E36 328i sport in ireland?

Was just wondering does anyone on here drive an e36 328i sport? im between two minds on a 323i coupe and a 328i sport coupe. i can justify the extra insurance/tax on the 328 but i just feel like it wont sell when the time comes as ive only ever seen one in galway so far!

Edited by seanf

GUy I know has 2, one of which is a sport, its a lovely car and expresses circular motions if required!  The 323i engine is a good pwoerful one and is alrite on the fuel

Well Big debate depending on how hard or softly you drive it, there would be a small differnec between the 323i & 328i MPG figures, naturally the 328i will drink a bit more than a 323i, 323's aren't bad for drinking the petrol though!

Well there uncommon just not rare, but it should sell on after

Sean

I figure that it would sell easy enough. A lot of people over here
would love one but strangely enough they don't seem to like
travelling to buy cars and going through the VRT and re-
registration process. If they amount of 323's I see around
Dublin is anything to go by you should have no problem
moving it on.

Like the way you are thinking though, selling it befor you've
even bought it!!

Sean

Before I bought the current e36, my choices were going to be either the '93 or '94 (vanos but pre nikasil) 325i coupe or a late Sport.  I bought the 325i only because I would have wanted a post nikasil 328i (i.e. late '98 or '99).  These are relatively scarce in the UK and by the time it was landed and the dreaded VRT paid it would have cost twice the price of my car.  I may go the Sport route next time.  Curiously, VRT on a Sport is actually a little bit less than a regular coupe.  Go figure!

As regards resale, I think this one could be a sleeper over the next couple of years.  As e30 Sports get harder to come by in top condition (and get more expensive), there will be a move towards the e36.  These people will already be used to the road tax and insurance. 

There IS a market for cars like these but it is small, so condition and history is the key for a quick sale and a good price.  People will pay good money if the car is right.  My last e30 is an example, it was low owners with a full history and well above average condition.  It sold quickly and for a little more than I paid for it after 12 months and 8k miles (despite being rear ended shortly after buying it, otherwise I could have done even better).

There aren't too many 328i's about, Sport or otherwise, but in the long run a Sport will be more desirable in the same way that an e30 Sport is preferred to an SE, but its probably still a couple of years away before the difference between an e36 Sport and regular 328i coupe is significant here (the Sport being a little more expensive in the UK).

Does anyone know if the insurance co's load the Sport over a non-Sport 328i coupe (that might account for the VRT difference)?

Sean

One thought in regard to nikasil.  There are plenty of nikasil cars that have had the engine done by BMW and can be very good value if the overall mileage is reasonable and condition OK.  As you said, there is a big drop in VRT between '99 and '98.  Likewise there is a biggish drop to '97 as well.

If you went that route, you'd have to have a good paper record of the engine work done for the history file.  The sort of buyers for a car like this down the road will almost certainly be aware of "the nikasil issue" even if they don't know the full detail of what is affected and what's not.

Its justa pity that the M52TU engine didn't go in to the end of line e36's.  Now, that would have been X-tra nice!

Edited by Dergside

Good luck with the buying, Sean.  Have to say, your current e36 looked great the other night!

KDevitt has an e46 328 - he should be able to give you an idea of running costs.

When pricing insurance over the last few years I have noticed that there isn't much difference between a 2.5L and a 2.8L. In fact I could nearly go up to 4L without much, if any, change in price.
Tax though...

I would go for the 323 myself. As already stated the only increase in running costs would be tax and insurance.

The big killer for you would be when you go to shift it. As its a 2.8 it will be very hard shift. Plus if you look at the prices of e36 m3's at the moment you can find some which (albeit may need a small tidy) but are making the same money and in some cases less money than 328's. Last weeks autotrader had a 96 m3 for £3750. Im speaking from personal expierience here as I have shifted 8 bimmers in the last 2 years inc 2 m3's!!

What hasn't been mentioned so far is the power. Power wise the 323 has 170bhp but is restricted. The 328 is 190 and is also restricted. But put the manifold and throttle bodies from an early e36 25 on and your up at 190bhp!! I think Adrian Healy did this on this e39 523. Its a popular mod that has been discussed and done plenty of times by people on this forum (do a search on the 3 series forum and you'll see what I mean!

Whatever you decide - best of luck!!!