BoroWRX

OK , here it is , the moment has finally come , the scooby has to go , I have now owned 2 sports and a WRX , but due to work and company car I can no longer afford the finance and petrol for the scoob.

I have been mulling over a replacement for my partner to drive and me occasionally but I have a diesel Astra ( yuk ) company car which does a biliion miles to the gallon. I have come to the conclustion the only thing that will be as trusty as a scoob is a BMW , I can really only afford a couple of thousand so will be looking at a 96-98 ish 316 or 318 , I have a little boy of 2 so need to get him in his car seat in back and a pushchair in boot , will a compact 318 do this >>?? they still look roomy but i havent driven one yet , so anyone who owns or has owned a 316 or 318 please give me some advice ......

bighead

iTrader: (1)

you need more bhp than a 318 m8, go for a 325.
316 and 318 are under powered.

BoroWRX

Yes I know what youre saying but Im not looking for power , I have had years of driving scoobies , the more power the more fuel expense I am trying to keep the bills down and keep a classy car. not race anyone.

agent003

Dont go for less than a 320 m8... just as economic as the 318 but loads more torque....four cylinder ones are uter rubish

bighead

iTrader: (1)

ahhhh.....but once you tasted the power ...you can't do without !

BoroWRX

I know what youre saying , but Im afraid its not true ,sometimes u have to prioritise and my house and little lad are more important than the scoob, and anyway I drive a diesel 1.7 astra now and I can still have fun in it , unlike a scoob i can wheelspin from every set of lights and do corners sideways for a laugh .. so in the future i may go back to driving a beast but for now I need a prince charming ..

BoroWRX

anyway I need some advice from bm owners , come on guys and gals

Sosbanite

Take a look at an Audi A4 of the same age?

Neighbour recently bought an R reg 1.8 for under a grand.
Ok, the milage is high but the car is faultless - he's a mechanic so knows what he's looking at!! and it's very reliable.

He also has a 2 1/2 year old and it's a good car with using child seats and prams in the boot etc.

Varboy

BMW diesel 3 series are generally very good and a bit more pleasurable o drive than the 1.6 and 1.8 which people quite rightly point out are gutless and will leave you crying with frustration when you can't overtake anything and get monstered by a school run mum in Galaxy

bob r

iTrader: (46)

Agree.

BoroWRX

OK , have just looked at the A4 spec , it is around the 110bhp , the same as a 318 , so what would be the advantage , a 318 compact is a mile lighter than an A4 so surely if speed was the concern the 318 is faster , thanks for all the help and keeps it coming

Dave Thornton

Try your pushchair and child's car seat in a few cars - that will probably rule out a BMW compact.

RB5_245

A few friends have 318's of that age and my brother has had a couple.

They've all developed rattles and niggles with the engine, wear and tare seem to have affected them quite bad, with mileage more than age.

Nice to drive, much more so than the A4. If you want one, I'd aim for paying that bit more for a low mileage minter.

The A4 is ultimately going to be the car that will never let you down. My experience says longevity is not a strong point of the E36 3-series.

WHEELSHOP0_0

Early 316/318's suffered from top end engine noise usually from the cam/followers its a diesel sounding problem, sort of a drrrr type rattle when reved the later ones had this problem sorted.
If you can manage with a 4 door the price is lower than a compact at this age, the best ones we have had were 318i's these had the 16v engine and were great on fuel and still quite fun to drive.
hth.

BoroWRX

cool , some good info , so the 318i has 16v ? , what else should I be lookng for , I have heard some are four cylinder and some 6 , which are which , I could really do with a 4 door but i dont want a huge thing ..

WHEELSHOP0_0

No only the 318is. The "s" being the important thing here has a 16v engine, and the 316 4cyl, 318 4 cyl, 320 onwards is a 6cyl.

matchmaker

Apart from the very first 3-series, all petrol 3's from 320 up are straight sixes

dazzer WRC

I have just sold my wrx 03 and was gutted to get rid of it , i now have 318 on a 51 plate with 27000 on the clock and loads of spec.
Cracking car but is a little under powered but it does for a family car.
I have drove a 320 diesel and was a little qiucker.

Good Luck

BoroWRX

sorry to hear that daz , but we all have to make sacrifices occasionally , one day !

KTM3

I had a my93 wrx import, when that went I had a 1995 318is coupe E36 for a couple of months.

As an everyday around town car it was great, good on fuel, nice drive and was still just big enough ( boot more than big enough for buggy and shopping ) for me and my 3 kids ( all under 8 ) on the mechanical side, I cant really comment as did not have it long enough.

BUT, and its a BIG BUT..... It bored me to tears and I am now back in a scoob

Like some have said above maybe look at 320+ so you still have a bit of play, fueling is better on the the BMW. I regulary go from Hemel Hepstead to Milton Keynes and the bf's M3 E46 which is a 3.2 is more economical than the scoob

e36coupe.co.uk forum should be able to answer some of your questions, great bunch over there, was more than helpfull when I got mine and needed to know stuff.

BoroWRX

thx dude thats good advice i will look there

KTM3

Dudette

BryD

Def got for the 3 series coupe over the compact, which looks like they forgot to build the back end on. What about a passat?

BoroWRX

What about it , possibly one of the ugliest cars in the world ?

Spirit

Have you considered an Alfa turbo diesel? The 156 2.4 JTD is a cracking car - very luxurious compared to a scoob (and a BMW 3 series for that matter), very cheap to run and more poke that any of the BMWs you are considering.

I've gone from an STi to the above and have no regrets. I've had it remapped and it's running more torque than the STi (~300lb ft) and 200 bhp, pulls like a train and still averages 55mpg on the motorway and 40mpg round town.

I did pay £6k for mine which is obviously above your budget, but mine is virtually new (late 2002, 37k on the clock) - you can get an older one for next to nothing these days. They are very well equipped, and the past reputation Alfa's had for being unreliable hasn't been true for many years now.

Blueblaster

Just my twopenneth as the most kowledgable poster on this site .

If you only have a couple a grand to spend then do you think it is wise buying a ten year old high mileage BMW? I know they are well built and, on the whole, reliable, but what happens when they go wrong? Big big bills. You have said yourself that you still have fun in your Astra so why not think along those lines. I bet Vauxhall would sort you out with a cracking FSH Vectra for that kind of money. Cheap as chips to run and maintain and still a very good car. You are obviously planning to keep the car for a few years so buying an old car that is soon to be very old might be a bit of a false economy.

MY00PPP

Hey.

Went from - MY00PPP



Went to - BMW 318 Coupe 51 plate (143 BHP facelifted model)



Honest opion...

have I missed the scoob?. yes why?... I miss the power and that is it!. have I got over it. yes.

The BM, IMHO is in a different league. I think it looks pretty good. Silver with black leather and factory 17 inch wheels. different class in terms of build quality. More toys inside and I actually like the image that goes with it too.

I enjoy driving the BM as much as I did the scooby...although in a different way!.

BM all the way!

edited...I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and the coupe does just fine. Front seat moves up and fwd (if that makes sense?) so you can get good access to rear seats.

KTM3

Have to agree with MY00PPP on the E46's, mine was a E36 so did feel like an old car and was very basic. The E46 is a much better shape, and on the coupe is still very accessable (sp) for kids, as I said I have 3 youngest being 2 and 1/2 and I often use the bf's car.



And also have to agree that silver is the best colour with black interior

scoobfan

I disagree, I owned a 318is and it would outpace a 320 which is considered to be under powered and very thirsty, in comparison to a 318is.

The 318is has always been called the baby m3.

Check out e36coupe.com for some advice from guys that know what
there on about.

Rob

Tomski_908

iTrader: (1)

If you have got your mind set on a bmw Than go for the E36 best value for money i had a E46 320 convertible and lost 8k on it Plus it wasn't that good on petrol!

Main problem is the servicing!! £120 just for the oil service and you have 3 different stages of serivce in the year. But if you don't have them then silly lights stay on, on the dash although i cheated europarts sell a re-progarm unit so you can service it yourself and then knock out the lights!

When looking check the service history, by actually ringing the BMW garage!!

Still nice cars, comfortable, nice looking, but a bit low on power (but you can still doghnut em!! )