Want to buy E36 but which one???

[Robbo]

After a years penance driving a Rover I want to get back in a Bimmer .

My previous BMW was a modified E34 535 with a supercharger fitted - this car taught me a valuable (and expensive!) lesson - don't buy a modified car unless you have deep pockets.

I'm now looking at the E36 three series and notice that there is a bewildering range of engines - 323 (which is 2.5 litres?), 325 (which is allegedly 2.2 litres??) & 328 (of which I haven't a clue as to the real size).

My question is which one is "best" regarding performance, reliability and relative economy?

I haven't included the smaller engines (1.8, 2.0) or diesels as I want a bit of "go" however, am I judging them too harshly?

So, which way do I go?

[winfred]

here in the states the 323 and 325 are the same displacment but produced at different times, 328's are fast enough to almost make you forget about a m3 (if you've not flogged a m3, but our m3 only makes 240 hp not the euro 321hp) non vanos cars have a nice "on the cam" surge on max accelleration, our vanos cars generally have the same power output but have flatter torque curves. i've herd good things about the turbo diesels but have never seen one, 4 bangers suck for power and have usually been beaten to death and under mantained

[Robbo]

Thanks for info winfred.

Hmmm, I saw the 525 quoted as a 2.2 in a classified ad so it may have been a typo or a misinformed trader.

328 sounds interesting - maybe a nice Estoril blue 328 coupe, manual, grey leather & aircon

[winfred]

they usually say V6 also

Thanks for info winfred.

Hmmm, I saw the 525 quoted as a 2.2 in a classified ad so it may have been a typo or a misinformed trader.

[Robbo]

they usually say V6 also

Yes, I've been looking at quite a few ads and came across one which described the car in the title as a TDS, in the main text it read "5 speed, petrol",etc.

[Geoff Hoad]

Two really good options here. The first is a '93/'94 325i. Has Vanos and replacing the exhaust, differential and chip can slice almost a second off ots 1 to 60 mph time which makes it a very quick car getting really close to a 3 litre M3's times at a far lower cost.

Ditto for the 328i which has a lot more torque and with a chip and exhaust is a far better option than an M3, will cost far less to keep and run and be just as quick.

All depends upon how much you want to spend. I would go for the 325i as the entry cost is less, I can spend more money on getting a really prsitine example with low mileage and finally I gradually upgrade the car to almost M3 spec without spending a fortune!

Hope this helps,