which bmw should i get?

[mole]

i'm wanting to purchase my first bmw. just need some help to find a good one for me.

choice 1-
'96 318Ti
4 cyl, 5spd, 64k miles
$11k

choice 2-
'96 328is
V6, auto, 96k miles
$12500

choice 3-
'98 318i
5spd, 136k miles
$8k

choice 4-
'98 328is
M3 pkg, 5spd, 117k miles
$11k

also.. could someone tell me exactly what the ending letters in the model number are? like the T in 318TI and the S in 328is

thanks a bunch.

[NyteRyda]

personally i think you should go with choice number 4. that is the best bang for ya buck. i am not sure with the ti stands for but i thick the 318ti's are hatchbacks but not sure and for the is. The is are 2 door and sporty look. In choice number 2 it says v6?? don't you mean inline 6?

[BMWL2]

The Ti is a hatchback looking thing I would presonally look for a 325is or a 328is they are both coupes with the I6 engine

[mikester328]

Personally, I'd go with choice 4. I had a 328i sedan 5 speed (now have a 318 because of my budget), and it was great, lots of torque. Get the 328is, very good torque, and since it's a 98, alot of those miles are highway probably. Hope this helps

[mole]

errr I6? probaly, although it says V6 in the advertisement. Guess i should read up more on my bimmers.

Also.. if Furious reads this.. can you post more pics of your car? it looks awesome how much did you pay for it?

is there any real performance difference in the 325 vs 328?

and thanks for the quick replies.

[BMWL2]

check out the pic showroom it has lots of pics in it for ya!! should find anything ya wanna see

[Aggieland81]

#4

[eloff19]

imo #4 definately

[El Presidente]

the performance difference in with the 2.5 VS 2.8 is about 1 second, due to the latter's larger torque output.

Im going to say #1 or #4. If insurance cost is a problem, or you prefer good gas mileage, or you plan on keeping the car a long time or heavily modifing the engine, #1 would be great.

If you want a lot power without mods and dont plan on upgrading the engine much and you can afford to pay more on the insurance, then #4 is an excellent buy.

The letters and numbers go like this:
first number is series
gennerall, the last two are the engine size, so a 318 is a 3 series with a 1.8 and a 328 is a 3 series with a 2.8. However, it is sometimes rounded or left the same due to the name already in place (96+ .18s are really 1.9s)
The letters get a bit more complicated. For the e36, I means fuel injected (FI), IS is FI coupe, IT is FI hatchback, IC is FI cabrio, IX is FI AWD, and TDS is turbo deisel. Other variants include E (economy), CIC (manual FI convertable), IL (FI long wheelbase), but none of these include the e36.

[bitcore]

323 IS? What does the IS stand for?

EDIT:

IS is FI coupe

oh Whouups.. the FI threw me off.

[Furious]

Originally posted by bitcore@Jan 25 2004, 08:02 AM
323 IS? What does the IS stand for?

"IS" stands for coupe, "I" is sedan..

personally id take 4 or maybe 2

[bimerok]

Performance difference is: 2.5=~168HP 2.8 =~190HP

[thekid]

Remember that miliage is not really a dertermining factor when buying cars, at least not a make or break point. The biggest thing is age. I agree with almost everyone else if you can afford the inssurance go with #4 but if you want to/have the money to mod the car then go with #1. Don't be scared of the milliage on any of those cars, your buying a BMW not a ford. And yes it is definatly an inline 6cyl engine.

[mole]

thanks for all the info! helped out a lot. Just have to convince my dad that i can pay for it.

[eloff19]

Originally posted by bimerok@Jan 25 2004, 01:37 PM
Performance difference is: 2.5=~168HP 2.8 =~190HP

my 2.5 is rated for 189hp, i don't know about the 2.8 but they are about the same hp, the real difference is in the torque, where it comes in etc....someone correct me if i'm wrong though