325iX: Desirable?

[Zreberlcoe]

My dad has owned a '88 IX for the last 10 years, he bought as a median car between his 2002 that got smashed and another cool BMW, perferably M. Because of this car I fell in love with E30's! When I bought my 325i with 146,000 miles that was bone stock, in the last 10000 miles my 325i has had a multitude more problems with things that has never failed on his IX with 255,XXX miles. All that car gets is on schedule oil changes, on schedule belt and water pump changes, and whatever bare minimum maitenence. I personally do not want to own an IX because my open diff+Snow tire+Dumb kid driver 325i can get around in these colorado snows, and I want coilovers and ESM's ;). But I have tried over and over to get that IX fucker to get stuck in 16" snow piles and it just plows through on 14" steelies while a WRX couldn't get through. It really is a cool car, and on the track it just does what it is expected to, although nothing special. What's not to like? Especially in 88 they came loaded with all the options and it's a coupe.

[F34R]

Don't blur the lines between what you think looks good and what someone who owns one thinks looks good. Not everyone wants ESMs and their oil pan on the ground. It's safe to assume this holds especially true for iX owners - at least the ones who bought them for their intended purpose.

And not everyone who slams their car wants ESM wheels, you did the same thing... You can pick out more slammed cars with tasteful wheels than slammed ones on ESM.

@OP
The iX is rare and really cool! If properly cared for, they will be just as good as a stock e30. Take a look at Nando's AMAZING build, his is also tastefully lowered on a proper GC coilover setup.
Nando's build

~You can lower them
~They are not made of glass(just 25+ years old...)
~They go like crazy in snow
~Worth it and in a snowy area, much better than a RWD W/ LSD & snow tires.

[agent]

3) You can't lower them (much). Opinion stands to dictate they can't look as good as the regular model because of this

Don't blur the lines between what you think looks good and what someone who owns one thinks looks good. Not everyone wants ESMs and their oil pan on the ground. It's safe to assume this holds especially true for iX owners - at least the ones who bought them for their intended purpose.

[EyExR]

What's to get? They're awd e30s. They rip in snow and they're a little more rare. You could make the same argument for the M3. A mint iX can sell for 10 grand. A mint M3 can sell for 35 grand. Why? Fender flares? lol

I guess when you see a nicely done resto on an iX, you realize the extra cash and effort that went into it.

Condemn rear wheel drive? Who the hell are you hanging out with? lol

To each his own. Some people HATE e30s. Go figure....

[kway]

Different strokes, different folks I guess. I hate, HATE iXs. Been around, driven, and worked on plenty of them (they never seemed "rare" here in the northeast). Always thought it was unneeded complexity and weight, I never liked working on them, and just didn't see the point (a regular e30 on snows is pretty awesome in the snow in the right hands). Now parts are stupid expensive on top of it all, and half of them fail the jack test and are no longer AWD anyways. Do not want.

I see your point, a lot of the people who go apeshit over them really have no need to. Without snow, an iX doesn't make much sense.

Then again, I have a soft spot for m10 318s, so maybe I'm not one to talk...

[mr2peak]

It's the rarity aspect. If it's rare, it's niche, and must excel at something.

The E30 Touring hatch design is awful. You can't fit anything past the rear tail lights! Worst wagon design ever. If I ever own an E30 touring that will be the first mod I do, tail lights attached to the hatch.

[JinormusJ]

I can see why people living in a snowy winter climate might prefer the iX, but I've been living in California all my life and the most we ever get is a "light drizzle".

People I've met (also Cali-people) often use that fact to point out why their car is "better" but...




It doesn't snow here....







:???:

[Click]

Because they're e30s that dominate the snow in ways a regular 325i never can. I have driven my 325i in snow with snow tires with a limited slip diff and its great fun but there have been times I wish I had an IX.

If I ever get one I'm using it for exactly that, a winter vehicle. I'm not getting wheels for it, I'm not swapping it, nor am I lowering it. Living in Sacramento however I would have little desire for an IX, although the turbo builds I've seen are pretty impressive....

[JinormusJ]

What does r3v think?


Along my e30 travels, I've met a few people that are nuts about them. Like; I mean NUTS. They go as far as condemning the rear-wheel drive model for not being All-wheel drive. The kind of people that you kinda just awkwardly stand there silently from their density. Or need a good hug, in the face, with a fist.

While I would be lying if I said these guys are common (they aren't), I still have to ask myself: what is it about the iX that makes these guys wet their pants more than a 14 year-old schoolboy experiencing puberty?

I mean, facts established:
1) The iX is more on maintenance (More moving parts = more stuff to fix). Top it all off with the fact parts can be extremely pricey (some of iX specific stuff is more expensive than m3 stuff)
2) Are generally worse on gas than the regular 325i
3) You can't lower them (much). Deduction stands to dictate they can't look as good as the regular model because of this
4) Noswapforyou (or... swaps are much harder at the very least)
5) Wheel selection is more limiting
6) Aftermarket can be more limiting

I guess that's just to start it off. But, like, seriously

I know they are rare compared to your run-of-the-mill 325i sedan, but rarity doesn't exactly make it "good" or "better". Generally, when I was looking for my e30 (and with everyone else I knew in/getting into the e30 game), we only looked at RWD models exclusively and jumped the iX completely. I mean; if you cream yourself over the thought of an iX, more power to you; I mean no offense. The question is.. Why?



I don't get it