title and was hit in the rear quarter panel but was fixed. It's not a looker but I think with some hardcore love it may have a chance. I hosted the pics so they can be easily viewed (no off site spam or anything like that).

Is it worth buying at $5500 or am I setting myself up for disaster? Thanks all.

http://box340.bluehost.com/~eluzivwe/m3%201989/

[Bruce]

this one? http://www.s14.net/forums/showthread.php?t=29634

[NavyE30]

same car- license plates are the same

[noro]

Before we can tell you that, you need to tell us what your goal is with the car. Are you planning on driving it as it is now until it falls apart? if so then 5500 is a good price. If your end goal is a solid running car with great appearance I think this may the wrong path to take. How much would it cost to bring let's say a California car to Hawaii? I understand that you probably can't shop around for one so far away as easy, I know for me living in Boston it 2 years to finally find one.

I good paint job will cost you 4K at the minimum, with salvage title the chances of other things gone bad are high too so you already at a 10K mark.

[Drevaen]

the rear seat seems really worn out for a 67K miles car.

[OnrailsM3]

I hope I am not violating some rule about posting (lol) so here goes.

You sir ARE in violation of the rules. Buying an M3? Look in the freaken' "Purchasing an M3 forum." If you're not even gonna do a search at least take a look at the site's many forums.

http://www.s14.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=40

As for your question, yes you are setting yourself up for major disaster to your bank account, sanity, family relationships and dedication to work.


Luckily, running a properly sorted E30 M3 up and down through the gears at full steam makes it all seem worthwhile.

I think you should consider picking up a car in California and shipping it to Hi. It's only $1200 and you'd have a HUGE selection (Relatively speaking) of E30M3s to choose from.

A basket case will cost you 10X more to sort out. Decent cars are 12, but you'll crest 15K in a flash once the addiction kicks in.

Good luck and start buying your wife flowers now........

[EluZivWerkZ]

Thanks all. As for the post perhaps it could have been posted in the purchasing an M3 but for the record each individual vehicle deserves individual attention not a one size fits all. j/k by the way. Besides I swear I looked the entire forum over and didn't even see that section. On a more serious note I planned on restoring the M3 as best I could one day at a time. But I see it is a long drawn out process that will need plenty of patience in finding one that is right for me. Thx again.

[Bullitt]

Where are you guys finding all these M3s? I'm looking on Autotrader and can only find 27 for sale nationwide.

[///M3 Terr]

Where are you guys finding all these M3s? I'm looking on Autotrader and can only find 27 for sale nationwide.

27 seems like a lot of cars for sale at one time. Consider yourself lucky that you have so many to choose from. Understand that there were only 5000 that made it to the US so considering that it's been almost 20 years since the last one rolled off the lot, you shouldn't expect there to be very many for sale at any one time. When it comes to purchasing these cars, patience really is a virtue.
Good luck with the search.