1993 BMW 318i Touring with 165k miles – is the price worth it?

Prices for E30-generation 3 Series have already gone through the roof, and every enthusiast who adores old BMWs knows it. Well, these prices are justified when it comes to the E30 M3 for its heritage and history. But, has anyone ever considered its run of the mill and entry-level models with huge mileage on the clock? Are they worth it?

There are only two chances when you look at the late 80s and early 90s cars on the market today – you’ll not find one for sale (sold or scrapped), or when you do, the price will be in the range of a few hundred dollars. However, it’s different from E30 3 Series models, though. Recently, there’s one on Bring-A-Trailer with a $12,750 price tag at the time of writing.

This model is a 1993 318i – nothing special under the hood. It’s bone stock and barely has 165,000 miles on the clock (266,000 kilometers). Relatively that’s a pretty huge number so the low-mileage argument flies out the window as well. It also wears a Schwartz Mica Metalic and an import into the U.S. from Germany last October.

Enter inside; the textile interior looks incredibly good for a car bearing this kind of mileage. Yet, that still doesn’t justify the price tag. Needless to say, paying that much for a nearly 30-year old car with a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine and 165,000 miles on the clock seems pretty odd. And all because it’s an E30 model. Have the market for these cars gone out of hand already, or is this the new world we live in today? Paying over $10,000 to have an E30 in your driveway. Is it really worth it?