 |
|
|
Who is the Bimmerman?
I am a big fan of BMW cars. I first came to know about BMW in the late 1980s, back when the e30 3-series was the king amongst the
favorite transport of yuppies. As a schoolboy, that was the car I wanted.
4 years ago I decided it was time for me to own a piece of that BMW magic. Although BMW has developed and delivered more sophisticated and exciting cars, I still like the design of the e34 5-series and the e36 3-series with their blend of good looks and performance. They look sharp and were ahead of their competitors during the early to mid 90s. Both cars came with a range of engine to meet the demands of buyers. The e36, in particular, had quite a variety of body design. I'm sure these cars still have many happy and satisfied owners.
I considered the e34, e36 and also the e30. The e30 3-series was the first car that attracted me to the BMW marque and I have good memories of distinct difference between the handling of a rear wheel drive car against front wheel drive courtesy of the 325i sport. Space was main reason I eventually decided to drop the e30. The latest e39 or e46 are excellent cars but they did not appeal to me as much as the e34 and e36. Primarily because of looks and secondly cost. Looks was a major consideration I prefer the edgier shape of the older generation over the more organic/slippery shape of later models. And also new BMWs are prohibitively expensive in the country i live. Not to mention the heavy depreciation one suffers during their first few years of ownership as with most cars in the 'luxury' league.
My choice was then between the reliable and solid e34 or the handsome looking e36. In the end, I chose the e34 for its extremely good value and the practicality of a four door. Almost every e34 5-series that I test drove gave the feeling of being very well put together with minimal body creaks (excellent for their age) and the doors closed with a solid thud. It had solid
German engineering and the right combination of understated performance machine (easily achieved by lowering the car and putting in bigger wheels) coupled with the elegance of an executive car. The quality of the e36 I tested varied too much to instill confidence in their long term reliability. Big wheels and sport suspension didn't help in the ride quality department, especially when compared to the e34. After testing more than 10 cars.
The e34 520i is still my daily drive and I am just as pleased with it today as the day I purchased the car. I have changed quite a few parts over the past few years of ownership and it runs beautifully. Except I wish it had more power... If I were to change car tomorrow, first on my list would be a V8 e34. I am a relative novice in BMW cars and continue to learn about them. I am going to do more research on the e34 initially and will put more information here.
You can contact me through email at
bimmerman@bimmercenter.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
