I had a blue 2000 323 ,5 speed one day leaving work the pulley tensioner broke and i wax 20 miles from home with no other way of getting home so what did i do? I smoked a cig and said fuck it i winged it home on the hwy no stopping that temp needle was on supernova hot!! Most of the drive was hwy then about 2 miles of open road with 3 traffic lights but i slowed down never stopped then took a red light... had too! And parked outside my house wasn't about to put it in the garage. Walked to the store and back then started it right up no problem...i it towed to the shop did a compression test no leaks no warping nothing just new pulley tensioner and serpentine belt.... the rest of car was made like shit the interior roof lining was crap the sunroof went off track but the drivetrain was bulletproof. Sorry for the long comment just want to convey how good this bmws really were.
0-60 in 6.5 out of the first gen 170hp E46 2.5L is pretty quick. The brochure rated it a 7.1. Wonder if it was a slightly juiced up journalist tester car? Motorweek tested the 2001 M3 and it ran 0-60 in 5.0 seconds with 333hp, 6 speed manual vs. the 323CI's 5 and shorter gears. For the money and as a livable daily driver the 323 CI was impressive.
I had a blue 2000 323 ,5 speed one day leaving work the pulley tensioner broke and i wax 20 miles from home with no other way of getting home so what did i do? I smoked a cig and said fuck it i winged it home on the hwy no stopping that temp needle was on supernova hot!! Most of the drive was hwy then about 2 miles of open road with 3 traffic lights but i slowed down never stopped then took a red light... had too! And parked outside my house wasn't about to put it in the garage. Walked to the store and back then started it right up no problem...i it towed to the shop did a compression test no leaks no warping nothing just new pulley tensioner and serpentine belt.... the rest of car was made like shit the interior roof lining was crap the sunroof went off track but the drivetrain was bulletproof. Sorry for the long comment just want to convey how good this bmws really were.
Just bought this 2 weeks ago. So far so good. :)
Auto or manual ?
I have 1 of those, the executive version with m3 package(mirrors, spoiler, rear bumper). 380000km. The car still drives amazing.
I’ve never seen that factory body kit before. I can’t find any 323ci with those bumpers. Especially the rear one
0-60 in 6.5 out of the first gen 170hp E46 2.5L is pretty quick. The brochure rated it a 7.1. Wonder if it was a slightly juiced up journalist tester car? Motorweek tested the 2001 M3 and it ran 0-60 in 5.0 seconds with 333hp, 6 speed manual vs. the 323CI's 5 and shorter gears. For the money and as a livable daily driver the 323 CI was impressive.
I had a 2004 325ci, automatic 😢 but still handled well, acceptable performance. But the rear bumper on this one looks different.
Not too shabby
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