325 or 406 or 850

[mj3005]

Hi guys,

i'm now driving a yuppy national car and planning to get a conti. car.
Considering to change my lifestyle from "a boy" to "a man". But then i'm confuse whether to choose a 325 e36 or Volvo850 sedan or Pug406.

need advice and opinion from you guys . no specific criteria though. love speeding and cornering as well.

 

[reedoor]

i wud go for a E36, comparing among this car, de E36 for sure wud hav a higher re-sale value, and toking bout speed & cornering, E36 shud suits this criteria better.

volvo is abit too "matured".

Peugeot is abit "not so geng"... hahaha...

jus my 2cents...

 

[mj3005]

:confused_smile:

i need to see conti cars therapist

 

[subsonique]

in your list of cars, i would definitely get the 850, preferably the 850R followed by 850 T5 hehe. 325 has good resale value, but if you truly wanna be a Euro fanatic, try not to think about the resale value too much. you may not be able to enjoy what you truly like if you think about the resale value. most good Euro cars have bad resale value here in Malaysia. i love FIAT and Alfa Romeo, and they too have bad resale value here. but if i were to worry too much about the resale, i would never have experienced one of the best cars i have ever driven in my life hehe.

 

[ModMaestro]

I wouldn't bother about the Pug. French makes good hot hatch, not sedan.

So now you have only 2 choices left. Rear wheel drive or front wheel drive, with a potential of converting it to AWD.

If you're really brand concious, then you should just get the E36. Both car can do ton and can tackle corners fairly well(with the edge going with the beemer).

All out power, it will be the Volvo. You can easily lump in a T5 engine in it, and push it until it explode. You couldn't hope to get the kind of power level with a beemer in Malaysia.

On the ride handling side, do I really have to spell it out? The beemer is still a beemer. And it's a rear wheel drive. You're gonna get a lot more fun with the beemer around corners.

Final word? You just have to try it out for yourself before you make up your mind.

 

[mj3005]

Hmm contemplating still..don't even bother about resale value as i dont really like to change car but " get another one" instead.

For me the BMW will only look good with M or AC all around but the 850 is fine as it is.Well leave alone the styling. What about the serviceability/maintainance?

 

[ZeeDr]

For me the option is obvious.. As u were saying that you wanna upgrade to a more mature car, the bimmer is the only choice.. I mean the 850 is good and powerful no doubt about it.. And in T5 form that thing breathes fire.. But I dont think it would handle as well as E36... You would get straight line speed with poor cornering.. Maintenance would be about the same for both.. But I reckon the fuel consumption would be higher in a turbo car.. Peugeot is totally out of the question.. Dont waste your time and money.. So, my final choice is the Ultimate Driving Machine with M bodykit, sports suspension and 18"rims!!

 

[mj3005]

Fair judgement from you guys plus good advice. I can feel it that the UDM is closer to my heart than the others. TQ

 

[Ingolstadt]

BUDGET please. If everyone here were saying bout performance, there's a couple of E36 out there with M3 engines modded in.

Anyway, first we have to start off with budget. Base on the choices you've listed, may i assume your budget is around RM40 - RM60k ?

Throwing the Peugeot off is the first thing to do.

That leaves us with 850 and 325.

Aesthetics wise - Definitely the Bimmer, still a looker. Interior is badly cramped, looks dated albeit characterful. Drop in some skirtings and big rims and you're ready to impress.

Volvo - Comfortable, larger interior, larger boot. Thats about it.

If E36, E325 is a good choice albeit the roadtax. Never get a 318, you'll get smoked out by newer 1.3 or 1.5 cars.

If me? needless to ask and you'll know my answer. RM60k + can now get yourself a year 2000 Audi A4. A friend of mine had just gotten himself a 2000 A4 1.8 Turbo for less than RM70k plus.

But i reckon its kinda hard to get a E36 325 right ? not much out there. Oh, i saw a Volvo 850 T5 Wagon in Motortrader. If the price is reasonable, that would be an excellent bet. Very powerful, huge space and all.

 

[mj3005]

I was just wondering where are the Audi guys to "poison" me. before i read Ingols's post. yeah! the budget is somewhere like that 40-60k.for that budget i can only think of A4 B5?.

Amongst the e36 family i prefer 325 due to my personal needs and constrains (car performance and roadtax etc.) is that really hard to find 325?fuuh!

 

[ZeeDr]

I agree with Ingolstadt's point.. Audi A4 Turbo should be in your list of cars to get.. A used A4 is quite good value.. And after losing the drag against the A4T B7, I can certainly vouch for it's power!! Also, you should consider an Alfa 156.. Extremely sexy car!!! But I reckon the built quality wont be as reliable as its German counterparts.. A 325 should be quite easy to find.. See lots of them in Autotrader.. Just make sure you get a good one.. Or perhaps you can consider a 328!! If you manage to find a manual one, all the better!! Happy hunting!

 

[Ingolstadt]

Manual high capacity Bimmer is a real threat. Extremely satisfying driving experience i would say.

A4 B5 Turbo, i bet you can get a 1997 Turbo model (Like mine), but few were out there. Perhaps you would like to visit www.clubaudimalaysia.com/forum and head on to the Buy/Sell section? There's a A4 1.8T Avant 1998 on sale. RM68k. In short, if you go BMW, you can only get those within 1994-1996/7 with your budget. If Audi, you can go till year 2000. Volvo as well, a 1999 S40 (look better than 850 but abit smaller) costs around RM50k+. And for A4 B5 1.8T, you're paying RM300+ roadtax and 1.8 liter fuel consumption for 2.5 liter performance. :)

A picture of 1.8T Avant.

Alfa Romeo 156 minimum would be just below RM70k to RM80k. But most on sale were Selespeeds and i heard loads of Selespeed problems, even Alfistis opt for manual/Auto. But i reckon for below RM80k budget, this is the most modern, good performance and handling conti money can buy. It's VERY VERY VERY SEXY. I'd go Alfa 156 Manual/Auto than an A4 if i can get my hands on one. :) Sportswagon is a good bet too.

By luck, you might stumble upon a 1998 Saab 9-5 as well. Those are a charm too. Saabs are nothing to show off, hence no wannabes will buy it (wannabes = buy but not passionate bout it, hence no maintenance) hence i reckon most modern Saabs are owned by tasteful and well being ones who'd wont hesitate maintaining it.

Good luck.

 

[Ingolstadt]

Stumble upon this pic. Sweet and Sweeter. Oh i so fucking wanted to award the chief designer in charge of E46. And i so wanna give Chris Bangle (culprit behind E90..) a kick in the arse. How come E46 looked so good one?

http://www.swisscarsightings.com/bmw/BMW%20E36%20M3%20and%20E46%20M3%20001.jpg

 

[nickster1982]

I definitely agree that you should only consider the 325i or the 850.

For the 850, it has to be the T5 or R. The NA ones are just too sluggish, even the GLE (20V).

My family have owned a few Bimmers and Volvos. We had a 328i (E36), Volvo 850T5 and 850SE. I never tried the 325i, but my guess is it cant be far from the 328.

Among these cars I drove, I found the most fun to drive on the streets was the Bimmer 328, followed by the 850T5. Both were equally powerful and fast! Nice handling too.

But with a RWD on the BMW, there is so much more you can do! However, some skills would be required!!! :P

If you get a lousy driver like me accelerating at a sharp corner, the car will bound to spin out! The rear of the car is light and many unexperienced drivers can really lose control if driving too fast into corners! :P

From my past experience, I approached a U-turn at approx. 120kmh. Was driving about 160kmh and braking hard! I had bad judgement, so reached the turning at too high speed! The 850 skidded slightly and managed to make the U-turn successfully! (I thought I was gonna die and my passenger was left speechless) haha

At the same corner, but this time in a 328i. I was not concentrating and driving too fast. I reached the U-turn corner at around 110kmh, braked hard and tried to make the turn. However, bloody back of the car skidded too much and spurn round. The car hit the darn curb and flew to divider!!! Damn lucky I did not die!!! :P

So if you ask me, I would choose the Volvo. haha! It is a safer car! Also more comfy and spacious! ;)

However, if you really like adrenaline rushes, lotsa excitement and you have nine lives....go for the Bimmer! Really fun car to drive! hehe

Ps. The Volvo 850 have nice sound systems. RDS! ;) For me it is nicer than the BMW 328.

 

[nickster1982]

If you are also considering other cars. Try the A4 1.8T, that is another beautiful car to drive! Compared to the 3-series and 850, this car looks nicer (to me). The girls I know also seem to prefer the A4, dunno why! :P

This can definitely be another good option for you. ;)

If the A4 NA, totally forget it!!! They have gearbox problems and will be expensive to fix!

 

[ModMaestro]

We only have T5 in wagon form here. We do have a couple of R, but still command a price of 60k upwards.