Wonderful car to drive
Written: Sep 30 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Reliability: |
 |
|
| Seat Comfort: |
|
|
| Build Quality |
|
|
| Roominess: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Sports coupe, wind in your hair!
Cons: Maintenance
The Bottom Line: I've already covered this below. Of course, if you are only now (2003) considering a 1991 325ic, be sure to test drive it very well.
|
|
|
| tmikeyt's Full Review: 1991 BMW 3 Series Convertible |
I bought this car as a previous BMW owner. When I got it, it had 90,000 miles on it and drove nicely. All it seemed to need was some upholstery work. With a leather interior and no garage for a home, you will eventually have seams come apart and dried out leather too. I contacted an upholstery expert who came to my home, removed the rear seat and took it to his shop. Unfortunately, it was diagnosed with leather rot and the guy actually did the best he could to make it look like new. But the repair only lasted about 3 months. Fortunately, you can buy a new leather interior from a few places and actually get one that looks identical to what came on it. And for less than $1,000. I have yet to make this repair but I will be doing so. The other main thing with a convertible is what else, but the convertible top. The original top actually lasted quite some time and still was quite decent even as I stripped it off the car. What is a problem though are the plastic windows that are zippered, yet sewn into the top. I went to see a different upholsterer who specialized in convertibles and felt he was being honest, as he didn't quote me too high a price and didn't mind if I purchased my own top and even recommended what I might buy. He said that he could and didn't mind getting the window out of the top if I could find a replacement, however the cost of the window and the possibility of losing the stability of the original top (the top has fabric straps which wrap around rods that form the structure) as he would have to partially disassemble the top and this required cutting fabric straps which might not leave enough to reattach. This risk and for a price that for only a very few dollars more I could buy a new top for which comes with the new window. So I opted for the new top, installed it myself with some help from a friend at certain times. It looks as good as the original. If you can get one of the rare models which came equipped with the optional removable hardtop ($5,000 option), you should use it as much as possible. Or sell it, as it will easily bring $1,000 in the United States.
Overall, mechanically the car has been very trustworthy. I have had to replace the alternator twice. But other than this, it has all been normal maintenance. But be prepared, if you cannot do any car work yourself, you should have a nice bank account to pay the mechanics who will work on your car as they won't work on one just anywhere and those who will are not going to do it for little pay.
I love my car and I enjoy it all the time. I don't know about the newer BMW's but many of the older one's, like mine, are prone to odd rubber wear. Be prepared for the occasional suspension part replacement (no, the mechanic probably isn't trying to rip you off with this suggestion). The bushings just seem to wear out too easily. They aren't overly expensive to buy, but are you prepared to pay the mechanic to replace them?
I would recommend this car to anyone who is good at not neglecting their car's maintenance and has the resources to take care of the car. I have the 325ic and it has the 6 cylinder engine and is quite fun to drive. You can certainly zip through traffic or down those twisty mountain roads.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 12,000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1991
Model and Options: 325ic, full leather, A/C power windows, central locking
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
tmikeyt
|
|
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.