The former looks nicer, and I assume is more powerful! The latter is newer and has higher KM's.
phillip.weston,
Jan 24, 4:20am
kind of a hard comparison, the 323 will be quicker but the E46 is better looking and just newer all round. For a dealer selling a car for $7500 you would expect it to come with a bonnet painted the same colour as the rest of the car, a BMW badge on the bonnet and a headunit fitted.
I probably wouldn't go for either, if going for an E36 I would look for a 325/328 or if going E46 I would get a 320 or any other 6cyl variant. What's your budget!
hydroman08,
Jan 24, 4:23am
dont want to really go over 9 at this stage!Want to go on a holiday haha
mcscottwgtn,
Jan 24, 5:08am
First car looks like an x boy racer with its fake looking carbon fibre hood. It looks loose as. The second car looks tighter and less shagged, but it is a budget model with no leather, nor a v6 donk. I am sure you can get better for the dosh. Good luck.
hydroman08,
Jan 24, 5:25am
I did notice the "racer" one has been on here for a long time and has gone ages without and reg and wof! I figured buying from a dealer it SHOULD be ok!
foxdonut,
Jan 24, 5:36am
Far be it for me to tell you what to do, but having owned two E36's (318i, 320i) and an E46 (328CI) my advise is that you buy neither and get yourself a four thousand dollar Honda Accord.
Neither of those cars are "proper" BMW's and will just leave you out of pocket with a car that costs a the same as a high spec six to run but offers the drive and perfomance of a hamster in a wheel.
It took me three goes before I worked out that if you want a nice BMW you spend a lot of money or don't bother. Even then they're not that great until you're buying brand new, 80k plus cars.
mcscottwgtn,
Jan 24, 5:38am
Accords are nice and more likely to go than an old bmw. I would prefer an old accord than an old bmw.
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 24, 5:40am
Hydroman, I say this as a big German car fan.
Neither of those BMW's are even remotely as much of a vehicle as the Alfa you are looking at.
Given you wanted something "Fun" those just don't even come close by comparison.
Drive them both then the Alfa and you will see exactly what I mean.
zak1998,
Jan 24, 5:41am
Real BMWs are engine sizes 3.0cc and above in the 3 series and 4.0cc plus on a 5 series that's real power and style.
mcscottwgtn,
Jan 24, 5:45am
Alfa would be better than a bmw. They have great engines and passion. I would go for a manual one thou.
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 24, 5:48am
Have a look at his Alfa thread, sounds like he has tracked down a well looked after 156 V6 Manual.
Couldn't agree with you more. against these particular BMW's anyway!
hydroman08,
Jan 24, 5:52am
haha the alfa is still #1 but i am looking at other options.Jazz - the electrics in the alfa have been replaced - apparently there was some fault when the steering wheel went right to the top (adjustable).Other than that there have been no issues at all.
thejazzpianoma,
Jan 24, 7:17am
LOL thats all good! I am certainly not knocking your looking at other options, its the sensible thing to do.
Just pointing out the downfall of those particular options! Those small displacement BMWs are a bit of a trap actually. especially the M Spec ones (They look in passing like a proper M but have the little engine). I can easily see how so many fall for the good looks and sporty styling.
Best of luck with whatever you pick!
chris_051,
Jan 24, 7:39am
Bullshit I take it you have never driven or even know about E30 M3, M325, E28, E34 535is, M5, I suppose you're one of these tosser posers who cruises around on a 540i with cut springs.
Ohh and real BMWs have three pedals and stick.
pat56,
Jan 24, 7:53am
E36 six cyl non vanos engines have a propensity to crack heads.
hydroman08,
Jan 24, 8:06am
Well it seems to be that i am moving towards a euro, cant find a nice jappa or american for my price.Just want a nice weekend cruiser, but its proving to be a very difficult task!
foxdonut,
Jan 24, 8:21am
E30 is old now and not that fast by todays standards and the rest of those cars are over 3 litres like he said in the first place.
Edit "basically" - sorry, I missed the 4 litre remark.
phillip.weston,
Jan 24, 8:25am
325 isn't over 3L.
chris_051,
Jan 24, 9:07am
E28 and E34 M5 sub 7 secs o-100 and top speed of 240-250 kmh pretty fast even today, he also said any 5 series under 4 litres isn't a 'real' BMW so don't know why you are disputing, even a 325i E30 5spd with an LSD will give a lot of cars a fright these days at the lights, easily one of BMWs better cars, a real modern classic that no E36 onwards will ever be, and they will only appreciate in price. (in fact, some E36 M3s are nearly as cheap as clean genuine E30 M325i lol).
sr2,
Jan 24, 9:11am
There are very few cars on the road today that will deal to a genuine E30 M3. Believe me, there is a reason why they still have such a formidable reputation in motorsport. If you ever get the chance to drive one go for it, you won??
chris_051,
Jan 24, 9:15am
Quite right the E30 M3 is the most successful/winning-est touring car to date. Bring back Grp A.
foxdonut,
Jan 24, 11:57am
I'd trade any car I've owned for a concourse E30 M3.
That doesn't make them fast by todays standards.
WRX, Evo, etc. They may not be "better" cars, but they're all easily as fast and in most cases faster.
The old 90's stuff like the Skyline or Supra is on parity too.
Its a 25 year old car. Sorry, it just is.
doug207,
Jan 24, 12:11pm
Hydroman, don't buy either. The E46 318i are poo. That particular E36 is rusting under the door mirrors, the interior is crap and the pain is sad, it hasn't got any options and is way over priced. My brother just picked a 96 328i sedan up, full factory Msport kit, 110 or so thousand Km on the clock and a nice set of genuine BBS RK001 wheels, for a nice price of $4700. The 2.8 is a far, far better car, the 2.3 and 1.8 seem to be over priced and neither is a semi-decent car.
doug207,
Jan 24, 12:14pm
Far more succinct than my reply, I agree with this.
zak1998,
Jan 24, 12:30pm
No real good ones use a 7-speed SMG and in 2011 7-speed dual clutch transmission set up
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