328i or 325i? [E36]

Soldato
Joined
27 Mar 2004
Posts
3,589
Location
England
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.
 
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?
 
[TW]Fox;12907271 said:
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!
 
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?
 
Last edited:
[TW]Fox;12913695 said:
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?
 
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? :confused:
 
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