BMW 325Is

GX3 · Post by **GX3** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:14 pm

I am looking to by this car but Dont know much about them. I want to set up a fun track car. This looks to be a good deal

$6500 with G7 wheels / $5500 without (price changes depending on parts)-- I am probably forgetting some stuff but you get the idea... lots of maintenance stuff and preventative wear stuff has been done too but i wont list all of that. The car is always garaged (heated garage), and is very rarely driven.

1994 325is (located in Coatesville, PA 19320)
clean title- (have carfax)
ARCTIC GREY (baller color)
black leather
heated seats (winter package)
151k

MOST PARTS HAVE LESS THAN 2K MILES!
I have reciepts for most of the parts

Suspension:
Pss9 coilover kit
TC Kline caster camber plates
Turner Motorsports rear shock mounts
Turner lower chassis X brace
lower control arms w/Treehouse racing bushings
Full Turner Motorsports reinforcement kit
**UUC twin knuckle Lower control arms still in box** (may be sold)
Moderately rolled fenders

Footwork:
Panasport G7 (rare 3 piece wheels)
17x9 et35 / 17x9 et38
235/40/17 Federal 595s (2 brand new not installed)

Sport Edition limited wheels (5 spoke K1 look alikes)
Blizzaks ~2000 miles on tires

ECS 15mm spacers (front)
ECS 10mm spacers (rear / optional)

Brakes:
M3 Front brakes with cross drilled rotors
power slotted rotors rear
Hawk HP-plus pads (oem pads on the car now but HP's are included)
Ate Blue brake fluid ( ~1000 miles, 0 heat cycles)

Drivetrain:
Stage II Vanos
New cam chain
New upper/lower tensioners
Chryoed cam gears
M3 (s50) cams / Cam trays
UUC TSE exhaust / catless midpipe
New NGK BKR6EK / spare Bosch F 8 LDCR plugs
K&N Drop in
KO Fan Delete Kit (80* thermostate, metal impeller, water wetter, low temp fan switch)
SSK understeer

Exterior:
M3 front bumper / side skirts / rear bumper
-- rear bumper and side skirts have fresh paint and have not seen the road yet -- car comes with extra paint
New M3 front lip
Reiger GT lip $$
New DEPO fogs
DEPO headlights
Clear tails, clear corners

Comes with extra side skirt and aftermarket rear bumper

Interior:
AC Schnitzer pedal covers
Custom Delrin racing shift knob
Sparco 350mm deep dish wheel (needs hub / optional depending sale price)

Maintenance:
Mobile 1 oil, royal purple trans fluid, coolant flushed, ATE brake fluid.
BRAND NEW windshield with lifetime warranty from AAA
New battery

OPTIONAL EXTRAS:
SPAL 16" pusher
Recaro speed seat w/ e46 rails (lower)
Schroth 5 pt harness

THE BAD:
very rarely has an idle problem. The ICV has been cleaned and i am guessing it is from the catless midpipe (02 sensor failure). CEL shows this.
Missing tow hook cover ($10) not sure where it is but ill pick one up soon
Needs clips for door panels (removed to fix handles and all clips broke. Now the panels arent on very tight).
Less than typical chips, scratches, wear of any car that is 14 yrs old but definitely not perfect.

Post by **Rold Gold** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:57 pm

Talk to Fowler bout them....... He's got himself 1 of doze.

Post by **Bfowler** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:14 pm

#1 find out when the waterpump was done. if something is gonna go bad, the thermo and/or waterpump is it.

get it on a lift, or have a mechanic check the sub frame where the differential connects. it was known to tear in early e36's without proper preventative maintenance.

other then that, looks clean. you probibly dont care much about the interior.

i know those cars all too well. let me know if you have any questions

Post by **Bfowler** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:16 pm

also, if it has the "winter package" make sure it has a limited slip. thats actually an EXTREMELY rare package. (although many upgrade it after the fact)

if it doesnt have a limited slip, putting one from a m3 is the BEST 300 you will ever spend

Post by **stipud** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:49 am

151k miles? That's a little expensive for just a 325... aftermarket parts aren't supposed to increase the value of a car much, but at the very least it looks like he got all the good stuff (those PSS9's are to die for). However, to me, this car is a 151k mile 325is with a CEL, in which case the price is way high. You are basically paying him $5000 for mods. You could probably buy the same car, without mods, for a song, and then add them on yourself. It would probably be a bit more expensive, but then you would be tuning it to your tastes, not his.

I would be hesitant about the CEL... what if it's more than just the cat? I would at the very least bring an OBD scanner. But why, if he's forking out cash to do everything else right, would he de-cat the car, have a CEL all the time, risk it running poorly, and make it pollute like crazy? High flow race cats are cheap nowadays. I don't get cutting corners when everything else has been done to a high spec.

If you want a track car, you might want to consider finding a beaten up M3 with good mechanicals, and stripping it down. I would also recommend a Miata, or similar. Light cars with great handling will give you a lot more experience driving, and you would probably flog M3's at autocross.

Post by **kg1961** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:55 am

also if it E36 look at the rear trunk(driver side)there a black wire cover & when it opens and close there is all the wiring on the car there (stupid idea) but over time opening and closing the wire were out than all kinds of problems start. My e36 1994 318i had that problem and rear wheel bearings and front control arm went also
remeber the car only has like 170hp so its far from fast

Post by **Bfowler** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 8:25 am

the obd1's take to mods pretty well. with the s50 cams and bolt ons, it should pace m3's pretty well

good call on the trunk harness. forgot on the obd1's that the front ecu can get flooded pretty easy too, so be careful going through car washes!

mods for bmw's are expensive...finding your own car and modding it to this level for that budget would be imposable. that is a pretty fair price on that car imo (not to say you shouldn't try to knock him down anyway

guys on bimmerfourms too (which is usually a good sign) http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh ... ight=325is

GX3 · Post by **GX3** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 4:49 pm

Lot for me to take in. I don't know much about moding cars for speed. Thanks for all the info guys. I am going out to Philly to take a look at it this week end. The owner bought the car about a year and half ago. According to my friend on the fire department that knows the owner. He has only put about 1k on the car in that time. The rest of the time he spent pulling it apart and doing the upgrades and maintenance work on it. He is putting the exhaust on it this week before he sells it. I will have to ask about the water pump and the rear end. Brian (friend in Philly) said he the kind of person that is always buying things fixing them up and then get board. I was looking in to a Mazda or a VW but being 6'4" I dont fit too well in the smaller cars. What does CEL stand for...... Don't know what to do yet

I will be driving out there Friday to take a look at it and hang out... Maybe even take a ride on one of the rigs

at the station to hand out candy Saturday. I keep you guys posted..... Hell I might even just scrap the track idea and load it up with PG gear. I need to see it in person 1st.

Post by **kg1961** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 5:21 pm

best of luck is your buying it for a everyday driver than I would not but they are fun cars
just hope you can get your hands dirty as you will always being doing littel things to keep her going sorta like Vw
Anyone with a vw will tell you

i have had one e30,2e36 a e46 and (2 e90) but they were the worst car i ever had but thats new for ya
i love the older one easy to work on but if you don't have a parts guy it can get pricey

Post by **Rold Gold** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 6:12 pm

...............................

/\

Post by **Bfowler** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 6:16 pm

Check
Engine
Light

If you go the audio route....lemmie know

GX3 · Post by **GX3** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 6:32 pm

Bfowler wrote:Check
Engine
Light

If you go the audio route....lemmie know

WOW............ I'm Smart

I'm guessing you may have put a system or two in yours?

Post by **stipud** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:20 am

GX3 wrote:Lot for me to take in. I don't know much about moding cars for speed. Thanks for all the info guys. I am going out to Philly to take a look at it this week end. The owner bought the car about a year and half ago. According to my friend on the fire department that knows the owner. He has only put about 1k on the car in that time. The rest of the time he spent pulling it apart and doing the upgrades and maintenance work on it. He is putting the exhaust on it this week before he sells it. I will have to ask about the water pump and the rear end. Brian (friend in Philly) said he the kind of person that is always buying things fixing them up and then get board. I was looking in to a Mazda or a VW but being 6'4" I dont fit too well in the smaller cars. What does CEL stand for...... Don't know what to do yet I will be driving out there Friday to take a look at it and hang out... Maybe even take a ride on one of the rigs at the station to hand out candy Saturday. I keep you guys posted..... Hell I might even just scrap the track idea and load it up with PG gear. I need to see it in person 1st.

Wow, he is tuning it just to sell it! I guess he's probably like cars like we are with amps

Hmmm... if you don't know how to do the tuning work yourself, then his price is very tempting for a starter track car, and you don't have to dive head first into building it. I wouldn't count on using it as a DD, but it can't hurt to try.

A cheap/rented OBDI scanner should be able to read the check engine light codes. If you figure out what those codes are, you can see if the check engine light is on only on because of the missing catalytic converter. Worst case is there are more codes stored for other problems with the car, which only gives you bargaining room. If it's just the cat, I'd bet putting in a race cat would most likely help performance. Even if it doesn't make a difference, at least you're helping the environment! Hug a tree!

Look for mods that were done poorly or hastily. It's usually pretty easy to tell from things like wiring or how tidy the engine bay is. The guy seems to have good taste though, since he chose a lot of good parts.

Definitely looks like a fun car. E36s were my lifelong favorite cars. I would love to get one some day.

GX3 · Post by **GX3** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:38 am

Well looks like no trip to Philly this weekend. He is having a problem with the M3 cam he put in it. He is taking it to a shops that works on BMWs. Staring to think this might be more of a problem then it's worth.

Post by **Bfowler** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 7:21 am

hmm...that doesnt sound good. you dont really have "problems with the cams" they are a hunk of metal...maybe they were installed improperly.

GX3 · Post by **GX3** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:49 am

I was told that the yimeing is off???? I revived a 2nd chance offer on a 98 318 today for $2550.

GX3 · Post by **GX3** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:53 am

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... &viewitem=

thing is this one is in Fl ...... Nice time for a vacation I guess

Post by **Bfowler** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 11:57 am

hmm, thats ones a 318 ti...

underpowered...even adding a supercharger wont compete with an M

plus they have trailing arm rear suspension.

if you were going to go 318ti route, you should just go 1988-1991 3 series

Post by **kg1961** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:02 pm

price is right just by the super charger and your cheaper than the other one

Post by **stipud** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 1:03 pm

Always liked those... pity they never got a real motor

GX3 · Post by **GX3** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:33 pm

So the 318 is out ... dont feel like going to Florida right now and It wont get me to were I want to be........ I'll just wait it out on the 325 and see what happens after he gets it back. My friend in Philly that knows this guy will tell me the truth of whats going on with it. I trusted him enough with my life I think I can take his word about the car. I just have to wait and see

GX3 · Post by **GX3** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:29 pm

After all this the guy flaked out on me. He never got a hold of me and sold the car to a kid in Jersey for 4K. So I guess I just saved some money.........probably for the best

Post by **stipud** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:08 am

Good news! Now you can afford this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-3-Se ... 3aUSQ3a101

Post by **Bfowler** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 10:08 am

ugh, makes me throw up a little bit