323Ci For a First Car?

[phatjo911]

Hi everybody, I stumbled across a BMW ad the other day, and I had never really considered BMW's before as I thought they were way out of my price range, but I've found some used 323Ci's for about $10K.

First question, I am in highschool, and would this car be good for a first car?
I am familiar with cars, I have been into RWD Japanese cars up to now ( still am ) like the S2000, 350Z, G35, 240SX, too many to list....

Anyway, I've heard great things about the circa 2000 BMW 323Ci's, still running great a very high mileages. Most of the ones I've seen for sale are at about 70K Miles.

I'm looking for a car that will take me from A to B reliably ( with almost no chance of breaking down ), and when I get the money, take me from A to B a little faster, more stylish and with sharper turns. Would the 323Ci meet those requirements?

Also, is there a lot of aftermarket support for the 323Ci's? Such as performance parts ( intake, header, exhaust, turbo's, you name it ) exterior products, ( body kits, spoilers, w/e ) and handling parts? ( too tired to list more )


Thanks and forgive me for being a noob. ( Also my first post! )

[AlpineSixAndSeven]

how much are you looking to spend... `please say your now going to rice it out... if you are i would say go for the rice burner cars.... but if you want a stylish mordern luxury sports car a 3 would do great! 323ci is a good economic car... also ow much are you looking to spend on matinace... BMW parts are more expensive then jap cars.... and if you smash it or blow it up, the cost of repairing it will be alot more... Just so you know I myself am 19 and have a 635(i paid for) and a 740iL(parents paid for) there great cars and really reliable but have to be Properly mantained to keep them running properly... do cheap out... it will end up costing you WAY more in the long run.... just wanted you to know what you were gettingyour self into BTW they are WAYYYYYY worth it....

[witeshark]

Yeah I think it would be good, but it's a car that you never wanna put it off a while when you know it needs service.

[phatjo911]

I'm looking to spend about 8-9K ( I'm planning to buy a car in ~2 years once I've saved up the money.)

Well I mean any car, japanese or european, needs to be serviced correctly to make it last long.

How is the transmission on these cars? ( BTW, not gonna rice it out.. do they have those smileys for throwing up??? )
Take the Honda S2000 for example, most people have trouble with their 2nd gear after like 50K miles.
Are the 3 series transmissions long lasting?

What about the aftermarket support? - Mostly Turbochargers, superchargers, do a lot of people turbocharge or supercharge their 323Ci's?
Is it common?

P.S. Thanks for the warm welcome!