Older BMWs?

Mr Benevolent

After the dyno on Saturday I've been hankering over something with a bit more power, and the E36 325i has caught my eye. It's cheap, relatively quick, can get circa 30mpg and is relatively easy on the eye. I'm sorely tempted by E36 M3 but I just know something'd go wrong with it as soon as I bought it.

Anyone got an opinion on the E36 or equivalent Merc/Peugeot/whatever?

unkel

Would you not go E46?

-Corkie-

Insurance will probably be horrendous in comparison to the Corsa..

challengemaster

Ah now, if you're not thinking e46 M3 after saturday something is wrong with ya

Mr Benevolent

-Corkie- wrote: »

Insurance will probably be horrendous in comparison to the Corsa..

Nah it seems ok. I'll have a year's NCD in March and I should pass my test second time around (failed it by a hair on Thursday). It'll be a lot less than I currently pay on the Corsa anyway.

Would you not go E46?

I'm suspicious of the E46 and the rear subframe cracking. Admittedly they're much better looking cars, but the way I see it, the last years of the older model will be more reliable then the first few years of the newer model.

unkel

2 grand should get you a good nick 323ci (2.5l) with a long test



Linky

-Corkie-

Confab wrote: »

Nah it seems ok. I'll have a year's NCD in March and I should pass my test second time around (failed it by a hair on Thursday). It'll be a lot less than I currently pay on the Corsa anyway.

Well if thats the case go for it. I never had a nice car when I was that young except for a E30 when I was 21 and I could not afford the insurance not to mind running costs...:mad:

Mr Benevolent

-Corkie- wrote: »

Well if thats the case go for it. I never had a nice car when I was that young

32 is young now? Woohoo! I was the only guy at the dyno on Saturday with my shirt tucked in. Felt very old then...

challengemaster

Confab wrote: »

I'm suspicious of the E46 and the rear subframe cracking. Admittedly they're much better looking cars, but the way I see it, the last years of the older model will be more reliable then the first few years of the newer model.

Early E46 323i's use the same engine as late model e36's, the M52TUB25

And I'm fairly sure there's a subframe reinforcement kit you can get if you're really worried

-Corkie-

Confab wrote: »

32 is young now? Woohoo! I was the only guy at the dyno on Saturday with my shirt tucked in. Felt very old then...

My bad I thought you were only a young fella...:p

couldntthink

The good thing about the E36 is they are cheap for what they are. It's a 2dr BMW that looks the bomb. I've had two E36s, an E34, and 6 E30s. And from those I can safely say the best of them all for pure fun and drivability was a 1990 E30 318is. They may only be 140bhp, but that car was a right laugh.

I found the 323i E36 (2.5) to be a bit disappointing, performance wise, overall tbh. It is barely fit for 22-25 mpg when driving like a nun. If you want any poke from it you have to rev the bag off it, and then it sucks fuel like it's going out of fashion. But it was pretty to look at. And BMW 6cyl sounds good too.

Although I've never driven one, I reckon the E36 325i would be better if you got a good one. 323 and 325 are both 2.5l but the 323 is only 170 compared to 325 being 192. The E34 I had was the 192 m50 and it drove as well as the lighter 323.

Bottom line is these cars are very heavy on fuel and don't really perform as well as expected. It's hard to get a clean one, and they're not as good at taking punishment as a jap car. But they are cheap, I sold my immaculate 323i coupe with full leather and electrics, 96k on the clock, and in the last 3 yrs it had been NCT'd twice and only did 3.5k. It also had nearly new genuine M3 alloys, and M3 kit. I just about got 1500 for it. So shop around if you want one. I would personally look out for a clean M3 3.0, if you're looking for an E36. Running costs would be at a much better ratio to performance.

Last bit I swear.......If you want the best of all worlds e.g. 150mph, rwd, turbocharged, super reliable, reasonable on juice when you're reasonable, and comfort. Then look no further than an original Nissan 200sx. And lots of modifying options if you want, where as the BMW's will not be as cheap or easy to mod for more power.