Yeah, I'd definitely say skip the 325i. 328 is going to be better, but keep in mind the 330i is another 25hp up on that. I'd say drive both, I don't have enough seat time in 328s to say whether the extra power is that dramatic. Pretty sure the difference is that the 328 and 330 have a variable length intake manifold, 325 does not. Downside is, if you're looking to do any tuning later on, you're not going to find much. 335i leads that department.
I actually bought mine at relatively high mileage, 68k. It was from a BMW dealer but not CPO. I was a bit nervous about it at the time for the same reasons as you, but the price was right, options were right, so I jumped on it. No regrets.
I've put about 15k on it, no problems to speak of. The only real work I've done outside of maintenance is the valve cover gasket and bolts. The N52s with metal valve covers have been known to get broken bolts at the front of the head on the exhaust side causing a big oil leak. Mine weren't broken, but I wanted to do a preemptive strike before it became a problem. Book time is like 5 hours, and it's a suckier job than it has any right to be. I'm a mechanic so I do all my own work, but if I was to bring it into my shop, 5hrs @ $90/hr + parts would have been $500-$600. I don't even want to think about what the dealer would charge. If I had it to do all over again, I would have just changed the bolts one by one and I think it would have been fine. I'll probably do that in another 70k miles or so.
I actually haven't taken too many pics of it, but here are a few (all phone pics, sorry):
The night I brought it home:


Her first track day:

Since these pics, I put a set of 15mm spacers on the rear for teh pokes. I think I'm going to move those to the front and get 20mm for the rear. I actually like the stock wheels, no plans on changing them.
I actually bought mine at relatively high mileage, 68k. It was from a BMW dealer but not CPO. I was a bit nervous about it at the time for the same reasons as you, but the price was right, options were right, so I jumped on it. No regrets.
I've put about 15k on it, no problems to speak of. The only real work I've done outside of maintenance is the valve cover gasket and bolts. The N52s with metal valve covers have been known to get broken bolts at the front of the head on the exhaust side causing a big oil leak. Mine weren't broken, but I wanted to do a preemptive strike before it became a problem. Book time is like 5 hours, and it's a suckier job than it has any right to be. I'm a mechanic so I do all my own work, but if I was to bring it into my shop, 5hrs @ $90/hr + parts would have been $500-$600. I don't even want to think about what the dealer would charge. If I had it to do all over again, I would have just changed the bolts one by one and I think it would have been fine. I'll probably do that in another 70k miles or so.
I actually haven't taken too many pics of it, but here are a few (all phone pics, sorry):
The night I brought it home:


Her first track day:

Since these pics, I put a set of 15mm spacers on the rear for teh pokes. I think I'm going to move those to the front and get 20mm for the rear. I actually like the stock wheels, no plans on changing them.
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