Forum opinion on an E30 325i Sport?

Hades

Hades

Hades

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While working overnight I've been browsing Pistonheads and came across a really nice E30 325i. It's not something I've considered too much in the past. Clearly it won't have the performance of the E30 M3 (which are now selling for silly money). But what are peoples opinions on them?
 
They are scene taxed almost as much as an E30 M3. They are fairly likely to try and throw you into a hedge backwards.

Remember that they are really quite old now too.

There's loads of info on e30zone.net
 
How much is it going for? I had a 320i up until recently and they are cracking cars, really fun and engaging to drive and they sound awesome:D I don't think they're nearly as tail happy as people think...

Rot. Check the drive and passenger footwell, scuttle panel (I think that's what it's called) the sills and the bulkhead between the engine bay and the occupants. And everywhere else, these things can rust a lot, that's why mine is no longer with me :(
 
It's this one (£5800):

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2863498.htm

That seems quite expensive but it has had a lot of work both cosmetically and mechanically. E30 M3's are selling for silly prices now (£15k up to £30k!) so I'm wondering if the value of the 325i Sports might be pulled up as a result.

Quite aside from that it looks like a nice retro 80's car... and it's less than 10 miles away :)
 
No idea on the drive or anything else but for me the styling of the E30 is iconic BMW. Probably due to my age I guess :o
 
you can get a decent E46 330i for that. There's nothing special enough about an E30 325i to make it worth that much money.
 
Thanks so far. Will probably avoid it. I just always loved the styling and the E30 is an iconic 80's car (I'm going through some 80's and 90's love right now :)).
 
Personally I'd avoid, especially for that price :eek:

The styling as mentioned is awesome, I quite like them as a place to be when driving, and the performance/grip is certainly there (they really won't try to throw you into a hedge backwards :p), but the main problem, other than scene tax it appears, is the completely lifeless steering, apparantly can be fixed by a Z3/E36M3 steering rack and/or running without PAS at all, but that's a hassle and as stock it's fairly bad...
 
Maccy said:
Can someone explain the term 'scene taxed'? :confused:
Click to expand...

Inflated prices because they are considered desirable by people in 'the scene'.

A bit like Golf GTIs etc. The cars aren't worth anywhere near the price they sell for and for the same money you could pick up something much better/newer but because they have a bit of a cult status they go for more than their worth.

This defect is the 'scene tax'.
 
basically there's demand for this car (being iconic and all that) and obviously short supply as most of them are rotten by this time.

This leads to a stupid inflation in price and they get sold for much more than they are worth.

Imo it's a stupid price to pay. For that money you can easily get a tidy e36 M3 which is much more iconic in any way.
 
While it dies appear to have a scene tax is that not a good thing long term? Won't it go up in price if its desirable and in short supply? E.g. E30 M3
 
I'm not so sure 'scene tax' is the right term. These are becoming classics now. Would you consider an Aston Martin DB5 for £100k+ to be 'scene-taxed'?

What something is worth is dependent on how much someone is willing to pay. Therefore these do not go for more than they are worth. Perhaps they go for more than some people might think they are worth to them, but that's not really how markets work is it?
 
A DB5 was also a special, exotic and rare car.

A 325i Sport is a 325i SE with a bodykit and some nice seats (Oh, and an LSD).

A 325i SE is worth a grand.

The fact you could buy multiple 325i SE for price of one Sport is what makes it scene tax. They are the same car.
 
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