After the huge spike in demand and prices for BMW’s E30 M3 over the past few years, it was only to be expected that the regular E30 3-Series models would follow suit.
That’s right; you lost the boat for effortlessly getting a dirt-cheap E30-anything in a superb condition with low mileage.
For sure, there must be some hidden gems out there in garages of owners who are oblivious to their popularity, but good luck finding one these days – and no, we’re not referring to 300k mile cars with more crashes under their belts than cracks on their dashboards.
So while $2k pristine regular E30s are almost out of the question, $10,770 can get you into one of the lowest mileage 3-Series sedans we’ve ever seen offered in the States; a European-import 1989 BMW 320i sedan with the 2.0-liter straight-six rated for 129PS or 127hp (never offered in the USA) with 47,201 km that equals 29,335 miles over at United Imports in Florida.
But yes, as you may have guessed, there’s a catch; it has the undesirable four-speed automatic transmission.
As much as I dig straight-six engines, the Euro 320i is a compromise not only over the more powerful 170PS (168hp) 325i, but also the North American 318i (318is in Europe) with its perkier 140PS (138hp) 16v 1.8-liter M42 four-pot. With a five-speed manual, however, it would have been a different story, one you could easily live with – at least for those who cherish originality in their classic rides and dislike transmission swaps.
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