§ V.01What a 1984–1993 BMW 3 Series (E30) is worth
A 1984–1993 BMW 3 Series (E30) sold for a median of $15,000 across 1,358 completed auctions from April 2016 to October 2026 (BidBetter, as of 3 November 2026).
The middle half of those 1,358 sales fell between $10,500 and $21,000 (the typical range), and the full range after cleaning was $2,500 to $135,327.
Data as of 3 November 2026 · 1,358 sales · April 2016 to 29 October 2026 · auction results only
§ V.02What moves a car within the band
Within that band, coupe cars are the most frequently traded body style in this set (462 of 1,358 sales), and manual cars account for 1,249 of them. Condition, originality and documented history move a car further than any single specification, which is why the middle half of the range is wide.
The spread by variant, printed in full above, is usually wider than the spread by year: a wagon at $17,250 and a convertible at $14,000 are not the same market, and a single median that mixes them describes neither.
§ V.03Recent sales
| Car | Sold for | Date | Mileage | Sold by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euro 1992 BMW 316i Touring 5-Speed | $13,500 | 29 October 2026 | 118,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1990 BMW 325is Coupe | $14,750 | 23 October 2026 | 82,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1991 BMW 325i Coupe M52 Swap | $21,000 | 22 October 2026 | — | Cars & Bids |
| 1991 BMW 318i Sedan 5-Speed | $20,000 | 21 October 2026 | 107,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1988 BMW 325is Coupe | $25,000 | 20 October 2026 | 240,700 mi | Cars & Bids |
| M54-Powered 1991 BMW 318i 5-Speed | $14,000 | 13 October 2026 | 196,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1989 BMW 325i Convertible | $4,300 | 12 October 2026 | 188,000 km | Bring a Trailer |
| 1992 BMW 325i Convertible 5-Speed | $10,100 | 10 October 2026 | 129,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 34-Years-Owned 1991 BMW 318is Coupe 5-Speed | $24,000 | 10 October 2026 | 67,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1988 BMW 325i Convertible | $8,477 | 7 October 2026 | 82,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1990 BMW 325i Convertible 5-Speed | $35,000 | 5 October 2026 | 61,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| Modified 1985 BMW 325e Coupe 5-Speed | $20,250 | 3 October 2026 | 110,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| Original-Owner 1987 BMW 325i Convertible 5-Speed | $23,750 | 1 October 2026 | 79,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
| 1988 BMW 325is Coupe LS3 V8 Swap | $22,500 | 1 October 2026 | — | Cars & Bids |
| Original-Owner 1987 BMW 325is Coupe 5-Speed | $28,882 | 30 September 2026 | 112,000 mi | Bring a Trailer |
§ V.04Price by model year
| Model year | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | $10,421 | 38 |
| 1985 | $12,750 | 39 |
| 1986 | $15,000 | 55 |
| 1987 | $15,000 | 201 |
| 1988 | $15,000 | 165 |
| 1989 | $15,750 | 230 |
| 1990 | $16,000 | 203 |
| 1991 | $14,500 | 286 |
| 1992 | $14,000 | 83 |
| 1993 | $14,000 | 58 |
§ V.05Price by body style and transmission
| Variant | Type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coupe | Body style | $16,000 | 462 |
| Convertible | Body style | $14,000 | 426 |
| Wagon | Body style | $17,250 | 75 |
| Manual | Transmission | $15,000 | 1,249 |
§ V.06Questions
What is a 1984–1993 BMW 3 Series (E30) worth?
A 1984–1993 BMW 3 Series (E30) sold for a median of $15,000 across 1,358 completed auctions from April 2016 to October 2026 (BidBetter, as of 3 November 2026).
The middle half of those 1,358 sales fell between $10,500 and $21,000 (the typical range), and the full range after cleaning was $2,500 to $135,327.
What affects the price of a 1984–1993 BMW 3 Series (E30)?
Model year: by year, medians run from $10,421 for 1984 (38 sales) to $16,000 for 1990 (203 sales).
Body style: a wagon holds a median of $17,250 on 75 sales, against $14,000 on 426 for a convertible.
Condition, originality and documented history move a car further than any single specification, which is why the middle half of sales spans $10,500 to $21,000.
Is the BMW 3 Series (E30) 1984-1993 going up or down in value?
Up. The 216 sales in the 12 months to 3 November 2026 had a median of $15,778, against $15,000 on 183 sales in the 12 months before, a rise of 5.2%. That compares whichever cars came to auction in each year, not the same cars sold twice, so read it as the direction of the market rather than a rate of appreciation.
How many BMW 3 Series (E30) sales is that based on?
1,358 completed auction sales, from April 2016 to 29 October 2026. The table above lists the 15 most recent, each linked to its auction record. The figures were last rebuilt on 3 November 2026.
What is the difference between the typical range and the full range?
The typical range is $10,500 to $21,000: half of all 1,358 sales fell inside it. The full range is $2,500 to $135,327, the cheapest and dearest sale that survived cleaning. The full range is set by outliers, so it is a boundary rather than a guide to what most cars bring.
Which body style holds its value best?
On this set, coupe is the most frequently sold at 462 sales with a median of $16,000. The highest median among body styles is wagon at $17,250, though it rests on fewer sales. Each variant's median and count are in the table above.
Do manual or automatic cars sell for more?
In this set, manual cars account for 1,249 of 1,358 sales. Too few cars of the other transmission type sold to publish a comparison, so this page does not make one.
Does mileage change the value?
Mileage is recorded for part of this set, not all of it, so it is not used to adjust the median. It is shown in the sales table wherever the auction record carries it, and you can see the effect directly by comparing rows.
How current is this figure?
Data as of . The figures are rebuilt from completed sales on a schedule, and the date above is the date of the last rebuild, not the date this page was loaded.
§ V.07Method and sources
What these figures are. Every number on this page is computed from completed auction sales of BMW 3 Series (E30) cars built between 1984 and 1993. The median is the 50th percentile of the sale prices; the typical range is the 25th to 75th percentile; the full range is the lowest and highest sale that survived cleaning. Percentiles are linearly interpolated on the sorted prices.
What is excluded. Asking prices, reserve-not-met results, withdrawn lots and unsold cars are not prices and are not counted. Parts, memorabilia, literature, scale models and other non-vehicle lots are excluded. Sales not made in US dollars are excluded, so these figures describe the dollar market. Duplicate records are removed. Sales below a plausibility floor (5% of the median) and above a ceiling (10× the median) are set aside, because a $22 "911" is a data error rather than a cheap car.
What it is not. This is not an appraisal or an inspection, and it does not predict what any particular car will bring. Two cars built the same year can differ by more than the whole typical range on condition, originality, documentation and provenance.
The set. 1,358 sales from April 2016 to 29 October 2026, drawn from 11 auction sources, principally Bring a Trailer (1,168), Cars & Bids (160), Barrett-Jackson (9), PCARMARKET (7), Hemmings (4), Acc (2), Gooding (2), Hagerty (2), Mecum (2), Collecting Cars (1), RM Sotheby's (1). Data as of .
See the disclaimer for the limits of a valuation of this kind.
§ V.08Compare with
- BMW Z3 1996-2002 — $18,000 median · 1,224 sales · as of 3 November 2026
- BMW 2002 1966-1976 — $25,675 median · 854 sales · as of 3 November 2026
- BMW Z4 2003-2016 — $20,750 median · 843 sales · as of 3 November 2026
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