Help my friend decide

[thornado327i]

So his Toyota is dying... And he wants a family car, but also a fun one. Cheap parts for BMW, and a fact that he drove mine a couple of times, make him want one. His thoughts go toward either E36 sedan or E30 Touring.

Remember - a family car. 1yr old kid involved. And a cat.
His current car is '93 Toyota Carina II sedan - mid-size 4-door.

Post your ideas.

[Nicademus]

Touring :)

[smonkbmw]

e36 are even more bulletproof.

[Julien]

e36 328iT :-)

[devonjordan]

e36 328iT :-)

For reals...or

e36 m3/4dr

[thornado327i]

Guys, c'mon - be serious.

Gas costs 4USD per galon here. He wants it with 1,8L engine (or a M42 for a swap).

E36 Touring is a bit too expensive for him, and his wife doesn't like it ;)

E30 Tourings cost somwhere around 3K (+/- 1K depending on the condition). E36 sedan is slightly more expensive whereas for E36 Touring you'd have to pay twice as much.

So his plan is either go for E36 and be happy with it, or get E30 touring, put some $$ into it (like M42) and then be happy.

So again - what are your suggestions?

[jflip2002]

E30 touring gets my vote. I happen to like the E34 tourings also. There is one by my work, its totalyl stock, and looks pretty solid.

[devonjordan]

Guys, c'mon - be serious.

Gas costs 4USD per galon here. He wants it with 1,8L engine (or a M42 for a swap).

E36 Touring is a bit too expensive for him, and his wife doesn't like it ;)

E30 Tourings cost somwhere around 3K (+/- 1K depending on the condition). E36 sedan is slightly more expensive whereas for E36 Touring you'd have to pay twice as much.

So his plan is either go for E36 and be happy with it, or get E30 touring, put some $$ into it (like M42) and then be happy.

So again - what are your suggestions?

Well shit, so many restrictions!

E30 touring, done deal.

[-Jelko-]

well my suggestion is e30 316i or 318i touring for start,its "easy" later swap to m42.And since tourings are made until 1994,me might have luck and find some in really good condition.As far in croatia finding a good e36 is hard,almost every under 1996 is beaten like hell.

Oh and if he goes for m40 engines,inspect car before buying,try rev it to 6k rpm,if car doesnt go over 4k rpm its camshaft problem :)

[thornado327i]

As far in croatia finding a good e36 is hard,almost every under 1996 is beaten like hell.

Yeah - same here. Youngsters buy those - usually 316i or 318i because of mpg ratio, and use the accelerator pedal to squese every one bhp they can. So they usually end-up on allegro (polish ebay) with beaten engine, worn suspension, bent wheels etc.

From what I saw on our market, E30 tourings are usually taken care of quite well - they serve different purpose for their owners.

So, one more thing. I've never drove or even sat in a touring (my friend's 4,0L V8 E30 touring doesn't count - we are talking about normal cars ;)). How does it handle compared to coupe?

Also, I imagine a 15-year old car with so many doors can produce some cracking and claping noises yes?

[e30edward]

e30 touring!!!

[robspeed325i]

after he buys the touring, kill him and send it to me :D

i WISH we had e30Ts here! (USA)

[thornado327i]

i WISH we had e30Ts here! (USA)

Heh. Imagine that - people here value coupes most. Tourings are not very popular... Not sporty enough I guess. I like them too - I'd probably get one instead of coupe if I was to buy E30 today.

Thanks a bunch for all replies. Although I somehow think, that rarity of tourings in States had some influence on your advices ;)

[robspeed325i]

Heh. Imagine that - people here value coupes most. Tourings are not very popular... Not sporty enough I guess. I like them too - I'd probably get one instead of coupe if I was to buy E30 today.

Thanks a bunch for all replies. Although I somehow think, that rarity of tourings in States had some influence on your advices ;)

well i am something of a wagon lover. ever since i saw a 500ci oldsmobile vista cruiser do a massive burnout in front of me when i was about eight years old, they have appealed to me for some reason. also the 1991 volvos in DTM were pretty impressive... ;)

[thornado327i]

When I was 8, my parrents brought THIS from Japan (picture jacked - theirs was white). Tuned Nissan Pulsar - 7seconds from 0 to 60 mph was quite impressive.

That car made some serious impression, given that Polish roads were populated by this:


And this: