That is the way I have been with my E30. When I it I took it off the road for about a year and a half to do a transmission swap and completely go through everything. Since then I have just followed maintenance intervals and replace things in big groups as they age. After 6 years, many road trips, and many track days it has only failed to run three times. 1) heater core, 2) coolant temp sensor, and lastly/currently: DME failure (I believe, I have a rebuilt one on its way. I hope that's what it is). Luckily all three times have been at home. After this current one is fixed, I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across the country.

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03 3.0i mt
89 325is