Looking to get into BMWs (maybekinda)

In my experience:

A Miata is a ballroom dancing partner.

A Mustang is a drinking buddy.

A BMW is a frienemy.

For all you guys swearing off anything newer than an E46. What makes the E90 chassis more problematic than the E46s? (Non x, non turbo).

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

z31maniac said:

The bad thing about that, the newest E46 is 14 years old. And a mint E46 M3, for example, still pulls a premium because they are fantastic driving cars with a sweet engine.

You can still get a decent driver E46 M3 coupe for $12-15K.  It'll have an SMG that you'll need to convert, rod bearings to change, VANOS to service, and rear subframe mounts to reinforce -- all large jobs, but DIYable.

 

 

If you can find a coupe.  It seems like they are unicorns compared to convertibles.

lnlds said:

For all you guys swearing off anything newer than an E46. What makes the E90 chassis more problematic than the E46s? (Non x, non turbo).

Quality slide.  i could not pin it down to any individual item, they're just more problematic all around.

Plus the seats suuuuck.  And the steering makes an E46 feel like an E30.  (This is a bad thing)

lnlds said:

For all you guys swearing off anything newer than an E46. What makes the E90 chassis more problematic than the E46s? (Non x, non turbo).

Finding the right one is hard, much harder than with the E46. If - and it's a big if - you can find a car with limited options, a manual transmission, and the sport package (for the seats, primarily), then you may just have yourself a decent car. Sure, there are some issues - the electric water pump is not well-liked, and quite fussy to change - but every BMW has them (the M54 in the E46 has weak rings and a failure-prone CCV, plus the aforementioned unibody weakness). As I noted earlier, I'm very pleased with my 128i, but it is a unicorn (manual, no iDrive, very limited options, M-Sport).

I have experience with an '88 325is (E30) and a '97 M3 (E36).  Both 5 spds. 

My E30 was by all accounts a decent car, but I basically hated it from the moment I test drove it. I bought it anyway thinking I could fix what bothered me - the slow-ass steering and horrific shifter.  I mainly bought the car for autocross (my first mistake) and swapping out the steering rack would have moved the car from STX to SM. Since the car wasn't even remotely competitive in either class, I probably should have... and a complete shifter rebuild improved the feel from "wet noodle" to "al dente noodle". UUC parts were next on the list, until I read numerous reports that I was really chasing something I was never going to get.  In the end, the car was also one of the most unreliable cars I've ever owned (and I own a VW Mk IV and old British cars) and it felt like every time I drove it, something broke.  After a few years of fighting with it, I got tired of working on a car I didn't really like to drive and sold it for a huge loss.  On the plus side, E30 sport seats are amazing and the car overall looked awesome. I love seeing E30's, but I have zero desire to own one again.  The A/C worked for a little while, but it was a R134a converted system from R12 and had a leak somewhere. 

The M3 experience comes from my ex- who had one when we started dating in 2002. Bone stock and in cherry condition. I spent a fair amount of time working on that car, bringing maintenance to date and repairing various odds and ends. The interior in her car was solid, but it wasn't that old back then and it was garage kept and wasn't subject to severe summer heat cycles.  Like the E30, the shifter wasn't the greatest in the world, but we didn't seem to care as much. The car's biggest faults were annoying CEL's. To the point where my nickname for the ar was "The Christmas Tree" since it was green and the various dash lights would constantly come on. The SRS ("Supplemental Restraint System" - airbags and whatnot) light was common - usually related to one of the seat belt sensors. And the EVAP system had a slight leak somewhere that would throw a CEL. She eventually sold it in 2004 after buying her 2003 MCS which she enjoyed driving a lot more and the M3 would just sit. Almost 17 years later, she still has the MCS.  Like the E30, the E36 Vader sport seats are amazing.

Personally, if I were to get back into BMWs, I'd probably go with a E36 M3, but treat it as the classic car that it is turning into.  Keep it relatively stock and original. An E46 M3 would be similar, since I understand it's basically an E36 that spent some time in the gym - power power, more capable, but heavier and thus a slightly different feel.  Or I would go the route of not trying to buy a sports car and get an E31 8 series, E34 5 series (a classic) or maybe an E39 5 series. As a pure collector/fun car, the E31 tops the list, but it'll definitely be on the needy side and manual transmission versions are rare and thus on the pricier end of the budget scale.  An E31 is one of the most beautiful cars ever made, so at least it'll look nice in your garage when it's broken and you're looking for parts. 

My daily driver is a 2001 330ci convertible.  It's one of the nicest driving cars I have ever experienced.  I bought it two years ago expecting that it would leave me crying with a hurt wallet someday.  Hasn't happened yet.

Is owning two cars a deal breaker?  If so, I would spend $5000 on a nice E46 and the rest of the budget on some other newer car that can cover you if the BMW ever lets you down.  I enjoy my car enough that I could see having it as the second "fun" car.