Forget That Wallet-Busting Porsche, And Buy This Classic 3 Series Instead For Just $10K

By Nigel Evans

When you’re dreaming about the perfect drive along your favorite canyon road, you may revel in your level of connection with the wheels beneath. In that dream, you may be driving the perfect car for this scenario, which has the kind of feedback, poise, and confidence that makes you feel as if you’re wearing the car and not merely riding in it.

For many enthusiasts, the car that’s playing the starring role in that vision may well be an E30 BMW 325is coupe. It’s one of the very best cars that the German marque ever produced, with that smooth-as-silk inline-six underneath, and a level of engineering that delivered almost perfect balance and communication. And it’s crazy to think that you can pick up one of these cars today for around the $10,000 mark, and go hunting for those twisty canyons with an almost perfect weapon. If you do, you’ll be enjoying a car that feels more like a focused Porsche sports car than a vintage commuter that’s an undoubted star from a bygone era.

This Six-Cylinder E30 325is Can Deliver Porsche-Level Poise For Around $10,000

The E30 325is does occupy the same space as a Porsche when you break everything down to basics. Sure, it’s not going to record any crazy lap times for you, but out on the free and open road, you’ll find that it settles into a corner very nicely, talks to you through the steering wheel, and encourages you to use clean inputs as you go. This is a compact rear-wheel drive machine, and it comes from a time when BMW used to build cars that had a clear feedback loop between the chassis and the driver.

Forget about all those software layers and filters here, but look forward to a powertrain that is linear, smooth, and perfectly matched to a chassis that’s as compliant as they come. The E30 325is has also proven itself as a very reliable and durable machine over the years, and while it isn’t fast at all by modern definitions, its 2.5-liter inline-six only churning out around 170 hp, it’s still a very rewarding drive. You can use all that power very nicely to maintain a great rhythm on even the most imperfect roads.

Porsche is, of course, well known for building classic cars for the enthusiast driver with bodies that rotate predictably, steering systems that feel alive, and drivetrains that communicate well. The E30 325is plays in the same ballpark, as you never feel as if you are somehow disconnected from the machine, and the chassis doesn’t tend to do things behind your back. Instead, the 325 will always reward you if you drive it well, and this is probably why the car has built up such a stellar reputation over the years.

A well-sorted 325is will also make you want to commit, because you’re not scared of the consequences. It’s not going to surprise you by suddenly breaking away or transferring its weight unpredictably. You’ll be able to build up a great sense of flow in the same way as you can in a classic sports coupe, pitting this compact BMW in the same conversation as a Porsche, even though it wears a very different badge. Sure, there are differences between these two cars, but let’s not forget the similarities; rear-wheel drive, six cylinders, and a driver-focused approach that many other brands ignore, so it’s not wild to suggest an old-school E30 as a wallet-friendly alternative to the Stuttgart favorite.

And now imagine getting that level of automotive fun for bargain-basement prices, as several classified results suggest that the 325is is now dipping below the $10,000 bar in real transactions. Certainly, you’re not going to find every single example below ten, but you can also find higher mileage and really marginal examples for a lot less again.

The 325is In The E30 World And Why Enthusiasts Still Chase It

The 325is sits somewhere in the sweet spot of the E30 story, as the enthusiast-friendly coupe variant that people tend to gravitate towards whenever the E30 comes up in a conversation. It is essentially the performance-focused E30 variant which first came out in 1987 and much of its appeal lies in its cohesive formula. Naturally, the six-cylinder engine is central to the story as it shapes the entire character of the car. And without any turbo complexity, an older inline-six like this feels very appealing today due to its smooth and progressive nature. You can use the entire rev range to balance the chassis with the throttle and treat your driving as a craft rather than a transaction.

The compact two-door shell looks purposeful as it’s standing still, and it reminds you of a specific era of BMW design and engineering that people tend to fantasize about. And BMW sold these models through 1991 to a growing stream of enthusiasts, who loved this car for its levels of communication, attainable thrills, and driver rewards.

The $10K Reality

It’s all very well looking at used car prices on valuation sites to see what the market might do, but you get a real picture when you scroll through listings to see what real people paid on a real day. That’s why we’ve built a handy Price Trends tool within our CarBuzz Marketplace, to show you exactly how a particular model is performing. Looking through recently sold examples, we found that $7,000 sits as a reasonable starting point, for a higher-mileage but still usable example that’s ready to go. Continual improvement and maintenance will be part of the ownership experience with an example at this level, but this gives you an indication of your entry threshold, and you’ll invariably find quite a few at this price point, or just north of it, but still around the $10K mark.

But again, the very best examples are probably not going to be cheap either. If a car presents itself as a coherent, complete, and believable 325is, and not something on the tired side, then those rates are going to rise in the twenties. And it’s also important to have a closer look at any candidate car, as the cheapest ones tend to be cheap for a reason. They may have deferred maintenance, compromised presentation, or very high mileage, and sometimes the previous buyer has carried out modifications that may no longer appeal. Just remember that handling, more than horsepower, is very condition sensitive, and a very worn-out car is not going to give you that Porsche-like comparison with hours of endless fun, no matter if it does have an iconic badge on the back.

Sources: Cars and Bids, Bring a Trailer, BMW Group Classic.

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This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.