New to list, considering purchasing a BMW.

["Kevin Ould" <kevinould@xxxxxxxx>]

Hey all,

I am new to the list, my name is Kevin Ould and I live in Toronto, Ontario.
My old ride decided to blow it's motor a few weeks ago and decided it was
not worth it to fix. My old ride was an 87 RX-7 Turbo2 which was mildly
modified, probably around 200 horse or so I would figure.

Now I have decided to purchase something a little nicer. And the BMW 3
series has made the list of cars I am looking at. I have seen some 1995 or
so 325is cars that are in my price range and like the way they look. I have
not driven in a newer BMW, I drove some older ones years ago.

If the dealer does not know whether the sport package is installed is there
an easy way to tell by looking at the car? Just curious as I would like the
sport package. Ideally I would want an older M3 but they are hard to come by
in the price range I am looking at. How much difference is there between the
325is and an M3 of the same style? Would I be just as happy spending less
money on the 325is. Could the 325is be made to perform like an M3 with the
money saved? Any common problems with these cars to watch out for when
looking at or test driving them? How reliable are the 3 series cars and how
expensive are they to fix when they do break? I am pretty handy as a hobby
mechanic so could probably do most work on my own and just require the
parts. Any other hints/tips/recommendations/watch outs would be greatly
appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Kevin Ould

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