F31 Touring owner...

Early 135i with the N54 - lots of challenges, lots of maintenance, stay away unless the car is documented extremely well.

Late 135i with the N55 - pretty bulletproof in comparison, but still plenty of "death by 1000 papercuts" maintenance issues that you're used to with modern BMWs.

The early F3x 3 series cars like mine are getting way more affordable now. My wagon has been no-brainer reliable. The 2.0l turbo gets 30+mpg on the highway and has enough power to get out of it's own way. It does NOT sound like a BMW, nor does it sound as good as the competition's 2.0l turbos.

Driving dymanics are a firm "meh." Steering is OK, but not good compared to BMWs of the past. Ride/handling balance is not good for my car. The back is oversprung/overdamped so it skitters around a bit on rough pavement.

Interior quality - pretty good. My car is a '14 and nothing has broken or worn excessively.

Interesting that Racer finds ti snug and Jerome can fit in it - Jerome is like 7' tall!

I had no idea you were so tall. How do you fit in a 914? I absolutely don't fit in a 914 and I'm only 1" taller.

I found it snug width wise (I am kinda "husky"). I had plenty of leg/headroom.
Jerome bought a convertible.. he has loads of headroom ;)

914's with the seat mounted to the floor like in a racecar, can fit a pretty tall body. I had one with seats mounted super low an dI had about 4 inches of headroom with my helmet on (I'm 6'0) I was surprised you fit in a Miata.. cause I don't height wise on a stock early car (NA?)

Anyway..

How's the 1 series search going?

I am learning that 128 with manual and M-trim are sought after and hard to find since BMW enthusiasts are hanging on to them. So, they are priced accordingly. 135 are not as well considered. Both have their issues.
I am also reading about E9x variety, especially the 3L normally aspirated engine cars which also came with manual and are well liked with price reflecting desirability.

Dr. K: In my 914, I found that the way to go was to mount my seat directly to the floor of the cabin. I've done the same thing with my "new" factory seat that I've installed in the conversion process. If anyone else wants to drive, they have to bring their own pillow. . .
I will tell you that being mounted to the floor makes for tremendous sensory input when you're driving with the red mist threatening to close in.

What about a 2-series? Should be able to get around the $20,000 number and there seem to be plenty available.

I got you. The Miata seat is mounted 2 washers-thickness off the floor (room for the sub-belts to slide a little). Since I got the car, the rules for my class have been changed allowing for the floor to be lowered another inch or so. I'm still thinking of doing that, and will definitely do it if I ever need to change my (now modified) seat.

I ran in the Mazda Cup series at Laguna and points north a few years ago and was taken by just how competitive that series is. I'm sad to say that my series run ended at Laguna when I, in the throes of the red mist, turned in way too early at turn 3, of course off at track out and then did a lazy spin down the straight towards turn 4 and ended in the tire wall track right. A sad day, indeed. After 20+ years, I'd never had an incident like that and basically sold the car for scrap. Engine and trans were good so I got some cash for them, but that's the last of the competition. SCCA license lapsed that year and obviously not renewed. The meeting with the team CEO DID NOT go well. . .

SSM is a regional series, run on RA-1s and cars all dyno'd on the same dyno and limited to 107 HP. So cars are about $8-10K in very good condition. This goes over very well with the team CEO (especially not buying a new set of HoHo's every race weekend!). The class was designed to run with a junk yard engine, although to run up front you'll have a +.010 to improve torque, data with analysis, adjust ride height for track (no idea how to determine that but then I don't run up front), and of course, skill.

Any update on the search? One of our kids laid claim to the Volvo. We ended up adding a E60 535i, 6 speed manual as the new beater/commuter. I’ll post a picture in a few weeks after it arrives.