1993 BMW 3 Series Consumer Reviews
Most Helpful Reviews
Positive Review
"I am an 18 year old college student and I bought my 1992 325is just after I graduated high school. It looked exactly like the one in the pic above. I had the gray part painted black tho. I paid 3.5K for it with 92,000 miles. The exterior and interior were excellent and the performance that the car gave me was incredible for the small engine it had. The A/C did not work so I drove with the windows down and this ruined the ceiling upholstery (the glue was bad) but I replaced it for under $100 so no big deal. I drove the car very very hard and often raced stock American V8 cars (I never lost to a Mustang) destroying them on a regular basis and it never broke anything at all. I replaced the struts and the radiator core when I purchased the car and that was it. It was a 5 speed manual and I was getting 18-25 mpg in the city and that was squealing the tires almost every time I went into 2nd. I would get 30-32 at 75 mph on the highway. Another great thing about the car was when you were going 75 - 125 mph it was still quiet enough inside the car that you could have a comfortable conversation and never raise your voice or turn up the radio to hear what was going on. The cars handling was amazing, as well as the responsiveness of the steering, clutch, brakes, and everything else for that matter. The interior was very comfortable for 4 people and sort of semi comfortable for 5. The car was black with a black interior and I kept it as clean as I could. (Waxed it weekly by hand and vacuumed on a regular basis). The paint was amazing and easy to take care of as well as the leather. The leather was easy to condition due to the stiff German traditional BMW seats. All I do to it is the regular tune ups/oil changes and yearly fluid flushes and it has worked great which amazes me considering my driving fashion. I race it on some local tracks regularly in the summer and drift a lot in the winter and normally this is really hard on a car. My old car was a 1895 Mazda RX-7 that I restored from junked status and I would break everything on that car every time I touched the gas pedal. Just to keep it a safe road vehicle it cost almost as much yearly as the car was worth and that was with all new parts (save the engine and transmission.) I have also owned Ford and Chevy vehicles as well and I would recommend BMW over these without looking back. If your looking for a good, reliable, comfortable, fast used car for and you don't want to spend a lot of money these are the ones to buy. Just watch the water pumps. Mine was replaced before I bought it but the factory ones had plastic impellers that broke over time and that could potentially destroy the car. Get a metal one to replace it regardless of its condition. Its not worth the risk. I hope this was helpful."
VS
Critical Review
Car is fun to drive, handles very well, ride is second to none. That being said this car has been a money pit. I don,t have time to list all the parts that have been replaced. Engine still runs well but thats it. BMW the ultimate money pit!
1993 3 Series Reviews
Showing 8 of 548 reviews.
Nothing
Everything
Since purchasing the car it has visited more the mechanic than on the road. Now the car is stranded and doesn’t want to turn on. Please don’t buy anything the is past a current age when it becomes with BMW. First and most likely my last experience with a BMW product!
Welded diff= ez slides
Cooling system failure, rear subframes rust away,
Most driftable chassis with a welded diff. Big Gaye men ejaculaet seamen. Kelly blue book is gaye ash. E36 are worth like 8k rn with blown subframes, auto trans and a m42
Convertible with removable hardtop
Original owner, garage kept, dealer maintained, complete records. Excellent paint, slight rust on bottom of front fenders.
Handling is the best.
Too cheap many plastic parts that will break!!
77000 miles The 2.5l engine is a dog until higher rpm, can't get out of its own way starting out. The 4 spd auto is partially reponsible. The manual would work much better with this engine. 189 HP. The steering feel in the car is nearly the best, so much better than the last 20 years of BMW's ultimate status vehicles. You can trust the car turns exactly as you expect. Tracks without constant corrections. The reliability on my particular hasn't been bad. The DME had a problem so I bought a new one at Husker. That was my most expensive mechanical problem. Like all cars, BMW uses plastic parts that break! I saved myself a fortune by replacing a little plastic gear in the seat motor. I really don't like to spend time fixing cars but dealer would have charged hundreds of dollars because they never would take the time to replace the small plastic gear in the motor, too time consuming. It's a myth that German Cars are built to last. They are built to require replacement parts after warranty is over. The Fit and Finish of the dash around the glovebox horrible. It's ergonomics are excellent. Radio and HVAC controls are inches from your right hand. The styling - still looks good today. I did replace the ugly wheels and the fat and short bottle cap wheels with bmw spoked wheel and 16 inch tires. The original paint job was not very good, This car didn't have a outrageous price. But maintencee costs are ridiculous.
Love
I’m not sure
Styling, fun factor
Horrible reliability when they age
I've owned 5 BMWs over the last 30 years. This one has been probably the most fun-to-drive, and I will say this.... the engine and transmission are flawless, but unfortunately when they get old like this they begin to fail in many ways. In the past 9 months of ownership I have had to replace the air conditioner, shocks, alternator, radiator. Those are all things I knew about going into the car. However it didn't stop there. All the cooling hoses had to be replaced when one small hose somewhere failed and left me stranded. In addition the timing case cover is leaking oil, steering rack is now leaking power steering fluid, the rear axle is vibrating and making noise and the u-joint or possibly the entire drive shaft needs to be replaced. The ignition Tumblr failed and left me stranded. This car is a never-ending money pit. If you find one of this age that has less than 40,000 miles and is pristine and u have money to burn go ahead and buy it. Otherwise runaway as fast as you can and go buy a Toyota Orr Honda. It's nothing but one headache after another which takes away the "fun driving" experience. Basically BMWs are over-engineered and break quickly after a certain age. Just sold my headache to someone else and bought a Toyota. Peace of mind is better and cheaper than relentlessly hugging the road. Lol
Fun to drive, reliable, beautiful styling
Low driver safety rating
I got my learner's permit in 1965 and have driven many cars. My favorites were my father's '55 Chevy Belair (big back seat) and my '71 VW Squareback (funky little 5 speed manual). But my '95 325i convertible that I bought 2 1/2 years ago is BY FAR the best driving most fun vehicle I have ever driven. It corners like it's on rails. As I accelerate I can feel it hug the ground more tightly. When I am going 35 it's as much fun as going 60 and (okay, I admit it) at 100 it feels like 50. It took me 50 years, but I am glad that I ultimately found the ultimate driving machine. By PA law this is officially an antique, but for this antique driver it's better than new. It has just enough technology to make it modern, but not so much that it tries to drive for you. If you are patient, you can pick one up in decent shape with less than 100k miles for well under $5k.
