e30 325 info

[Lyons]

for about 2 years, ive had my heart set on a bora, but part of me just thinks i should wise up and not get such an old mans car, and get something more youthful while im still young.

ive been toying with the idea of a mint 325, sa they are around the £3000 mark, with 3rd party insurance at £1500. compared to the bora at £6000 + £1800 for insurance. meaning id have plenty left over to run the beast. however, my sensible side tells me im far to young to be driving a BMW and could never afford to run it; parts, fuel, servicing etc. am i just worrying unneccessarily, or would the bora be the safer choice?

it probably wont be until summer, but im just trying to come to a conclusion now.

anyone have any experience with the 325?

also, whats the difference between the SE and Sport?

thankenyou

 

[metro1800]

AFAIK the Sports had an MTEC kit, suspension, steering wheel, gearknob, LSD. SE I think was just a very well equipped version, with chrome inserts on bumpers etc. Could be wrong though

 

[Barry]

The most important bit is that SE's don't have a limited slip so are of no use whatsoever. As far as MPG are concerned I think they are in around 25 or so. Unless you are prepared to go over to England, you aren't gonna get a 'mint' one for £3000 over here, especially when you take in the price of a set of Alpinas, lowering etc...

Personally I wouldnt even consider a boring FWD compared to aa 325i sport, the note of the V6 would be too hard to resist.

The only thing that goes against them for me is the fact they are so popular around here these days.

 

[Jason]

they arnt V6, its a straight six

 

[Barry]

I stand corrected then, I was almost sure they were V6

 

[Phil_D]

Very nice cars indeed , come across to www.ni-bmw.co.uk and have a look about our site , there are a few 325i sports there such as this lovely example.

Cheers

Phil

 

[areofall]

Had a 320i years ago for staging/runabout (pure dog) and I could run it and I was still at tech. Bit sore on petrol but parts are cheap from euro car parts. Loads of fun and the engine noise is so sweet. If you take the back box of them they spit flames and sounds like a 6R4.

This may sound sad but ever think of a 2.8i special capri? £3k will buy a cracker and you may get classic insurance and keep the 306 or a cheapy for eveyday driving. She'll go round as well as a beamer!

 

[Gaz]

Been through a few sports myself and I would certainly take one over a Bora for now - they are getting harder to find so the longer you leave it, the less chance you'll have of picking up a good sport.

Don't buy an SE, go for a Sport Mtech II which has the facelifted bumpers, etc and looks a lot fresher.


Gaz

 

[Jason]

whats the obsession with diffing these cars stupid and doing circles!!

 

[Cess]

Lyons - Be warned these things are seriously thirsty.

 

[Gaz]

whats the obsession with diffing these cars stupid and doing circles!!

They're rwd, strong engine and LSD, it would be a shame not to

@ 2 oooh 5 - They're not that bad as long as you aren't going flat out everywhere. At the end of the day, its got 2 cylinders more than most cars on the road so will drink a bit more, but its no worse than I'd expect from a 2.5. I went from a Civic VTi drinking about £30 of unleaded a week to a 325i Sport which took about £35.

Gaz

 

[Lyons]

i wont be diffing it, so would an LSD make much difference in daily driving?

if the consumption isnt that bad while driving normally, that too is not a problem. as im not the sort to be flat out down every road.

also (at the fear of sounding extra dull in this post), i reckon ill probably just keep the standard suspension and bbs wheels. does the SE come with any sort of racey aesthetic treats, or does it really appear quite dull?

what about the parts side of things? can bits+pieces be got cheap enough?

 

[Lyons]

gaz, who were you insured with?

the way i look at it, get this for a couple of years, tehn ill be old enough to insure a tdi 150 bora

 

[Jason]

an LSD wud help the driving of it!

i was jus informed a e36 325i doesnt come with a LSD? how *****

 

[m00k]

go for the sport...even if u aint gonna hoke it...its nice to know u have the power/capability...and u may get less knob heads tryin to race ya...

 

[Gaz]

Only the Sport models come with an LSD. That includes large-engined Sport models and smaller engined 'is' models (e.g. 318is).

@ Lyons - I'm on Traders mate

I didn't diff the life out of mine either - few circles here and there in the wet but that was about it. An LSD certainly does help in general driving and makes the car much easier to control.

And no matter what you think, you WILL find yourself throwing out the rear now and again on a wet roundabout or private road .

Gaz

 

[Phil_D]

.

And no matter what you think, you WILL find yourself throwing out the rear now and again on a wet roundabout or private road .

Gaz

How very true

 

[gixerboy]

2.8i special capri She'll go round as well as a beamer!

Don't think so lad!! :lol:
Yes they do have a LSD but a longer wheelbase and 30bhp less!!

 

[gixerboy]

i wont be diffing it,

im not the sort to be flat out down every road.

standard suspension and bbs wheels.

does the SE come with any sort of racey aesthetic treats, or does it really appear quite dull?

what about the parts side of things? can bits+pieces be got cheap enough?

Diff'n!! Oh yes you will!!

And you will go flat out!! :lol:

Bilstein's as standard in a sport!!

SE is rather dull, Recaro cloth or leather in sports

For bits German swedish or Europarts plus loads of S/H stuff!!

http://www.e30zone.co.uk/

 

[big cyril]

And no matter what you think, you WILL find yourself throwing out the rear now and again on a wet roundabout or private road

That's certainly true , even in normal driving when the road is wet it may tail slide where a fwd car would not have any issue with grip. This is especially true coming out of T junctions when it will tail slide if much throttle is used. Mine has no LSD and is certainly much more unpredictable than a 525i sport I used to have which did have LSD.

As regards using a 325i as an everyday car - it depends on what you are prepared to put up with - a Bora will be much , much safer , feels much better built and will be less likely to cost a lot in parts . Even the quickest (4 motion) probably wouldn't be quite as quick as a 325i. Mine still did 30-70 in 6.8s with 140k on the clock!

It's a question of character - the 325 has loads and the Bora doesen't but remember that a Bora handles better than a golf and costs a lot less than the equivalent golf , especially the 4 motions and tdi 150's.
Reckon I'd go for a Bora 4 motion in silver with black leather.

 

[Lyons]

And no matter what you think, you WILL find yourself throwing out the rear now and again on a wet roundabout or private road

lol, perhaps in the snow i could be tempted

calm down there cyril lad, it'll be a bora tdi 115 or 2.0 sport ill be getting/affording!

Bilstein's as standard in a sport!!

SE is rather dull, Recaro cloth or leather in sports

see, this is teasing me. i therefore would need to do nothing to it. my dads pal has an e30 m3, which doesnt help Lyons on the "be sensible, go for the bora" route :?

i think i just priced the se on admiral, ill have to check the sport out before i get too excited. anyone else good for insuring such a beast at 21? i seem to recall bbsboy has his golf with adrian flux for very cheap, but would anyone else be recommended?

 

[bob]

Another factor to think about is that if you get a clean sport from england, 12months down the line it'll be worth the same if not more than what you paid. Same can't be said about the SE or bora!

 

[Jason]

what IG are sports?

 

[Neil@rockvale]

go for the sport any day . it will be worth the same or more come resale time, I drove one for 2-3 years and sold it for about a grand more than i paid for it . whereas an ordinary SE will depreciate for definate . they are great fun i would highly recomend one

 

[Lyons]

im sure ill get shunned for this, but was there a e30 318 or 320 "sport"? :roll: