£2k to spend on a coupe, but which one?

[s35will]

Hi all,

I'm wanting to buy another BMW coupe. I really want the flat six engine and after doing numerous insurance quotes the 323 is the most reasonably priced and roughly about what i am willing to pay for insurance. (after adding my girlfriend as a named driver...finally she has her uses!)

I'm wanting to spend about 2 grand on the car which I initially thought would buy me a nice example E36 like this;
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...
leaving me with money left over for any niggles.

However after looking on auto trader it seems there are a few early E46 examples floating around just above the 2k mark like these two;
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

So now i'm wondering whether i should stretch for an E46 or comfortably buy an E36. Are running costs of the E46 higher? The grey E46 for £2,300 comes with a 6 month warranty, would it be worth paying the extra for something like that? I really am torn. Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers, Will

[steve_bmw]

i would go for a very late 1999 323 e36 coupe, the m sport coupe, lots about and you should be able to get a nice one.
here's a picture of my old one, 1999 t reg, beautiful car, a/c , half leather, good reliable cars.

be wary of cheap e46's, at this money you are buying at the lowest end of the e46 range and there will be issues with early ones like front and rear arch rust ect,

both cost the same to run , chassis is pretty mutch the same on e46 as e36 and still has the usual issues like rear arm bushes and front rear arm bushes, both cheap to fix.

Edited by steve_bmw on Wednesday 2nd March 16:38

[s35will]

That's what I was thinking but at the same time didn't want to miss out on a bargain.

Just been reading up about the Nikasil issues on the M52 engine which ashamingly I've never heard of before. Am I correct in saying that the early E46's up to 2001 still have a chance of having a Nikasil engine. Or was the M52 engine changed to the Alusil one for the E46?

I'm glad I read about it as at least I now know to look for "the tab" when looking at E36's.

[steve_bmw]

if you get an m52 engined car after mid 1998 they have steel liners so no issues with nikasil. go for a 1999 and then you can guarantee to be safe you dont have nikasil.

[s35will]

Yours is a lovely looking car Steve will be sure to aim for a '99 car then. Cheers for the advice.

[drivin_me_nuts]

I used to run a 328 T reg. If I recall the steering rack for early E46's was very slow indeed.

[Jw Vw]

Is the insurance costs between a 323i and a 328i massive? If you can stretch to a 328i that's the one I would go for. Still, nothing wrong with a 323i!

[s35will]

323 is around 840 quid a year and the 328 is 1040 so quite a big chunk of petrol money really. However what is quite strange is the 316 and 318 are also just above 800 quid. So engine wise the 323 is a bit of a no brainer.

[billzeebub]

Ive just bought a 323 Convertible on a 99(v)..and can report that having covered 84k miles in it's life, the performance is not discernably different to my previous 328's..my 323 does have the twin pipe 328 exhaust though..but the hp difference is not immedietly noticeable to me and the 323 is a very refined and competently quick car

a good compromise based on your insurance quotes..

[s35will]

billzeebub said:

Ive just bought a 323 Convertible on a 99(v)..and can report that having covered 84k miles in it's life, the performance is not discernably different to my previous 328's..my 323 does have the twin pipe 328 exhaust though..but the hp difference is not immedietly noticeable to me and the 323 is a very refined and competently quick car

a good compromise based on your insurance quotes..

I'm glad to hear that I shouldn't be missing out on too many horses with the 323.

I keep searching auto trader and its really hard to ignore all the E46 saloons that are around the £2k mark, even though they are at the bottom end of the scale. Suppose I won't be able to make my mind up now until I go and view some cars after the weekend.

[AB65]

Have owned all models of 3 series (E30 to current E92)
Either way, the models your are looking at are both 'solid' cars. However, make sure that they have documented service history and past mot certificates.
These are worth far more than a car dealer's "warranty"! Rule of thumb with aftermarket warranties., they take your money but will try anything to get out of paying for something! Always check all the 'smallprint'! Good luck!

[AB65]

Have owned all models of 3 series (E30 to current E92)
Either way, the models your are looking at are both 'solid' cars. However, make sure that they have documented service history and past mot certificates.
These are worth far more than a car dealer's "warranty"! Rule of thumb with aftermarket warranties., they take your money but will try anything to get out of paying for something! Always check all the 'smallprint'! Good luck!