E36 323i. Good buy?

Craic lads, currently have a 318is and I'm tempted to upgrade to a 323i. Reason being I need some 6cyl growl in my life and the 323i are easy enough to insure as standard. Then obviously do a few bits to bring it closer to 325i power. Am I mad to pay the extra tax or are they worth it? I've driven a 325 before and loved the torque and power delivery, makes the IS seem a bit gutless. Not too worried about mpg as the IS only gets between 29-32 and I don't do big milage. Anything engine wise to look out for? Or any other advice?

Thanks in advance, Barry

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bm3

Craic lads, currently have a 318is and I'm tempted to upgrade to a 323i. Reason being I need some 6cyl growl in my life and the 323i are easy enough to insure as standard. Then obviously do a few bits to bring it closer to 325i power. Am I mad to pay the extra tax or are they worth it? I've driven a 325 before and loved the torque and power delivery, makes the IS seem a bit gutless. Not too worried about mpg as the IS only gets between 29-32 and I don't do big milage. Anything engine wise to look out for? Or any other advice?

Thanks in advance, Barry

---

Go for it! Night and day difference.

yup go for it. i went with the 323i over the is and am delighted. just hard to find a clean one. the normal e36 rusting spots to look out for

Standard for standard there noting in it with lower diff in the IS. But mod the 323 it'll have it, good bit extra to tax and run and the m44 will be more reliable than the 52. But if it's sound, and speed after spending a few hundred then the 6cyl will work

How much is a clean one worth? 99 115k miles mtech etc?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bm3

How much is a clean one worth? 99 115k miles mtech etc?

---

You'd be looking around 2 and a half I'd say for an exceptional one but there are always exceptions. Finding one will be the issue. 6 cylinders are not so common.

The e36 323's M52B25 is great in the sense that you can (realistically/relatively cheaply) mod it to get more power than an M50B25 or even an M54B25. Funkyseefunkydoo got 207 bhp dyno'd from just an m50 manifold and 328 exhaust, not to mention with an aluminium block it's much lighter than the m50b25. The 2.93 ratio diff is annoying, but swap it for a medium case 3.15 from a 325 or 3.0 M3 a large case 3.23 from an M3 Evo or even a small case 3.45 from an iS or 320 and you will be flying. Non LSDs are very cheap and widely available if the ratio is all that matters.

I would certainly recommend one, I would be a bit biased though :p trying to think of a replacement is very difficult unless you're going for an M. Even a 330 e46 doesn't seem like a worthwhile upgrade in the sense that there is a noticeable difference in tax but not a massive difference in performance, not when you think a 3.0L M3 is the same tax anyway...

Best of luck anyway :) anything I can help with shoot me a pm!

I loved mine, the perfect middle grou d for performance and economy. Well worth a punt.

Head gaskets an issue?

http://touch.adverts.ie/car/bmw/other-bmw/bmw-e36-325i-for-sale/6521218

At the risk of someone else going to see this before me figured I'd link it up anyway, This is the car I'm going to see on Saturday. Love the color, same as my is, but it's pretty low spec and yer man seems a bit dogey on the phone. 18 year old lad wants to put a big msport banner on the windscreen if he keeps it kinda Job. Almost feel obliged to save it from him. Looks a bit chavvy but I already have parts put aside for it, what are people's thoughts?

MAY SWAP, RWD, DOCH, ANY CONSIDERED!

sounds like a typical mayo young lad.
Just buy on condition if the log book is there you don't need to base the purchase on his personality. If your not happy bring someone in the know with you to have a gawk at the car underneath etc. I think it's worth a punt at that money. Would want to be a very special E36 to fetch 2K+ IMO.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bm3

http://touch.adverts.ie/car/bmw/other-bmw/bmw-e36-325i-for-sale/6521218

At the risk of someone else going to see this before me figured I'd link it up anyway, This is the car I'm going to see on Saturday. Love the color, same as my is, but it's pretty low spec and yer man seems a bit dogey on the phone. 18 year old lad wants to put a big msport banner on the windscreen if he keeps it kinda Job. Almost feel obliged to save it from him. Looks a bit chavvy but I already have parts put aside for it, what are people's thoughts?

---

Go see it, have a spin. Ask him how long he has had it, might have bought and can't insure or something.

Check EVERYTHING. If you need to overhaul cooling system, suspension etc it won't be cheap, but I guess it all depends on how long you plan on holding on to it too.

As above, Have a proper look round it!!

Him being 18 wouldn't bother me (I'v mine since I was 17) BUT being a typical laaad would bother me and it's probably seen a donut or 2!

Cheers for the advice lads.Gonna go see it anyway. Kinda have an itch for a 6cyl and want to get a clean one to do a few nice bits to. Exhaust wheels etc. I'll let ye know how it goes.

sorry im late to the conversation.
Having owned several 318is and couple 323s i would definately rather the 323. Used them as a daily and had a commute 50 miles daily to and fro work and was no noticble difference in fuel consumption. 323 better on open road is slightly better in town but nothing major.

The point about reliability has got to be put to rest at this stage, they are all very old cars at this stage and it's down to how they've been kept. M44's are just as likely to go bang and even the Almighty s50 engines have horror stories that come from negligent owners. I have one of those dreaded nikasil engines that has pushed out 207bhp on the rolling road before and also doesn't burn a drop of oil and that is no exaggeration: I have never in my ownership had to top up the oil.

Are 323's worth it? Yea I think so, I wouldn't spend much time pondering over wanting more power or less. Do I want six cylinder noise in my life? Yea I do and when it's echoing down mountain roads on the right day It's a very good thing.

I'm not knocking m44's btw, i think they excellent cars. I always love driving them and find them great fun but the above still applies.