328i or 325i? [E36]

[digitalwolf]

Hi there.

My mate has decided to go German for his next car and has £4k to spend.

I pushed him in the direction of the E36 6 pots.

Which one is best out of the 325i and 328i?

(3 door sport)

Cheers.

 

[digitalwolf]

Digging this out again!

We found a 328i in superb condition, he took it for a test drive and said he really liked it.

I personally would have had it if it was at a main dealer, as I could have done a part ex.

Anyway, he went back on his decision because the NCAP rating is poor.........

Oh and he thinks an old BMW will be a money pit! This true?

 

[digitalwolf]

Its a car built before NCAP. Therefore its not designed to pass a series of crap tests.



This much is true.

Yes but he's a safety geek.

He's thinking about a Clio 172 as it has a 4* NCAP. LOL

 

[digitalwolf]

For 4k I'd start to look in e46 territory now. I just picked up a black 328ci (coupe) for £2900, mint, although it was off a friend who was trading it in.

Thats a steal of a price!

 

[digitalwolf]

Out of interest I had a look at the E46 market today and it's flooded with 318Ci's in the £4k region.

Saw one 330ci sport at £5k the rest seem to be around £6k.

 

[digitalwolf]

E46 328ci's seem to be like gold dust.

Seen a few 330i Sports in the £5-6k region. 51-02 Plates with over 100k on the dial is the trend.

 

[digitalwolf]

Because they were only in production for a year.



I wouldnt want to bother with a 5k facelift Sport. It'll be shonky and horrible. Only prefacelift Sport's exist at this pricepoint if you want something half decent.

Makes sense now, could only find 2 on Auto Trader.

Did they make a revision to the E36 Coupe after '97 or something?

I keep seeing R - T reg ones that look really sporty, maybe it's the skirts etc yet N reg ones look really basic and boxy. They are all 'sports'

Mind you sooo many M3 replica's out there!

 

[digitalwolf]

That makes sense then. When did climate control become standard in the 328?

 

[digitalwolf]

Ahh right, is it worth trying to find one with climate?

Paradigm, is your 325 a sport?

Whats it like to "throw around" ?

 

[digitalwolf]

No such thing as a 325i Sport in E36 guise.

Oh

 

[digitalwolf]

Regardless of it being labelled a "sport" or not, its great to chuck around, but mine does have uprated suspension (not done by me).

What's the handling like compared to the Saxo? Surely not as 'go-karty' ?

 

[digitalwolf]

Yup, it's correct. This is a fact which seems to have escaped most of the sellers on Autotrader though

Indeed.

 

[digitalwolf]

Just out of general curiosity, how much would it cost to keep an M3 on the road?

3.2 Evo.

A lot more than a 2.8?

 

[digitalwolf]

I can actually get insured on a 328i and the quote I got was rather lower than expected, £850 fully comp. Can't get insurance on an M3 so thats why I was asking out of interest.

What is likely to go wrong on a 328? Suspension and VANOS?

 

[digitalwolf]

VANOS is very very reliable on the M52, failiure isn't common and even if you get a problem its likely to just be the oil seals - you can buy a recon VANOS for just £250 anyway, so its cheap and easy to fix.

What goes wrong? Loads - cooling systems are made of cheese, the engines will grenade themselves if they are Nikasil lined, the suspension will almost certainly need a refresh on whatever you buy because most people just dont bother so it wont handle at its best - so new dampers/arms/bushes/etc.

How much do suspension kit's cost?

Shouldn't most of the engines have been replaced anyway?

This is where they get pricey yes?

 

[digitalwolf]

Seems like £150-£200 for a decent coilover kit if going non standard. Less than I expected tbh.

I've read that it's the rear suspension that usually goes first. How would you tell if it had gone?

 

[digitalwolf]

Getting parts for these is no problem at all right?

BMW have a 30 year parts promise don't they?