Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: 325xi

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

Superb Swap: 2001 BMW 325xi Touring S54 6-speed

If I’m honest, neither the outrageous Passat W8 nor the overpriced A4 Avant from Sunday really thrilled in the same way as the 2.7T-swapped B6 Ultrasport build did. Granted, you could just about buy both the Audi and the Passat for the same price as that build, but if you’re going to take on a complicated older fast wagon, there must be some sort of reward for all the risk, right?

Well, not to be outdone, here’s a stellar BMW option. The standard 325xi Touring, while available with a 5-speed manual, isn’t nearly as exotic sounding or performing as the duo from the other day. The M54 2.5 liter inline-6 was about 100 horsepower down on the Passat W8 and they weighed pretty close to the same. BMW also chose to not equip any of the xi models with the M-Sport suspension, either. While the 3-series was substantially cheaper than either the A4 2.0T S-Line Titanium package or the Passat W8 4Motion, out of the box it also didn’t feel as special.

Of course, if you rip it apart and rebuild it with a S54 borrowed from a M3 and a 6-speed from a X3, the story changes a bit…

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 BMW 325xi Touring S54 6-speed Swap on Denver Craigslist

4 Comments

2001 BMW 325xi Touring

Although my recent experience with a BMW wagon wasn’t the most endearing of my automotive life, I have to admit I still keep an ear to the street every time an interesting one comes up. If nothing else, the promise of what BMW offered in their wagons was compelling – at least, until very recently. That’s because in addition to the 5-doors from the 3- and 5-series appearing on these shores in the E34, E39 and E46 generation, so too came all-wheel drive. “BUT, AUDI!” the internet insists. And right they’d be. Except that as the 2000s drew to a close, so too did the performance versions of Audi’s Avants – and with it went the manual option. So if you wanted to row-your-own, you had to turn to BMW to get what we see here – an all-weather faithful 5-door companion. While the “M” versions of the wagons didn’t come this way, what we did get was what you see here – the option to have the classic inline-6 mated to a manual transmission with near perfect weight distribution. Equip the package with the Sport option, and you got some nice alloy wheels and fantastic seats too. Even 17 years later and with a not insignificant amount of miles accrued, this is a package which stirs the soul:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 BMW 325xi Touring on Santa Barbara Craigslist

3 Comments

1 of 1: Dakar Yellow 2003 BMW 325xi Touring Individual

“Too expensive” shouted a few Facebook comments on yesterday’s 330xi Feature Listing. “It’s 11 years old with 130K. WTF!”

He wasn’t alone, and I find that strange. Because, well, here’s a 14 year old 325xi. It’s got 159,000 miles. And, the asking price is a latte away from $8,000. There’s no maintenance disclosed, nor the careful care shown to our Feature Listing car, either.

But my guess is no one will be complaining that this particular all-wheel drive BMW is overpriced. That is simply because of the configuration in this case. While it’s certainly very rare to come across the E90 sedan in the specification of the Feature Listing from yesterday, I’ve never seen an E46 in this spec – nor are you likely to see another. That’s because this particular car is claimed to be one of one – the sole BMW Individual spec’d Dakar Yellow 325xi Touring 5-speed Sport Package.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2003 BMW 325xi Touring on 1023 Motors

3 Comments

2002 BMW 325xi Touring

Carter’s post yesterday on the 2004 Passat 1.8T Variant got me thinking about rather ordinary German estate vehicles. That Passat was truly a nice find, as it is rare you find a B5 or B5.5 Passat in such great nick. Lightning has struck twice this week it seems, as I’ve come across this tidy 2002 BMW 325xi Touring for sale in Oregon. While it’s not a manual, for most, the automatic would do just fine for a small family hauler.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 BMW 325xi Touring on eBay

2 Comments

Wagon Week: 2003 BMW 325xi Touring

dw_800
My neighbors’ clean and utilitarian 325i wagon was recently demolished by a texter in a Prius barely 50 feet from our shared garage. Now they’re on the search for another German wagon, so what a great time for Wagon Week! Theirs was a rear-drive automatic, but today’s takes it to another level with the ability to row your own gears with all-wheel drive traction. It’s not that fancy, but that’s what I like about these E46 wagons as they get a little older. They’re clean and can be had without an overload of technology while still providing a luxury sport experience. With a rare combo and low miles, this is a very enticing wagon.

Click for details: 2003 BMW 325xi Touring on eBay

8 Comments