Mikelly Posted February 22, 2005 Share Posted February 22, 2005 So we've been shopping for a new car for her for a while... My wife is much more practicle than I could ever hope to be... I qualified for over $65,000 worth of vehicle loan and that about made her heart stop... I had a $25-30K budget for a car, and we ended up with $11250 worth of BMW... Yup, We bought her a 1997 BMW 328i. It is loaded, four doors, white with the sport molding, tan leather interior, moon roof, traction control, automatic, cute as a button and a LOT of scoot for the money! The thing really makes good use of the 190HP... Turn off the traction control and it wants to ROLL! I'm truly impressed. We drove a 1998 540i that was an absolute pig of a performer and very lethargic. It also was not as well cared for... This 328i is a one owner car, has only got 76K miles on it, and looks almost new, except for one small scuff on the front valance... Car is in tip top shape! We're getting the windows tinted and that's about it, unless I run across a steal of a deal on a Set of M3 wheels for it! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Magnum Rockwilder Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Finally a BMW in MY price range! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Nice.. My little brother is looking at getting a mid-90's 328i. I was suprised to find there are quite a few for around the $7500 mark.. and with the M3 kit and rims, the 2 doors look reeeealy nice.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silicone boy Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Mike, I want to be your wife. Didn't you get her a decent set of wheels not too long ago? I'm not much of a BMW fan myself, but I recently backed into my brother's 2003 M3. Since I had backed into my wife's Audi the month before, I told him I would take care of it without going through the insurance company. He left the car with me for a while until I could get it fixed. I have to say, that thing was a lot of fun. Great suspension for a sedan, and the motor wasn't too bad. I told him that I have the first right of refusal if he should ever decide to sell it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 the friends i live with here in houston has a 95 (?) E36 325ci 2 door, its auto and it moves pretty good i thought! very nice cars.. check for the powesteering to leak soon though. i work on about 10 of theses every 2 days or so.. always leaking. good luck. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 http://www.vorshlag.com/E36ProjectBook.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 M3's are sweet but don't recent BMW's (or maybe like... ALL BMW's) have a bad rep for not being too reliable? They've got horrible ratings for the last few years from Consumer Reports, mostly electrical related issues but they just seem to be problematic cars. In fact, after reading consumer reports a lot lately, seems to me Honda or Toyota are about the ONLY ways to go if you want a car that wont have all kinds of problems.... Even Nissans get bad ratings in a few of the more important categories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted February 23, 2005 Author Share Posted February 23, 2005 Bastaad, That is exactly why we went with the 97-98 models, which seem to run a little more than the 93-96s! I could have bought the early ones all day long for about $7000 as the other poster mentioned, but we wanted one as new as we could get, as unmolested as we could get it... This car is a HOOT... I checked the power steering rack before we bought it, and we're gonn have a BG trans flush done with some amsoil fluids, and I may eventually replace the existing wheels with something larger, using the stockers for winter wheels with Blizzaks! For the money, I'm not sure we could have bought a better car! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Yup, We bought her a 1997 BMW 328i. Makes a good Solo2 DSP car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 Cool. We have a '95 325is. We've had it 7 years now. It had 33k on it when we got it. The brake light switch is a POS. Had to put 4 in the car.... They trigger a circuit failure message on the computer. Did brake pads once, and O2 sensor, and a right rear wheel bearing in the 75k miles we've put on the car. Total repairs under $300 DIY. We love the car and would definitely buy BMW again. The 2.5 is rated at 189 HP, but does it a little higher than the 2.8. We drag raced it against my silver 240 and the cars were dead even from 0-80 where we had to shut off. I mean DEAD even. We'd buy another one in a NY minute. I' still conemplating a 92-94 318is as a wicked Drag Car. Back halfed and stuffed full of SBC! High mileage 18's seem to be around $3k. The 1997-2003 528 5 speed IMO is the ideal sport sedan, and arguably the best looking 4 door ever built. But what the he!! happened to that new 5? Blechhh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maichor Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 Mike C- The BMW is not listed in your sig. WOW! The only question I have for you is, how big is your garage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted February 26, 2005 Share Posted February 26, 2005 The Beemer is my wife's car, not mine although I work on it.... Garage is 1360 sq ft., not counting the two car on the house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 E36 3-series BMWs (1992-1999) are becoming a pretty good deal. If you want a RWD sedan or coupe – and especially if you want manual transmission – there aren’t many alternatives, at any price range. Rumor is that BMWs are definitely less reliable than Japanese cars, and on par (or slightly better) than Detroit products. The problem is that parts are MUCH harder to find than even for Japanese imports, and various quirks in German thinking make even simple repairs relatively difficult (example – replacing the fuel filter). So when they do break, fixing them is a chore. Known weak points are the water pump (plastic blades break off), fan clutch (sticks, so the fan is always spinning, and the coolant temperature stays low), engine management computer, induction coils (intermittent failure – computer doesn’t register a trouble code, but ain’t no spark in that cylinder), the aforementioned brake warning light, and occasional poor workmanship in interior trim (for the earlier models). Pre-1997 6-cylinder cars don’t have much torque below 3000 rpm. Automatics from that era (not sure about 1997-up) have significantly worse published acceleration specs than manuals. Weight specs are ambiguous; some sources cite 2866 lbs for the 1992 318, ~3050 for the 1992 325, and about 100lbs weight gain for 1995-up. A friend of mine weighed his 1997 M3 – came out to around 3150 lbs. Other sources cite similar numbers as the above, but with a full gas tank (that’s about 100 lbs difference). 1993-up cars have “VANOS†(variable valve timing of sorts) – it’s supposed to increase midrange torque. Mine is a 1992 325is, 5-speed – bought last spring for $4600, 110K miles. E36 BMWs have comparable acceleration to 3.0L V6 Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans of the late 1990’s, but overall “driver feel†is superior. They’re not the best value if you just want a comfortable, well-performing compact sedan or coupe, but like I said, if you want RWD and don’t want a Mustang or Camaro, there really is no alternative in the American market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay1970Z Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 My mom has a 94 325i, it may not be the most luxurious or the fastest car out there, but it sure is fun to drive. That stupid brake light circuit error is always showing too, and the damn brake light goes out like every other month also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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