shud i get a 316i??

[mike_w]

hi ive just joined the forum, its great

im almost 18 im into the dub scene but im seriously thinking of selling my polo for an e30 and ive been looking at getting a 316i. what are they like

any advice welcome

cheers mike

[Phatz]

Hi mate,

My first motor was a Brilliant Red 316i on a G plate. I was chuffed to bits with her and although she had some problems, I spanked loadsa dough on it. I just loved it and only sold her at the beginning of the year to get my 325i Sport!

They seem to be selling for next to nothing these days, I wouldn't pay more than £800 for a real good one.

Don't expect to be caining people from the lights, but pick one up on a G or H plate and you will have a good, solid car that is fun to drive and looks the nuts!

Do it in my opinion!

[Gwynleym10]

Hi welcome the zone!

316i will be miles better than a polo! obviously.. Its Rear Wheel drive for a start.

I'm assume your looking at a 316i because of insurance?

If your have a check with various companies to see how much more a 318i or even a 318is is.

318i isn't that much different to 316i (better on motorways etc) but a 318is has a 136bhp 16v, stiffer lower suspension, rear disc brakes, vented fronts, sport seats etc etc.

318is use no more fuel than 316i in my opion.

Learn the art of Rear WHeel Drive....

oh I have a 318is for sale...

[NIX]

I'd say go for it mate. If you can find one thats as mint as you can afford then, as you get older and your insurance goes down (provided the rear wheel drive factor doesn't catch you out - hope not) if you still wish to keep the car, then you can always go for an engine conversion like a 2.5. All in the mean time you can be working on gettin the car lookin minty fresh and start saving towards the conversion.

Nick

[fuzzy]

hi mate,welcome to the zone ,best to start at the bottom ,get to know and get used to the e30 then work your way up to the bigger models when your at a more insurance friendly age,anything you need to know you ll find out here

[hammoj28]

Yeah, 316i is good fun plus they are good to learn in so you can get used to a rear wheel drive car. I would say if you want to spend a bit extra cash then get a 318IS. They are in a different class. The handling is brilliant and they are quite hard to unstick in the dry. My old 316i used to love to tail out and go sideways but the IS likes to grip more than anything.

[Bob_S]

is's rule and they will go out in the dry with a little provocation ;)

to be fair the 316i isnt exactly a slouch but not quick. I had one and was an extreamly good learning curve for how cars work, I learnt more from that car than any teacher could have told me

[jon_pure_british]

oh I have a 318is for sale...

nicely dropped in there mate

My 316i is perfect for me, im 19 and considering most of the boys our age have fiesta and saxos and of the like it sure is fun dropping down one gear as they are red lining trying to pass you, and then you start to see their angry and embaressed faces in your rear-view mirror

In my opinion go for it, the rear wheel drive experience is brilliant also.

Jon

[WillG]

a 316 is group 12 and 318is is 13 shouldnt be alot more on insurance if you want more power

[hammoj28]

Nah its hardly any more on the insurance yet its a lot quicker!

[6potWil6pot]

Gotta agree with all the "get 318iS" talk, hardly more on insurance and quite a car! Ive had both and id say get the quicker one! Do shop around for insurance tho, if i did it all again id have driven slow crap cars until i was 20 or 21 and used the £ on a car instead of all those insurance premuims...

I miss that dammn 318iS i had sometimes

[mike_w]

thanks for the advice
does any one have a site for info on the various models and insurance groups etc.

also any good insurance companies, im with quinn direct at the moment and there reasonably good for my age and that.

cheers mike

[magnumlove]

I've got a 1991 316i lux and its a great little car even if its really slow!! Owned it now for 3 years and driven 50000miles in it. It's never broke or let me down dispite now having the usual suspect shagged cam wear rattle. It's now on 140630 miles and last week pasted its mot without anything needing doing. I'd love a 325 or an 'is' but I think I just want to keep it now untill it goes bang. Get one mate if you don't mind slowly truddling along. Plus they're fairly economical.

[ad318i]

thanks for the advice
does any one have a site for info on the various models and insurance groups etc.

also any good insurance companies, im with quinn direct at the moment and there reasonably good for my age and that.

cheers mike

Clicky

There you are hope it helps

[mike_w]

when u say are we talkin taking the mick slow or ok, its got to be quicker than a 68bhp polo

[mike_w]

thanks for the advice
does any one have a site for info on the various models and insurance groups etc.

also any good insurance companies, im with quinn direct at the moment and there reasonably good for my age and that.

cheers mike

Clicky

There you are hope it helps

#

nice one thats what i was after, so the 318is has 140bhp but its only 1 group higher than i 316i

wud this be a bit to much power to handle a first rwd motor

[m-dtech]

nah 136 bhp is ok.

if you go for a 316 you should go for an older m10 engined one as it can be tuned more than the m40 (later spec)

[mike_w]

cheers will have to try insurance then

mike

[Gwynleym10]

I'm 24 and my insurance for my IS was £14 more than my old 316i. Thats with www.elephant.co.uk. I do live in Central london as well.

One thing with elephant is that if you make a claim, you have to take out a new policy. ie if you pay your premiam for the whole year, then crash a week later you have to take out another policy and pay another another year...thats why its cheap! Call 'em up and they will make it cheaper as well

Also try moneysupermarket.com and confused.com they both search loads of insurance companies.

There is a significant difference with performance for an IS, but if you take it easy for the first few hundred miles you should be ok.

Only start playing with the power and the rear wheel driveness when you are totally confident, and NOT when you mates are around otherwise you will end up in a lamppost/ditch/curb/house/person/other car........

[mike_w]

thanks for your help

[mike_w]

well i phoned the insurance yesterday and it turns out i cant get insured on the 318is but i can the 316i, probably get the 316i for now and see what happens in a year or two

[SCOTT325SE]

Hi Mike, welcome to the zone.

I was introduced to BMW E30s at the tender age of 7 when my mum bought one. Since then, I havnt looked back! I drove my mums when I passed my test at 17 and had my own E30 at 18. That was a 325i in dolphin grey (Insured with Highway, through Adrian Flux).

Ive since had a few 325i's ( i's, SE's and Sports) and a 318iS. Starting off with a 325 was, to be fair, a bloody stupid idea! Ive never ever driven anywhere slowly, and sometimes, like just about everyone else, i can have my moments where i sometimes over-cook a corner and Ive had more than my fair share of scary moments when Ive thought "bugger me, that was too close"

I would advise to do things a different way to how I did them because I could have done myself and others serious harm if I had got it wrong. I started with a powerful E30, but I would advise to start with a 316 or 318 and work your way up when you've got used to RWD and the characteristics of the E30. I should have done this and in a way Im very lucky to still be here because I didnt.

Be smarter than I was, you will be proud of yourself for doing so in the long run.

(Scott swallows his section of humble-pie)

Best of luck with the E30 search. Im sure you will find one on here in tidy shape. I will keep my eyes open.

Scott

[bmwe30mtech]

Go for a 316i or 318i. From experience, people who own the M42 engine (in the 318is) seem to use alot more fuel.

I have a 318i, and when you cane it you can easily thrash any standard hatchback (not the sport ones!), and they can be quite fast, especialy for a car early on in your motoring days.

Dont spend to much, but try to get a rust free (if possable) example.

Oh, and dont thrash it when its cold, or your cam will sound awful .

Paul

[Sanchez]

thanks for the advice
does any one have a site for info on the various models and insurance groups etc.

also any good insurance companies, im with quinn direct at the moment and there reasonably good for my age and that.

cheers mike

i no your only young but my 318is is 500 fully comp with 1 years no claims and im 24.

[Bob_S]

I'm with elephant and to insure my IS it's the same as a 316i lux like I had before.
Work you way up like scott says it's well worth it...

M42 drink more than an m40? nahh just the m42 is a drivers car and doesnt sound like a sewing machine at full chat so we all use the full amount of revs lol it can be very economical I think i got 38mpg the other day 125 miles to 15 quid

[Theo]

If you are struggling on insurance for a 318is, try Churchill, or better still Nationwide for cover, I found them to be much cheaper than anyone else when I first insured my 325i last year when I was 18.

[bmwe30mtech]

M42 drink more than an m40? nahh just the m42 is a drivers car and doesnt sound like a sewing machine at full chat so we all use the full amount of revs lol it can be very economical I think

I was only saying that from what people had said.

Yes they do sound like a sewing machine dont they lol!!

[Gwynleym10]

M42 drink more than an m40? nahh just the m42 is a drivers car and doesnt sound like a sewing machine at full chat so we all use the full amount of revs lol it can be very economical I think

I was only saying that from what people had said.

Yes they do sound like a sewing machine dont they lol!!

you can drive a 318is like a 316i, i.e not going above 3000rpm and they both will drink the same.

Just been driving my old South African 316i (servicing it tommorrow cambelt et all!) and performance of the 316i is pretty similar to a 318is, untill you hit 3000rpm, when the 316i contiunues to climb, but the 318is kicks you in the ar*e!

By the way I think this car may be up forsale soon. It has 68500 miles air-con and generally very good condition. I sold it to her for £1300...so i'm sure she won't wont much less!

pics here... http://www.e30zone.co.uk/modules.php?na ... th+african

[Bob_S]

very well put gwyn lol!!! mine kicks in about 3700 though?

[bmwe30mtech]

My M40 still seems to pull okish at about 5k. First gear goes way to fast, and still pulls up in the red.

But having been in the IS cars i dont know that i would ever want to shift up if i drove one

[Dave_M3]

Ya go 4 the 316i anyway nd work ur way up as quick as the insurance companie and ur pocket let u. Obviously the IS is an amazing car but if u want 2 get the feel of rwd I think yhe 316 is better cos u hav 2 drive the is 2 fast 2 c wat they do since they grip so well and when it does let go u wont be ready 4 it. I hav a 316i-lux nd its mint nd Im only 18, 1st car so thats all I could get wit the insurance but Ive driven a few different e30s cos I got open driving on my policy nd still think the 316 is great 4 a 1st e30

[mike_w]

thanks again for help, ive got my eyes on a very tidy 316i lux not giving to much away yet. with regards to the insurance i will be doing a few "tweaks" to the car so the ins company needs to be mod friendly. my current insurer gave me an amazing quote of £838 with pass plus and 1 year ncb. when i say amazing its half of wot im paying for my oil burner of a polo. so you can see why.

cheers mike

p.s its great to be on a forum where like minded people are willing to help and know what there going on about. AMEN

[Dave_M3]

Good luck anyhow