matheweleven

Hey thanks team. I appreciate your insight. Looking forward to doing some test driving... and calculations. Chur!

Hi all, After several years without a beemer, I'm back in the market... Hoping you can help me out. My only other post in this forum was when I bent some rods in an old e30 when living in Auckland. I got a reply from a legend called Lance who fixed up my car at mates rates and became my personal mechanic and friend. I'm in Wellington now and want to get a wagon. I'm hoping to spend about 10k. I was thinking 3 series, because it's a little more compact and maybe fuel efficient than the 5 series? I was also considering a diesel. Is it much cheaper to run? Do the engines cost more to maintain? Are there certain years and models that I should look out for, for both petrol and diesel? I also want to lower it with springs, just to create a slightly more stanced look, and I definitely don't have any extra cash for coilovers. Any tips or inside knowledge would be greatly appreciated. Would also be keen to meet up at any local meets of be put in touch with anyone who can help out with cars, parts etc. Looking forward to being a beemer driver once again. Thanks heaps!

so i've had my '88 320i for about 7 months now and love it! until the cam belt went the other day and the bm workshop guys said that i'd need to replace the engine if i wanted to keep it, and then there'd be no guarentees it would work after all the work was done, and therefore not worth it, because of the value of the car. Has this happened to anyone else? what is my best option? gamble and get a new engine or sell it, get a small amount of money and start again?