I paid $5400, which a lot of people said was too much (especially at e30tech.com). I don't regret it at all, and I would have paid more for it. I'm sure I could have found a better deal, but I had been looking for 6 months on ebay, craigslist, autotrader, cars.com, the forums, etc. and this is the best thing I found. Its great to find a deal, but I was ready to buy and this was the car, so I paid what it took to get it. Its mostly borrowed money anyways. What's most important is that its sitting outside, and I couldn't be happier. Oh and I don't care what anyone says $5400 is not much for a car like this.
Nice car.
And no, you did not really pay too much. Do some research as to what they are selling for, not what people will pay, and you will see you got it for aabout what you should have paid, maybe less in some instances. Some people find great deals, others struggle to find one in even ok shape (like me). Granted if you are willing to drive all over the country or wait a year, you probably could have gotten a better deal, but like you said, it is yours now as opposed to later. If I had the money I would have paid that much for it as well. No question. There is also the other saying, it is worth what someone will pay for it.
Great looking car.
Oh, steering, an e30 M3 rack aparently will swap in with no mods, be prepared to pay for it though. If you look, you may find a reman'ed for about $650 - $750 plus core.
An e36 rack is cheaper ($260-550 plus core) but requires a little work or another part. Pelican Parts I believe has a how to on this.
Be sure to shop around for steering. You can get ripped of easily. I recomend
http://www.discountsteering.com. I got mine there and it was a factory rack, but refurb'ed. It was well over $100 less than most places wanted, plus had free shipping and a low core charge.
