BMW purchase advice wanted

[Robert Phelan <centuri@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well gang I have some bad news.  I drove my 325es off a bridge during 
an ice storm a couple of weeks ago.  There were no injuries, but my 
beautiful driving school (and college student daily driver) eta was 
totaled out.

Sooooo, I'm looking for a new car.  One easy option is to buy an e30 
with the 'i' motor.  It's a little more power than I had before and I 
can transfer my springs and shocks and such to it from the corpse of 
the eta.  Quick and cheap.

However, I was also thinking of an early e36 325, 328 or 318ti. 
They'd offer a moderate power increase and still fit in a decent 
budget (under 10,000$).

My last option is an M3 of the two older generations.  An e30 m3 
would be nice for the track, but it doesn't really shine as a daily 
driver.  The more expensive e36 m3 would be fun all around, but even 
with the price coming down to as low as 18,000$ It would still be a 
stretch to afford and the insurance costs would be crazy.

Whatever car I get will have to fill the role of both a daily driver 
and a regular driving school car.  I've been doing about 4 a year so 
it will definitely get a workout.  If anyone has any thoughts on the 
matter, or know of any killer deals, I'd appreciate any feedback.

Thanks,
Robert Phelan
Webmaster, St. Louis BMW Club
http://www.stlbmwclub.com

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