1994 BMW 325i Convertible | Retro Review

Nothing said you were rich in the early 90's quite as loudly as a white BMW 3-series Convertible. We borrowed this one from long time MotorWeek fan Kelly Taylor, and shipped it to 21117 for a thorough road test.

[@davidaubin3902]

4:19 John: UNFORTUNATELY IT STILL DOESN’T INCLUDE GAUGES FOR OIL PRESSURE AND VOLTS! LOL

[@stratfordbaby]

John thinks he still in the 1940s.

[@phils.3178]

Seriously! He says that about every car.

[@palebeachbum]

I've always loved this generation. Such a handsome car. That goes for a lot of German cars in the early 90s though. Nowadays, they don't appeal to me.

[@Atomicpasi]

That was in the heyday of BMW, when they still built elegant & sporty cars. E30,31,32,34,36,38,39. It's over. Unfortunately!

[@germanengineering204]

To me F series is peak BMW! Especially the M cars of this generation!!

[@devinbiz]

Always love how these look

[@aakanji2]

According to Google $38k in 1994 is about $78k today. Pretty crazy.

[@csmith1927]

This was like the M440i of it’s day to be fair, and if you get one of those fully loaded as a convertible I’m betting you can get up to that

[@aakanji2]

@@csmith1927 yeah that’s a great point. I think it’s still interesting that the pricing is similar given the additional power, higher mpg, safety advances, etc you get nowadays. Compared to everything else which feels like you are getting less and paying more

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

Yup!

[@germanengineering204]

Just goes to show the bimmers of today that are twice as fast literally like my M240i xdrive is a complete bargain at 50k!😀

[@kevlosent6375]

​@@csmith1927technically yes, but my 2018 230i is closer in size, more power, better gas mileage, and cost lik 50k brand new. I got it a year ago for 34

[@jorgerodrigogomezflores5711]

Is still looks great almost 30 years later.

[@judethaddaeus9742]

Even with inflation today and the huge expense of new cars, it’s wild that a 1994 325i convertible started at the 2023 equivalent of $78k. A 2023 440i convertible, the ‘94 325i’s successor, starts at $68k, $10k less.

[@aquaticko]

Back when driving used to be enjoyable because you weren't surrounded by 4000lb mommymobile SUVs and 6000lb brodozers jacked up so high it's almost easiest to see under them....The U.S.' car market is so distasteful and wasteful these days.

[@rockolutheran]

Because Western society has been overtaken by the lowbrow and the nouveau riche aesthetic is in. Everyone wants to ‘flex’ or ball out

[@rollin19]

Yeah really you didnt have the amount of people on the road that you do today. People from all over,and road ragers to say the least,unfortunately it's not the 90's anymore.We have more people,that dont know proper road etiquette.

[@gordonmills2748]

I took a spin in one of these back in the mid 90s, and my current 2 series convertible is just about the same size, but with modern performance that would top even an M3 from the era.

[@crazzyoboy]

Fantastic old memories, when car brands were unique and enjoyable

[@user-wn2hz2zd6f]

Teutonic beauty 😍

[@KenanTurkiye]

Mid 90's were the last years proper cars were made. For me it started around 1940 and ended about 1995, roughly.

[@iwhbyd2683]

To me that is an exceptionally good looking ground effects package. I think the unpainted plastic helps it stay understated.

[@idonjohnson6999]

It’s funny as BMW offered the M aero package for all models, but this specific one doesn’t have any of the aero kit. Not sideskirts.

[@danmccarthy4700]

Remember when BMW made gorgeous cars? Pepperidge Farms remembers.

[@brianklamer3328]

Best looking 3 series ever made.

[@stratfordbaby]

These came with a $4000 aluminum hardtop??? WOW.

[@ys_a1659]

The E36 Cabriolet was a sort after car for a really long time. If you wanted a sporty 3series BMW you should take a Coupé with manual transmission. If you want an open air feeling to cruise this was your get go.

[@rollin19]

The e36 325i convertible was only made in 94 and 95. Before 94 the 325i was the e30,the smaller car. The 94 and up convertible was built heavier for added strength,like 265 lbs more compared to the sedan or coupe. You can say it rode better with the extra weight. If you wanted to go faster that year then you would've gone with the 325I coupe in a manual or if you really wanted to race,the M3 was packed full of performance goodies,it was made to run the track,it was 50 more hp,it could corner like it was on rails but in general these car handle well if replace the old worn suspension parts.

[@ryanm.3681]

what a stunning car!

[@GeeEm1313]

Nah. I remember when I first saw a billboard for this generation of 3 Series. I immediately became sad bc I loved (and still do) the E30 so much.

[@landyachtfan79]

The Ultimate Tanning Machine.

[@stratfordbaby]

I've never seen a kidney that looked like that!!!!

[@s3viking_Y2K_Sport]

Even the person driving it looks like a typical BMW Driver

[@MPMeterman]

That’s impossible. He used his turn signals towards the end of the video.

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

@@MPMeterman 👋😂well! He has to for the video!

[@KenanTurkiye]

lol @ all 3 comments : )

[@christineayres7199]

E36 3 series is the best of all time , I used to have an E36 M3 from 1995 nothing would keep up with me in that car 350bhp it had 160mph top speed and 0-60 in around 4.5 seconds , the newer M3 is just no fun , yes its a lot faster but its just got no soul.

[@steveespinola7652]

St a great looking car to this day.

[@felix_five]

Oil and a volts, oil and volts. I have spoken.

[@RandallJT84]

"The 1994 BMW 325i Convertible meets 1997 Side Impact Standards". Must've been a time traveller in the tester. Rather staunch 50k in '94 $$ (102,349.19 '23 $USD) for a 325i vert..Heavens to Mergatroid! They were proud over in Bavaria.

[@mc3films]

That was a common talking point starting around 1992. Lots of new car ads would also mention their vehicles were engineered for future and more stringent side-impact standards.

[@RandallJT84]

@@mc3films I miss the 90's and the way things were, especially in the auto industry.

[@Carmafixcars]

Minimalist masterpiece.

[@ytsux9259]

Extremely slow and handled poorly. Lol

[@CalvinP420]

⁠@@ytsux9259handled poorly? This handled better than any modern day BMWs, and I’ve driven them all.

[@steveespinola7652]

Still a great looking car to this day.

[@javardstanley1521]

This is one of my all time favorites Convertibles. Can you post more 4 seat Convertible videos. Like the 2001 Chrysler Sebring Convertible or 2003 Audi A4 Convertible or the 2004 Bmw 6 - Series Convertible or the 2006 Volvo C70 Convertible .

[@ricepony33]

The drift car dream 🎉

[@JDMHaze]

yea, after a 2jz swap 😂

[@idonjohnson6999]

Lol this demo model already has the infamous sagging glovebox.

[@teamdrivealot8441]

Insta classic ❤

[@idonjohnson6999]

This feels somewhat like my current mint E36 cabrio, being white, amber indicators and the 3rd brake light (we didn’t get here until later). Although mine’s an M3 3.2 EU spec. 😅

[@tientrinh943]

I remember this car that I had

[@Doobie1975]

85mph is very high for its quarter mile run times.

[@ytsux9259]

Nah, that's extremely slow for the mid '90s.

[@MaxPower-11]

White paint is OK but red would be classic for this car.

[@Nihaofoo]

Feel like a new civic may give similar driving dynamics (No rwd) if you want something with a warranty

[@PJAvenger]

Paid $45k dream cars in Canadian for my 330e Yay I'm Canadian

[@KenanTurkiye]

Y E S

[@KenanTurkiye]

....please excuse me, I am tired, sleepy, ''yes'' was all I could write for this beauty. : )

[@danielcraig243]

How will I ever know my oil pressure

[@saulgoodman2018]

BMW: Bavarian(cream) Mouth Watering, donut.

[@user-cj4sm8hv9y]

Top Down Teutonic

[@VDPEFi]

Rover in the UK had a dedicated blown air rear defrost in their 200 cabriolet in 1992. Just saying....

[@SavageBunny1]

I bought one of these for $900 like 5 years ago, it wanst the cleanest, drove it around for a few months, sold it for $2500.

[@SnarkyRC]

🤣

[@edwardaquinoelric5935]

BMW Serie 3 Nueva Generación Modelo 1994 Se Comercialización En Julio De 1994 En México Es Un Auto Alemán 🚗🇩🇪

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

You cover the front kidney grill and from a distance you’ll see a Chevy Cavalier z24! Except of course bmw is rear wheel drive!

[@austinfrazier7325]

The car itself even in 2023 doesn’t look that bad but the wheels did not age well. Change those immediately.

[@JJPMustang]

I can hear the interior plastics cracking from here

[@MPMeterman]

😂

[@runoflife87]

I can hear your brain dying soon.

[@ytsux9259]

Wow! That's very slow even for the mid '90s. 😮 My Prelude Vtec did 0-60 in 6.5s.

[@JDMHaze]

0-60 in 9.7? it was slower than a toyota land cruiser lol😂

[@dzemjsudin4950]

manual goes in less than 8 sec.

[@BusterWolf87]

Yeah that gm transmission is a slug box

[@ytsux9259]

That's extremely slow for the mid '90s. My Prelude Vtec back then did 0-60 in 6.5s.

[@chrisx4265]

Kidney shaped? 🤔🤷‍♂️

[@KenanTurkiye]

Now it's (unfortunatelly) buck teeth.

[@SnarkyRC]

​@@KenanTurkiye Big ugly buck teeth at that.

[@estebanamador7601]

I love old cars, but man, I have to recognize that new ones are really gettable vs those old ones. $38k is too much in 1993. For todays $38k you can get a really good new car.

[@pmafterdark]

The 92' was a great restyle until it finally progressed into crap.

[@PhillyDee215]

This was one bad machine.....

[@Welcometofacsistube]

BMW stands for BringMyWallet because nothing drains a wallet faster than Germany crap

[@bill4632]

True. My friend bought a used 2015 BMW 4 or 5 series last year. He already had $4000 in repair estimates. He said it's the worst buy ever.

[@KenanTurkiye]

Like icecream, it tastes amazing, you'll love it, but it'll rot your teeth costing you a fortune. Oh well. :/ :))

[@dave_riots]

These were junk compared to the E30s before and the E46 that came after.

[@ys_a1659]

No way. Please explain why?