Bad Inflation: The Sad Truth About Legendary BMWs and Modern Collectors
Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past few years, you’ve likely seen the steady inflation of classic BMW prices. Particularly, the 2002, E30 M3, E36 M3, E46 M3, and more recently the E39 M5 have all seen dramatic increases in their value. Of course, this rise in value makes sense. Much like the muscle car bubble at the beginning of the new millennium, the enthusiasts who grew up idolizing these cars with bedroom posters, models, and memorabilia are now old enough and established enough to buy them. As demand dictates pricing, the values of these cars suddenly increase. Today, we’re going to explore how and why that happens, the effects of inflated value, and whether these cars actually deserve the premium prices enthusiasts are now somehow willing to pay. | | | | | When the E30 M3 values fell to their lowest in the early 2000s, they were the perfect bargain race car. With the high-strung S14 under the hood, iconic box flares, and the legendary balance the chassis provided, the E30 M3 offered everything a budding competitive driver could want. So why were they so cheap? | | | | | Looking back at the initial release of the E30 M3 for the North American market, it could be called a flop. Despite the praise it received as one of the greatest cars of all time, American buyers couldn’t grasp why a smaller-displacement engine option and some visual differences made the E30 M3 more expensive than the 325i that sported two more cylinders. Even as the E30 M3 demonstrated its motorsport prowess on the global stage, it never gained the cult following early on that it should have here in the states. | | | | | Naturally, when the E36 M3 came along with its big straight-six, modern styling, more luxurious interior, and advanced technology, buyers flocked to that platform even though we only received the neutered S50B30US and S52B30US. Even second-hand buyers gravitated more towards that platform, leaving the E30 M3 to continue its massive depreciation. | | | | | Now, though, the E30 M3 has taken on this god-like status among dedicated buyers who are willing to pay an average price close to or above a fully-optioned F8X M3/M4. A glance at Bring A Trailer average auction sale prices will show the E30 M3 has hovered around the $50k mark since 2016, growing steadily since. Recently, a low-mileage example broke a quarter of a million dollars, making it the most expensive E30 M3 sold that I could find. The question is: if no one wanted these cars when they were new, and they aren’t competitive when compared to other M3s, why are they suddenly demanding more than a decent house would cost? | | | | | This is purely speculation, of course, but the only causes I can determine involve conspicuous consumption and status. The E30 M3, along with other legends from that era, have become symbols of wealth in the most hipster way possible; they make the statement that you have more money and better taste than anyone else. This means these cars aren’t being used in the way they were intended to be. They’re now closer to a work of art or collectible that allow owners to show off something they paid for rather than something intrinsically deserving of appreciation. | | | | | The unfortunate reality is, due to the market value of these cars, they are now unaffordable to use the way they were intended. If you invest in an E30 M3, driving it will only devalue it. So owners rarely choose to explore the limits of these beautiful DTM legends, experience the singing sound of an S14 near redline through a canyon road or on a track clipping apexes. They seal these cars away like so many iconic others that have become impossible to enjoy because of their status as a collectible. | | | | | For enthusiasts, at least for me, this is a travesty. I completely understand that something is worth what the market will pay, but at a certain point, it isn’t about the value of the commodity in question. It becomes an opportunity to brag about how much you paid for it. Suddenly, the focus is on the money, not the car. Owning an M3 doesn’t bring statements about how it feels to drive a momentum car anymore. Nor does it have the chance to show why a purely analog race car is such a memorable and engaging experience. It declares the bragging rights that say ‘I own something that shows off how much money I have.’ It’s like buying a Rolex and then never wearing it. | | | | | Not only that but eventually, the price far exceeds the actual intrinsic value of the car. Is the E30 M3 really that good? I think it’s a beautiful car, perhaps one of the prettiest ever designed. I think it has one of the best feeling chassis, purest driving experiences, and has one of the most pleasing engine tones ever to grace my ears. It's rewarding, responsive, tactile, beautiful inside and out, and carries a heritage that few if any, other cars can claim. No question, the E30 M3 is an incredible car and certainly deserves premium prices, but we’re well outside of what I can call a reasonable premium. We’re in crack price territory. The problem is people who can afford these cars are willing to pay those astronomical prices. | | | | | The money overshadowing the car is perhaps the saddest part of the E30 M3’s legacy. It was once the pinnacle of touring car performance, then it was a club racer's dream car, and now it’s destined to be a hermetically sealed garage queen never to see the road or track again. Partly because the car is worth so much but mostly because the people who buy them aren’t buying them to drive, they’re buying them to say they own one. They’ve become a fashion statement, which is something the E30 M3 was never meant to be. | | | | | I can understand a Ferrari 250 GTO or a Porsche 356 living their golden years as collector showpieces because they were always meant to be symbolic of wealth, status, and taste. The E30 M3 wasn’t exactly a blue-collar hero car like the Corvette, but it also wasn’t an indicator of opulence until the past five years. It was a functional homologation special - it gave drivers the feeling of a race car for the road by effectively being identical to the DTM car on which it was based. It's a dedicated tool with a soul behind it. There is no way to fully appreciate the M3 without driving it and experiencing its qualities at the ragged edge. Owning one for show is effectively abandoning most of the reasons to own an E30 M3. In this sense, owners are willing to pay way more than the value of the car to only appreciate a fraction of the actual value it holds in terms of being A CAR. | | | | | This perfectly transitions to my final point: owning something that was meant to perform a function, and do it well, and then not using it for that purpose is an objective waste. The E30 M3 became so popular and developed its cult following is because of its characteristics as a car. Sadly, that popularity and recognition as a great example of what some of the world’s best motorsport engineers could develop evolved into a pissing match for wealthy individuals to claim they own one and paid more for it than anyone else. If the reason to own an E30 M3 is to experience driving purity, and you don’t drive it, you might as well have thrown whatever you paid for it straight into a fire. | | | | | So, I’ll conclude with a plea, a call to action, if you will. Can we stop assigning insane values to cars that deserve to be driven and enjoyed? Sure, prices will go up as the market demands more than supply exists, but eventually, it becomes a game to see how much you can bring at auction. This problem is the result of sellers using auctions like the muscle car bubble did, fetching insane sale prices, and catering to collectors who aren’t interested in the car. They’re interested in the ability to say they paid more than it’s worth, thus driving the prices up across the board. | | | | | Please, instead of seeking out the person who will pay for a fashion statement, let's keep these excellent cars in the hands of enthusiasts who will care for them, love them, and most importantly, drive them. You may sacrifice potential profits, but the value of these cars is the emotion they evoke in drivers and young enthusiasts who have the opportunity to see them on the road. The relationship between a dedicated owner and the car they care for, pour their soul into, is infinitely more valuable than money or status. As the E39 M5 begins to suffer the same fate as the E30 M3, I implore you to consider your buyer and their plans with the car rather than how much you can make selling to someone who only wants to stuff it in a garage where it will never again provide the joy it was originally designed to deliver. | | | | |
