Are E30's overhyped or actually good cars?

Are E30's overhyped or actually good cars?

good cars for the era

Both.
Overhyped for today's standards, very good project cars for track-based builds (autoX, track warriors, drifting, controlled Motorsport in general)

The best description for e30's is that they are more then the sum of their parts.
I'm sure that some cars do some things better but as an all round fun car that can tackle almost anything, these are hard to beat.

They also feel incredible to drive. I sold a miata and an e36 to buy mine. honestly drives better then both of those cars

It really depends on you as an individual. The E30 is the car that made me get into cars, it was my first project, and it has a ton of things that draws me to it. It's not a car that will get you laid for how the car looks, it will get you laid when a woman sees how passionate you are for it (as gay as that sounds). It's a solid drivers car, and you will not get much street cred for owning and taking care of one, you will on the other hand get cred with older, more mature care enthusiasts.

Its a good car, get one.

Its the AE86 of europe.

It's been elevated to meme tier over the last 10-12 years/

...

True, but there's something that cars after those lost
Lightweight, RWD, direct steering, they feel more raw and give you the feeling that u are driving something simple and very predictable, like a kart
They are not good cars or fast, they are just fun cars

Hah

>after a good hooning day, hop out of the window of the car right on the couch

at some point, I need this in my life

It's a simple rear wheel drive tin can. It has a compromised suspension that makes it feel lively. It has some wonderful engine options.

It is a fun car, but if you get in an accident you will die.

this.

fun but not safe.

feelssadman

Get something newer, and safer.

both

E30is 2.5 V6 with limited diff and is heaven on wheels.

pretty funny, i sold my e30 and replaced it with a miata because it was simply more fun

non-m e30 handling is way overrated, has shit weight ratio due to the front being too heavy
pretty fucking unstable and understeers horribly when pushed to the limit on a track
it's good for drifting but not much anything else
no wonder they dropped straight 6 for 4 cylinders in the m version

>understeers
*oversteers fuck

>E30is 2.5 V6
GTFO!!!.. throw acid in your face and jump in front of a train

BMW 2002 is the AE86 before the AE86 even existed

>Overhyped for today's standards
What kind of mental midget judges a 30 year old car by today's standards? You are the lowest form of automotive retard.

>It has some wonderful engine options.

It has 4 mediocre engine options
>m10
>m40
>m42
>m20

1 decent
>m30

and 2 good.
>S14 and M20

>front being too heavy
>oversteers horribly
You're talking but you don't know what the words you're saying mean. 53/47 is perfectly reasonable and not in any way nose heavy. If you're going to talk about the E30's flaws, at least pull your head out of your ass and mention things that are... real.

Such as
>semi trailing arm suspension changes toe and camber through travel range and reduces rear traction under weight shift conditions resulting in moderate yet controllable oversteer
>steering rack belongs in a truck

>no wonder they dropped straight 6 for 4 cylinders in the m version
It will sadden you to learn that the M3 had nearly the exact same weight distribution as the 325i I quoted the distribution number from above. It will confuse you to learn that the M3 is just as heavy. Protip; the S14 is not a light engine.

>It has 4 mediocre engine options
>>m10
>>m40
>>m42
>>m20
fuck. meant to type m21 as the last one

While they're no longer speed gods or anything like that I wouldn't say they're currently overhyped.

I'd say they're accurately hyped. A few years ago they were comically cheap, and at that time no better car could be bought.

Now that they've doubled in price I'd say they're accurately valued.

I had an E30 14 years ago, and even though every car I had since is "better" I liked the E30 the best.

They are good cars but if you're simply talking about performance, it's more cost effective to buy something newer.

The only reason why you would buy something from the 1980s is to replicate the driving experience from that era.

>I wouldn't say they're currently overhyped.
>A few years ago they were comically cheap, and at that time no better car could be bought.

This. Even now, you'd be hard pressed to find a better all-around enthusiast-friendly car in the price range. The cheapest you can find a decent 6 cylinder 5 speed E30 for is around $5k now, there really isn't much that is as well balanced between practicality and fun factor in that price range. Back when nice ones were $2,000, there was literally nothing comparable in the price range. You might have been able to find something more practical or faster or better handling, but nothing with a good combo of the 3.

Are we talking about E30 325is' or an E30 M3

because there's a huge difference.

Why not both?

My opinion on the difference between the two is this;

The E30 M3 is more collectible and faster bone stock, but is NOT worth it from a performance point of view. It is meme-status like an old 911; you can find much better performance and handling for the money.

The E30 325is is dollar-for-dollar as good as an E30 M3. You can easily and cheaply make one out-handle an E30 M3; put some springs and adjustable dampers on it, enlarge swaybar, Z3 steering rack swap, and it blows the M3 away. Making it faster is a little tougher, but a 200hp turbo M20 will be just as reliable if as S14, even on the track. 200hp is nowhere near strenuous to the burly M20.

Have been looking for an E30 for a while now. What amount of mileage should I be looking for on these?