Total BMW March 2005 - E30 Buying Guide

[Mahmood]

Hi all

Just bought a copy of Total BMW and there's and E30 Buying Guide in it just on the 4 cylinder models like mine.

Anyway, the other thing is this article about the 320is. There's an article with a guy called John Sharratt (not a zoner is he?).

He states: "...the 320iS has previously been pitted against a worthy competitor in the form of a black 325iS, which apparently got chewed up and spat out to the side of the road". Hahaha...is this for real??? He also has an 'MTECH knob' which took seven weeks to arrive because it had to be specially made for John by BMW!

Every mag. I pick up is featuring theses left-hookers as an alternative to the 325iS. Does anyone here have one?

I've seen ads for this site http://www.320is.co.uk/ but the pages are not up yet.

Cheers

[6potWil6pot]

Mr Giles owned a 320iS i think, he'll have a few things to say about it im sure!

[billgatese30]

the 320is is noramlly an m3 beater...seriously

[technoviolet]

6potwil6pot,i know this is off topic,sorry guys,but how did you manage to shear the blade tips off your fan?

[Geeman]

Yeah, I had one. Would have another one too.

Fantastic car!

Really lovely to drive, loads of fun. Left hand drive and dog-leg box are quickly over-come, and the performance is on a par with an M3. Handling is the same as a 318iS, so is very good. All this together with a rust free body as Italy and Portugal don't have salted roads, and you've got a better drivers car than a 325i Sport.

Downside is the parts costs for the engine. Expensive. Running gear is normal 325i Sport, so no worries about brakes, suspension, etc...

A few for sale at the moment... anywhere from Ԛ£3.5k to about Ԛ£5k for a mint one...

Ring Wayne on the 320is.co.uk website... he imports them himself and always has a few in stock you can drive... (the website has been like that for years!!!)

Giles.

[johnono]

there are more off a site somewhere but i only took these, shame really

[johnono]

duh, that would be http://www.bmwinfo.com

lamp

[M3Pilot]

the 320is is noramlly an m3 beater...seriously

I'd like to see one keep up with me
They are good cars, but it's an S14 in there and that is where the M3 connection ends.

[Geeman]

And the gearbox, prop and diff...

It's a poor man's M3, true enough, but there's still lots of fun to be had. A good starting point to moving on to buying an M3...

[johnono]

not being funny of nuffin, but i wouldnԚ´t say no to a 20is,

would like one very much actually

[6potWil6pot]

6potwil6pot,i know this is off topic,sorry guys,but how did you manage to shear the blade tips off your fan?

Sorry ppl But just to answer his query, my Viscious fan is VERY close to the rad, just afew mm of a gap. Went sideways 1 day, mounted the middle of the roundabout (was a slope so wasnt too bad), jarred something and i saw bits of plastic in the road

[M3Pilot]

And the gearbox, prop and diff...

It's a poor man's M3, true enough, but there's still lots of fun to be had. A good starting point to moving on to buying an M3...

True, I forgot to mention the running gear. I'm not trying to be an M3 snob. But much of how the M3 feels is down to the way the car is set up. Normal e30's don't feel the same. 320is is a good car and I sure it would catch plenty of people out just from it's looks.

[CaesarBob]

There are some good bits of info on the 320iS here: http://www.bmwe21.net/320is/.

I would quite fancy a 320iS or an M3 but they're obviously very different cars despite the shared running gear. The 316 look-a-like 4 door would be fun.

[325SME]

That 4 door 320is in the pic would make a hell of a Q car, de-badge it and leave some people looking very confused when you leave them for dead....