1997 Prelude, 5-spd. 155,000 miles, new clutch,radiator and some other stuff. All stock. Black. Clean title. Can get for about $3000-$3200. I talked to the owner. He's older and very nice guy to talk to.
1989 BMW 325i, 5-spd. 60,000 actual miles, all stock. Black. No work needed (what the ad says anyway). Advertised for $4000. Haven't called about it yet.
I'm familiar with Honda, never even driven a BMW. I'm not the greatest mechanic. I'm just looking for something to have fun in on nice days. Either one would be awesome.
Drive the Beemer. Then decide.
mndsm
SuperDork
2/11/11 1:29 p.m.
buy both, combine, take the results to the Challenge.
BMW. A short bumper E30 with the 6 cylinder with 60k miles? I would take the BMW
What's to look for on an e30? What's it like to maintain these?
Type Q
HalfDork
2/11/11 1:46 p.m.
You have to get that one right there!
Condition being equal, the Prelude would be the cheaper one to keep on the road. The Prelude will be a little faster in a straight line. The BMW is rear wheel drive, and built on a well respected and capable chassis, so will be more fun when pushed hard. Both have a lot of aftermarket support.
What are your intentions? Daily driver or fun toy? If it's daily driver, I would typically lean toward the Prelude since I'm way more familiar with Hondas and know they can be reliable even with tons of miles on them. But the E30 reputation is that it's reliable and inexpensive to repair.
If it was my decision to make, I would lean toward the BMW. I've been eying them lately, even had cash on hand when test driving an E36 328is recently (hi Anson!) and just couldn't pull the trigger. But it was a far bigger project than a 60k mile E30 is likely to be. The enabler in me wants to scream "BMW! BMW!"
In reply to bravenrace:
There should be a law about learning the difference.
bravenrace wrote:
1988RedT2 wrote:
Drive the Bimmer. Then decide.
Fixed.
I take it from you two that means the E30?
JFX001
SuperDork
2/11/11 2:55 p.m.
I'd choose the Prelude. It's cheaper.
Otto Maddox wrote:
In reply to bravenrace:
There should be a law about learning the difference.
Yeah, and the same thing about how to pronounce the name of the car in your avatar.
JFX001
SuperDork
2/11/11 2:58 p.m.
Otto Maddox wrote:
In reply to bravenrace:
There should be a law about learning the difference.
My super hip/one up the neighbors Doctor b-i-l was telling me about his new "Beemer". I just smiled.
that annoys you too that people are calling BMWs Beemers too?
ditto on the annoyance factor and I don't know why
mndsm wrote:
buy both, combine, take the results to the Challenge.
a FWD 4-cyl 325i makes no sense to me.
JohnW
Reader
2/11/11 3:13 p.m.
Make sure the timing belt on the BMW has been changed in the last four years. In some respects, a 22 year old car with 60k miles is great, in other respects it would scare the crap out of me because it hasn't been driven enough and even 3k mile oil changes are not frequent enough if it takes three years for the car to travel said distance.
Beemer= BMW Motorcycle
Bimmer= BMW Automobile
Stupid and an affront to all that is holy= BMW SUV/ SAV
A 60K mile E30 is as rare as an honest politician. It will also hold it's value much better than the mostly unloved Prelude. The choice seems like a no-brainer in my book. Of course in my mind
BMW> Honda
Joe,
I love the SUV/SAV comment.
Keep in mind that the sign of a great FWD chassis is to get it do what a RWD does naturally.
Ethan
Raze
Dork
2/11/11 3:23 p.m.
Seriously? If you have to ask then you've already decided on both, but you just don't like having to work out the logistics. Quit whining and buy them both, then enjoy them both, gosh!
The 1997 Prelude was "unloved"? Seems odd... also seems like resale on these holds up pretty well. Which is unfortunate because they seem like an interesting car, but not one I can easily afford.
