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Some of us out there who follow our site on a regular basis no doubt drool over some of the super fast and ultra luxury machines we feature. But in reality, what we want is something a bit more basic for daily use but that still has the qualities that we’ve come to appreciate from German vehicles, such as solid build quality and better than average performance. Well, this 2000 BMW 323i might fit the bill for you, if you are looking to upgrade just a little bit beyond the used Volkswagen. Despite the name, the 323i had the 2.5 liter inline-6 under the hood, the base engine for the E46 3 series as the four-cylinder 318i went away with the demise of the E36. This one is equipped with alloy wheels and a 5-speed manual gearbox, giving a bit of spice to the basic package.
E30 Tourings are coming across with greater regularity, and we’ve been documenting the increase in immigration. No longer are they subject to endless hoops and finagling involving Canada, a European relative, and several thousand dollars. No, the glory days of the E30 wagon are nigh, and today we have an exciting rarity. The 325ix sedan is a cool car in its own right, but an E30 wagon with all-wheel drive and the flared arches is ice cold. I’ve seen good examples of these in Germany, but this one has made the transatlantic voyage and is in my hometown of Seattle, WA, making it that much more tempting. With few listed issues and low miles, this is a very hot wagon.
As we start to finish up Wagon Week, let’s take a look at a car that’s been arriving on these shores at a solid clip now that many of them have reached 25 years old: the E30 Touring. But this Touring is a bit unique in that it is powered by the 2.4 liter turbo diesel engine. We featured this particular car earlier in the year and now it is back on offer, a perfect curiosity for oil burner BMW fan.
The below post originally appeared on our site March 9, 2014:
We always want what we can’t have and so it goes in the automotive realm. So many great foreign cars have been forbidden to US customers over the years that you could write a book. Last week we featured a tastefully modified 1981 BMW 323i and now hot on its heels comes another 1981 323i, one which was treated to an impressive restoration. For sale in Wisconsin, I could spend all day pouring over the details on this one, from the headlamp wipers to the houndstooth fabric. This is one well executed refurbishment.
In many ways, I feel the BMW E91 Touring will be viewed as an end of an era. BMW is now being rather stubborn in their refusal to offer a 3er Touring with a manual transmission. The E91 also represents the versatile 3er before the range was broken up into the 3 and 4 series. Now if you want a 3 series with a rear hatch, you can opt for either the 3 series Touring or Gran Turismo, and that’s before you get to the brand new 4 series Gran Turismo. This seems to be splitting the product portfolio quite thin, if you ask me.
Back in August, we had a 2007 328xi 6-speed manual Touring and we here at GCFSB were able to connect the seller with an enthusiast who bought it in short order. We’re always happy to successfully connect buyers and sellers within this great community that you have all helped to build. There is still a good amount of manual transmission E91 Tourings that we’ve come across lately, so if you missed the boat for a three-pedal 3 series Touring the first time around, you still have a chance with this 2006 325xi 6-speed manual for sale in New York.
