Hello
I'm brand new here and have found some great info.
I ask your help in chossing my first BMW. I don't want to worry about the integrity so I'm going to get a certified used from a dealer, and am looking at the years '98, '99 and '00. Any info / advice would be much appreciated. I'll spend an even 20k.

I'll list what's important to me from most to least.
1) fun to drive
1b) four doors
2) good layout of controls
3) reliable
4) sporty
5) dependable
6) no outrageous regular repairs / scheduled maintanance
7) comfortable (I'm 34yrs, 6'2'', 195lbs, male)
8) easy diagnosis/repair of simple roadside breakdowns
9) gas milage
10) lots of bells and wistles

I test drove a '98 318i and found it to handle great but I want more power. I read that a 323 and 328 are pretty much the same car (performance wise) - is that true? - How much more meatier are they from a 318? Is it wise to hold out for an M3?

Also, what are the packages all about?

I'm looking to buy in about a month. I live in Northern Ca but can go to So Ca for better choices.

Any and all info would be great. Thanks again

'98 will an E36 and the '99-later 4 doors are the E46.

There are very siginificant differences, but I doubt you'll find an E46 for $20K.

The 6 cylinder 3 is far superior to the 318! The 6 is much smoother and has much more low end torque. Not to mention more power. BMW in-line 6 cylinder engines are the best engines in the world!

So, go for a '92-'95 325i or '96-'98 328i

The 323i was only made as a 2-door in the E36 style.

The 323i is the best combination of fuel efficiency, power, refinement and cost. The 328i is faster, but mostly it's in the upper RPM band. Both the 323i and 328i have good low end torque, the 328i has the advantage as the RPM's build.

The 328i replaced the 325i.

In '96 besides the engines and a few cosmetic changes there really isn't any difference from the pre-'96 cars.

325i: 2.5L I-6 with 189bhp@5900 and 181lb-ft@4200

328i: 2.8L I-6 with 190bhp@5300 and 207lb-ft@3950

M3 is a far superior to the 328i!!!!!! $20K, not likely.

The packages are just as they sound. Sport gives you sport seats, a lowered and stiffened suspension and more aggressive wheels and tires.

Premium gives you all the typical luxury items.


A '96 328i with sport package and manaul transmission will give you most of the stuff on your list. It's way fun!

The inline sixes are definitely smoother at idle than the 4's but superior? Well, we all have our personal opinions I suppose. Quiet, smooth engines are more of a trademark of Honda, Lexus and Cadillac, IMO, and are more suited to the Brie and Wafer crowd than the folks who were originally attracted to Bimmers by their rough idling, growling, raspy high-end torque, four cylinders. I do know that BMW has more success racing 4 bangers than they have 6's, and 6's seem to have problems occasionally with water pump failures and VANOS glitches. The 4 cylinders are a much more tried and true engine, as the car that made BMW famous in America (the 2002) was a 4 cylinder, and the 318 is pretty much a continuation of that tradition, and is a pretty trouble free car because of that. If you get a 4 cylinder, get a 96 or later as they went to a better performing engine (1.9 liter). Don't expect any low end torque like in the American tuned 6's, but hang on when you pass 3000 RPM!

318's will outhandle the inline 6's, because there's not as much front end weight being slung through corners, or as much horsepower effects on the suspension to deal with.

Romabimmer - thanks for the info, it helps a lot. As far as the 20k goes, in the paper I see many '99-'00 for that price or lower (and higher) and see some certified going for about 22-24k at dealers (which makes me feel I can get them down to 20k). So, I'll stick with the 46 engine (if that's the right number) in those years. As far as asking about the M3, those are out there also in that price however I would have to go older, ie '97 or '98. So is it better to go with a, say '00 323 or a '97 M3? Also, what would be a good ball park for acceptable milage?

Again, I want sporty but more so reliability.

Thanks again

Originally posted by fogcity
Romabimmer - thanks for the info, it helps a lot. As far as the 20k goes, in the paper I see many '99-'00 for that price or lower (and higher) and see some certified going for about 22-24k at dealers (which makes me feel I can get them down to 20k). So, I'll stick with the 46 engine (if that's the right number) in those years. As far as asking about the M3, those are out there also in that price however I would have to go older, ie '97 or '98. So is it better to go with a, say '00 323 or a '97 M3? Also, what would be a good ball park for acceptable milage?

Again, I want sporty but more so reliability.

Thanks again

Wow, yeah if you can find a CPO E46 for around $20K, great!

I guess it depends on exactly what you want when comparing the '00 323i and E36 93.

BTW:
E36 model is from '92-'98 for sedans (the 2 doors went to '99)

E46 model is from '99-current (though in 2001 the 323 was replaced with the 325 and the 328 replaced with the 330. In 2002 the sedan got a minor facelift. Also in 2000 all 3 series cars got the full DSC (dynamic stability control) system)

The E36 M3 has a significant advantage in performance over the E46 323i. However, the E46 is larger with more shoulder, hip. head and leg room. Neither however is 'spacious'. The E46 also has side and head airbags and 2000 later cars have DSC. The quality, especially the interior, is far superior.

IMO: The E36 is more of a driver's car, lighter and more nimble with a clearer connection to the road. It is not as refined though as the E46 and in pure numbers the E46 is faster, brakes better and has more grip.

The exception being the E36 M3, only the E46 330 with sport package comes close to the E36 M3 in performance.

Basically,

the E46 is a better daily driver and more practical for a family and it's still a superior sport sedan to anyone else out there. It's a BMW.

The E36 is more a true driver's car. But, it's smaller, with less safety items, lower quality materials and not as refined.

Personally, I'd still get an E36 M3 over an E46 323i, 328i, 325i. It would be a much tougher decision against a 330. But, I have no family, don't need the space and am very driver oriented type.


As far as mileage, if the car has been taken car or with regular and proper maintenance then even 100,000 miles is not excessive. Since all CPO cars have less then 60,000 miles any well maintained car will be reliable.

A CPO 2000 323i with sport package would be the best comprimise of fun, refinement, safety, quality, practicality, cost of owernship and initial cost.

A E36 would be the fastest BMW short of an E46 M3, current M5, or M coupe.

I fully agree with Romabimmer on the E46 vs E36 analysis. The E46 is definitely superior to any other sport sedan currently offered, but BMW is leaning more along the lines of Lexus, Audi, and Mercedes C class with softer suspension (over bumps, not necessarily around corners), dampened engine noise (I personally like a valvy, robust sounding engine myself), and all that wood trim which is standard on all except 330's and M3. E36 interiors are more basic, but were more sporty looking, like a Porsche, while the E46 looks like it's targeted for the Ritzy market.

If you are in the market for an E36 M3, checkout the March issue of European Car. It gives the 1995 M3 the grade of being the best. most sporty M3 of all the E36's. Apparently after 1995, BMW began dampening down the ride of M3's to suit the Doctors and Lawyers who never learned how to really drive a BMW.

I heard the same thing about the M3. I've never driven a '95, but I have been told many time that the '96-'99 M3 has more understeer and more body-roll. Or at least the USA spec car does.

I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from going for an E46. If new is one of the main things you are looking for, then go for it. Some may even like the newer body shape as well.

I am older than many on this forum, and my first BMW experience was a 1973 2002. I grew up in an era when all we got over here were European versions of European cars, and I grew to appreciate them for their "European-ness" such as harsher ride, stiffer suspensions, excellent safety features, and growling little low displacement engines with a lot of higher-end torque. They were never good drag racers or luxury cars, but had no superior on those twisty roads, between 3,000 RPM and redline! You just had to keep them at high RPM's to get the full enjoyment out of driving them, and part of that enjoyment was listening to that engine sing like a hive of bees, while hanging onto curves that would send American cars into a fishtail.

Things are changing, though, and my preferences are becoming more and more obsolete. M3's have become so expensive that mainly Doctors and Lawyers are BMW's target market these days and like any smart corporation, they are now gearing their product to their maiin market here in the US.

I personally wouldn't mind a 1995 M3 with around 100,000 miles, which I might even replace the engine in after another 150,000 miles.

Romabimmer/318ti - Thanks for all the advice; it's helped a lot. I think I'll go for a '99-00 with the lowest miles, be it 323i or 328i (standard transmition, of course).

Speaking of standard transmitions, on a tour I took in the Alps using BMW motorcycles, I discovered that if I kept the revs way up to where I thought the engine would come apart, the bike handled MUCH better and I think the engine liked it also. Is it the same with the cars?