87-325e vs 92 civic

[scyzoryk_o4]

hey, I'm planning to get rid of my civic hatch and buy a 87bmw however i have some concerns...
1) my civic gets about 40mpg- now ive read different rates for the e30 engine but it seems to be somewhere between 20mpg-30mpg...does anyone actually have acurate rates? if it really does burn 2 times what my civic burns then that will be a huge deciding factor u know...
2) I'm a broke student, and on my civic i can basically fix almost anything myself..ive rebuilt that engine from bottom up..Now im worried that the bimmer will be a little much and if something breaks im gonna end up paying like 700$ to some mechanic just to replace a timing belt u know..is the car hard to service or can most of everything be done yourself?
3)the car im looking at has 227,000 k on it but i figure this car should last till atleast 300,000 if treated right? so my last question is how does this offer look?:
http://www.trader.ca/Search/Details...&subcategory=&CAT=1&ADID=6535127&ADS=6535127|

if u cant see that then here:
ONE OWNER! 5 spd, 2 door, rare blue, cloth interior, sunroof, pw, pl, no rust, excellent condition inside and out. 225 km. $1,700
year 1987 Price $1,700
Make BMW Mileage 225 km
Model 325E

 

[Doughnut]

Seems like a good deal,
The bmw engine is not a hard motor to work at all, lots of my mates get scared away because of all the vacuum hoses and wiring on it but once you get used to the way its all set up, its no different to your civic IMO.
A motor is a motor, though for the bmw, there arnt as many aftermarket options for it so your almost forced to buy genuine parts at times.

Mods, suggest a tow to the e30 section?

 

[E30m42cab]

I was looking at checking that car out myself!! (seriously) Have you taken a look at it in person yet?
I've had two 1986 E30 325e's which I still have a good amount of spare parts for, which definately come in handy when owning an old BMW. The whole car can be worked on at home, but it's not that you can do the work yourself, it's that you'll be doing the work yourself, CONSTANTLY. You have to have time a patience to own one of those, (and a heated garage). The gas milage is not good for busting around city streets, and not a heck of a lot better on the highway. However, the car is a torque monster, and pulls really well at high speeds on the 401 (if the traffic ever clears up).
Where in Ontario are you from?