Sporty 3 series

rowanh

Im thinking about buying a car in the UK, seems a BMW is a good one to go for. Im wondering what would be good to go for. Id like to own an e30 325 though im wondering would i be better off going for a later model. I was just looking at mid 90s 328s but maybe tax and running costs would be high and maybe it would be harder to sell. I dont think id want to go under 2L though as i would want to keep the car for a while. Anyone have any opinions on what the best type to go for would be, id also prefer a 2 door coupe espefially with hte mid 90s models. Id have about 5K all in to spend. Also anyone know of a site where i can see hte bhp of different bmw engines. Seems hard to find.

optiplexgx270

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_3_Series

C_Breeze

www.carfolio.com


Id say got for a 170bhp 325i

bucks

Are you going to be using the car as a daily driver ?

If so id prob go for the E36, if its gonna be a weekend toy or you dont do much mileage then the E30 wins hands down..

E30's seem to be increasing in price these days especially the 325i sports so if you do buy one and decide to sell on in a couple of years you shouldnt loose much money (prob make some) provided you bought a good example in the first place !!

An E30 325i sport in the Uk could cost 3.5k to 4.5k sterling these days, plus the VRT is criminal at 1600 euros - 2500 euros depending on condition and mood of the VRO staff....

I myself use an E36 318iS as the daily driver and an E30 318iS for fun in the sun... the two cars below;

Curran

I'd go with what bucks said!

Nice cars too bucks - must spend all day cleaning them before takin the pics

rowanh

Dont know why i didnt think of wikipedia, it is very handy for looking at a series of cars. Also that carfolio site is great, never heard of it before. Being able to search by car attributes is nice, just found out there is a BMW 760 V12.

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/211475.htm

I wonder what that would be like?

Edit:i generally do about 200kms a week at most, my current car has ultra hard suspension and i get roughly 15mpg in it so im not worried about economy or practicality at all.

Also they are nice ones above, almost seem a bit photoshopped with the colours.

bucks

rowanh wrote:

Also they are nice ones above, almost seem a bit photoshopped with the colours.

Nope, just taken care off with Meguairs products :cool:

Those cars get more of my attention than my girlfriend

E92

The best BMWs are always the ones with the 6 cylinder engines. They don't always have a lot more power(eg the E30 318iS has 11more bhp than the 320i(140 vs 129), in the E90 the 320i has 150 bhp, but the 323i has 174 bhp;the E90 323i is not offered here, but it does exist in other markets) but they are usually rev hungry and always sound fantastic.

As for E30s, the 325i seems to have a cult following- respecially with those who are into modified cars. This is a problem as it means that finding good ones are going to be very rare. It also means that they are going to be VERY expensive for what you're getting. Failing the M3, its the next most desirable E30. Its also the second fastest which is kind of important:D .
This is definately a car that you need to go across the pond and try and find.

See here - :eek: this one is going for over €12k - even though its an E30 325i with an M3 bodykit, and it looks brilliant, its a fortune to be paying for a car that is a 24 year old design http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=750687

fortunately there are cheaper ones than that, but you're looking at around €5k minimum to have any hope of finding a nice one.

I would suggest trying to find an E34 5 series. It doesn't have the boy racer problem, so it will be much cheaper to find a nice one, plus a lot easier too.

bucks

E92 wrote:

The best BMWs are always the ones with the 6 cylinder engines.

Have to disagree, The E30 318iS and 325i share the same suspension and brake setup. Also the 318iS has the M42 block which is highly regarded in BMW circles due to its strength and is happiest when at the far side of 3500 revs..

As you said the 6 cylinder 320i is down on power compared to the 318iS but it also doesnt have rear disc brakes, mtech suspension, BMW sports interior etc... so is a far less desireable car.

Also how many cylinders does the E30 M3 have ?

E92 wrote:

As for E30s, the 325i seems to have a cult following- respecially with those who are into modified cars. This is a problem as it means that finding good ones are going to be very rare.

Granted a few will have fallen into the hands of "messers" Ive found that a lot of owners in Ireland are in their late 20's + so its very possible to find a good one, unfortunately good ones will cost more but savings can be made if buying from the UK.

RoundyMooney

Agreed. The E30 *in general* seems to be a more mature choice.

Mind you, I would say that;)