New Car!

[entresz]

You might have seen my post a month or two ago. My 1979 450SE was rear-ended by a woman driving a Toyota Prado (with a bull bar, of course). Sadly the quotes to repair all were well in excess of the insured  value of the car ($3500 AUD). As I'm fairly 'not rich' and lack the space and the skills to really be able to repair the vehicle myself, I had to let it go- probably one of the more heart-breaking things I have had to do as I have spend a huge amount of time and money on the car and had grown extremely attached to it.

For my next car I thought that I should get something at least slightly more economical. While I enjoyed the massive amount of torque the 450SE had, the amount of money that I was spending on petrol alone was very high, especially as the 450 is/was my daily driver to and from work every day. I was getting around 24l/100 kms (mainly city driving). I was thinking of getting a W123 300D, the idea being that it would have the old Mercedes class and comfort, but with much better fuel economy. I had a drive of one and can't say I enjoyed it all that much--- fairly rough idle, and not a lot of power at all, struggled up hills and was very noisy.

Anyway, I test drove a E46 BMW 318i - not with the intention of actually liking it or buying it, but out of curiosity. Interior was a bit average looking, not all that well made, but the engine was smooth and quite powerful for a 1.8L motor even though it was an automatic.

I ended up finding an older 318i -- an E36 318i Limited from 1997. The engine is an 8 valve 1.8 (M43 motor).  There were 500 Limited models made, mine is no. 44/500. As far as I'm aware they were the pre-cursor to the 318i Executive that would appear in the next year or two. It's basically a fancy 3 series.  On the highway at 100km/h it is only revving at 2400 rpm, and has a surprising bit of pull for a smaller motor. Average fuel consumtion I have been getting has been 7.5L/100 kms. The ride is quite nice for a smaller wheelbase, not as jarring as some of the newer cars out there, but still not quite as smooth as the 450SE.

It's not really fair to compare the two cars too closely as they are really chalk and cheese, but I really like this car. It's a bit more understated looking, but it is just as comfortable I feel. Performance is not quite the same as the 4.5L V8, but it is very respectable considering it's less than half the cubic capacity!

I would love to have a drive one day of one of the 7 Series from this era (particularly the 740i).

Here's a few photos:

[Beastie]

)Oh jeez, I;cve had so much whisky this eveningm. I shojulndn't even be attemping to post at thist stagegf. But as far as mu sopinion goe, you shoun't even bother witha  BMW unless its a 6 sylender. Buty with that saif. you've got a very modern car that all the chicks will dig, anf it had fine chassic dynamics and good handlingh dynymics, you should be able to learn a lot from it, 4 cylender or not. Nood on you man, serouisly. take it yo teh limits. see if you can do a tracj day. learn about ovewrsteer and all thjat sort of thing. traths it. get a helmet. tharsh it. thjose things are such foine handlers/ take it to within an inch oif its life. fang it, amn. Those bavarians  sure know how rto ho make an automovile, man. get into it. make sure there's nothing left of it. thrah it, son. mobile one ooil an tranny change

again, appologies aboutmy level of J&B whgisky. $34 a bottle, my mayte d-day is a prince. a good man. i hit my head.

you're all great, peace out yall. happy easter. who has two thumbs and can drink a whokle bottle of whisly? thois guy.

[KenM]

Good to see you back on the road Entresz, I have a late 90's E38 750 iL on my 'one day' list, just for the hell of it.

How's the head Beastie???

[gf]

well done on the new wheels! The E36  cars seemed to be approaching the 90s benzes in quality I felt. As far as raw drivers feel Ive always been a a big fan of the E36 and E30. Also theyve accumulated a real cult status.

Was this the same multivalve 1.8 engine that went into the E30 318IS of previous? If so -One hell of an engine as we had one years ago.

Is that the mc donalds carpark? that stuffs bad for your health!!!!!

[entresz]

Yep it's the McDonalds car park. I'm a musician, so I often get a snack on my way back from doing a gig late at night. The engine in this car is probably not the E30 318IS engine; it's only an 8 valve SOHC - but considering it's hooked up to an auto gearbox, it's surprisingly quick. Accelerates similar to my first car, a W123 280E. The 318is E36 had a 16 valve DOHC engine that was quite a performer. There is a guy in Kingston selling a low mileage IS engine for $1600. I can't afford it, but it would be fun.

[carl888]

)Oh jeez, I;cve had so much whisky this eveningm. I shojulndn't even be attemping to post at thist stagegf. But as far as mu sopinion goe, you shoun't even bother witha  BMW unless its a 6 sylender. Buty with that saif. you've got a very modern car that all the chicks will dig, anf it had fine chassic dynamics and good handlingh dynymics, you should be able to learn a lot from it, 4 cylender or not. Nood on you man, serouisly. take it yo teh limits. see if you can do a tracj day. learn about ovewrsteer and all thjat sort of thing. traths it. get a helmet. tharsh it. thjose things are such foine handlers/ take it to within an inch oif its life. fang it, amn. Those bavarians  sure know how rto ho make an automovile, man. get into it. make sure there's nothing left of it. thrah it, son. mobile one ooil an tranny change

again, appologies aboutmy level of J&B whgisky. $34 a bottle, my mayte d-day is a prince. a good man. i hit my head.

you're all great, peace out yall. happy easter. who has two thumbs and can drink a whokle bottle of whisly? thois guy.

That's the funniest post I've read for quite some time!

[carl888]

Congratulations, that 3 series is a very good car, well done.

You might have seen my post a month or two ago. My 1979 450SE was rear-ended by a woman driving a Toyota Prado (with a bull bar, of course). Sadly the quotes to repair all were well in excess of the insured  value of the car ($3500 AUD). As I'm fairly 'not rich' and lack the space and the skills to really be able to repair the vehicle myself, I had to let it go- probably one of the more heart-breaking things I have had to do as I have spend a huge amount of time and money on the car and had grown extremely attached to it.

For my next car I thought that I should get something at least slightly more economical. While I enjoyed the massive amount of torque the 450SE had, the amount of money that I was spending on petrol alone was very high, especially as the 450 is/was my daily driver to and from work every day. I was getting around 24l/100 kms (mainly city driving). I was thinking of getting a W123 300D, the idea being that it would have the old Mercedes class and comfort, but with much better fuel economy. I had a drive of one and can't say I enjoyed it all that much--- fairly rough idle, and not a lot of power at all, struggled up hills and was very noisy.

Anyway, I test drove a E46 BMW 318i - not with the intention of actually liking it or buying it, but out of curiosity. Interior was a bit average looking, not all that well made, but the engine was smooth and quite powerful for a 1.8L motor even though it was an automatic.

I ended up finding an older 318i -- an E36 318i Limited from 1997. The engine is an 8 valve 1.8 (M43 motor).  There were 500 Limited models made, mine is no. 44/500. As far as I'm aware they were the pre-cursor to the 318i Executive that would appear in the next year or two. It's basically a fancy 3 series.  On the highway at 100km/h it is only revving at 2400 rpm, and has a surprising bit of pull for a smaller motor. Average fuel consumtion I have been getting has been 7.5L/100 kms. The ride is quite nice for a smaller wheelbase, not as jarring as some of the newer cars out there, but still not quite as smooth as the 450SE.

It's not really fair to compare the two cars too closely as they are really chalk and cheese, but I really like this car. It's a bit more understated looking, but it is just as comfortable I feel. Performance is not quite the same as the 4.5L V8, but it is very respectable considering it's less than half the cubic capacity!

I would love to have a drive one day of one of the 7 Series from this era (particularly the 740i).

Here's a few photos:

[powerglide]

The older BMs are better - make sure you get one that is pre-iDrive: what a crock! Best model (apart from Ms) has to be the 735 from the late '90s - early noughties period (I forget the model desig numbers).  They handle better and are a bit more sporty than MBs.  But I love that beautiful straight six best of all, especially in a 3-series body.

Main problem with BMs seems to be chips going down - everywhere! And expensive to fix. Cats are expensive. And stay away from the notorious 'run-flat' tyres on newer models - another crock from Munich!

Take a look at the new Golf Gen 7 - see my post.  They overcome the spare wheel problem by making boot space for a 'space-saver' (more crap from Gen-X auto engineers), AND a full size wheel, by making the spare wheel/boot floor panel adjustable.  In lesser cars so equipped, you take off the flat and put on the the space saver, but then where do you put the full-size wheel with the flat? Stupido!  Clever VAG.

PG.