BMW E30 325is

What are your opinions on getting one as a first car? If I can figure out how to replace the timing belt and water pump from some youtube videos, is the rest of the car bretty reliable?

also basically a redpill me on this post

bump

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Timing belt is specified by the manufacturer to be changed every 50000.
Every other manufacturer almost doubles that.
Convertibles leak like you might as well be standing under a gutter in a rainstorm & dont rev the autotragic in park or you deplete the engine of oil or some stupid retarded inferior shit.

Pretty much this. But timing belt isn't the only oddity of this vehicle.

I would suggest either having a very good BMW specific mechanic or getting another vehicle and work your way up to an E30. Then (If) when you learn the ropes of car ownership, you may just end up getting memed out of wanting one of these. E30s are very specific vehicles with a niche purpose between comfort and performance that is something you should grow into.

I hear they at least don't have the electrical problems that plague the bit later BMW models. Just mechanical issues.

You heard wrong!
Never ask another BMW owner if their cars have shit electrical cause they won't tell you the truth. It's like a conspiracy or something.

Yes, ask people on a Siberian prison tattoo board who have never owned one, they will only tell you the truth

Yes anyone except an actual BMW owner cause they are always gonna tell you( pic related)

I drove an E30 for a few months and it was very unreliable. It was on jack stands almost every weekend.

It ended up lighting on fire in an intersection.

mean af, buddy

E30s are pretty easy to work on so make a good first project car. Their reliability is average for a 30 year old car (aka you'll be working on lots of little things pretty often). My 318i is a shitbox that was abused by the P.O but it's still chugging along nicely as a D.D (albeit leaking oil and power steering fluid). The 325i's chew through fuel, but they're the strongest engine out of the offerings. Don't expect to go fast without mods though.

This guy again

Lmao this guy got cucked by a douchebag BMW owner, so sad.

If you're trying to go fast, don't bother with the shitty stock engine
Swap in a proper I6 like a JZ engine

M20B25s are actually pretty beefy motors. They're slow as balls unmodified but with boost you can get around 350hp reliably on stock internals.

M50B25 with a big turbo would be cheaper.
And you can get about 500-600 hp out of them easily.

Fab up some mounts and a 1JZ VVTi can be had with trans for $2k and stock it would be cheaper and faster as well as more reliable than a M50

Thanks for the input guys, so I guess I should probably steer clear huh

Do you guys think that there is an old BMW that's suitable as a first car or should I go with a more normie car?

I thought S54's were the go to engine swap for E30's.

I mean for cars that actually get driven.

An M50B25 swap kit costs around $600 here

D'oh I goofed, meant S50/S52, but yeah I can see how the price of a regular M50 is attractive, but for the same work as doing the S50, might as well spend the extra cash...