Like many of us enthusiasts, I have a stack of old car magazines in my bookcase, and I’ll occasionally pull one out and flip through it. I came across an advertisement for a classic car sales agency in an issue dated March 2001, which was advertising a 1972 BMW 3.0 CS for $15,000. Adjusting for inflation, that’s about $27,000 today – if you could ever find one at that price, it’d be the deal of a century on a running, driving E9 coupe in the year 2025. Such is the case with many classic BMWs like the 2002 or M5, which saw massive appreciation in the last quarter-century, making them perpetually out of reach for would-be car collectors.

Luckily, BMW has produced so many great vehicles that there are still reasonably affordable options for those of us with Riesling taste but a Paulaner budget. If you suddenly find yourself priced out of the E9 coupe, 2002, E30, Z3 M Coupe, E39 M5, or E46 M3 game, we have some suggestions that’ll get you the driving experience you want at a much more attainable price. You might have to make some sacrifices in style or performance with these budget-sensitive substitutions, but they’ll still retain the Bavarian flavor expected of a BMW.

Buy A BMW Bavaria Instead Of An E9 Coupe

The BMW New Six family, introduced in 1968, included both sedan (codenamed E3) and coupe (E9) variants. The latter have become some of the most collectible Bimmers in the world, regularly fetching $100,000 or more among classic car connoisseurs. Among the best of the best are the 3.0 CS and CSi, as well as the 3.0 CSL “Batmobile.” But if you can’t stomach the six-figure price tag that comes with a good-condition E9 coupe, consider any of its four-door equivalents. There are the BMW 2500 and 2800, as well as the high-performance 3.0 S and the fuel-injected 3.0 Si. There was even a long-wheelbase version preceding the BMW 7 Series.

The North American market also received a “hot rod” version called the Bavaria from 1971 to 1975, which bundled the 2800’s larger engine and higher performance with the trim weight and sparser interior accommodations of the 2500. BMW’s E3 sedans offer an almost identical driving experience to the E9 coupes thanks to a shared platform and engine offerings. The only difference, really, lies in cosmetics – the coupe’s pillarless-hardtop body style is undeniably prettier than the conventional sedan, but both still come from an era when BMWs derived their beauty from trim, practical design choices rather than fads. And consider that even the nicest E3 four-door costs half as much as its two-door sibling (with driver-quality examples trading hands for $20,000 or less), and suddenly, the sedan becomes that much more attractive.

Buy An E36 BMW 320i Instead Of A 2002

BMW’s first smash success in the US was probably the 2002. A compact two-door sedan, the 2002 blew the doors off of much more expensive, exotic machines while still being reliable, practical, and cheap to buy (at least when new). Today’s 2002 market has gone nuts, however, with driver-quality examples costing $20,000 and full restorations demanding triple as much. If you’ve been saving your pennies for a dainty little 70s BMW and suddenly find yourself priced out of the 2002, consider its successor, the E21 BMW 3 Series.

As the first generation of the company’s now-legendary compact sedan lineage, the E21 doesn’t get the love that it deserves. Sold in America in 320i trim only, it received an “M10” 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine for 1977–1979 and a downsized 1.8-liter M10 for 1980–1983. Go for the earlier model if you want spry performance, which could hit 60 miles per hour in under 11 seconds – not fast by today’s standards but within spitting distance of the pre-emissions 2002 tii and still quick enough to have fun. The 320i isn’t nearly as charming or cute as the 2002, but it can be made to handle very well with a few suspension alterations, and immaculate examples exist for $15,000 or less, making it much more attainable than its more collectible predecessor.

Buy An E36 BMW 318ti Instead Of An E30 3 Series

Just as the BMW 2002 was a smash hit in the early-1970s, the second-generation 3 Series (codenamed E30) became the yuppie darling of the late-1980s. Upon its North American debut for the 1984 model year, the E30 became the first U.S.-market BMW compact car to offer a six-cylinder engine, and it quickly earned a reputation for strong performance, solid build quality, and restrained design. E30s used to be easy to come by for $5,000 or less, but today, plan on spending double or triple that amount for a good-condition 325i with a manual gearbox.

But if you’re open to an oddball substitution, you might consider the E36-generation 1995–1998 BMW 318ti, sold in other markets as the 3 Series Compact. Although unsucessful in America, the 318ti’s nomenclature and sloping hatchback design are inspired by the 2002ti Touring, so there’s some heritage at play here. And despite more modern styling, the Compact borrowed much of its interior and rear suspension from the E30, so the handling and feel are quite similar. The rev-happy 1.8-liter four-cylinder (upsized to 1.9 liters from 1996 on) pushes the 318ti to 60 mph in under 8 seconds, making it a snappy little compact car. Sun worshippers should consider the 318ti California, which comes with a roof-length retractable canvas top. Values for the 3 Series Compact vary, but nice drivers generally cost under $8,000.

Buy An E39 530i Sport Instead Of An E39 M5

One of my personal favorite cars of all time is the E39 BMW M5. The car’s lean, road-hungry appearance and savage 4.9-liter V8 have always appealed to me, and although values have softened a bit in the last few years, the M5 is still a pretty hot commodity on the pre-owned BMW market. Seeing them go from $15,000 when I was in college to $30,000 or more now that I’m an adult has been a heartbreaker – will I ever own my dream E39? The answer to that question is a qualified “yes,” because the M5’s six-cylinder sibling is still an incredibly appealing BMW in its own right.

The 530i, offered on the facelifted E39 sold between 2001 and 2003, may not be an obvious substitute for the M5, but it does share its basic good-at-everything-ness with the M5. The 3.0-liter engine – making 225 hp and 221 lb-ft – can’t hold a candle to the 394-hp M-tuned V8, but six-cylinder E39s have much more precise rack-and-pinion steering, while M5s and 540is make do with a recirculating-ball column. Furthermore, the 530i still has sharp, responsive handling when equipped with the optional Sport package, which also brings a set of two-piece, cross-spoke BBS wheels resembling BMW’s legendary Style 5 design (though it’s actually called Style 42). Despite not being a full-fat M product, the facelifted E39’s sport package still gives it that pavement-devouring stance, and it’s hard to beat the classic appeal of an inline-six Bimmer sport sedan.

Buy A BMW Z4 Coupe Instead Of A BMW Z3 M Coupe

The “Clownshoe” BMW might be the company’s most polarizing product in history, but time has been kind to the Z3-based M Coupe. These days, the shooting brake demands between $30,000 and $70,000 depending on condition and engine – the final-year 2001 model gets a 315-hp S54 mill instead of the 240-hp S52 – making it a bona fide collector’s item. But if you can separate your desire for the M Coupe from its oddball styling and raw handling, you might get more for your money from its successor, the E86 Z4 Coupe.

Sold in both 255-hp Z4 3.0si and 330-hp Z4 M variants, the E86 coupe has a sleeker fastback design with a subtle ducktail spoiler, which pairs very nicely with the futuristic, edgy front end. The base powerplant is a fast-revving, magnesium-block 3.0-liter inline-six, while the Z4 M got a high-compression, iron-block 3.2-liter six. Both handle with far more sophistication than the M Coupe, which rear suspension was the same oversteer-prone trailing arm setup as the 1980s-era E30 3 Series. And at $20,000 for a 3.0 si or $50,000 for a Z4 M, the Bangle-era two-seat coupe is a relative bargain for the performance on offer.

Buy An E90 335i Instead Of An E46 M3

Like almost every other 2000s-era performance car, the E46-generation BMW M3 is achieving more appreciation – both financial and metaphysical – than ever before. Although still a relative bargain at $25,000 or so in great condition, the E46 M3 might still be a lofty ambition for budding auto enthusiasts who maybe aren’t ready to handle the maintenance needs of a 2000s-era M car. But how else could one get 300 horses under the hood of a 3 Series? By simply looking one generation later.

The E90 3 Series featured a 335i variant, sold from 2007 to 2011 on sedans and 2007 to 2013 on coupes and convertibles, whose defining characteristic is the turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six. Up until 2010, the N54 engine featured twin turbochargers and made 300 hp and 300 lb-ft, and for 2011 on, there was a new N55 engine with a single twin-scroll turbocharger and Valvetronic for the exact same output. If that’s not enough, the twin-turbo N54 can easily be tuned up to 400, 500, or even 700 hp. If you belong to the stay-stock-stay-happy crowd, you’d be better served with the later, more reliable N55 engine; the N54 can suffer from wastegate and fuel pump failures, though upgraded parts are available.

Either engine punts the E90 335i to 60 miles per hour in under 5.0 seconds, just a hair or so behind the E46 M3. And the 335i’s engine doesn’t suffer from the same catastrophic rod bearing failure that intermittently plagues its M-powered predecessor. Then again, if you want maximum reliability in your E90, check out the BMW 328i, whose robust N52 engine was the final naturally aspirated inline-six offered by the company that made that very engine layout so legendary.

Source: Hagerty (1) (2), Car and Driver (1) (2) (3) (4)