323ic and 325i

[Weapon_R]

What is the difference between these two vehicles? From what i've found, the 323 and 325 both have L6 2.5L engines....

Any help would be great.

[t-im]

Which year ic?

those came in E36 and E46 body styles

engine was 170HP inline 6 (obviously)

[Weapon_R]

Sorry, I should have been more specific.

I'm looking at both

[t-im]

323 - 2.5L inline 6 170HP

325 - 2.5L inline 6 184 hp

E36 323's came out in 98/99 in coupe/cab form, replaced 318's

E46 323's 99/2000
came in sedan(99+)/coupe(2000+)/cab (I think midyr 2000..could be wrong though, but then cab's are usually presented after coupes...E46 323 cab's...rare..i've seen one maybe..)

99's only had ASC+T and no tiptronic

2000+ = dsc + tiptronic

i think that's all I can think of...

[Weapon_R]

Thanks for your help - Is the engine virtually the same in both? 325's tend to be much more expensive than the 323's - why the price diff?

And if the engines are the same, what accounts for the 14hp diff?

[t-im]

^ bmw tinkering

haha I can't give you a specific answer except BMW always somehow does it (pulls new hp/torque numbers)

i've never driven a 323, but if it drives like a E46 320ia (2.2L 168HP) it's kinda anemic compared to a 325ia

the price difference is probalby just because 325's are newer...and/or more heavily optioned as 323 were the BASE of the bmw lineup. (what our 320 is now)

does that make sense?

[benyl]

Here is some info.

http://www.e46fanatics.com/faq/m54engine.html

There was a webpage out there that has the history of all the BMW engines... but I can't find it anymore.

When I do, I'll post it.

[max_boost]

Hey WeaponR, you probably know this but the difference in price can be attributed to the options on the car. Premium+Sport packages cost upwards of $2K/package.

Are you looking at E36 or E46? I've driven all of them, 323, 325, 328, 330 and as you go up with each model you do notice a little bit more pull compared to the previous one but nothing too substantial. That is auto vs auto, manual vs manual, of course

[ACS-e36]

for e36s.... the 325 is OBD1 and the 323 is OBD2

the 325 uses single vanos while the 323 uses the newer double vanos

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by ACS-e36
for e36s.... the 325 is OBD1 and the 323 is OBD2

the 325 uses single vanos while the 323 uses the newer double vanos

What does this all mean in terms of power and driveability?

[ACS-e36]

differnt power output
same drivability... cept obd2 uses 4 o2 sensors that will eventually need to be replaced. whereas obd 1 uses only one

[three.eighteen.]

actually the E36 323 is faster than the 325 0-60

[Weapon_R]

I'm looking right now at a 1998 325 with 140k...personally, i'd rather have an E46 but I don't think the available and price range are there (most of them are higher than my budget, and I am not that excited about dropping so much on the entry level 323).


The car checks out, clean title, drives excellent, 5 speed, silver w/black leather interior, but needs a new windshield and tires. We are working around the 14.5k mark - anything I should know about this specific model before I get into it?

I'm trying to stay away from the problematic years and models of the E36's, but I don't know enough about them to make an uninformed choice.

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by max_boost

Are you looking at E36 or E46? I've driven all of them, 323, 325, 328, 330 and as you go up with each model you do notice a little bit more pull compared to the previous one but nothing too substantial. That is auto vs auto, manual vs manual, of course

Priorities are in order man

I'd love to have an E46, but part of me says that it would be stupid to pay 25+ for an entry level 1999 323 when a 1998 325i seems just as good. School is not getting any cheaper, and I need something that will last me another 3 years since I just added another 3 to my program I like the styling of the E46's, but there is just as much support for what i'm looking at right now.

[three.eighteen.]

there's no such thing as a 98 325, the 325 'became' the 328 in 96

[Weapon_R]

k, all things equal, except that it may have been a 328...haha i'm messed up. Good deal or what?

[statick]

go for the 328 E36

[three.eighteen.]

yeah sounds like a good deal, the later e36s are pretty trouble free and have a pretty good aftermarket support, im just wondering how you got such a good deal for a later e36...the only ones in the 15k range are usually pre 96

[interlude]

someone told me that the only difference between the two. is that the 325 has a better exhaust system. Other than that.. everything is basically the same.

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
I'd love to have an E46, but part of me says that it would be stupid to pay 25+ for an entry level 1999 323 when a 1998 325i seems just as good.

Can't go wrong with either one.