Going to be buying a new car...

Hey all, I'm going to be in the market for a new/different car soon. I'll be attending grad school soon and am looking for more of a "grown up" car. Right now I've got an '01 Acura Integra. Although I love integra's it doesn't make for the best daily driver, and it also stereotypes me as the japanese import tuner car kid "image."
So i was just wondering what are some of your opinions of the BMW 323, 325 1999-2001. I'm not looking to buy new, I am in not in any way rich. I'm just looking into upgrading to something that is still a bit sporty, leaves room for a little modification but still retains a more grown up image.

1982 308 is the only car for Hawaii my friend.

http://www.whatboyswant.com/showcar/2229/category

If you are seriously looking at an E46 3 series, you really need a 330, or you will be bored to tears. I bought a 325, and traded it in for a 330 in 2 months. The lesser engined cars are great for the value, but they dont have enough ooomph to give you any real driving pleasure, which if you have a tricked out Integra, I assume you will be looking for. Either way a 3 series is a great ride. They just dont have the aftermarket potential for tuning/modification as an Integra, which is why you need the motor from the get go. Plus every mod for a BMW costs twice as much. Some of it is engineering costs, but most of it is market size. Not every BMW owner wants an exhaust, most tega woners do. Check out www.e46fanatics.com for all the info you can stomach on the current 3 series.

Hemi that car echos sentiments of an 80's Hollywood-Hawaii TV Series. lol

THugzilla, thanks for the comments, you totally nailed the type of comments I was looking for.

I actually just recently became a member of that board. (Same name as my handle for that forum too.) Anyway. Like you mentioned I was primarily looking at the 323 for the value. I've noticed that the aftermarket isn't quite as large as the integra, and the prices are insane! Intake prices for the BMW seem to be outrageous!

My price cap on my next car is around $20k. I am going into grad school which is going to be killer on finances for the next few years so I'm trying to get something different without having to worry about hurting school finances.

What I have noticed about that board is the amazingly positive response that adding an intake and the "shark" injector have on BMW owners. Coming from the integra camp, I've learned that minor mods rarely show that much of an increase which many members of an integra forum can prove with dyno charts. But with the BMW guys its like they've had a tremendous jump in power! I'm not saying they don't know what they're talking about, (like i do? I don't even own a BMW...yet) but what is it about that? I'm still in my research/learning phase of making the next car purchase but I think that would be amazing if what many on the e46 members say about those mods.

BTW, so what would you recommend for someone in my case? The 323 is great value, I am looking to mod a bit after purchase. Do you think as an integra owner I won't be happy with the 323s power? The 323is already more powerful than most integra's so, i'm assuming some level of satisfaction from that. Or should I be looking towards a 328?

Thanks again for your comments, I appreciate the opinion.

http://www.whatboyswant.com/showcar/3488/category


Buy a white suit for first day, and introduce yourself as Sonny.

You really need to get out and drive one. BMW's dont really drive like most cars, they make most of their power at the top of the rev band, which is a lot like a VTEC integra. But if the 323 is peppy enough for you and your purposes I would say snap one up. You will see pretty dramatic increases with intake, chip/shark and exhaust, but thats pretty much it for "easy" BMW mods, and that will likely run you almost $2k. The reason for the effectiveness of these mods as compared to other vehicles is that BMW tunes for reliability and bulletproof motors, and they leave a lot out of the factory computer, which can easily be put back in via a chip/shark, with not much of a downside as far as reliability. After those initial mods though, you are pretty much opening up the engine if you are looking for more power. But every 3 series will run circles around anything in the twisties, so find a 323 with the sport package, get yourself a set of swaybars, and start smiling.