James A said:
If your M3 is worth $25,000 now it must be pristine! The value of M3s is really going up right now so there is some logic to wait. But, I still think the E30 M3 is one of the best, if not the best, looking coupes ever made, this car will always look great. Sell it now and 10 years from now you will really, really regret it! Keep it, maintain it, you'll never regret it, and if you do it will always be worth as much or more.
Oh hell don't listen to me I think the E30 M3 is a keeper, I am the original owner of mine and it has permanent status in my garage.
On the one hand, how many cars are classics at such a young age. Anyone that has watched any of the Barrett-Jackson on Speed knows that the cars may very well increase in value. Especially unmolested, low-mileage, unrestored examples.
On the other hand, you're right about not being able to use it much if I intend to keep it valuable. If I put 50k more miles on it, it'll be at 100k miles, it'll look worse (probably) and it'll be worth what all the other E30 M3s are worth.
I was prepared to sell it if I got a top dollar offer such as $25k. My thinking was that for a weekend only fun car, a brand new Lotus Elise -- with great performance, wild looks, and a soft top would be a better fit than a 4 seat closed saloon (even if it's no ordinary car).
I've been to the car shows in my M3. I've won awards in it. What else is there to do? I could track the car but there are less beautiful examples around set up for that. It would be criminal to track a concours E30 M3, I think.
It's a very tough call & maybe I won't have to make a decision at all. Maybe the prospective buyer will offer me $15k and I can tell him to take a hike.
Sorry for the lack of directly related Elise info. here....but if not for the Elise, this wouldn't be an issue. So it is related.
Also, I'll trim my signature tomorrow, but your sig got me thinking about all the car flipping I've done over the years. Amazingly, I've rarely ever lost money. Buying an Elise would change all of that.