Up-date: OMG I own another German car.

[Bret]

Update: OMG I own another German car.

Well I'd been looking for another car for one of my sons to share as a daily driver and to keep them from using my F150 Supercrew 4x4. While the truck is reliable a heck – with fuel prices as high as they are right now it's hardly economical a for a third vehicle.

The car I chose is a BMW 325e coupe. While it has well over 240K on the clock – it seems to have been pretty well maintained. The only thing I don’t like is that it’s an automatic transmission but other than that it’s a pretty sweet little car.

Besides – saving some money on fuel this new vehicle will mean that I don’t have to reat vehicles each week unless I really have to. See renting cars each week has started to cut into my profits that I normally use to make my vehicle’s loan payment and keep me in beer money.

Oh well I’ll post some pictures when I can.

Update!

Heres some pictures.

More pics in the Other Car gallery.

Cheers,

 

[Steve]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

Congratulations! Those are nice little cars. One caveat however, watch the back end in the wet. I know that snow is not an issue where you are, but tyres are crucial on these cars, as they have a remarkable tendency to want to swap ends when driving on wet, greasy roads.

I can recommend B.F. Goodrich Traction T/A on older, non-traction-controlled Bimmers, for what it's worth.

Incidentally there is a black 325 round the corner from me with a "For Sale" sign in the window, I might take a walk and see how badly he wants to unload it

 

[vagt6]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

That's a great car! I owned a 1987 325es with Recaros, premium stereo, etc. Great gas mileage and lots of fun to drive.

Keep the maintenance up and she'll serve you well.

 

[tony barnhill]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

One of my favorite German cars was my '84 323i Euro-spec coupe....man, that thing would fly!!

 

[Banjo]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

Here's our car. a 91 318is. 32 MPG, 5 speed, nice little car. Posed here on a side street in Watkins Glen during the Vintage fest. It's just where we could find a spot. all these old cars were takin up the whole town!

 

[Silverghost]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

Now, at night, when everyone is sleeping, do your cars chase each other around the garage, each one still claiming to be the victor???!! :laugh:

 

[Bret]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

So I was driving this little gem the other day and picked up my daughter Julia in it. It was the first time she'd seen it and kind of turned her nose up at it.

I said "whats wrong - don't you like your brothers new car?"

She said "did they pick it out?"

I told her "no I picked it out for them. Why?"

She said it's kind of ugly and looks old.

You know it's actually newer than the MGB and the Porsche?

She said "but why to they look better than this car?"

LOL - only out of the mouths of babes.

 

[DrEntropy]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

Julia for President!! :laugh:

 

[Nunyas]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

While I may be a firm believer in everyone knowing how to drive a stick, the auto may be a better choice for "beginning drivers" especially in rear drive cars. The higher drive-train loss in the auto makes the car feel less "sporty", and might help the temptation to try and "hot dog". However, instead of having to worry about burnt out clutches, there's the possibility of abused torque-converters (talking from personal driving history).

Either way, it seems like a decent enough beginner car. I know I wish I could have started out in a Bimmer... And besides, beginner cars aren't supposed to be "pretty"... :wink:

 

[Bret]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

Yes a stick would've been my first choice. However my middle son it totally inept with a manual. I tried to teach him in my MGB but the kid has absolutely no footwork finesse at working the clutch and a couple of times I thought he was destroy my little car.

My younger son (Matt) seems to be willing to listen to what his old man says (but only with regards to vehicles ) and after just a couple of lessons has actually driven the B with smooth shifts without any grinding.

Son number two will probably always drive an auto. Leastways I've learned my lesson & ain’t going to let him drive any of my vehicles anymore unless they've got a slushbox.

 

[Bret]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

Somthing else....

I've talked to a vew E30 owners and almost all of them are tellin' me to get rid of those diving boards on the front & rear.

I haven't done any real searching yet but from what I've read so far - it's common of E30 owners to “Tuck the Bumpers”. Not sure how to do this but I’ve seen a few that’ve done this and it seems to improve on the cosmetics of the vehicle. My only concern is if there is any diminished safety concerns.

Truth be told I suspect that if one of these little E30‘s was hit by a full sized SUV or a Truck – that just like out LBCs the bumper’d be pretty much worthless. So I might consider the tuck if it’s not too difficult.

Cheers,

 

[Nunyas]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

eh... yeah... pretty much worthless, because the bumpers will just go under the bumpers or sides of SUVs and even some mini-vans, and the body work will have to absorb 100% of the impact.

 

[vping]

Re: OMG I own another German car.

Welcome to the world of bimmers. May it bring you and your son years of reliable serveice. Nice looking car. I've always liked the look of the 3 series, nice & sporty.

Here my recent aquisition a few months ago.