BMW 325 Coupe

[x Alex x]

Off to view one tonight, yeah i know.. in the dark

it's cheap IMO looks verry nice, private plate, decent condition, FSH, 100k miles but most BMWs 5 years younger have the same miles on.

any ideas what i should look out for? thanks

 

[Nickmitbm]

E36 or E46?

 

[x Alex x]

E36 or E46?

E36, needs an alloy to match the 18s on it, and some small rust on the arches, i can get that sorted cheap, owned by a doctor for the last 10 years with full BMW history and lots of receipts, 5/6month t and t

 

[x Alex x]

i'm off in a few mins to view it and not really sure if there's anything prone to going on them yet or what to have a good look for

 

[Nickmitbm]

Personally I don't like E36s(the onlz bimmer I don't like).It was the first BMW model with so many electronics and it faces lots of reliability issues.I'd go for sth else at the same price, as buying an E36, you'll pay more for the badge than the car itself..Brakes are awful(based on today's standards),setup and safety are kind of disappointing and generally the only good thing with it will be the engine.There is a good forum about BMWs, www.bimmerfest.com .If you ask there, I believe you'll find your answer.
P.S.Hope I didn't disappoint you as I'm a really cruel judger of the car cause I've linked it to people who can't buy a proper BMW but have to own one just to become a "BMW owner" with everything that means.That is very common in Greece.

 

[beau]

well most commonly i am replacing-

radiators
water pumps
front brake pipes
rear brake pipes
front brake hoses
rear trailing arm bushes
propshaft rubber bush

thats the main things.

exhausts are starting to get to the age of failure too.

 

[x Alex x]

well most commonly i am replacing-

radiators
water pumps
front brake pipes
rear brake pipes
front brake hoses
rear trailing arm bushes
propshaft rubber bush

thats the main things.

exhausts are starting to get to the age of failure too.

cheers Beau,

wasn't good enough to get into to proper detail.

it was ridiculously rust, an actual chunk missing from the front wing, beyond repair.

the alloys where nice 18 inch ones, one was missing for some reason and he tried to tell me i could get one from the scrapyard for £25 lmfao. oh and that i'd get a front wing for £20 too

he said he'd knock £50 off, so i'd get it for £450.

all the history was there, it ran and drove lovely, 10 disc CD changer in the boot

so, from what i could tell, it needed an alloy wheel, a new wing, and repairs to at least 2 of the arches, everything else seemed fine, the leather interor was very decent too, was a tough one to walk away from, i said i'd look into it and maybe drive past in the daylight and have a look

oh and it had a priv plate, K222 TAS, should be on an M.

 

[beau]

well hmmm would be upto you.

its only £450 but it could need £500 spending on it to get nice.

iv seen some real tidy m-teched 325s go for under a grand.

and tbh history doesnt really mean alot on these cars, the engines are pretty solid etc, if its got history or not, the clutch could still go any time, the water pump can still go any time etc... really buy on condition rather than history.

and 100k well, its on the sort of mileage when everything goes tbh! clutches, water pumps, rear bushes usually go between the 90k-110k mark.

 

[JFL]

you go through so many cars!!

 

[x Alex x]

you go through so many cars!!

3rd year of driving and it would only be my 4th, i'd be keeping my punto, i wanted the BMW for a month or 2 while i fix it up i'd drive it round, then turn a small profit

 

[x Alex x]

well hmmm would be upto you.

its only £450 but it could need £500 spending on it to get nice.

iv seen some real tidy m-teched 325s go for under a grand.

and tbh history doesnt really mean alot on these cars, the engines are pretty solid etc, if its got history or not, the clutch could still go any time, the water pump can still go any time etc... really buy on condition rather than history.

and 100k well, its on the sort of mileage when everything goes tbh! clutches, water pumps, rear bushes usually go between the 90k-110k mark.

thanks again mate, you've helped me make up my mind, was trying to find out if i could get a front grill and drivers wing cheap but i probably wont bother anyway

 

[Chas Uno]

Off to view one tonight, yeah i know.. in the dark

it's cheap IMO looks verry nice, private plate, decent condition, FSH, 100k miles but most BMWs 5 years younger have the same miles on.

any ideas what i should look out for? thanks

A prick in the driver's seat and an inability to move out of the outside lane of a motorway? Oh, and non functioning indicators?

:devil:

 

[x Alex x]

A prick in the driver's seat and an inability to move out of the outside lane of a motorway? Oh, and non functioning indicators?

:devil:

hahaha, verrry true, although i've noticed an increasing amount of a-holes in audis these days, its nearly like BMW drivers are just driving like tw4ts because of the reputation

 

[x Alex x]

hmm, im still tempted by this, it's had the clutch and belts done at 100k, i can have it for £400.

even has a private plate but i think it costs a lot to pull them off.. hmm.. help lol

 

[beau]

check the rear brake pipes & rear bushes, and if they were ok id buy it.

 

[auto_blanco]

Thats a cheap way to get 192bhp, they are nice to drive IMO too. Although I prefer the proper big BMWs lol. The M50 engines are strong but as has been said water pump with the plastic impellers are rubbish, but I doubt it still has one at this point. Metal ones are long lasting. Check there is enough oil in it, I know it sounds silly but they take about 5.5 litres of oil and alot of people just bung a gallon bottle in and leave it...2.5s can do headgaskets though if the cooling system has been neglected.

My mates E36 had rear brake pipes, 1 front wishbone bush and that got it an MOT at about 100k miles, parts are cheap and they are pretty easy to work on. If the suspension isnt clunking from the rear subframe nothing else is too dear to do.

I would go for it, my current E34 cost £200 and its still going like a trooper with 169k on it, my old 520i got to 202k before I blew the diff, oops.

 

[x Alex x]

well he called today, at 4/5pm, saying if he still wanted it, be quick as he has 3 people coming to view it.. he's such a BSer but isn't smart enough to pull it off..

if it's still there tommorow i'll go and have another look, not sure how to check rear brake pipes though and bushes, there was a brake light on the dash but it had just had the brakes done all round, i was thinking it was a sensor that hasn't been changed

 

[auto_blanco]

Fortunately its quite easy to tell if an E36 has knackered suspension because it will drive like crap, it should feel tight over the bumps but no knocking whatsoever, with sharp but smooth steering that should also be reasonably heavy.

To check rear bushes drive 1 side at a time over a sunken manhole or something, if somethings wrong that rear corner will seem to 'turn' outwards a bit. To check rear subframe, get the car in 2nd gear, about 4k rpm and come on and off the throttle a few times fairly sharply, any banging from the rear and its almost always the subframe bushes. Front suspension is dead simple and will knock and wander if broken.

Brake wear sensor is a common thing, I always take the bulbs out of mine because im too cheap to buy a new sensor lol. Brake pipes are easy to see looking underneath, they can be a little brown/crispy, cover them in grease and they will be fine.

Im heavily into my BMWs and have owned many, so its a long post but they are my kinda car!

 

[x Alex x]

Fortunately its quite easy to tell if an E36 has knackered suspension because it will drive like crap, it should feel tight over the bumps but no knocking whatsoever, with sharp but smooth steering that should also be reasonably heavy.

To check rear bushes drive 1 side at a time over a sunken manhole or something, if somethings wrong that rear corner will seem to 'turn' outwards a bit. To check rear subframe, get the car in 2nd gear, about 4k rpm and come on and off the throttle a few times fairly sharply, any banging from the rear and its almost always the subframe bushes. Front suspension is dead simple and will knock and wander if broken.

Brake wear sensor is a common thing, I always take the bulbs out of mine because im too cheap to buy a new sensor lol. Brake pipes are easy to see looking underneath, they can be a little brown/crispy, cover them in grease and they will be fine.

Im heavily into my BMWs and have owned many, so its a long post but they are my kinda car!

thanks very much for that, i'll go see it in the morning if he still has it, was beautiful to drive, even had those rear wheels spinning a bit

bet it'll be gone now, i actually did check the back end suspension, was tight and bounced back no problems

 

[x Alex x]

sold, i'm actually releived, i can move on with my life, it came at the wrong time, with both my cars off the road