My car was an old 1988 model 325i SE. It had around 140,000 on the clock and would still rev cleanly to the redline.
COSTS Genuine BMW parts can be pricey but with companys like Eurocarparts and German and Swedish parts can be affordable. Can happily average 30mpg and above but i have got into the low teens with spirited driving. Can be a bit of bargain i paid £300 at an auction and they don't seem to go much above £800 these days.
RELIABILITY Very depndable in the time i had it never once did it let me down i once read of a texas bank who had one that had covered 1000,000 miles without problems which i think best shows how well they are made. When they do go wrong there easy to work on.
DRIVING Very comfortable on long journeys thanks to absorbant suspension and unstressed engine. Has great overtaking ability thanks to the big torque the engine has. Steering gives decent feedback at speed and power steering makes it very easy on the arms low speeds. Brakes are good in normal use with effective ABS for a car of this age. Althogh brake fade can occur if driven hard. Handles well but the combination of a narrow track, rear wheel drive and powerful engine can make for brown trouser moments in the wet.
TIP If you do the servicing your self you can reset the service indicator lights on the dash with a tool from Eurocarparts for tenner.BMW charge £50 to do the same.
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BMW 3 Series - Saloon - Rear (RWD) - 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Automatic - 1995 cc - Max Speed: 137 mph - 150, 170 bhp - Petrol - Available Trims: ES, SE, Sport, M Sport
BMW 3 Series - Saloon - Rear (RWD) - 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Automatic - 1995 cc - Max Speed: 140, 143 mph - 163, 177 bhp - Diesel - Available Trims: ES, SE, Sport, M Sport
BMW 3 Series - Saloon - Rear (RWD) - 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Automatic - 1995 cc - Max Speed: 130 mph - 143 bhp - Petrol - Available Trims: M Sport, Sport, SE, ES
Advantages: Fair price, electric roof, leather interior, CD player and, of course 'blindingly rapid'. Disadvantages: Quite expensive parts, can tend to guzzle petrol depending on the speed.
tom13 03.05.2001 ·
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Review of BMW 318i
Advantages: power(from 1984-150bhp std),looks(classic),brilliant fanny magnet! Disadvantages: rarety,especially the 2-doors (i have one,but ive only ever seen one other in henna red and that was on the m42 in 1996!))
piofar 13.10.2002 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of BMW 323i
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Jan 4th, 2005
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