RE: BMW 325ti Compact: Spotted
Discussion
V8RX7 said:
The E36 compact had the oversteery rear axle set up from the E30 so was the enthusiasts choice but only came as a 318 although many have been converted to 2.5 / 2.8 engines
There was also a 323ti with the 2.5 M52B25 engineI've been on trackdays and drift sessions in one of those (18ti) from a friend, great fun
Sport220 said:
V8RX7 said:
The E36 compact had the oversteery rear axle set up from the E30 so was the enthusiasts choice but only came as a 318 although many have been converted to 2.5 / 2.8 engines
There was also a 323ti with the 2.5 M52B25 engineI've been on trackdays and drift sessions in one of those (18ti) from a friend, great fun
https://www.classicandsportscar.com/classifieds/cl...
s m said:
Sport220 said:
V8RX7 said:
The E36 compact had the oversteery rear axle set up from the E30 so was the enthusiasts choice but only came as a 318 although many have been converted to 2.5 / 2.8 engines
There was also a 323ti with the 2.5 M52B25 engineI've been on trackdays and drift sessions in one of those (18ti) from a friend, great fun
https://www.classicandsportscar.com/classifieds/cl...
Buff Mchugelarge said:
WJNB said:
The cut in half budget poor persons 3 Series that ever was. It still screams "I couldn't afford a proper 3 Series".
Like a 316i saloon 
Moron.
I'm on my 2nd msport 325ti. 80k miles bought for
1200 quid. It's my daily drive, You simply cannot find a car anywhere that has an involving drive coupled with a silky smooth straight 6 for that money.. period . I've just refreshed the shocks all round & control arms . I love it. Even the rear wiper still works on the one I got. Gotta be msport kit tho. SE looks pants. It's by far the most reliable car I've ever owned.
1200 quid. It's my daily drive, You simply cannot find a car anywhere that has an involving drive coupled with a silky smooth straight 6 for that money.. period . I've just refreshed the shocks all round & control arms . I love it. Even the rear wiper still works on the one I got. Gotta be msport kit tho. SE looks pants. It's by far the most reliable car I've ever owned.
I've had two E46 Compacts.
The 1st was an 04 plate 320td SE I bought in 2005 when I took the allowance instead of any of the miserable options on the company car list!
I had spotted a tempting 325ti but didn't go to view it, mainly because of the HMRC business use mileage rates.
That proved to be a big mistake - in 2014 long after I stopped doing business miles I bought a 52 plate 325ti Sport as a daily and that's when I realised what I had missed out on.
But sadly the Compact wasn't ideal for an elderly parent taxi service as I couldn't get a walker, Zimmer or wheelchair in the boot without dropping the rear seat backrests, so in March I got an E91 3 Series Touring - but I still miss my E46 325ti!
The 1st was an 04 plate 320td SE I bought in 2005 when I took the allowance instead of any of the miserable options on the company car list!
I had spotted a tempting 325ti but didn't go to view it, mainly because of the HMRC business use mileage rates.
That proved to be a big mistake - in 2014 long after I stopped doing business miles I bought a 52 plate 325ti Sport as a daily and that's when I realised what I had missed out on.
But sadly the Compact wasn't ideal for an elderly parent taxi service as I couldn't get a walker, Zimmer or wheelchair in the boot without dropping the rear seat backrests, so in March I got an E91 3 Series Touring - but I still miss my E46 325ti!
WJNB said:
The cut in half budget poor persons 3 Series that ever was. It still screams "I couldn't afford a proper 3 Series".
Idiotic thing to say. It is exactly the opposite, most people were in 2001 were in a 318i or 320d saloon as a company car, someone in a 325ti was obviously a petrol head and despite it costing more than the 320d saloon they went for it anyway as a proper fun car was more important than trying to impress the neighbours.
It doesn't scream I couldn't afford a 3 series as much as driving around in your Vectra did.
rockin said:
Buff Mchugelarge said:
WJNB said:
The cut in half budget poor persons 3 Series that ever was. It still screams "I couldn't afford a proper 3 Series".
Like a 316i saloon Moron.
The compact is a cracking car, so much fun to drive, I had a 318ti back in 2001, had loads of cars and loads of E46s from 320d touring through to M3 CSL and the compact was certainly one of the best.
daveco said:
EVO gave the 325ti a score of 4.5/5.
The 2.5 is a peach of an engine, feels very eager and combining it will a shorter final drive and c.1400kg weight would make it about as rapid as a Golf GTI Mk V.
Yeah it's a lovely engine. My 325ti pulled well to the redline and sounded fantastic. It would indeed keep up with a Golf GTI Mk5 as long as you worked the engine hard enough as the torque isn't great. The 2.5 is a peach of an engine, feels very eager and combining it will a shorter final drive and c.1400kg weight would make it about as rapid as a Golf GTI Mk V.
I followed a friend of mine in a Z4 3.0i once and there was very little in it performance wise, he was very surprised to see me still behind him.
These are bargain performance cars and are great value for money. Only thing I didn't like about it was the standard suspension but it transformed it once I fitted uprated jobbies.
I had one of these about 10 years ago, was an 04 plate so had the darker rear lights. It was only the 318, but it was the M Sport model in the same colour as the one featured. Handled fantastically, I was chuffed as I was looking at BMW MINI's at the time (only 18), but my brother let me buy this off him at the PX price he had been quoted.
I chucked a cheapo front strut brace on it, and it felt like it was on rails, used to chuck that thing about no problem.
Always wanted the 325 as my Dad had one as a loan car when they were new for a few days, it felt rapid at the time. I moved on to an 07 130i which was much quicker, but didn't have the steering feel, or give me the confidence that the ti did.
I chucked a cheapo front strut brace on it, and it felt like it was on rails, used to chuck that thing about no problem.
Always wanted the 325 as my Dad had one as a loan car when they were new for a few days, it felt rapid at the time. I moved on to an 07 130i which was much quicker, but didn't have the steering feel, or give me the confidence that the ti did.
Nothng worse than a 3 series compact... 
I remember trying to hire a proper 3 series from our company's car hire firm to take on a two week holiday back in 2000. Having booked in advance, on my arrival an emerald green 3 series compact was parked right outside reception. I go in and say to the car hire girl I'd take anything else other than that awful poverty spec green compact parked outside, not knowing it was not there for me at all, but was actually her own car. Lol, two weeks driving around France in a Citroen diesel followed, what an utter pos that was (with cheap fuel bills) and a mate got pulled by the gendarmes for getting it up to 110 mph on the autoroute.
I remember trying to hire a proper 3 series from our company's car hire firm to take on a two week holiday back in 2000. Having booked in advance, on my arrival an emerald green 3 series compact was parked right outside reception. I go in and say to the car hire girl I'd take anything else other than that awful poverty spec green compact parked outside, not knowing it was not there for me at all, but was actually her own car. Lol, two weeks driving around France in a Citroen diesel followed, what an utter pos that was (with cheap fuel bills) and a mate got pulled by the gendarmes for getting it up to 110 mph on the autoroute.
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