The Ultimate Driving Machine

I purchased a gold '93 325i 4 door automatic three years ago with 74,000 miles on it (I have since brought it up to 122,000 miles). The car was well cared for, garaged at home and at work. This car handles great, is very predictable, and has pretty good acceleration. The car rides smooth and pull strong even at 110 mph (disclaimer: don't try this). The absence of squeaks and rattles after 122,000 miles is amazing.

The drawback to these cars is the expense of fixing them. In addition to normal wear items (battery, brakes, etc) I have had to replace the climate control ($400), fuel pump ($330), coolant hoses ($450), water pump ($280), CD changer ($175) and transmission pressure regulator ($575, with new service kit and oil). Still, those expenses aren't too bad spread out over the past three years and 48,000 miles (in addition to the fact that I drive my car pretty hard).

Gas mileage has ranged from 18 city to 26 mpg freeway.

There are some common problems associated with these cars. The original water pump had a plastic impeller that broke easily. If you're looking at a '93 model, it is very likely this problem has been fixed already. The sunroof is notorious for rattling, but can be fixed easily and inexpensively (email me for directions).

Options to look for: Powered seats, center arm rest, CD changer, trunk pass through for skis, and trip computer.

I don't plan on selling it until about 200,000 miles. I highly recommend it to any one looking for on entry level sports/luxury sedan.

Update 9/21/2005:
What a great car. I now have 206,000 miles on it. Not much has gone wrong with it since I fixed everything mentioned above. The biggest items were a wheel bearing (wear item), the oil pan gasket (more expensive than it sounds) and the valve cover gasket. There are still no rattles or squeaks! However, the transmission light is coming on now, which is probably going to be an expensive fix.