1994-1998 BMW 325's Opinions please

[EZ-E]

Of owners or persons that have worked on them. I really like the style of these types of BMW's, not to mention the have to 2.5 L6.

 

I was wondering what are the opinions of these, ie reliablity, worth, maintenance costs etc.

 

I think they are great looking seem to be a bit sporty, and would be well comfortable for a daily driver.

 

Any thoughts or outlooks are welcome.

 

Thanks

[tfreer85]

I really like my BMW 325i auto when we had it. It was quick and fun and got me into a lot of stupid trouble (driver). It was super clean, the only problems we had was the Heater sucked and would take close to 30mins to get warm, it most likely could have easily be fixed. The reason we sold it was the cost of maintence, close to 100 dollars to replace the side mirror (used). However if you take good care they will last a long time and are very fun to drive. Hope that this was insightful.

 

Tyson

[Sparky]

Of owners or persons that have worked on them. I really like the style of these types of BMW's' date=' not to mention the have to 2.5 L6.

 

I was wondering what are the opinions of these, ie reliablity, worth, maintenance costs etc.

 

I think they are great looking seem to be a bit sporty, and would be well comfortable for a daily driver.

 

Any thoughts or outlooks are welcome.

 

Thanks[/quote']

 

very reliable if taken care of....IF. the problem is though that many of these cars are on their 3rd 4th or 5th owner, each succession caring less and less. if you dont know the complete history of one of these cars than move one. the parts can be expensive and if you dont do all the maintenance yourself you may get reamed. the interiors have a tendency to rot away if left parked outside. the fit and finish is nice when new, but quickly deteriorates. the E46 model so far is not showing the same tendancy.

 

your best bet would be to look for a 328is, for some reason these cars seemed to be a bit more loved than the 325is or the piggish 318is M42 cars. common failure items are the steering rack, waterpump, front brake sensor, brake light circuits. the OBC will constantly flash these codes.

 

these cars while not expensive, sell very easily and quickly, opening the way for many wrecked or near totaled cars to be bought up by volume used car sellers. this means they are improperly repaired, carry salvage titles (that you will be unaware of until you get your copy) , or may have much hidden damage, mechanically, or structurally (as in you will never get the car aligned again.) buy from individuals, or have the car checked out by an independent BMW specialist.

 

 

goodluck!

[Mike C]

My wife really likes hers. It is a '95 325is. The car has been the picture of reliability IMO. In the 8 years we have had it, one set of brake pads, one set of tires. 4 crappy plastic brake light switches, one right rear wheel bearing. And this weekend we put a new headliner in. We would have another one in a heartbeat.

[240hoke]

Hey,

 

I have a 1993 325is. I absolutly love the car. I drive it hard and have fun with it and have only had very minor problems. My car has 209K miles on it, she runs great and pulls strong.

 

I believe that mine will be my next project car since the motor, im sure is on its way out. Anyway I have M3 eibach springs and bilstein sport struts, she is FUNNNNNNNN. I highly suggest one.

 

The couple gripes I do have is that they are expensive to work on, there is no way around that, and that the interiors are poorly made. They look nice for a while but after about 10 years the door panel leather starts peeling up and the headliners will fall down...

 

Here is a picture of mine...

 

Bmws are cars you can drive everyday, across country, and then have fun with them in the mountains.

 

Im done with my advertisement lol

[BayAreaZT]

I'm considering picking up an E36 M3 for a daily driver. Anyone know how these compare to a chiped 98-00 A4 1.8T Quattro as far as reliability and maintanence? I know the M3 is quicker but I'm wondering which one would be easier to maintain.

[Sparky]

I'm considering picking up an E36 M3 for a daily driver. Anyone know how these compare to a chiped 98-00 A4 1.8T Quattro as far as reliability and maintanence? I know the M3 is quicker but I'm wondering which one would be easier to maintain.

 

 

BMW hands down. the A4 is nice, but is plagued with electrical problems

[Mikelly]

Not sure when they went from the 325 to the 328 model, But we love our 97 328i. It is loaded, leather, 4 dr., and runs very well. I'd echo Austin's comments... Even with the auto trans (My wife's car), it has a LOT of get up and go and feels neutral... Ours has traction control and is a good year round car to have... Does GREAT in snow!

 

Maintenance wise, the only complaints are the LED lights on the radio and interior computer interface for all the "stuff". That is a known issue with these cars, so don't be surprised if your display on your radio doesn't work, even when the radio is on...

 

Ours has about 85K miles on it, and other than a tune up, and regular oil changes, as well as a re-charge on the A/C freon, we've had no issues... I'll flush the tranny and change the oil next week...

 

Mike

[crazy280]

I'd say go for it as long as you can afford the maintenance cost. My best friend is a mechanic at a shop that specializes in BMW's. He's always complaining about how unreliable the 3 series are, how they have plastic water pumps that go faulty, parts are expensive, etc. (not to mention his shop charges $75 per half hour!!) But he does compliment the build quality and finish of the cars, which is obvious and cannot be denied. I've driven a few E36 M3's and they are fast and fun to drive, and very comfortable. Happy hunting!

[Mike C]

Oh yeah. I forgot about the crappy plastic water pump impeller. I did one of those at 95k.

 

IME, late model cars are expensive to fix period. I don't think the Beemer parts are much different than a couple of year old Camry or Accord.

[Michael]

E36 coupes and sedans go back to 1992.

 

My 1992 325is 5-speed is fine on the highway and above about 3000 rpm, but is sorely lacking in the torque department. In 1993 (or 1994?) BMW introduced their version of variable valve timing, which supposedly improved the low-end torque. Conceivably things improved further in going from the 325 to the 328. In my car, driving with air conditioning further degrades low-end acceleration, by a very noticeable margin.

 

Besides the failure items mentioned in the posts above, watch for ignition coil burnout (there are 6 of them, and each costs about $70) and failure of balljoints at the outer end of the front lower control arms (need to be pressed-in; $250 quoted just for the labor).

 

For a RWD car, underhood access is very poor. Some “simple†items, such as the fuel filter, as very troublesome to remove. Comparing the two evils of a relatively reliable car that’s expensive and difficult to fix if and when it does break, and an unreliable car for which parts are cheap and plentiful, I would prefer the latter. This makes BMW ownership a frustration.

 

But keep in mind that a RWD used car with manual transmission for under $5000 is becoming a dire rarity in the U.S. market, especially if we consider only fixed-roof cars with a back seat. I could only find four choices: Nissan 240SX, Mustang, Camaro and BMW 3-series. Nissan 240SX’s are very hard to find, Mustangs tend to be clapped-out, Camaros exceed the $5K unless they’re the 6-cylinder version (not worth buying), which leaves the BMW as the only remaining choice if you want RWD. That’s how I ended up with my BMW.