1993 BMW 3 Series Reviews - Page 2 of 6

Almost immediately after purchase:

Rear brakes replaced.

O2 sensor for Check Engine light.

Valve cover gasket.

Most recent:

4 springs (2 on rear were broken)

Struts

All 4 ball-joints

Control arm bushings.

Still waiting:

Trailing arm bushings (driver side just failed)

This is without a doubt my favorite car that I have owned. I traded up from an 86 Accord that was limping along, and there really is no comparison. Even with worn suspension components, the ride was good, and a new front-end made it much better.

Now to get the rear done (RTAB makes the rear end fishtail on the bumps, and steers the car a bit randomly).

Other than that, there have been no running problems. I drive it to work and school 5-6 days a week, and it's never failed to do what I want it to do.

I average 26-27 MPG (the OBC is pretty accurate compared to hand-calculations), and the engine is very responsive. Passing slower vehicles is never a problem.

One of the best things about it is the value. I paid much less for this car than most people pay for much lesser cars. It is relatively easy to work on if you are mechanically inclined - I've done all the work myself - and parts are readily available. There are several Internet forums if you need technical assistance, or if you just want to show off your ride. I'll probably get another E36 for my son when he goes off to college in a few years.

This car is very expensive to maintain, or maybe because it's 14 years old. When I bought the car I put over $2,000 into maintenance--the last owner just drove it and let it fall apart with age. I put new Bilstein shocks and struts, brakes and rotors, full dealer tune up, new tires, and a new passenger leather door panel. The CD changer in the trunk was broken when I bought it, so I installed an Alpine CD player.

Basically after maintenance the car is really in as-new condition, and will run another 100,000 miles no problem.

Wow, this car is really fast for a 2.5 liter making only 189hp.

The paint is excellent, bright red and looks new--people ask me all the time if I just had it waxed. The interior is so clean, I love the two tone leather door panels. I still need to replace the back leather panels, they were puffed out when I bought it. I just haven't gotten around to getting them replaced because of other little issues that came up.

This car is completely stock and has 16" sport tires and a stick; car handles good. I do want to lower it and add 18's or 19's and a strut bar to really make it handle like a dream.

I'm 19, so my friends and I are into speed. The Bimmer is in every car conversation and it usually wins because of the famous M-Power. We usually take long trips in my Bimmer because it's so comfortable. Sometimes I find myself on the freeway just looking to have fun with other sports cars.

I plan on always having a BMW; I don't want to sell my 1993 BMW 325is because I put too much money into it to get it to look and drive like new. So I'm eventually going to buy a 2000 E46 328ci, because I think it will be a nice upgrade in some ways from my 1993 325is.