Why The e30 Is The Perfect First Car

I know Fastlane Blocker already did an article on why it shouldn’t, but I feel its only fair to have an article explaining why an e30 is the obvious choice.

It is worth mentioning that I’m from the US and my facts, findings, and experiences are based from US car culture and the cars that BMW brought to the US.

You just got your license and now you need to get your first car. Well the obvious choice is the Ultimate Driving Machine, but which one? In the early 1980’s BMW came out with the 2nd generation of the BMW 3 series and with it a newly developed 6 cylinder called the M20. The put a 167 hp engine, in a 2,700 lbs car, with an ancient rear suspension design that had been around since before the legendary 2002. So why should it be your first car? Well because as hard as it is to believe that little recipe works and it makes a great car. BMW might be referred to as the Ultimate Driving Machine, but the e30 is God’s Chariot. Its light weight fun and nimble, and that 167 hp isn’t enough to get you in trouble ad long if you are smart and understand you’re not Ken Block.

So that all sounds fun, but why should it be my first car and not my second or third? Well in today’s society it seems knowledge, wisdom, and skill seem to happen with age and not with experience. Before I bought my e30 I didn’t even know how to do an oil change without my dad’s supervision. Now I’m prepping for my first engine rebuild, can do timing belts in my sleep, and have learned many useful skills along the way. This isn’t because I got older, this is because I taught myself. The same can be said about my driving skill, I wasn’t born with it. It took some trial and error on an old run down military base by my hometown. I was smart about it, I didn’t go drifting on some mountain roads, I started in a parking lot and feeling the car out.

Well I don’t have a lot of money, why should I buy an old car instead of a newer one? Many broke high school and college kids have bought e30’s and have built fun and amazing cars, I’m sure you’ll have no problem budgeting out your car expenses. It’s going to come down to how well you manage your money. I could have taken my car to the shop and spent a pretty penny on getting simple things fixed, but instead I grabbed my tool box and did it myself. I’ve learned things I never thought I’d be doing because of these cars. Now I’m not going to cover the cost of insurance, gas, or taxes because well #Murica!!! Gas is cheap, insurance is low, and ever since 1773 we haven’t been a big fan of taxes.

I urge anyone who is looking to buy an e30 to just do it. Life is too short to drive boring cars.