considering trade, opinions needed

[hatched91]

hello everybody. i have a 1990 535i and am considering trading it in on a 1998 328 convertable automatic SOHC 6cyl. the guy said he might take a straight up trade, mileage on the 3 series is unknown but my 535 has 330k miles, is lowered and has a 5spd. both are black. would this be a good trade in terms of having a reliable quick good handling car? i'd hate to see my 535 go, but the 328 is much newer.

[jgardia]

Is the engine sohc?


hello everybody. i have a 1990 535i and am considering trading it in on a 1998 328 convertable automatic SOHC 6cyl. the guy said he might take a straight up trade, mileage on the 3 series is unknown but my 535 has 330k miles, is lowered and has a 5spd. both are black. would this be a good trade in terms of having a reliable quick good handling car? i'd hate to see my 535 go, but the 328 is much newer.

[SharkmanBMW]

are you sure you want an automatic????
It sounds good since your 5 has so much mileage, but automatic is the deal breaker!

[Alexlind123]

That does sound good.

[632 Regal]

Take it easy, autos are the whip!
are you sure you want an automatic????
It sounds good since your 5 has so much mileage, but automatic is the deal breaker!

[hatched91]

yeah, i've heard bmw autos aren't the best, i'm not worried about the drivetrain on my car, everything has been replaced/rebuilt. holds up fine. but it pains me to think of getting an auto convertable, even though it's nice...i'll test drive it later this week and find out whether it's worth the trade or not, both are 6cyl SOHC motors. i'd guess the 328 has more power since it's new though.

[Ross]

Let me be sure I understand the question. Someone has offered to straight trade an eight year old convertible for a sixteen year old sedan with a third of a million miles. Correct?

[Eric Clark]

Maybe it is a flood vehicle? It sounds suspicious since the miles are unknown.

[Qube]

Straight up trade sounds suspicious... it's not like the 3 has an ///M package or anything...

You sure you want to throw away a great e34 for something like this?!?

http://www.textint.com/_Main_Pages/_Car_Pic_Pages/_JPEG_Car_Pictures/_1998-99_Batch_Pictures/_R1/blk328i.jpg

[Ausmpower]

The following specs are for a 1999 328ci:

Engine Size 2793cc (2.8)

No. Cylinders 6

Engine Configuration In-line

Cam DOHC with VVT

Valves/Cylinder 4

Compression Ratio 10.2:1

Engine Cycle 4 Stroke

Engine Type Piston

Engine Location Front

Engine Number M52

Engine Code M52

Fuel Type Petrol - Unleaded ULP

RON Rating 91

Fuel Capacity 63L

Fuel Delivery Multi-Point Injected

Method of Delivery Electronic Sequential

Induction Aspirated

Power 142kW @ 5500rpm
(your M30 is 155 Kw and the Sohc 328ci is around 125Kw)

Torque 280Nm @ 3500rpm-3500rpm

Acceleration 0-100Km/h 8.1 secs
(only .1 faster! why bother)

Kerb Weight 1285kg

Tare Mass 1447kg

Gross Vehicle Mass 1895kg

It's only .1 of a sec faster to 100 kpm than your 535 (and note this is the VANOS DOHC motor in the example) and the sohc will be 10 kw LESS that my example. the chassis is much more flexible than the E34 and not even 100 kg lighter.......

Together with the problems with the rag top motors going out of sync and the mundane SOHC non vanos motor i'd give it a miss.

but at the end of the day it is going to be your car not mine.....just my 2 cents.......

R

[hatched91]

milage is unknown meaning, i don't know the miles yet, sorry, i should've phrased it better. ..could be a flood vehicle but i kinda doubt it, it's in pretty good shape, doesn't look like it's been flooded. if i get time off work, i'll test drive it later this week.

[SharkmanBMW]

Take it easy, autos are the whip!


I had NO problem driving a 5 series automatic... but a 3 series??

there is no substitute in a 3 series for 3 pedals on the floor!

[NY535iManual]

Another issue is your "ownership horizon" for the car. By now, most of the common medium and long term problems/failures for e34s have been identified & folks on here can be of great help. I don't think the e46 has been "sorted" quite as well, so you could end up with needing to do big $$ fixes in a couple of years (or maybe less). Nobody (at least not me) wants to be one of the first to experience and have to solve a problem... If you're thinking of having the car for a year or less and then flippint it, thats a different story

[Ausmpower]

The E46 318 is the german COROLLA, build quality is a little suss, electrical quirks, the plastic water pump ready to fail when you least need it....

not to mention radiator header tanks fail (split) at random. moulded hose fittings with non-replaceable o-rings.....my mum has one and i'm trying to get her into an E90........

Are the E46 6's any better?

[angrypancake]

screw it dont trade the e34. what do you wanna get for it? sell it. after driving a 5 speed e34 and now driving an auto tragic e34, frankly it sucks. going to an auto 3-er... urghhhh