potentially new bmw owner

[newbie 97]

hi everyone...new to the board here. i am thinking of buy a used bmw 325i around 1997 or newer. really like how they drive and the body styling but am not sure how reliable they are? wondering if anyone could tell me what are the typical issues associated with these cars.....

 

[Detrich]

if ur looking for a 97, might's well get a 99 323i... same car, newer body styling, more power. probably under $10k from a private party...

u can search and find many threads about issues. should have average and/or better-than-average reliability. so, if u find one in good condition and invest in the proper maintenance u should be fine and have no major problems.

 

[Big Daddy]

Actually the 325 has 192 Max bhp@5900 rpms and 245 Max torque, Nm@4200 while the 323 has 170 Max bhp@5500 and 245 Max torque, Nm@3950 rpms. (Source "The Complete Book of BMW" by Tony Lewin and John G. Burns Homepage)

 

[slickbrave]

That's interesting Big Daddy. I thought the 323 was just a name change because the 328 came out and they wanted more of a difference. The 323 has a 2.5L, so what accounts for the difference in HP?

 

[Big Daddy]

Bore & stroke, 84x75 in the 2.8 and 80x66 in the 323. I think the differences in the 323 and the 325 were mostly related to cams/dohc and vanos systems that differed between them. The launch date for the 2.8 was 6/94 and the 323 was 5/95, but they may not have hit the US until differing times.