The i was sold for the same number of years as the e models. ('87-91 and '84-88 respectively, excluding the 'verts which went to '93.) I'll bet a lot more of them were sold, too. I wouldn't call...

bimmerworld is an important vendor. HMS has a lot of safety related gear.

Tischer is one of the best sources for parts and they are local. (getbmwparts.com)

AN E30 can be converted to manual for a few hundred bucks and a little labor, so that's not a real barrier to entry. There are really only four things that matter on an E30 these days:
1) Rust....