What to look for, what not to buy

[Grabsplatter]

I'm in the market for a '00 328CI. Car has 135k and is around $4500(USD).What should I be looking for in this car? What should i avoid? Any help would be most appreciative.

[unixnerd]

Well for a start the 328Ci was replaced by the 330 fairly quickly. The 330 doesn't have the M52TU's restricted engine and it's M54 makes almost 40bhp more. So a 328 would need to be a real bargain to be worth it over a 330.

Also, 00 was the first year of production, I'm always wary of that as it makes teething troubles a bit more likely. Classic example is the suspension. It was criticised for being "too remote" and not offering traditional BMW ride. It was soon upgraded with new steering and suspension parts, I think this was about 9-12 months into production.

135k isn't high miles and the M52TU is a great engine, I have an M52 with that mileage myself and it uses no oil between services. If it's an automatic change the gearbox fluid, it needs to be done every 60k miles despite what BMW say.

If all the electrical items work and the car drives with no creaks or rattles that's a good start. It'd be nice to see some service history.

In my opinion it'd be worth paying a bit more for a slightly later 330.

[Grabsplatter]

Ok, new search...Now looking at a '91 735il vs '92 735il. Both have under 130k miles and neither one is over $3000 (USD). Again, without looking at much of a repair history, what should I be looking at in these models? I would much rather prefer an old one like these over a newer one (Just don't tell my wife that). Any help wouldl be great..

[unixnerd]

Both of those are great cars.

If the oil runs low you can get camshaft wear on the frontmost lobe. Trouble is that is sounds like badly adjusted valves, and these cars make a bit of a clatter at idle anyway. I've seen it happen but it's not a major concern.

Other than that just the usual wear and tear items.

[Grabsplatter]

Sadly, the '91 was sold. Now the '92. This car has a v6, but is it the same v6 that the '92 325 had? I now that motor had a few issues with the water pumps and clutch fans, (my old one had both). Just wondering if motors were different. This may be a deciding factor for me as repair records for this car are scarce.

Thanks

[unixnerd]

Both are straight sixes, not a V6

You E30 had an M20, the five and seven used the M30. M30 is chain driven, M20 used a timing belt. Other than that they're very similar, but I'd say the M30 is better built and more durable (not that the M20 is a bad engine at all!).

A well looked after M30 will do many 100,000s of miles. You want a valve adjustment every 30k miles and a new rotor arm / distributor cap / fuel filter every 100k miles (often neglected which increases fuel consumption and hurts power).

M30 is a legendary engine, wonderful bit of kit. Many US versions run lower compression for use with US low grade fuel, shame. UK/euro versions make a good it more power.