328i or 325i? [E36]

digitalwolf · 16 Nov 2008 at 14:46

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.

paradigm · 16 Nov 2008 at 18:44

digitalwolf said:
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.

Well yes, at 7 years old, 15,000 miles a year isn't exactly "high milage".

[TW]Fox · 16 Nov 2008 at 19:03

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

Because they were only in production for a year.

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

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.

digitalwolf · 17 Nov 2008 at 16:01

[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!

[TW]Fox · 17 Nov 2008 at 16:10

Genuine Sport models from, IIRC, 1996, had the M3 bodykit as standard (Excluding mirrors).

digitalwolf · 17 Nov 2008 at 16:19

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

[TW]Fox · 17 Nov 2008 at 16:29

E36? I think it was an option but paradigm will know for sure.

paradigm · 17 Nov 2008 at 16:31

The digital climate control came in from 1996, but was a cost option on AFAIK every e36 model, given that I have seen 328s and M3s without it.

digitalwolf · 17 Nov 2008 at 17:06

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

Paradigm, is your 325 a sport?

Whats it like to "throw around" ?

[TW]Fox · 17 Nov 2008 at 17:06

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

digitalwolf · 17 Nov 2008 at 17:17

[TW]Fox;12913006 said:
No such thing as a 325i Sport in E36 guise.

Oh

paradigm · 17 Nov 2008 at 17:18

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

[TW]Fox · 17 Nov 2008 at 17:20

digitalwolf said:
Oh

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

digitalwolf · 17 Nov 2008 at 17:23

paradigm said:
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 · 17 Nov 2008 at 17:23

[TW]Fox;12913089 said:
Yup, it's correct. This is a fact which seems to have escaped most of the sellers on Autotrader though

Indeed.

digitalwolf · 17 Nov 2008 at 18:05

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?

paradigm · 17 Nov 2008 at 18:24

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

Not as go-karty no, but compared to other larger cars, it feels much more connected, much more progressive, and gives great driver involvement.

[TW]Fox · 17 Nov 2008 at 18:53

digitalwolf said:
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?

Yes. With respect, dont think about this plan any further. M3's are always expensive to run and as they get old and bits start falling off them they get even worse unless you are really very handy with a spanner.

digitalwolf · 17 Nov 2008 at 19:01

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?

[TW]Fox · 17 Nov 2008 at 19:07

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.