1990 BMW 325i Convertible - Like Buttah.
Written: Oct 24 '00 (Updated Jul 11 '01)
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Pros: Fun and luxurious without huge car payments
Cons: Not much of a cargo mover, susceptible to crosswinds
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a great car to drive that's practical, reliable and "reasonably safe", I highly recommend an old BMW 325iC.
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| alexs's Full Review: 1990 BMW 3 Series Convertible |
COMFORT AND AMENITIES:
Goodies and Gadgets
The 1990 325iC that I bought came with amenities comparable to the 2000 VW Golf that I had previously (and was rear-ended into the junk yard) and then some. Air conditioning, Tape-deck/radio, heated leather sport seats with lots of lateral support, cruise control, electric windows and doors. Trip computer with lots of interesting data, instantaneous fuel consumption, tachometer and service reminders are all displayed for the driver. It has a systems check that it runs every time you start the car to see if any bulbs have burnt out or if any engine fluids are low. I'm a big fan of gadgets and since I go on a lot of road trips I enjoy tracking fuel consumption, range, average speed and temperature - if you're that type of person you will too.
Sound System
The sound system is good (better than the premium "Monsoon" System in the 2000 VWs, and plenty powerful enough to listen with the top down - a common concern when buying a convertible. A 12-disc trunk-mounted changer is an option at purchase, but unfortunately mine doesn't have it, and it is next to impossible to get a compatible changer without replacing the head unit. The radio doesn't get as good reception as my 2000 Golf did, but it's good enough and has the neat feature of being able to pick up National Weather Broadcast stations as well as AM and FM.
Comfort and Roominess
The 325iC seats only 4 people (only 4 seat belts, the Epinions data is wrong) but is very comfortable. The amenities of the car are really designed for two people, but putting two friends in the back for a road trip is totally doable. By sacrificing the middle seatbelt in the rear BMW was able to fit two bucket-type seats in the back that are quite roomy. During my car research I decided that there is more room back there than in both the equivalent Saab Convertible (900), the Chrysler Sebring, the VW Cabrio and the Infinity M20 Convertible of the same or similar year. That doesn't mean you can stretch out in the back, but your knees aren't jammed into the back of the front seats either.
Cargo Space
The 325iC has a sizeable trunk despite the fact that the soft-top actually gets folded away inside the metal body of the car (not just folded on top as many convertibles are). Four packing-conservative people can go away for the weekend in this car so long as they don't have any oblong or oversized packages. The rear seats do NOT fold down to allow for furniture and other large items into the passenger compartment of the car. The 325iC also does not have the integrated Ski Bag that the hard-top 3 series have for sliding skis from the trunk, between the two rear seats in the passenger compartment - the soft-top storage compartment gets in the way.
Convertible Ownership
Owning a convertible is a lot of fun if you enjoy driving and live somewhere relatively rainless. I have the top down almost all of the time and it make driving an absolute joy. Putting the soft-top up and down is simple and takes less than 30 seconds. There are several downsides: your car is often dusty and dirty inside; when you do put the soft-top up the flapping of the roof in the wind is a bit loud (louder than with the top down); you have to see through one of those clear plastic rear windows; and you have to maintain the fabric in the roof, which can be expensive.
**Side note: A car wash near me specifically offers no refund for damage done to 1988-1992 3 series Convertibles in their wash process. I have yet to find out why exactly, but I have gone through several times without a problem.
If you live in California though, you just don't put the top up - you wanted a convertible didn't you? I love it and think it's worth it. I was also lucky enough to find a hard top for the car as well, so during the winter (rainy) months in the bay area, I just pop the hard top on for a quiet, waterproof, glass rear-window experience.
PERFORMANCE AND HANDLING:
Performance
The 325i is not known for its 0-60 performance - it is not sluggish, but it is not a sports car. At passing speeds (50-80mph) it is quite phenomenal however - lithe and power-plenty, (I was much less impressed in this area by the automatic transmission 325is that I test-drove.) The amazing thing about this car (perhaps a general characteristic of BMWs) is consistency of the engine performance. The amount of torque, response and engine noise is completely consistent from about 1500rpm to 5500rpm. It is 'like buttah': soft and smooth.
I've heard that the engine with the factory chip is supposed to be rev-limited to 124 mph, but I have been unable to get it over 120mph so far - it seems to have more or less reached its limit there anyway. There are supposed to be third-party chips available that will let you bump that up a fair bit - the downside of those is increased engine wear.
Handling
The car handles beautifully. It grips the ground tightly even when you intentionally run tight doughnuts to try to spin out. The rear-wheel drive gives the driver a very reassuring forward movement - hard to describe. Even at high highway speeds (80-100mph) it is very reassuring, and behaves very predictably and exactly - I used to never understand why people who drove BMWs seemed to always be going outrageously fast - now I understand: it's not scary in the same way that many vehicles are at speed.
It has an incredibly tight turning radius which is helpful for both navigating tightly packed parking lots and making u-turns on narrow streets, something I now take for granted and will find annoying if I ever have to replace this car.
When I bought the car it was 10 years old and it had only 64000 miles on it. It still had the original Michelin tires that it had been driven off the lot with (can't remember exactly what they were, but they no longer make them), and the car would, quite literally, float down the highway. You simply didn't feel the imperfections in the road surface. At the time I gave the famed BMW suspension credit for it, and since the tires were more or less bald, I decided to have all four replaced with some highly recommended Dunlop D60/A2's. My car no longer floats in quite the same way. (There will be a separate tire review on that eventually).
One Complaint: Crosswinds
One of the things that gives the 325i its zippiness is how lightweight it is. Right down to the aluminum radiator and alloy wheels, the engineers did their best to drop the weight. This combined with its aerodynamic profile seems let it get blown very easily to one side at high speeds in heavy crosswinds. Here in the Bay Area Interstate 280 consistently has strong enough crosswinds to push you around within your lane. At particularly high speeds (110+ mph) the car starts to feel very "light" and can get pushed around fairly easily - it's a bit unnerving and makes me wonder if the wind itself might be capable of flipping the car.
SAFETY:
Crash Safety
The oldest 325 I wanted to get was the 1990, since that was the first year that the driver-side air bag was standard. Other than that it has shoulder belts for all four passengers, and head rests for the two front seats. For the cold weather there is a rear-window defroster in the hard-top, and the trip computer sounds a warning when outside temperature approaches freezing, as a warning that there could be ice on the road. It also has fog lamps which are quite effective against San Francisco fog.
Vehicle Security
This car had a car alarm installed at the dealer which includes a "proximity warning" system - it "senses" activity in the open environment of the convertible and is supposed to sound a warning if someone gets in to the car and is messing with it. The alarm was disconnected when I got it and I have yet to reconnect it. The electric door locks are keyless entry ready, so if you get an alarm installed, you can use it to unlock the doors remotely. There is also an ignition cut-out system built into the trip computer which lets you punch in a code without which it is impossible to start the car. I have no idea how effective this is against a serious car thief, but it probably makes it slightly more challenging to steal. There is also a valet key system (which I have yet to figure out) designed so that there is a "valet" key that will not open the glove compartment or the trunk.
GENERAL COMMENTS:
How I chose this car
I went shopping for a new car when my new 2000 Golf was totaled. I was happy to get rid of the car loan associated with that $18,000 purchase and I wanted to get a used car that I could have fun with, that was reasonably safe, but which I could pay off relatively quickly. Having loved the sunroof in the Golf, I decided that a convertible would meet the "fun" requirement, as well as the "reasonably practical" requirement (ie seats at least 4 and has a cargo space). I decided that under $10,000 would be "reasonably affordable", and I wanted a car that would be "reasonably reliable", which probably meant some sort of a luxury brand. After a little more research I decided that I would have to settle for a driver's-side airbag as my "reasonably safe" threshold (I would have liked passenger-side as well but it's hard to find a convertible for under $10K with one.) That quickly narrows things to a 1990 era VW Cabrio, Saab 900 Convertible or a BMW 3 series convertible.
In Conclusion
Aside from the rationale above, I chose the 1990 325iC that I found because I liked the styling, the low mileage and the care that had been taken in maintaining it. I did have a mechanic check it out and I knew when buying it that it had an oil leak of some sort, needed new tires, had a slightly noisier-than-normal rear differential, and fairly worn brakes, but was otherwise immaculate. (Yes, the timing belt had been changed recently.) I also hear and read numerous anecdotal stories about these cars running to 250,000+ miles during my research that convinced me that this car would last. I ended up paying a bit more than I had intended but I felt that it was worth it for the premium spotless condition of the vehicle. I was also dimly aware of the fact that
If you're looking for a great car to drive that's practical, reliable and "reasonably safe", I highly recommend an old BMW 325iC.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 11000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1990
Model and Options: 325iC Convertible, 5-speed
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Epinions.com ID:
alexs
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Member: Alex Selkirk
Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 54 members
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