E34 or E36 £1500

[coupascoopa]

Guys n Gals,

Can I pick your brains a minute?
Due to new house expenses I'm relunctantly considering parting with my 944 LUX and grabbing a 3 series for about £1500. After playing that 'car for under £2000 grand' game this option seems to give me reliability & power (was aiming for an easy 170bhp plus) for bargain money (which I now need).

But which out of the E34 and E36 would get me the most for my money i.e power, hard wearing, low maintenance, leather, sports suspension, air con etc..?

all thoughts appreciated. cheers

[chippy69]

I'm thinking E30 325i, you would possibly get a better car than an E36, as for this money it would be one of the earlier ones which were plagued by unreliability and patchy build quality, whereas if you can find a late model E30 they were at the peak of their life, perhaps even a touring model which is a better handling car allegedly and will give you a bit of space, anyway just a thought.

[coupascoopa]

funny you should say that.I was round a friends last night (who is an extreme BMW Fanatic ) and the same discussion was had....and they look so tough!

[chippy69]

coupascoopa said:

funny you should say that.I was round a friends last night (who is an extreme BMW Fanatic ) and the same discussion was had....and they look so tough!

the only thing I would say is they are getting on a bit, you can especially see that with the interior, although well put together it does look its age, both the E36 and E34 do feel a bit more modern

[tollytuff]

i drive a 535 e34 and its lovely and powerful, i think it pushes out about 220ish bhp (but i could be wrong).

its great fun to drive and in the 4 years ive owned it its been incredibly reliable, only let me down once. the engines are known to be bombproof, mines done nearly 120k and it still pulls like a train, despite the fact its one of the earlist models 1989.. got leather too, which is tuff as ol boots (not my choice mind). get one with a wad of history, thats a must.

get one!

[Alistair H.]

tollytuff said:

i drive a 535 e34 and its lovely and powerful, i think it pushes out about 220ish bhp (but i could be wrong). its great fun to drive and in the 4 years ive owned it its been incredibly reliable, only let me down once. the engines are known to be bombproof, mines done nearly 120k and it still pulls like a train, despite the fact its one of the earlist models 1989.. got leather too, which is tuff as ol boots (not my choice mind). get one with a wad of history, thats a must. get one!

Got to agree. I had an e34 535i too. Mine notched past 200K miles. just a water pump and a clutch in 150K miles of ownership. I would say you are getting more car for your money than an E30.

[tollytuff]

blimy! 200k!.... another 8 years of happy motoring then....

[xm5er]

535s are great, you may also want to look out for the 525 sport which you should be able to get hold of for £1500.

The 525 uses the later 24valve engine (same as the one used in the e36) which knocks out 192bhp and comes with Mtech suspension and, I think, an LSD.

[71notout]

I am thinking of replacing my Prelude with an E34 525i Sport.

I haven't really though about a 535i due to fuel costs - seeing as you guys drove them, what are they like on the fuel?

Just gotta sell the Prelude first - market is dead at the moment (even more so for modded motors!)

[Alistair H.]

71notout said:

I am thinking of replacing my Prelude with an E34 525i Sport. I haven't really though about a 535i due to fuel costs - seeing as you guys drove them, what are they like on the fuel? Just gotta sell the Prelude first - market is dead at the moment (even more so for modded motors!)

My 535i was a manual. I got around 25 mpg on average. I would of thought an auto(of which around 95% of 535's are) would be about 21/22 mpg. Super silky straight six engine.

[silverback mike]

Cat amongst the pigeons.....an E36 320i....a lot more advanced than the e30....and not as thirsty as a 535. I think for a good alrounder you can't beat the E36. Granted a bit anonymous and won't set your pants on fire but damn good cars.

Or go mad and get a 540 like mine

[v15ben]

The 525i Sport as mentioned before is a good car if you can find a straight one or how about a 325i Sport in E30 guise. Again hard to find a non-chavved one around!

[everitj]

I've been running a e34 520 (92) for a while now as a second car to get me back and forward to work.. Thought I would change it for something a bit more modern, got a 98 316 - hated it - sold it and went back to the e34. IMO the 5 series is a far better car in every sense even tho it is older..

[RazMan]

I'd have to agree - my 525 tds se has notched up over 220k miles now and I was thinking about changing it for a newer model 325 tds. I had a few test drives and have to say that I wasn't impressed. In the end I was glad to get back into the ol' 525 - more comfortable, handles better too IMO.

[coupascoopa]

silverback mike said:

Cat amongst the pigeons.....an E36 320i....a lot more advanced than the e30....and not as thirsty as a 535. I think for a good alrounder you can't beat the E36. Granted a bit anonymous and won't set your pants on fire but damn good cars. Or go mad and get a 540 like mine

I had considered the E36 325i. The only reason I'd prefer to go newer is purely to reduce any potential bills. But a 540 - now that would be fun.

How's the 944 coming along?

[silverback mike]

Nearly there, just about sold my audi as there is no point in mothballing the old girl - just mot, induction kit and that's about it.

Happy days again

Seriously though, the 540 is no more expensive to run than my 528i was (well maybe a little bit) and by god does it go well, nice noise too, V8'S definately make you smile

I had a 328i E36, damn good car, effortless grunt, and nothing went wrong with it. I should imagine a 325i is similar....definately worth a serious thought.