has anyone had had an e36 bmw 323i coupe? what are they like, ive seen some for around 800 pounds, need it as my runaround and some drift action lol. i was told by a few people that driving sensibly can get me 400 miles to the full tank. what ya reckon?

 

got an insurance quote on the 325i and its 400 pounds high which is obviously too much so ill stick to the 323i.

 

 

does the traction go off completely? if not no point in buying lol.

Edited August 16, 200916 yr by indian_zx

323i is a 2.5l down tuned engine they do rust and my bro is having allsorts of problems with his because of neglect. tracton does go off totally and fuel is good if you can keep your foot of the gas

thanks, just need a runaround soon not yet, so still looking and this seems to be the best and cheapest option so far, not a bad looking car too.

i had a 320 coupe with 179k on it

and it was brilliant

payed 400 squid for it and was a great car never once let me down and i thrashed it and it kept going

 

highly recommend

i had a 320 coupe with 179k on it

and it was brilliant

payed 400 squid for it and was a great car never once let me down and i thrashed it and it kept going

 

highly recommend

 

how easy is the 320 to drift in the wet? a 320 insurance is much cheaper.was it good on petrol?

As with everything you do get what you pay for. There are issues with 323's and 328's on earlier cars to do with cylinder linings, its often overhyped but alot have had replacement engines for it.

Water pumps are bad for going as well, and if allowed to overhead they tend to warp the head/strip the head bolts so head gasket change is rarly doable/sucessful.

 

As for economy, 320/323/325/328 are of course all 6 cylinder (in the e36) so all will offer similar fuel consumption, the 320's and 325is are noticably worse but the 323 and 328 are about the same, obviously more performance in the 328. My M3 returns 35mpg on a run ad 26ish in normal day to day driving, dropping when giving it some. I Had a 323 some years ago which was similar day to day but slightly better on a run, returning 37mpg BUT it was a very clean low milage example. Much like a 300zx, broken sensors can make economy horrific.

 

As for drifting, most of the 6 cylinder cars that you'll be looking at (95 onwards) have ACS-T which can simply be turned of using the button on the centre console. As for drifting, well they will do it as they are rear drive BUT cheap tyres are the way to get best results, expensive tyres will mean they are too planted to get the tail out. (My M3 is even remarkably well behaved in the wet on its Michellins)

 

They do cary miles well 200k+ is no problem for a maintained one and parts are readily available (both oem and aftermarket) from the main dealer (not always as expensive as you might think) and also GSF offer a range of parts/consumables for standard e36 cars.

 

One thing to watch out for if they have a floaty back end are rear trailing arm bushes, all bad for that but cheap to sort. Coil springs have a habbit of snapping on older ones. Leaking shocks and other split bushes are all sources of bad handling.

 

Watch for rust on the bootlid and front wings as well as most importantly the rear wheel arches. Most will be starting to go now but obviously the less rust the better! Also can be prone to the boot floor/wheel well rusting.

 

Remember battery is in the boot! Standard head unit cannot talk to an aftermarket changer, no real adapters for it and the OEM changer can be expensive to repair/replace.

As with everything you do get what you pay for. There are issues with 323's and 328's on earlier cars to do with cylinder linings, its often overhyped but alot have had replacement engines for it.

Water pumps are bad for going as well, and if allowed to overhead they tend to warp the head/strip the head bolts so head gasket change is rarly doable/sucessful.

 

As for economy, 320/323/325/328 are of course all 6 cylinder (in the e36) so all will offer similar fuel consumption, the 320's and 325is are noticably worse but the 323 and 328 are about the same, obviously more performance in the 328. My M3 returns 35mpg on a run ad 26ish in normal day to day driving, dropping when giving it some. I Had a 323 some years ago which was similar day to day but slightly better on a run, returning 37mpg BUT it was a very clean low milage example. Much like a 300zx, broken sensors can make economy horrific.

 

As for drifting, most of the 6 cylinder cars that you'll be looking at (95 onwards) have ACS-T which can simply be turned of using the button on the centre console. As for drifting, well they will do it as they are rear drive BUT cheap tyres are the way to get best results, expensive tyres will mean they are too planted to get the tail out. (My M3 is even remarkably well behaved in the wet on its Michellins)

 

They do cary miles well 200k+ is no problem for a maintained one and parts are readily available (both oem and aftermarket) from the main dealer (not always as expensive as you might think) and also GSF offer a range of parts/consumables for standard e36 cars.

 

One thing to watch out for if they have a floaty back end are rear trailing arm bushes, all bad for that but cheap to sort. Coil springs have a habbit of snapping on older ones. Leaking shocks and other split bushes are all sources of bad handling.

 

Watch for rust on the bootlid and front wings as well as most importantly the rear wheel arches. Most will be starting to go now but obviously the less rust the better! Also can be prone to the boot floor/wheel well rusting.

 

Remember battery is in the boot! Standard head unit cannot talk to an aftermarket changer, no real adapters for it and the OEM changer can be expensive to repair/replace.

 

 

:bow: thanks alot for spending all that time to write that out, now i know what to look for when looking for one.

 

i just got an quote and an 320i is 300 pounds less to insure than the 323i.