I'm new. Which car should I get?

[Myee]

Allow myself to introduce, myself. My name is Mike. I live in Tampa and go to USF. I have always been into performance cars mainly Japanese ones.

In the near future I am going to sell both of my Nissans and step up to a performance/luxury car. I do not want to spend more than $10,000 on a used German car. If I could find one for around $8,000 that would be great and it would leave me with money left over for coilovers, brakes, and tires.

I would like something that is:

reliable
easy enough to perform matainence on myself
luxurious
good weekend Auto-X car
perfer sedan, but coupe will work

Right now I am on the fence between:

'98-'00 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8t
'95-ish BMW M3
'98-ish BMW 3-series (323/325/328)

So any input would be greatly appreciated. I've never had anything other than Nissan / Mitsu / Toyota. For some reason I feel like BMW straight 6 is very difficult to work on....


Thanks!
Mike

p.s. I like the forums FL german!

[FactorX]

Welcome!

I'd go with the Audi... the 1.8t has more upgrade options than you can imagine, as its been around for quite a while.

VAG vehicles are a LOT cheaper to upgrade than the Roundels...

I personally think of "poor man's bimmer" as complimentary to both brands... :)

[SlickShift]

Right now I am on the fence between:

'98-'00 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8t
'95-ish BMW M3
'98-ish BMW 3-series (323/325/328)

All good choices. I'll break it down a bit. The Audi is a great car. Very easy to get some big power out of the turbo. And since you're probably used to working on 4-cylinder engines, it shouldn't be too drastic of a change. The E36 M3 is also a good choice. But of course, it's an older car and you'll be dishing out for dough to fix things. (PS-There's one for sale on this site.)

The E46 is a good choice too (unbiased). It's the most luxurious out of the ones you listed, but the hardest to mod. You can put $3000 into one and only get 20hp. Unless you supercharge, there's not much power to extract. It all depends on what kind of car you want.

[944attack]

Welcome to FG! :germanflag:

out of the three my personal favorite is the M3, but not by far..

[TheDarkSide]

I would say A4 above all, then 325/328/330 if it is a 99(+), if it is 98(-) I put it last. There is no real benefit in getting that over say a 95 M3. Realistically they will all have a handful of miles in that price range. But if you want a sedan, I do not like 3-series sedans at all regardless of year so A4 wins there.

[JCapelo]

Hey, welcome..

I would do a 99+ e46 323, 325, 328 ect...

then 95 or so m3, i got one forsale wink

[AwesomeSL]

All good choices. I'll break it down a bit. The Audi is a great car. Very easy to get some big power out of the turbo. And since you're probably used to working on 4-cylinder engines, it shouldn't be too drastic of a change. The E36 M3 is also a good choice. But of course, it's an older car and you'll be dishing out for dough to fix things. (PS-There's one for sale on this site.)

The E46 is a good choice too (unbiased). It's the most luxurious out of the ones you listed, but the hardest to mod. You can put $3000 into one and only get 20hp. Unless you supercharge, there's not much power to extract. It all depends on what kind of car you want.

i would deffinitly have to concur with this statement... me personally id put the E46 323,325,328... above all unless the M3 has low miles and runs great, if thats the case than the E36 M3 is the best buy i believe...

[The Weiner]

an e46 isnt is his price range if you can even find an e46 for 10k you'll get super high miles four door auto and a 323 and thats if your lucky ... a4's are **** i own'd one so this isnt an opinion if i were you i'd go with a e36 328 coupe with around 60-80k miles.. its quick as it sits, handles awesome, not hard to come by, mods are many and show decent gains, easily in your price range, and a very stought and reliable car... i'll wait for chris to chime in he's got a 328 with a few bolt on's obd1 manifold,gutted cats,and an intake and puts down very close to the power of an s50 m3... yes chris has more mods then this i was reffering to power mods............ i'll did some up for you

[Myee]

Excellent info guys!:thanks:

I forgot to mention that I do not plan on doing many power upgrades anytime soon. Any BMW I would get would stay N/A for awhile, and any 1.8t would stay K03... unless it had to be replaced due to turbocharger failure. I would mainly focus on suspension, brakes, wheels, tires, minor exterior mods. Im not looking for crazy power anytime soon.

I am leaning towards an A4, and have been for awhile. I do feel more comfortable working on a 4 banger, and I am unsure as to how user friendly the BMW straight 6 is for tune up parts (belts, tensioners, h20 pump, alt, starter, spark plugs, ETC)

I test drove an A4 and got under the hood too, its not exactly roomy under there. It seems like the drive belts are in an extremely tight area to work on. Ive seen VW/Audi front bumpers come of in under 1 minute though.

And I have seen the E36's FS here and on BayBimmer. I like the red M3. And if I did get a BMW, I could join the BMW FCS Auto-X club, and participate in the BMW vs Porsche events....:drive:

and E46 is def out of my price range.

[The Weiner]

dont do the a4 trust me! and for tune ups and what not there are more then a few people on here willing to help

[AwesomeSL]

if i were you i'd go with a e36 328 coupe with around 60-80k miles.. its quick as it sits, handles awesome, not hard to come by, mods are many and show decent gains, easily in your price range, and a very stought and reliable car...

actually this is the truth my first BMW and first official car for that matter was a 1996 BMW 328iS, the car was spectacluar other than an air conditioning fan belt that squeeked weirdly when it ran there was nothing else wrong with the car... my dad got rid of it when it had 130,000 miles on it and the guy we bought it from originally was offering us cash to buy it back... it ran perfect and i was playing with stock Mustang GT's for fun on the twisties and i was sitting next to older model Mustang GT's easy... man i loved that car it was so much fun... i raced a 745Li sport and an E36 M3 with turbo and intercooler and kept up pretty well, man we had a lot of fun...

[The Weiner]

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=206915965&dealer_id=3466983&car_year=1995&mod_bookmark_id=null&search_type=both&num_records=25&make=BMW&transmission=&distance=300&model=325IS&address=34231&make2=&certified=&advanced=y&max_mileage=100000&max_price=9000&bkms=1155752833315&min_price=1&end_year=1996&color=&start_year=1993&drive=&engine=&body_style=COUPE&doors=&fuel=&lang=en&cardist=62

its a 325 but its basiclly the same car - like 10 crank hp and it has sport seats which is super rare in an e36 and has clean black leather and pretty low miles considering that car will run problem free till about 175k if you take care of it... i'd say buy this on buy a set of spring for 150 new shocks for about 350 sways front and rear 250 new pads and rotors front and rear 250 a set of e36 m3 replica wheel with decent tires 500 custom exhaust shop piping with an ebay dual tip muffeler 100 cheap cai 80 or make your own with a heat sheild for 40 a diff swap from an e30 <huge difference then call it a day almost all this stuff you can find used for alot cheaper checkout bimmerforums.com oh i would also suggest s50 m3 cams 200 ebay header 300 maf 3.5 from euro m3 or many other cars 200 and software for these items 300 ... not all of this has to be done at once it just gives you something to strive for i'd say with these listed mods you'll rape e36 m3's in every way and with a decent driver should have your self a 13 second car that handles like a dream... now for body parts its m3 stuff all the way nothing looks better on an e36 then m3 parts replica mirrors 40 replica front bumper 150 rear bumper diffuser 50 paint 200 clear corners 20 red and clear tails 50

[LDadrenaline]

id say go with a bimmer, because the audis like to fall apart after about 80k miles. You want to step up, not down :/

[TheDarkSide]

:dunno: Without researching that kind of stuff I still say the Audi

[David A]

Welcome to FG...:)

My response is short and simply...E36 M3...

Jeff has a nice one for sale...

[LDadrenaline]

i dont need research for the audi thing... we've owned 2 audis and both started falling apart after 80k miles (longest warranty you can buy). My friend had an A4 1.8t and *bam* 80k miles and it just started disentegrating

[TheDarkSide]

Right, but I am sure there are Audi guys on here that have over that and will disagree.

[The Weiner]

ok but dave how many audi's have you owned and your trying to disagree with two people that have owned audi's and yes e36 m3 is awesome and a better choice but also out of his price range he said he would like to spend 8k 10k at most if you can find an e36 m3 even for 10k its a peice with really high miles

[David A]

ok but dave how many audi's have you owned and your trying to disagree with two people that have owned audi's and yes e36 m3 is awesome and a better choice but also out of his price range he said he would like to spend 8k 10k at most if you can find an e36 m3 even for 10k its a peice with really high miles

Jeff is selling a nice one for 10.5k.

[LDadrenaline]

Right, but I am sure there are Audi guys on here that have over that and will disagree.
oh im sure.... but how many have audis over 80k miles?? up until that mark, audis are great cars

[JCapelo]

I did a tune up on a audi today with 112k miles on it.....

It was a POS. woot

[Myee]

[quote=The Weiner] a diff swap from an e30

any E30? Viscious or Mechanical LSD? <huge difference="" call="" day="" almost="" can="" find="" used="" alot="" cheaper="" checkout="" bimmerforums.com="" oh="" would="" also="" suggest="" s50="" cams="" ebay="" header="" maf="" 3.5="" from="" euro="" or="" many="" other="" cars="" software="" items="" 300="" .="" not="" of="" this="" has="" be="" done="" at="" once="" it="" just="" gives="" something="" to="" strive="" i="" d="" say="" these="" listed="" mods="" you="" ll="" rape="" s="" in="" every="" with="" decent="" driver="" should="" have="" your="" self="" 13="" second="" car="" that="" handles="" like="" a="" dream="" now="" for="" body="" its="" stuff="" all="" the="" way="" nothing="" looks="" better="" on="" an="" e36="" then="" m3="" parts="" mirrors="" 40="" replica="" front="" 150="" rear="" bumper="" diffuser="" 50="" paint="" 200="" corners="" 20="" red="" and="" clear="" tails="" 50[/quote=""></huge>

[Myee]

What is the difference between:
323
325i
325is

[M52 POWER!]

What is the difference between:
323
325i
325is

323 - OBDII, Undertuned 325 (2.5 liter I6 engine) with exhaust and software restrictions to make it slower (I know, stupid isn't it?). After 95 (last year of the 325i/is) it was the 325's replacement.

325i - OBDI, 2.5 liter I6 4 dr sedan (1992-1995)

325is - OBDI, 2 door coupe. (some will argue the "is" really has no meaning, 90% of the time it's a 2 dr coupe) (1992-1995)

328i/is - OBDII, 2.8 liter I6 (1996-1999)


In all honesty I absolutely LOVE my 328is, it's like the poor mans M3, save on price, insurance price and there are many many mods to throw at it that will quickly bring it to M3 spec. On top of that has the sleeper aspect. It's been proven to be one of the best I6's to throw boost at (704whp with sotck internals :eek:) and a very easy car to work on if you like to do work on your car like myself. If you get the sport version like I have it comes with firmer shocks/springs, a lower ride hegiht, sport seats with bolsters etc, but still more luxury than a M3 sport!

Good luck and like previously mentioned there are many people on this forum, myself included, who know E36's like the back of their hand and won't hesitate to help you out! :thumbu:

[Myee]

What are the advantages of Sport models? Stiffer springs / shocks , sport seats. Anything else?

I found a 328i sedan on Ebay that I like alot, but its in Washington state. I should have one of my Nissans sold in 2 weeks, the other sold by mid-September.


700whp on stock internals is impressive! That almost 4th gen Supra teritorry.




Thanks for all the replies so far guys. I already feel that the BMW/German community is much more friendly/helpful than any Japanese car community.

[M52 POWER!]

What are the advantages of Sport models? Stiffer springs / shocks , sport seats. Anything else?


Stiffer springs/shocks, lower ride height, sport seats, sport wheels. Not such a selling point if you plan to do that with mod money. I've driven a sport and non sport 328is and the difference was very noticeable, made my car feel like a go-kart in comparison.

[Myee]

How can you tell if it is sport model if they dont mention it?

This is the one on eBay I like

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-BMW-328I-New-Paint-GREAT-SHAPE-Low-Reserve-97K-Miles_W0QQitemZ250018221513QQihZ015QQcategoryZ6007 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[LDadrenaline]

JCapelo should be able to find you a car you'd like close to here. His dad owns a used car dealership

[Myee]

JCapelo should be able to find you a car you'd like close to here. His dad owns a used car dealership

Good to know. Ill contact him once I can sell my black car (needs paint then straight onto Ebay)

[The Weiner]

yeah the sport package i'd only want for the seats since you want to do suspension... and what did you think we bite? ...... im still a dick though ;)


and go through Jeff he just found a e36 coupe for another member on here a few days ago!

[BMWgiant]

E30 M3 FTW!!! Or just find an old e30, good condition.. Running you probably around $4,000 or less.. Than you have at least $6,000 left for maintenence, performance, engine, wheels, and they are easy to maintain.. Simple enough to fix most problems yourself.. Plus you'd be driving a classic...

Yes it is an older car, but not an expensive car to restore.. Could easily be made into an awesome track car..

[JCapelo]

Let me know when your ready, and ill keep an eye out for ya.

[AwesomeSL]

How can you tell if it is sport model if they dont mention it?

This is the one on eBay I like

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-BMW-328I-New-Paint-GREAT-SHAPE-Low-Reserve-97K-Miles_W0QQitemZ250018221513QQihZ015QQcategoryZ6007 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

you cant tell that its a sport simply by the seats... the little cushion in the front of the seat extends out to support your legs of they are longer or if you like something right at the knee or so... but that 328i that you showed right there is a sport bc you can see the seats extend out in the front...

[BallsDeepAsian350]

:sleep:

Ill keep my mouth shut in this thread. Welcome to the forums bud.

[TheDarkSide]

I we are going to vote anti-audi...I will say E30 M3 then.

[SlickShift]

I'll have to agree with Sean and Chris on the E36 328is. :thumbu:

[TheDarkSide]

^ Well being realistic...we do not do that here normally.

[The Weiner]

first find an e30 m3 and if it is in the 8k price range its not a good deal its a peice of junk