You have saved this page | See all saved pages
BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier
30250 messages, Last post on Mar 24, 2013 at 11:51 AM
You are in the BMW 3-Series Forum.What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Sedan
#25634 of 30250 tonybse3 by div2
Feb 06, 2004 (10:47 pm)
The 1997-1998 3er coupes are great cars. The 318is has the M44 four cylinder engine. It's pretty much bulletproof. I would not get a 318 with an automatic due to the fact that you need to keep the engine above 2500 rpm to extract the best performance out of it. The 323is and 328is have the proven and reliable M52 six-the main difference in the engines is their displacement. The five speed 328i is a fairly quick car(0-60 in
6.2 seconds)-the 323i is one second slower. All BMWs of that vintage require an oil and filter change about every 9000 miles-$35 DIY, $50 or so for a shop to do it. The major service(Inspection II) occurs every 36000 and will cost around $400 at a good indie shop-600+ at a dealer. Coolant is changed every three years, brake fluid every two. The gearbox and final drive oils get changed ever other Inspection II. Sixes will need a new water pump at roughly 60000 mile intervals-$200. The side windows will sometimes fall into the door due to breakage of some plastic clips that connect the glass to the regulator. The parts are cheap and there are several how-to pages on the web. As with any used BMW, I'd want to see a full service history and I would also have the car inspected by a good BMW tech. As for which coupe to get-well, drive a few and pick the one that YOU like. There are enough 1997-1998 cars out there that you can afford to be picky.
#25635 of 30250 Lap Times by riez
Feb 07, 2004 (6:23 am)
kominsky... Every now and then one of the major auto magazines will do a comparison test or special test showing lap times at a particular track. But since they don't own the tracks and likely costs a pretty penny to use the track, they don't do it too often. R&T has done a couple real detail ones, giving vehicle performance in all the curves.#25636 of 30250 325i weight... by white6
Feb 07, 2004 (7:43 am)
Noticed in the C&D comparo that their 325i weighed 3300 pounds. I'm quite sure that, with about $6,500 in options, there was some added "optional" weight. I've ordered a stripped 325i (sport package and nothing else); I will be curious to see what the curb weight is on my car when it gets here.#25639 of 30250 div2 by nissancar
Feb 07, 2004 (1:42 pm)
Thanks for your response regarding my bmw radio code. I did look around the manuals for the code but its no where. I guess I have to settle down for the last resort to find the serial number.I had some luck with my battery as it turns out to be the Boston cold that my car was not starting in the morning. With a slight weather change my batter is doing fine which is OEM '98.
Thanks alot, I really appreciate your reply.
#25640 of 30250 C&D Test Car: 325i in 7 car test by riez
Feb 07, 2004 (5:41 pm)
Had a $35,540 MSRP. From the stats and pictures you can see it had Sport Pkg, sunroof, leather, non-wood (titanium) interior trim. Assuming it had Prem Pkg. Is that blue metallic paint?Very good stats--325i 5-speed manual Sport running on Michelin Pilot HX, 225/45WR-17 tires:
0-60 mph in 7.0 seconds (3rd place)
rolling 5-60 mph in 8.0 seconds (last place)
0-100 mph in 19.4 seconds (5th place)
0-120 mph in 31.3 mph (tied for 3rd place)
1/4 mile in 15.4 secs at 91 mph (tied for 3rd)
70-0 mph braking in 172 ft (4th place)
Pulled 0.89g (tied for 2nd)
63.4 mph lane-change (2nd place)
top gear 30-50 mph in 8.7 secs (2nd place)
top gear 50-70 mph in 9.1 secs (3rd place)
19 mpg achieved (highest in group)
#25641 of 30250 reiz by nyccarguy
Feb 07, 2004 (9:25 pm)
I think the titanium would suggest the car didn't have the Premium Package.#25642 of 30250 Equipped by riez
Feb 08, 2004 (6:39 am)
nyccarguy... You may be right. I don't have an '04 sedan brochure so not exactly sure what all ways an '04 can be equipped. All I know is this is a heavily loaded '04 325i. MSRP pushing $36K and it had the manual transmission. BMW might have provided an interestingly equipped one. From the small interior picture, looks like it didn't have the Cold Weather Pkg. Pulled out an '03 brochure. The paint is metallic (so there is another option) and I'd guess it had optional Xenon HID. But there has to be something else to drive the price up so high. That got me thinking Prem Pkg.#25643 of 30250 Is the 6 yr.100k warranty worty it by finewine
Feb 08, 2004 (10:25 am)
What ar ethe inspection costs. The dealer is telling me between 6-8oo and that the 100k maintance warrenty will NOT cover the spark plug change 100k. thoughts/opins/ideas
"01 330CiC
thanks
To POST a message, please
Sign In.
Advertisement
Most Popular in Forums
Search Forums
Enter Keyword(s):
Learn More, Do More
Edmunds Community
Advertisement