Buying a E36 BMW
- Thread starter EnzoSmithers
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
You can do that with the lsd version, my track car is incredibly easy to drive.
[TW]Fox;22973966 said:Just lol, he has a budget of a grand and you recommend an M3
Increase the budget then
Fact of the matter is nobody is ever truly satisfied with a 328, in the end you will wish you had bought an M3.I'd also argue that you can't really ever drive 'switched off' in the LSD equipped model.
Increase the budget then
Generally speaking people buying £1k cars are not buying £1k cars because they forgot they had another several grand down the sofa they could actually use to purchase a BMW M3.
This is stupid logic frankly, he cannot afford an M3 and thats pretty much the end of that. There is no reason why you cannot be satisfied with a 328i, especially if you cannot afford an M3. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the non M power cars for those who either cannot afford or are not intersted in paying the costs associated with the M power variant.
Erm, what??
I loved my 328i, but not for one minute did I wish it was an M3, nor did I wish I'd dropped the many many £££ extra on an M3 instead of it. And when I did have plenty sat aside for a car (which tbh I don't these days) I opted for an e38 7 Series which cost me ~ £5k ish, plenty of decent e36 M3's could be had for similar money at that time, but they didn't appeal to me at all! - Once I had it (the 728i), I freely admit I'd have liked a bit more power from it, but would have looked at a 740i had I had my time again.
By your logic, I always hankered after an M5 when I ran my 528i, which again, is utter tosh.
I'd happily have a 328i again, but can't honestly see myself behind the wheel of an M3 despite being a petrol head & (even if I do say so myself!) quite an able driver.....
From where do you draw your "facts of the matter" I wonder?
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If you mean me, then it was completely standard - and an automatic at that! - it was damn good fun though, even if it did handle like a wayward Mk2 Escort at times....
After a shift in a 44ton truck, it's all too easy to treat such a car like the "rocket powered roller skate" that it felt like by comparison.
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Yup, definitely meant you, sorry regarding the standard/tweaked question, there are at least two bands of 328 owner. One who wants/appreciates it for being a 328, and one whose after the junior m3 experience.
So in the context of the thread I think clarkey meant those who wanted the junior m3 experience, if you get a 328 you'll be left wanting.
Ps. For the first time ever ive felt the need to put a signature on my profile here, along the lines of "consider what you are about to post to the nth degree or you will have to type more than twice as much again explaining it all"
regarding the standard/tweaked question, there are at least two bands of 328 owner. One who wants/appreciates it for being a 328, and one whose after the junior m3 experience. So in the context of the thread I think clarkey meant those who wanted the junior m3 experience, if you get a 328 you'll be left wanting.
Ps. For the first time ever ive felt the need to put a signature on my profile here, along the lines of "consider what you are about to post to the nth degree or you will have to type more than twice as much again explaining it all"
If you don't think that posting ' For a weekend car, I'd go for the M3, definately' in a thread about buying an E36 to use as a weekend car is a recommendation for an M3 I've no idea what else to say to you. Clarkey obviously agreed with me because he replied not with a daft post about how 'omg i wasnt recommending an M3' but with a suggestion to increase the budget
Increase the budget then
Why didn't you buy an M3 then?
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Compared to my fwd 1.8 TDCi Mk4 Mondeo, a rwd 328is will be plenty fun for me I think! Having never driven a rwd before, am I likely to kill myself accidentally owning one of these? or if you drive sensibly, will I never notice a difference?
Interesting thread and quite interesting points of view, I wish I had a larger budget but I don't unfortunately. Coupled with the budget and the fact an M3 will be considerably more to insure (I imagine) I think a 328 is my best bet. Maybe a 323 as well, but defintely want a facelifted model (which discounts the 325).
If I lived in say the US id get an E28 but i think any E28 over here will either be a rusty death trap or far outside my budget
Interesting thread and quite interesting points of view, I wish I had a larger budget but I don't unfortunately. Coupled with the budget and the fact an M3 will be considerably more to insure (I imagine) I think a 328 is my best bet. Maybe a 323 as well, but defintely want a facelifted model (which discounts the 325).
If I lived in say the US id get an E28 but i think any E28 over here will either be a rusty death trap or far outside my budget
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Yup, definitely meant you, sorry
So in the context of the thread I think clarkey meant those who wanted the junior m3 experience, if you get a 328 you'll be left wanting.
Ps. For the first time ever ive felt the need to put a signature on my profile here, along the lines of "consider what you are about to post to the nth degree or you will have to type more than twice as much again explaining it all"
I'm not quite sure which I am thinking about it, I certainly wanted something that would raise a smile when I drove it, the 328, for me, ticked that box very well, 192bhp in a light ish body was a hoot to drive - I would have preferred a manual, but found none as good as the auto that I ended up with (and that was a bit scruffy!)
I do see your point though, the first owner of my 328 spent nearly £33k on it after the numerous options, enough I think, to have got him/her into a 3.0M3 I'd have thought, they would have been in the former rather than the latter category of owners you point toward...
As for the post comment, I quite agree with that!
Soldato
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Why didn't you buy an M3 then?
Oooooohhh burnnnnnn.
Provided you treat it to decent tyres (like £100+ a corner) and don't drive it at WOT all the time, you'll be fine. When I picked mine up a few years ago now it had rubbish tyres on it, went round a bend at a sedate speed and the back end stepped out. I had a fellow member following me, once I'd corrected and had a minor tank slapper, he called me and asked "did you mean to do that?" which got a simple response of 'no' and then I was told "well, you fixed it well".
The 323 is largely underpowered really, just go for the 328i, insurance will be similar on both anyway. I'd ignore the whole 'if you have a 328i you'll want an M3' comments. I never, in my ~18months of E36 ownership, even thought "I want an M3", both the cars I had were great for me at the time. I'd have liked a 328i again after my 318iS but as I wanted something more sensible (so got a Mondeo
).If I lived in say the US id get an E28 but i think any E28 over here will either be a rusty death trap or far outside my budget
I've always had a soft spot for the e28, especially the large bumper style that the U.S. market got, that said, I would want an M5, but the U.S. variant was not the same car the European market got, it didn't have the same engine iirc.
They are a world apart from an e36 though, regardless of variant.
Large engined e28's seem to have a self destruct device built in, the only ones worth considering (bodywork wise) that I've seen have always been 518's for some odd reason.
I loved my old 328 (well, both of them), they were brilliant to drive without the cost of running an M3
The black one cost me just over £1k to get it running at 233Bhp and was just awesome - German restrictions meant that it was costly to go over 193 bhp ish, which is why the 328 is restricted to that.
Blue one was my brothers limited edition one that I had for about a year
I miss having both (dont miss the petrol bills however!) but it was totally worth it
The black one cost me just over £1k to get it running at 233Bhp and was just awesome - German restrictions meant that it was costly to go over 193 bhp ish, which is why the 328 is restricted to that.
Blue one was my brothers limited edition one that I had for about a year
I miss having both (dont miss the petrol bills however!) but it was totally worth it
I loved my 328 too - I'll reiterate though, if you've only got £1k do not buy a sport it will need quite a bit of work be it body or mechanical - either save up another £5-700 or just get an SE. Mine had relatively new shocks / springs and you could really tell over the majority of cars I drove, take your time and find a decent one.
Don't waste your time on a 323i it always feels a bit lacking.
You won't kill yourself in a 328i if you've got decent rubber and don't go booting it everywhere in the rain, I only ever once had an unexpected moment and it wasn't difficult to sort out with the aid of asc.
Don't waste your time on a 323i it always feels a bit lacking.
You won't kill yourself in a 328i if you've got decent rubber and don't go booting it everywhere in the rain, I only ever once had an unexpected moment and it wasn't difficult to sort out with the aid of asc.
Agreed, I only had one real moment in my car as well in 5 yrs of having it - I'd just gone past a learner on a large roundabout that was slightly wet - went round and the back end stepped out.
Off the gas slowly and steer into it and all was well, I just couldnt stop imagining the driving instructor I'd just passed shaking his head and saying 'now thats how not to do it'
I think you've just got to respect the fact you're in a powerful rwd car and drive accordingly. I'm glad I went for the 328 though, I'd have felt having a 323 or 325 that I was missing out, but I always regarded the M3 as being a different beast altogether, so never regretted not having one of them.
Love that light blue! I considered a 328, the logic being to add a turbo. A friend of mine has an m50 turbo setup, unused, sat about gathering dust, including SEM. Cherry on the cake would be the dirty great garret t4 hybrid but I figured you'd and up tweaking so much else why not get the m3
Google/youtube 328 turbos. They're pretty epic
Google/youtube 328 turbos. They're pretty epic