thinking of buying a BMW

[suqish76]

I'm in the market for another car and i wanted to ask the JW BMW owners the pro's and con's of owning their own Bimmers.
i've never driven a bmw so don't know what to expect.
im probably looking at a 95-97 model 325i.
whats their power output and handling etc like is there any major problems i should be wary of ?
i've tried to get some stats of them from the net but cant find anything useful
any help is appreciated.

[altedza]

Originally Posted by suqish76 I'm in the market for another car and i wanted to ask the JW BMW owners the pro's and con's of owning their own Bimmers. i've never driven a bmw so don't know what to expect. im probably looking at a 95-97 model 325i. whats their power output and handling etc like is there any major problems i should be wary of ? i've tried to get some stats of them from the net but cant find anything useful any help is appreciated.

I'm not particularly fond of E36s, but that's just me. Some people still really like them, despite being over a 10 year-old design. Your car won't be very quick, but it won't be slow. It will handle well. You will enjoy the ride. The interior will be dated, remember, since the E46s are gone already (replaced by the E90s). I really dislike the old keys. As for major problems, I'd imagine at this point everything would be handled and I've seen those go up to pretty damn high mileage. The only problems I ever catch in 90's BMWs are dying LCDs.

[GTO]

^ Good cars but too expensive here.

AUstralia eh, dont go near them, too expensive, problematic and expensive when things go wrong.

What do you want out of a car and whats your budget?

[ZfrkS62]

hmm..E36 weak points:

-Wheel bearings
-seat belt pre-tensioners
-airbag contact ring behind the steering wheel gets noisy
-at this age the ABS hydraulic unit starts going out
-318's tend to lose their radiator if it hasn't been replaced by now
-as was mentioned before, the LCD's on the A/C control panel and radio fade out
-control arm bushings tend to last only about 50K, but that goes from the E30 straight to the E46

Keep in mind that this doesn't all happen at once but these are the most common issues with the E36.

[RC45]

BMTroubleU...

Great car to own new with warranty - but don't forget that a cheap used BMW still cost's the same to maintain as a nice expensive new one

[ZfrkS62]

Originally Posted by RC45 BMTroubleU... Great car to own new with warranty - but don't forget that a cheap used BMW still cost's the same to maintain as a nice expensive new one

same with any car though.

[ae86_16v]

Originally Posted by ZfrkS62 hmm..E36 weak points: -Wheel bearings -seat belt pre-tensioners -airbag contact ring behind the steering wheel gets noisy -at this age the ABS hydraulic unit starts going out -318's tend to lose their radiator if it hasn't been replaced by now -as was mentioned before, the LCD's on the A/C control panel and radio fade out -control arm bushings tend to last only about 50K, but that goes from the E30 straight to the E46 Keep in mind that this doesn't all happen at once but these are the most common issues with the E36.

- Rear Shock Mounts
- Water pumps (need to be replace by metal impeller kind pre-96)
- Oxygen 2 sensors will need replacing
- Suspension components
- Dated exterior (personal taste)
- Dated interior (personal taste)

I can't think of anything else off the top of my head. I had a 97 328is and now I am driving a 98 M3. Overall both cars has extremely reliable. And I hope it stays that way.

Generally speaking preventive maintanence will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.

This has to do w/ the US/North America Market only:

The 2.5 L M50B25 used in the 325 models was replaced in 1996 with the 2.8 L M52B28, creating the 328 line. Another 2.5 L engine, the M52B25, was reintroduced for 1998 but the cars were sold as 323 rather than 325.

So if you want a 325, then you could only have it in 1995. 96-97 had the 328. And 1998, the last year for E36 Sedans had the 323.

Both the 2.5L motors had 168hp, while the 2.8 had 190hp.

There was a facelift in 1997. It had more sculpted front nose, updated side markers. The interior and climate controls were updated in 1996. 1997+ had the options of center arm rest. 1998-99 had rear headrest and side impact airbags. 98.5+ and 99 Coupes had M Technic kit that was similar to M3s.

If you can, try to get a 1997 328i or iS for the Coupe. Great power, handles wonderfully, and great starter BMW. Try to find something that has records, showing that the owner did not neglect the car. If so, the bills could start adding up fast.

Also if at all possible, try to get a manual. It really is that much better.

Goodluck, feel free to ask any more questions. ZfrkS62 will be able to handle most of your technical questions.

Check out these links as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_3_Series
http://www.answers.com/topic/bmw-3-series

(I love wikipedia )

[suqish76]

GTO...my budget... well i'm not sure just yet, it kinda depends on a couple things first.
Brembo...Audi, BMW, yeah they're all kinda expensive here.
RC45...thats one of my concerns, maintanence.
ae86...was your 328 a daily driver?. as this will be my only car, i need something that will be reliable and used every day.

[RC45]

Originally Posted by ZfrkS62 Originally Posted by RC45 BMTroubleU... Great car to own new with warranty - but don't forget that a cheap used BMW still cost's the same to maintain as a nice expensive new one same with any car though.

Not at all.

This is not true for "peoples cars" that are easily and cheaply serviced under the oak tree in your back yard with parts bought at Autozone

I have had my eye on either a first gen BMW 750iL or an 850 or even a 5xx/6xxSL or a 5xx/6xxSE for the longest time - the reason I have never just driven one of these "cheap" $12,000 V12's home, is that routine maintenance and repairs are still the same cost as when the cars were new...

And in todays dollars, that means the same as the cost of keeping a $100,000+ car clothed and fed.

[bmwmpower]

yeah 328 is better then 325, more power same fuel consumtion

[Toronto]

go to the dealer and drive the car, if you like it, you won't mind spending money on it

[ae86_16v]

Originally Posted by suqish76 GTO...my budget... well i'm not sure just yet, it kinda depends on a couple things first. Brembo...Audi, BMW, yeah they're all kinda expensive here. RC45...thats one of my concerns, maintanence. ae86...was your 328 a daily driver?. as this will be my only car, i need something that will be reliable and used every day.

Yup for over 4 years it was my daily driver. Pretty reliable. I had to replace a few sensors (cam position & oxygen 2), plus a few minor things, but nothing big. The Inspections Is and IIs are kind of expensive. Those are regular inspection recommended by BMW, but the best part is that you don't have to take the car into a dealer to have those done. If you are a DYI guy, you could even do it yourself. The list of items to change/replace/check is readily available online.

Right now my M3 is a semi-daily driver and it has proven to be great as well.

Like I said, find something that preferrably has one owner w/ all the records then move from there. You don't want to buy into someone else's problems.

Oh another problem I just remember that is kind of expensive is the AirBag Sensor. Usually it is either the seat belt sensor or the occupancy sensor. That is a $500 part + labor. My 328is it went out twice and in my M3 it went out once. So it adds up.

[ZfrkS62]

http://www.bmw-m.net/Gallery/inspection/inspect.htm

here's one of the inspection checklists 8)

[bmwmpower]

or try to find E books from Total bmw mag

[ae86_16v]

Originally Posted by ZfrkS62 http://www.bmw-m.net/Gallery/inspection/inspect.htm here's one of the inspection checklists 8)

Hahah, you got to me before I could edit my post . Thanks!!!

http://www.bimmerzone.com/inspection.htm