A viral set of TikTok videos shows a green and blue E30 Drift Car meeting the crusher after a forfeiture.
Over the years, we have seen no shortage of desirable cars meeting the crusher. Most are likely familiar with illegally imported JDM dream cars like Skylines and Silvias meeting the crusher, as they only become safe for U.S. roads after they’re 25 years old, apparently. We could wax philosophic about the deceased R34s and FD RX-7s for hours, but let’s discuss this BMW E30 drift car, the latest topic of conversation.
A TikTok user who goes by Junkyard Jeff posted a set of videos about this car recently. In the first video, as they load the car off the trailer, he states that a police agency is present to ensure the car is destroyed. He states that it was “seized for some type of offense,” and goes on to show it making its way into the crusher. A follow-up video really brought the heartbreak, as he lifts the hood to reveal what’s left in the engine bay, only to show that it had a Toyota 2JZ-GTE under the hood. Ultimately, though, that begs a few questions. Why did it get crushed? Whose is it?
How Did This Car Get Here?
First of all, it’s worth noting that this car is NOT an M3. After a little digging, I found an old Facebook post of this car from 2022. It was, at the time, listed for sale on eBay. Unfortunately, eBay doesn’t maintain any archive of listings for more than a few months. So, we couldn’t find any additional details on the build or the sale price. It did, however, reveal that it’s a 1987 325ix. For those who don’t speak BMW, that means it was originally all-wheel drive. The swap, roll cage, and handbrake would lead us to believe that, in its last form, it was rear-wheel drive, though.
Junkyard Jeff is based in Michigan, so I did a little digging into Michigan law. To put it simply, Michigan’s laws allow law enforcement to seize a vehicle that has been used to commit a felony. This forfeiture gives the seizing body the ability to sell or dispose of it. In Michigan, reckless driving causing death or serious injury is considered a felony.
Given the power-to-weight ratio of a 2JZ E30, that’s not out of the question, here. However, the car looks virtually flawless prior to being crushed. So, it doesn’t seem likely that it was involved in a crash. So, what could it be? Drug trafficking? Used as a getaway vehicle? Who knows? All we know is that, ultimately, it was likely forfeited due to a felony charge associated with the car and its owner.
Why Does It Need to Be Crushed?
Yes, we’ve all met someone who is a talentless and showboat-y knob that doesn’t deserve the cool car they have. Still, taking away and destroying legally owned property seems like a healthy dose of government overreach.
Even if you disagree with that prospect, why does the car have to be destroyed? Junkyard Jeff himself even specifies that they had to use a forklift to ensure the wheels were demolished, too. The law says that they can sell it, right? Sell it to someone at a race track. Make a drift version of “beat the heat” and let a skilled officer go bang some doors at local drift events. Raise some funds with that expensive ass engine/trans and those wheels before you crush the chassis, even.
Maybe some day we’ll know the charges associated with this car. For now, though, we’re just left wondering why it had to be this way. There’s a lot of cool stuff done to this car, so I highly recommend checking out Jeff’s TikTok account below for a more detailed look at this late E30.
