new to M

hi all, i'm new to BMW's and will be looking for an E30 M3 white or black.
currently drive Golf TDiPD as a daily and VX220 2.2 as a weekend car.
love the VX to bits and strugle to find a better 'drivers' car for the money
but i have been swooned by the Awe of the E30 M3 and need one!!!


hope some of you guys can help on a few thing:

1. whats the chances of getting a minter with low (ish) miles for around
8>10k?
2. has anyone come from a VX/elise background and found the drive as
good / worse as far as communication/involvment goes?
3. where do i start?

any advise really welcome.

thanks

Rich

Edited by RS04

Hi and welcome

You should find a really nice example for 8-10k but it will take a bit of searching and travelling as there are a lot of bad uns out there .

I ended up getting mine via autotrader online (  think there are a few on there at the minute ?) , but I also travelled up hill and down dale to view some so called Minters

This forum is a good place to monitor , as a lot of the guys know of ones coming up for sale and their history.

Hope this helps a little

Good luck

Andy

RS04 wrote: hi all, i'm new to BMW's and will be looking for an E30 M3 white or black. currently drive Golf TDiPD as a daily and VX220 2.2 as a weekend car. love the VX to bits and strugle to find a better 'drivers' car for the money but i have been swooned by the Awe of the E30 M3 and need one!!! hope some of you guys can help on a few thing: 1. whats the chances of getting a minter with low (ish) miles for around 8>10k? 2. has anyone come from a VX/elise background and found the drive as good / worse as far as communication/involvment goes? 3. where do i start? any advise really welcome. thanks Rich

1) About fair to be honest. Theres a lot of over priced cars out there. I took around a year to find a car I was happy buying.

2) Id try and get a test drive somewhere. Munichs normally have a selection of cars. I wouldnt buy a car from them (overpriced) or take too much of what they say seriously (you dont need to spend £10-12K to get a nice car, and ignore whatever they say about Timing Chains) But I would have no guilt in wasting their time and getting a test drive Though I'll admit Im surprised you are considering switching from a Elsie/VX to an E30.

3) My car was actually on eBay, though it didnt sell, so I contacted the owner direct. I was searching every BMW website I could find, eBay and Autotrader on a virtually daily basis. I cant think of a decent online buying guide at the moment. But Im sure if you have any questions somebody on here will help. As with any car check it over thoroughly, the usual fluid leaks, rust, crash damage etc etc

Hi i am looking at buying an M3 at present  and have travelled alot recently looking at "mint" cars and end up coming away very disappointed. Keep looking and the right one will come along. That is what i keep telling myself!!

RS04 wrote: hi all, i'm new to BMW's and will be looking for an E30 M3 white or black. currently drive Golf TDiPD as a daily and VX220 2.2 as a weekend car. love the VX to bits and strugle to find a better 'drivers' car for the money but i have been swooned by the Awe of the E30 M3 and need one!!! hope some of you guys can help on a few thing: 1. whats the chances of getting a minter with low (ish) miles for around 8>10k? 2. has anyone come from a VX/elise background and found the drive as good / worse as far as communication/involvment goes? 3. where do i start? any advise really welcome. thanks Rich

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/46961.htm

Seems to be a very nice looking late spec.....and in Sterling!!!!

Maybe worth a look (not connected to me)

Edited by falkster

AndyS - nice to hear a positive story abour ML; sounds like you did indeed get excellent sevice from them.

To be honest, if I was looking for another E30 M3 at the moment, I'd be tempted with the 1-stop-shop at ML.

...that sterling silver one on Pistonheads looks very nice though!

Andy - your car certainly is smart, that's for sure.

Good luck with your searching Rich. 

For what it's worth, I'm not new to classics or BMW, but got rid of an E46 diesel company car in 2003 and moved into a Sport Evo instead.   Though part of the decision was that my mileage was dropping from 40 plus thousand a year to low 20's, I got hacked off with company car taxation.

Observations would be that an "older" car does take faith every now and again as an every day motor.  Gripes I've had would be:

Short service intervals compared to modern cars. Rust. Failing silly little electronic components that cost too much to replace. Finding less than clever bodges that have been doen to it over the years. Arm wrestling with my insurance company when they tried to write it off after a non-fault crunch.

To set against this, I have had the pleasure of:

Countless times I've heard "Nice car mate" when I fill up with petrol. Cheapish insurance for the performance of car it is.  Cheapish tyres compared to silly 17/18 inch wheels that any modern performance car needs just to look decent. Being part of a genuinely helpful and empathetic group like this one.  Having a car which isn't worth half its value after 2 years. A fabulous drive, wherever, whenever, hands down.

In short, you need to be ready for what you're doing, but I have no regrets whatsoever.  Only problem is how many miles it's decent to put on a piece of automotive history!

Damn! You've all got me wanting an E30 M3 now!

RS04,

I had a go in a friends recently bought S2 Elise and compared to an E30 M3 it is a go-kart. The M3 is nowhere near as fidgity or pointy but it is a sensible proposition as a real everyday car whereas in all fairness I would say an Elise/VX may be a bit tiring on a long drive.

As a weekend toy the Elise/VX makes perfect sense, probably over an M3 (that should please some people) but as a driving car that is huge fun, fantastically flattering and very communicative without overloading your senses the M3 is an absolute joy.
Mines coming up for sale but after a good drive down to Goodwood yesterday in it with my friend in his Elise I'm starting to question the logic in selling it!

Go and have a drive in one or see if there is anybody on the forum that's near to you who'll take you out.

Hope this helps.

Phil

thanks for the replies guys
as said the VX for me is more of a weekend/summer car and suprisingly
fine on long journeys (my interpritation of fine maybe stretched due to
my love of the car :) )

if i love it, why am i thinking of changing?? simple really i've had it a year
now and i'm one of those people who like to change. the VX is really not
much more than a go kart for the road, amazingly communication with
driver and wheels, i wouldnt say i'm an great driver but in the year i've
owned it i am way better than i was, in the wet it becomes a tad lairy once
going sideways at what seems like ANY corner :)

TBO its such a great car i question sometimes why i am thinking of
moving on. maybe its the uncomprimising nature of it who knows. i do
know once the sun is out again and the roof comes off, helmet on and i'm
clipping the Apex it all seems fine again, untill i find myself looking at the
E30 M3 something about it just makes me drool, its got the
heritage/prestige/respect as a drivers car that i am after but seems
without any of the "oh! whats this thats come off in my hand??!! ah well
the engines still running, it'll be fine" kinda VX situation i find myself in
too many times :) of late.

i dont think it helps when i see the likes of c76Jon's sig car (looks
amazing mate) and Phil C's they look superb.

fao: Falkster... i'm in Norton. Stockton on tees



Edited by RS04