1991 BMW 3 Series 320i saloon review from Croatia

Stoppers on front suspension worn out at 160k km - manifested in sometimes annoying sound. ABS sensor failure on 198k km.

After owning '90 520i and crashing it I bought this car. Drove it for one year (32k km) and had no major complaint.

It had suspension performed by AC Schnitzer (-30mm Eibach springs + Bilstein sport absorbers, later replaced by Sachs M tehnik).

Car was often driven on track days; this means pretty heavy working condition, but nothing ever went wrong.

Top speed is 216km/h (220 on tacho) and is achieved when you hit the rev limiter in 5th gear. Fuel consumption would be around 11l per 100km. Engine NEVER used any oil (Shell 5w40 was in it, service interval between 10 an 12,5k km)

Car is not a straight line racer (9,9sec 0-100km/h, round 17sec 0 - 400m) due to its weight (1360kg). But when it comes to corners I find it definitely one of the best cars made in that time.

Feeling behind the wheel (handling) is just fantastic, especially if you can install (afford) sport suspension package. Also the sound of stock inline 6 is a sypmhony for ears.

Car was oftenly driven on highway at high speeds (180+km/h) but that never appeared to be a problem. Also the brakes were fantastic; pads never faded, nor on the track, nor on the highway. If you want an optimally fast car for modest maintenance cost; this is ideal choice, only look for full service history models.

Althought this was one of the first models produced (E36 line was introduced in 1991) there was no need for pinion rack replacement (often e36 fault) nor the water or fuel pump replacement.

I replaced this car with '98 328i coupe. Although I found it a bit underpowered for my choice, this will definitely be one of the best cars I ever owned.