RE: BMW 325ti Compact: Spotted
Discussion
JakeT said:
I love mine. Mine's a 2001 model. A very early demonstrator with some great options like upgraded Hi-Fi, Xenons, and a sunroof. The compact got a lot of changes over the standard E46 including:
Quick Rack,
Differnt ARBs, suspension arms, and spring/damper rates (All got sport suspension)
Sport seats, and black headliner,
shorter gearing, 60 required 2 changes, and
no exhaust flap and a pipe from the inlet into the cabin.
I'm sure there's more I've forgotten
Mine's done all sorts, been over the Welsh hills at max attack, and been to Germany and done 146 down the Autobahns. Never given a hint of trouble, and been a great daily. Bout mine at 61k, and now on 103k. Sits in the garage a lot now though, I keep thinking about selling it, but then drive it and change my mind.
Nice pic Jake - sounds a similar story to mine - had my 03MY 6 years and it’s been very reliable. My 3rd E46 after a 320 and a 330 and for me the best. Very practical with the hatch tooQuick Rack,
Differnt ARBs, suspension arms, and spring/damper rates (All got sport suspension)
Sport seats, and black headliner,
shorter gearing, 60 required 2 changes, and
no exhaust flap and a pipe from the inlet into the cabin.
I'm sure there's more I've forgotten
Mine's done all sorts, been over the Welsh hills at max attack, and been to Germany and done 146 down the Autobahns. Never given a hint of trouble, and been a great daily. Bout mine at 61k, and now on 103k. Sits in the garage a lot now though, I keep thinking about selling it, but then drive it and change my mind.
Like you I’ve done Euro road trips in it and explored the top speed in Germany - indicated 150 was enough
It’s got a few nice options like yours ( owned by wife of a dealership principal ) so sunroof,factory nav, telly and BT along with some BMW PE bits
Worth little ....but still nearly what I paid
vsonix said:
Well, galvanised into action by this thread I just pulled the trigger on a cheap but solid 2.0td Compact.
I've been after an economical runabout for ages. Only poverty spec ES trim but if it turns out to be a keeper I'm sure it'll get bits thrown at it, and I can live without leather and climate control, I have an E38 for luxury. My main concern is the lack of front fog lights... never had a car without fog lights before, strikes me as a bad idea. But again, easy enough to retrofit.
Not gonna post up a pic til I have it in my clammy little mitts though.
Plans will be: Put it on some less ugly wheels, give it a good remap then just use it.
Depending on what you use it for it may be great! I've been after an economical runabout for ages. Only poverty spec ES trim but if it turns out to be a keeper I'm sure it'll get bits thrown at it, and I can live without leather and climate control, I have an E38 for luxury. My main concern is the lack of front fog lights... never had a car without fog lights before, strikes me as a bad idea. But again, easy enough to retrofit.
Not gonna post up a pic til I have it in my clammy little mitts though.
Plans will be: Put it on some less ugly wheels, give it a good remap then just use it.
My 1st ever BMW was an 04 plate 320td SE I bought in January 2005 with less than 3K miles on it.
At the time I was getting a company car allowance so it seemed to make sense. I had it for 3 years and 43K miles.
It had a set of Style 98 wheels, so square 7J x 17 with 205/50 x 17 tyres and being a facelift it had the 6-speed gearbox - great for munching miles!
Then in 2014 I got a 325ti Sport as a daily and realised what I had been missing.
s m said:
Yes, I think same size front and back helps - they’re pretty much 50:50 weight distribution
Nice snippet, he's right as far as my hamfisted attempts at driving fast can tell. There's so much grip, you really have to use all the 200bhp to break traction so powerslides are not particularly easy but I guess that's no bad thing really. When it does let go it doesnt just chuck you off the track either. Mr Tidy said:
vsonix said:
Well, galvanised into action by this thread I just pulled the trigger on a cheap but solid 2.0td Compact.
I've been after an economical runabout for ages. Only poverty spec ES trim but if it turns out to be a keeper I'm sure it'll get bits thrown at it, and I can live without leather and climate control, I have an E38 for luxury. My main concern is the lack of front fog lights... never had a car without fog lights before, strikes me as a bad idea. But again, easy enough to retrofit.
Not gonna post up a pic til I have it in my clammy little mitts though.
Plans will be: Put it on some less ugly wheels, give it a good remap then just use it.
Depending on what you use it for it may be great! I've been after an economical runabout for ages. Only poverty spec ES trim but if it turns out to be a keeper I'm sure it'll get bits thrown at it, and I can live without leather and climate control, I have an E38 for luxury. My main concern is the lack of front fog lights... never had a car without fog lights before, strikes me as a bad idea. But again, easy enough to retrofit.
Not gonna post up a pic til I have it in my clammy little mitts though.
Plans will be: Put it on some less ugly wheels, give it a good remap then just use it.
My 1st ever BMW was an 04 plate 320td SE I bought in January 2005 with less than 3K miles on it.
At the time I was getting a company car allowance so it seemed to make sense. I had it for 3 years and 43K miles.
It had a set of Style 98 wheels, so square 7J x 17 with 205/50 x 17 tyres and being a facelift it had the 6-speed gearbox - great for munching miles!
Then in 2014 I got a 325ti Sport as a daily and realised what I had been missing.
Don't get me wrong if the weather's nice I'm taking a Z3 up every time but if it's midwinter and I have to drive cautiously because the weather is awful and it's dark all day then I prefer to spend as little doing so as possible LOL.
I thought about breaking from my exclusive BMW tradition and looking at another marque, but... naaaah! Really I just want something that drives and feels like the others whilst remaining frugal on fuel and retaining a little bit of zing even if it's not the last word in screaming speed. I'll save experimenting with other makes for when I'm looking for something more esoteric.
Anyway though, the one I was meant to get yesterday was a bust. Made it 85% of the way to where it was located, the vendor phoned me up and told me he'd sold it to some other chap for £50 more than we'd agreed. And then blocked me, so I had to open a PayPal case to get my deposit back.
Edited by vsonix on Saturday 22 December 20:08
vsonix said:
Anyway though, the one I was meant to get yesterday was a bust. Made it 85% of the way to where it was located, the vendor phoned me up and told me he'd sold it to some other chap for £50 more than we'd agreed. And then blocked me, so I had to open a PayPal case to get my deposit back.
How annoying - good luck with your search.Edited by vsonix on Saturday 22 December 20:08
Autocar ran a 320td as a long termer back about 15 years ago
vsonix said:
Yeah, a 325ti Sport would certainly be great but I already have three straight six and one V8 BMW to play with, I'm trying to avoid using them for commuting and general work duties to keep mileage down and value up, plus I hate having to write off between £80-100 just on fuel if I want to pop up to London for a social weekend when I know I could be saving at least half that money with a derv 4-banger and spending the rest on cokes and hookahs.
Don't get me wrong if the weather's nice I'm taking a Z3 up every time but if it's midwinter and I have to drive cautiously because the weather is awful and it's dark all day then I prefer to spend as little doing so as possible LOL.
I thought about breaking from my exclusive BMW tradition and looking at another marque, but... naaaah! Really I just want something that drives and feels like the others whilst remaining frugal on fuel and retaining a little bit of zing even if it's not the last word in screaming speed. I'll save experimenting with other makes for when I'm looking for something more esoteric.
Anyway though, the one I was meant to get yesterday was a bust. Made it 85% of the way to where it was located, the vendor phoned me up and told me he'd sold it to some other chap for £50 more than we'd agreed. And then blocked me, so I had to open a PayPal case to get my deposit back.
Right, in that case a 320td makes perfect sense! Don't get me wrong if the weather's nice I'm taking a Z3 up every time but if it's midwinter and I have to drive cautiously because the weather is awful and it's dark all day then I prefer to spend as little doing so as possible LOL.
I thought about breaking from my exclusive BMW tradition and looking at another marque, but... naaaah! Really I just want something that drives and feels like the others whilst remaining frugal on fuel and retaining a little bit of zing even if it's not the last word in screaming speed. I'll save experimenting with other makes for when I'm looking for something more esoteric.
Anyway though, the one I was meant to get yesterday was a bust. Made it 85% of the way to where it was located, the vendor phoned me up and told me he'd sold it to some other chap for £50 more than we'd agreed. And then blocked me, so I had to open a PayPal case to get my deposit back.
Edited by vsonix on Saturday 22 December 20:08
I was doing business miles when I bought mine, but as my only car I should have tried a 325ti first as I'd have taken the cost on the chin.
Mine was a facelift, so had the 6 speed box - I regularly got over 600 miles from a tank of fuel.
Shame about your wasted trip.
It's all good, 40 quid down on fuel, but it was a nice drive in the e38, so I'll take it on the chin. Found another one for same kind of money with same kind of miles and collected yesterday. Poverty spec ES but late model so sport suspension and plent of M bits... Most beguiling. Would have preferred black but dark blue is also presentable for most situations.
Already seen 50+ mpg on the drive home.
Needs some 18s though. Nothing fancy, MV2 will do fine.
Already seen 50+ mpg on the drive home.
Needs some 18s though. Nothing fancy, MV2 will do fine.
vsonix said:
It's all good, 40 quid down on fuel, but it was a nice drive in the e38, so I'll take it on the chin. Found another one for same kind of money with same kind of miles and collected yesterday. Poverty spec ES but late model so sport suspension and plent of M bits... Most beguiling. Would have preferred black but dark blue is also presentable for most situations.
Already seen 50+ mpg on the drive home.
I like the ES hairpins, because of the lack of dirt catcher lip, always seemed to stay cleaner for longer. Had a set on my 328Already seen 50+ mpg on the drive home.
Plus a nice colour too
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