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The 318i Convertible may not be the quintessential E30 choice for the power hungry out there. In Brilliantrot and equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox such as we see here with this 1991 example for sale in Florida, I can suddenly see myself enjoying miles of carefree motoring along a coastline somewhere. By 1991, the E30 Convertible would be on its last legs, but not before it had made itself an icon of the upwardly mobile of the 1980s. Looking over the pictures of this car with a mere 55,000 miles on the clock, it reminds me of what made me fall for the E30 3 series in the first place, many years ago.
I was driving to San Francisco on the picturesque I-280 last week in my E28, and came upon a nice E30 325i touring. I’m sure it was easily overlooked by the rest of the drivers on the road, but I approached it excitedly, wondering what enthusiast was driving this rare (to us) longroof. The middle-aged woman driving was unassuming, but she got major points in my book for car choice whether she knew it or not. The E30 Touring is becoming much more common as the 25-year block is lifted, and we’re all better for it. They’re attractive and utilitarian cars that lift the mean coolness of roads everywhere. Today’s is a simple 318i and mileage isn’t listed, but the AC Schnitzer wheels are a nice touch and overall it appears very clean. The lister has a host of E30 wagons in pictures, meaning you’re buying them from someone who realizes how cool having one of these in the US is. The flipside is that he also knows how much people have paid for them recently, and is charging over twice what a non-Touring 318i would cost.
After failing to sell back in June when I originally wrote it up, the semi-mystery “Dinan-built” 318i racer is back up for sale. There is no more information offered this time around and the car is once again a reserve auction; I’d guess that the seller hasn’t changed their $28,000 expectation and this car will continue to be a hard sell – but it’s pretty cool to check out! What would you pay?
The below post originally appeared on our site June 30, 2014:
Obviously we write up a lot of cars at this site, and we see our fair share of cars from dealers with a real gap in information provided that we’d like to see. Often times, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to which cars get no description or why; they can be a 300SL Gullwing for multiple millions of dollars right to a first generation GTi. Despite the range of value, one thing unites these cars; there are enthusiasts who love to see them, and buyers who would really like to know more about the car. Today’s car is no exception; a 1993 BMW 318i, this would generally be a forgotten charm right now. The E36, while a great car in its own right, isn’t in favor the way the E30 is and consequently larger engined variants are plentiful, and more importantly cheap. So what is interesting about this economy car turned racer? Well, it’s a claimed Dinan built car, and for a time in the 1990s BMW handed Dinan the keys to build some pretty wild semi-factory backed racers – so they’re well versed. But the mystery isn’t solved there:
Obviously we write up a lot of cars at this site, and we see our fair share of cars from dealers with a real gap in information provided that we’d like to see. Often times, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to which cars get no description or why; they can be a 300SL Gullwing for multiple millions of dollars right to a first generation GTi. Despite the range of value, one thing unites these cars; there are enthusiasts who love to see them, and buyers who would really like to know more about the car. Today’s car is no exception; a 1993 BMW 318i, this would generally be a forgotten charm right now. The E36, while a great car in its own right, isn’t in favor the way the E30 is and consequently larger engined variants are plentiful, and more importantly cheap. So what is interesting about this economy car turned racer? Well, it’s a claimed Dinan built car, and for a time in the 1990s BMW handed Dinan the keys to build some pretty wild semi-factory backed racers – so they’re well versed. But the mystery isn’t solved there:
Being an East Coaster, I look upon car enthusiasts in California with envy. Washington, DC isn’t really a car guy kind of town. There’s a lot of fancy new machinery tooling around the block here, but anyone can go out and buy a new car provided they have the resources. The classics, however, seem scarce. As such, it makes me lust after a modern classic like this BMW 318i Cabriolet even more, just to stand out from the herd. There seems to be a never ending supply of clean, rust-free classics on the left coast and this open-roofed Bimmer fits the description.
