My turn.
1992 BMW 325i
colour: White
Sample pic of an E36:
This was my first buy of a European car from zee Germans. The E36 was a private sale between me and my god mother back in 1998. She and her husband, my god father, and their kids, were heading back to Hong Kong.
Low mileage: 7000km. -bought the E36 for $5000.
Performance: This 325i had a five speed automatic transmission. No surprise that this Bavarian sedan was slow off the line for a heavy car. 189 hp, inline six engine. Acceleration was pretty good for passing other cars thanks to the good torque from the engine.
Exterior design: I loved this car! A white exterior made this 325i great looking. -went on many dates in this E36. -got admiring glances from pretty Asian girls (called the LGs at that time haha). Unfortunately, there were no smoking hot blondes in any stories related this E36 like the cars that Badhobz mentioned in his posts haha.
Interior design: I would say that Beemers had some quirks in the placement of common switches and buttons at that time. For example, all the window switches are on the center console on both sides of the shifter. As for the quality of the leather seats, they were pretty good. Smooth like butter. They did not have the leather smell like the leather interior in Maseratis though haha.
In addition, the doors unlock when you pull on the door latch. No power door lock buttons on the door panels that's for sure haahaa.
The interior lighting for the speedometer and trip computer was a light orange colour. -reminded me a bit of the orange interior lighting in the older Audis.
Reliability: No major issues with the E36. Engine worked well. As many people know, zee German cars have some electrical issues with their power windows and interior lights. The only electrical issues with my E36 were the reading lights burning out after years of use during my university days.
For example, I did some last minute cramming for some mid term exams by reading textbooks under the reading lights in that E36 back in the day hahah.
Maintenance: BMW can stand for Break My Window. This car was more like Break My Wallet. First, the 325i guzzles premium gas. Fortunately, my Dad found an independent dealer who specialized in fixing German cars at competitive prices. -saved me from getting gauged by the dealerships haha.
Sale of the E36: The E36 was driven from 1998 to 2013. Mileage was at about 195 000 km at the time of sale.
-sold the E36 to one of the local Beemer dealerships in 2013.
What was the final price of the sale? 2000 bucks.
I think that I got a good deal from the sale of the E36 given that there were serious issues with the car. To this day, I cannot believe that I was able to sell the car.
What was the issue with the E36 at the time of sale? Gas fume leaks from the fuel tank. You could literally smell some gas fumes going into the interior.
-still do not understand how that manager for pre owned vehicles at the dealership did not smell gas inside the car when he turned the ignition.
