Anyone real familiar with.......BMW's?

[XFactor]

I am thinking of buying BMW for a everyday car. I always liked BMW's, especially the more sporty sedans. I always felt BMW's have a good combonation of sport and luxury in there cars. Not real familar with all the different models. Of course the M cars would be my first choice, but way out of my price range and I prefer a four-door.

So my question is about 3-series and 5-series. I know the 3's are smaller cars, but which is the best performance in each class? I take they are good, reliable, quality cars to buy.

I don't think I can afford anything brand new............so probably looking for something a year or two old. How much would I be looking to pay "NEW" and "USED"? Thinking about buying a 2003 next spring.

Might have to wait though............because I heard there changing the body styles for both classes.

Any web-sites out there too??? THANKS.

 

[jy211]

the bmw 5 series gets a new body change for next year. Not sure on the 3 series. BMW's are great. Buy a certified one from a dealer so you can get an extended warranty.
I know in the 3 series there are a few models: 325, 330...then they offer different prefixes like a 330ci.
I have had 3 diffenent ones and never experienced a major problem with any. I am thinking of trading in the wifes Audi for a 325 wagon or maybe a new 5 series....

 

[BuickMike]

You can get a M3 in a 4-door. I'm not sure what years that was an option, though. I saw a blue '98 4-door M3 for sale a few weeks ago. It had about 88k miles and I think they were asking about $28K. My wife wants an M3, but that's alot of money for a used car. A brand new 325i is in the same price range.

Typically the 3 series is a lighter car and therefore, better performance.
The last 2 numbers indicate the engine size if I remember correctly.
So, a 318 would be a 1.8, 328 would be a 2.8, etc.

If you're comparing a 328 to a 528, the 328 will be faster.
The 5 series is also offered with a 3.5 liter 6 and a 4.0 liter V8, which you cannot get in a 3 series.

You could get a used 325is or 328is without blowing tons of money.

 

[BLACK6PACK]

Good cars, but I think they cost way too much for the performance. The lincoln LS just beat the 540 in every performance comparison.

 

[FlyinGN]

The 4 door M3's were only imported to Canada and only available in 97 and 98.. Try to find one now

Frank

Originally posted by BuickMike
You can get a M3 in a 4-door. I'm not sure what years that was an option, though. I saw a blue '98 4-door M3 for sale a few weeks ago. It had about 88k miles and I think they were asking about $28K. My wife wants an M3, but that's alot of money for a used car. A brand new 325i is in the same price range.

Typically the 3 series is a lighter car and therefore, better performance.
The last 2 numbers indicate the engine size if I remember correctly.
So, a 318 would be a 1.8, 328 would be a 2.8, etc.

If you're comparing a 328 to a 528, the 328 will be faster.
The 5 series is also offered with a 3.5 liter 6 and a 4.0 liter V8, which you cannot get in a 3 series.

You could get a used 325is or 328is without blowing tons of money.

 

[BuickMike]

I thought that too, until I actually saw a 4-door M3.

The second Gen M3's shared the same body as the regular 3 Series, so building a 4-door would be no problem. I'm guessing the 1st and 3rd gen M3's are 2 door only because they are acutally wider than a standard 3 series.

Who knows, there may be 1st and 3rd gen 4-door M3's out there but I'm far from a BMW expert. All I know is that they made 4-door M3's in the 90's.

Here's one for sale:

4 Door M3

 

[MissingMyBuick]

Get a M5. They are baaaad!!!!!! Everything you could ask for, 4 doors, 400 horsepower, 5 liter engine, 6 speed transmission, 18 inch wheels. They are pricey though, new they were roughly 80K. I don't know about used. Also the acceleration was 0-60 in 4.8 sec. and quarter mile in the low 13's.

 

[AsphaltAnihil8r]

http://www.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/

Expensive cars to maintain......have fun

 

[BuickMike]

My wife used to have an '87 325is. It still ran good at 150k miles and was pretty low maintenance, but when I needed to buy parts I went broke. A distributor cap and rotor cost me $200. And the plug wires were about the same. And no, those were not dealer prices. I got the cheapest ones I could find at Checker. We sold that car soon after. I heard the M series are fairly high maintenance.

Still, they are very nice cars if you have the money.

 

[Hi-psi]

I'm selling my 1992 325i if you're interested.

I'm asking less than $8k.

Shoot me an email.

 

[ghall]

I bought my wife a 325CI(02) about 6 months ago.Probably one of the best cars i have ever owned(and i am on 39 cars and counting)---the car absolutely feels better cruising at 100 mph than it does at 50.It feels like a rock!!!!!

" I saw a blue '98 4-door M3 for sale a few weeks ago. It had about 88k miles and I think they were asking about $28K. My wife wants an M3, but that's alot of money for a used car. A brand new 325i is in the same price range."-----------way,way to much money for that car---should be close to $20K---i see them all day long---O ya----you won't buy a new 325 for even close to $28K---i assure you--sticker is a good $10k more than that!!!!

"The 4 door M3's were only imported to Canada and only available in 97 and 98.. Try to find one now"------4 dr. m3's were available in the states in 97 and 98---and are VERY easy to find for sale--and very reasonably priced also.

Good luck with your purchase.

Geoff

 

[dhauser]

4 words: auto trader dot com

 

[Hi-psi]

Originally posted by dhauser
4 words: auto trader dot com

Was that directed at moi?

 

[dhauser]

Nope. Why would it have been??? There's just a lot of Bimmers for sale there. That's all.