Buying a 92-98 325

Just slid my car under an 18 wheeler and it was crushed. Now I'm thinking about buying a 92-98 325. Has a lot to do with needing 4 door car for insurance reasons.

I would like to know the ups and downs of owning a BMW, any problems especially problems associated with specific year models.

I plan on putting lots of money into the car to make my own creation. So any custom BMW websites would also be helpful.

Oh, and if anyone knows of an insurance company that has cheap rates let me know.

Check my response on this thread:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=424797

It refers to a '92, but most apply to all E36's.

That might sound discouraging to others but not me. GM knows how to make performance and looks but not reliability over a 100k miles. I've spent $3500 in repairs in the last 6 months.

So if those are the only major problem areas then the 325 is a little more tougher than I thought.

I appreciate the post and I copied it to word for future reference I took note of the website also.

I've got several aftermarket exterior body parts picked out but I'm having trouble finding an aftermarket hood. Do they make aftermarket hoods for the 325? I found a carbon fiber hood but I'm not going for the rice look.

I've owned quite a few GM's myself, so I know what you mean! Yea, the cf hood is about all you're going to see for the E36, which by the way looks better on a dark colored Bimmer. Not much of a call out there for a diiferent looking hood, so no one really makes anything.

And I forgot about the fan . . how could I forget this?!! An aging engine fan can shatter apart, causing a lot of damage to other components in its vicinity- belts, hoses, radiator, etc. It's enough of a concern that there is a fan delete mod that a lot of people do:
http://www.understeer.com/fanclutchmod.shtml

Get the 328is, they were made from 96 and latrer. I got a 95' 325is and I have been pretty happy with it after 7k. They are pretty reliable from what I have gathered from other owners. The 325 and the 328 have about the same HP, but the 328 has better bottom end torque due to the .3 extra liters of displacement. That is the only weakness I feel my car has. They can both break into high 14's w/ minor mods, so they are decently quick. I can run next to a mustang GT but it's not as fast as your trans am was. If you want a good site to check out, go to www.bimmerforums.com I am HeLLroT325iS.

Hey I appreciate the advice