It may seem silly at first but just hear me out lol
I’m looking to spend around 5k for one of these two cars as a dd. I have a wife and 2 kids, an e30 project, and a very demanding house lol. so I need a dd that will keep me happy. Now I was dead set on a golf until I saw the 328 for sale but I wanted some input from you guys on which one is a better daily, cheaper/lower maintenance, less bs.
I guess I’m just looking for every ones opinion because I cant make up my mind lol
I was a big fan of my 328. Traction control made winter driving incredibly easy (except for when I wanted to dorifto and forgot to turn it off). With snows, I never got stuck. Never. I love my e30, but I very much miss the comfort and luxury of my e36. While still a 3 series, it was much more roomy than my e30. Driving an e30 now, it doesn’t seem like it’s a descendant of a luxury car. I love the light weight and great handling, but stock for stock I believe an e36 would likely beat it on a road course due to improvements made in suspension and brakes. e36 has hydraulic lifters as well, noone likes adjusting valves.
there are so many little things about the e36 I never realized how much I’d miss until they were gone. The comfort for the driver, everything is accessible and there’s a variety of options to put your arms (unlike many vw’s i’ve driven). Maplight rocks. I love how they stay on for a few seconds then fade out when you turn off the ignition, allows just enough time to illuminate the cabin to lock the glove box, grab your stuff, etc. Intermittent wipers are great, I hate now when I sit stopped at a light with the wipers still blasting. How the windows still got power after you took the key out, until you opened the door. One-touch switches. etc.
It really was a great car, very reliable. Parts are cheap with sites like fap99.com and pelicanparts. smooth, quiet. to me fwd just doesn’t have an appeal.
I will dd another e36 some day. I don’t regret my decision, as I have the e30 I’ve always dreamed of. But e36 sedan will def be my next dd
oh i know lol. your e36 is what broke me of the purely vw dd ideal.
i just picked up at mk4 golf tdi for a daily.
i dont think i would get rid of it for an e36 328.
my $0.02
Tdi > *
No tdi no care.
I would go diesel or 328.
who’s Mark?
lol mark is the guy that sold me hooked on phonics
Yup. If you have to travel to get one, do it. Don’t hinder yourself with a 2.0 or a 1.8t or even a VR6 for that matter.
Why have you narrowed your choices down to these two? You said you have kids? Why would you risk their well being in a VW that will very likely leave you stranded? I have owned a lot of VAG products (I think 7 was my last count), and it seems that their quality deteriorated as each generation was introduced. My MK3 had a lot more issues than my much older and higher mileage MK2s. My MK4 had even more stupid stuff happen to it than my MK3.
Don’t get me wrong, my VAG stuff and I had a lot of good times, but it started to get old.
I digressed a little, however my point is to keep your options open and look at other manufactures. How great could a stick shift Honda Accord be while you spend your time, money and effort on the E30? It’s fun to drive, reliable as the day is long at the Equator, and you can probably find a pretty nice one in your price range.
Just some food for thought.
Edit: Look at what I found! http://buffalo.craigslist.org/ctd/1426485939.html
true.
I love my MK4… for a daily its the best.
Great in the snow, great on the dry, parts are cheap. easy to repair.
just another +1 for a TDI.
i have an 03 jetta and averaged 49mpg (manually calculated) at ~72mph on a long drive
and about 44 mpg at ~80 mph.
you will pay a little more for a clean tdi though.