BMW or Crx?

awishawash

Cant make my mind up between a bmw 316 compact and a Honda Crx(not the del sol). Had a Crx a few years back but never got to enjoy before 'losing' it. Huge price gap i know. Which would you go for?

unkel

awishawash wrote:

Which would you go for?

Neither. Get a 1 liter supermini instead like a Micra, build up your NCB for a year or two and then go for a real car with the significant savings you'll have made by then. You'll end up driving a better car for less money, so a win-win situation

awishawash

Why not get one of em now and work up my ncb anyway? Besides I dont think my rep could take driving a micra

layke

I think Unkel is assuming your a new driver :P which i'm assuming you are???

If so the CRX cost will be much higher (if not impossible) to insure until you have a few years NCB.

Personally i'd go for the CRX, but then again i'm into my Hondas and I have a dislike for BMW's. No offense Unkel

Vegeta

If it was purely for rep maybe the BMW, the ladies would be impressed by that and probably more comfortable in it

If its a car you want to drive the sh1t out of and have a great laugh doing it, definitely the CRX

PowerHouseDan

Usually i would go for the Bmw main reason i Love Bmw's but as its a compact its a different story, its a hard one to call.

unkel

layke wrote:

I have a dislike for BMW's. No offense Unkel

None taken. It would be very boring here if we all had the same opinions / feelings

I've never been an out and out BMW fan myself. I like loads of cars. I happened to buy my first BMW (E34 530i V8) as a bit of an impulse buy nearly 6 years ago and the experience has been great so far

Vegeta

unkel wrote:

I've never been an out and out BMW fan myself. I like loads of cars.

that's a good attitude to have.

I hate when people completely dismiss a brand.

For example one of my housemates hates fords as they had an old one that broke down. My dad has an escort which is average/crap beyond belief and my older bro had a focus. The difference between the two was staggering. There is no convincing my housemate that the focus was a good car and pretty much an industry leader at the time and even that the new mondeo is a very good car.

My youngest brother has a 1990 e30 318is and its in perfect condition. my second youngest brother has an integra. and I drive a corolla pos (piece of sh1t). I also like a load of cars.

There are some that think their car is the greatest just cos they own it.

Like patriotism, you think your country is the best in the world jus cos you live there

awishawash

Been driving 10 years!!:eek: but only have ncb of 3 years. Whats wrong with the 316 compacts? Want a 3 door I can put a spoiler, and maybe an m3 kit on.(Dont know much about this but learning!:) )

5500

Whats your budget?

Stephen

316 compact = worst beemer ever.

Eoin

awishawash wrote:

Been driving 10 years!!:eek: but only have ncb of 3 years. Whats wrong with the 316 compacts? Want a 3 door I can put a spoiler, and maybe an m3 kit on.(Dont know much about this but learning!:) )

I don't want to offend anyone, but IMO the compact is a seriously ugly car that smacks of someone buying it for the badge and nothing else. I don't know what it's like to drive - could be excellent for all I know. The M-Tech kit wouldn't do much for it, it's like they forgot to fit the rear of the car or something.

Are you absolutely sure you're not thinking of the coupe? A much much nicer car, and you will pick up a nice e36 coupe for decent money.

Compact:


Coupe:

unkel

awishawash wrote:

Whats wrong with the 316 compacts?

First off the question should be what's wrong with a 316. Nothing much but it isn't quick at all. I wouldn't have much time for 4-pot BMWs. Best save yourself some money and buy a 6-pot BMW in a year or so and enjoy the "sheer driving pleasure"

Then secondly the compact of that vintage (E36) is not a great drivers' car. Mainly because BMW used the rear suspension of the 80s 3-series (E30) to save costs. The other E36 BMWs (sedan and coupe) had greatly improved rear suspensions. Also the vast majority of 316 compacts are the lowest end of poverty spec. The compact was a cynical exercise from BMW to offer cars to compete with the likes of the Golf and A3 for more badge concious buyers. And there were a lot of those customers...

green-blood

as an e30 owner I take great umbredge at my car being descirbed as not a great drivers car.

The problem with the compact is its a hairdressers car, the 316 has a 1.8ltr 4 cylinder pushing out 105BHP..... buy a 1.6 focus and have more fun. Its bought for the badge.

ondafly

awishawash wrote:

Cant make my mind up between a bmw 316 compact and a Honda Crx

No contest - has to be the CR-X, preferable in ultra rare DOHC VTEC guise with glass roof. Downside, with all hondas really. They are a boy racer's wet dream, because they are fast, and a piece of pi$$ to break into.

colm_mcm

The interiors of the Compact are usually very low spec, but it still has a bit more class than the CRX

cantdecide

colm_mcm wrote:

The interiors of the Compact are usually very low spec, but it still has a bit more class than the CRX

i HATE low spec/ entry level cars. technology is probably not a huge concern, E30 suspension is probably not pre-historic anyway. looks- i think the E36 compact is drab in standard form but it really does respond well to a select few mods (seriously!!). the crx will always have one thing against it-FWD and stylewise it's on a par with the E30 IMO.
neither are really bad but if it were me, i would combine the bmw and crx and buy a bmx:p

bazz26

Stay away from the 316i Compact, they were designed to appeal to people who were more concerned with their image than the car itself. This was BMWs half hearted attempt at making what they thought to be an affordable car. They really should not have bothered imo.

Regarding the CRX, well my guess is that since your looking at a 316i, etc that you are restricted in engine size due to insurance limitations. Well insurance companies will sound alarm bells when you mention the Civic VTi, Crx, Type R, etc.

My advice would be to look at something other than the above two cars.

If you must have either then look at the BMW 3 Series saloon or coupe of the same era, you may have to go back a couple of years though. Also the Civic hatch/coupe of a similar year will probably be cheaper to insure than a Crx. Another alternative is the Audi A3 though they tend to be over priced.

unkel

green-blood wrote:

as an e30 owner I take great umbredge at my car being descirbed as not a great drivers car

I was not describing your car (E30) as not a great drivers car. I was describing the E36 compact as not a great drivers car

bazz26 wrote:

This was BMWs half hearted attempt at making what they thought to be an affordable car. They really should not have bothered imo

Not half-hearted, it was way worse than that. They actually set out to market a cheap car to compete with middle-of-the-road cars and by doing so, they really offered what can only be described as a non-BMW. And they made a lot of money from it :eek:

Looks like they learned their lesson. BMW is still doing extremely well commercially, but they stopped going downmarket (at least with BMW branded cars)

Fey!

From those 2 cars, I'd have to go with the Honda - I think the Compact is fugly! Also, as otjers have said, the compact is low spec in general, although the Honda will proboably have the same spec.

Try an e36 coupe if you're going BMW, or a Civic or Accord coupe in Honda (the Civic is better fun but lower specced - I've had both and never had a days trouble with them over 5 years and 70,000 odd miles - regular servicing and 2 CV joints only!)

blastman

ondafly wrote:

No contest - has to be the CR-X, preferable in ultra rare DOHC VTEC guise with glass roof. Downside, with all hondas really. They are a boy racer's wet dream, because they are fast, and a piece of pi$$ to break into.

As an owner of one of these, I'd have to agree on the positives and the negatives. I don't think the compact is a good looking car at all, and if that 105BHP someone quoted is right, it's giving over 50BHP to the Honda.

colm_mcm

The CRX is very 80's though

blastman

It's not very 80s, maybe a bit 80s all right I think it's aging quite well.

ibanezjem

awishawash wrote:

Been driving 10 years!!:eek: but only have ncb of 3 years. Whats wrong with the 316 compacts? Want a 3 door I can put a spoiler, and maybe an m3 kit on.(Dont know much about this but learning!:) )

Compact is a "girls" car (eg, Hyundai Coupe) and as most car mags agree on, the compact is the worst car BMW have ever made in terms of looks. CRX is 1.5 i think and is very 80's. Insurance wont be cheap as they're a sought after car in terms of theft and as they are an old car, your wallet will be a mechanics delight with money spent on parts here and there.

The BMW is more reliable though and for a 3 door at a reletively good price I'd go for the E36 coupe. Plenty around. Check out bmw-driver.net for some well kept E36 for sale and cbg etc. Can be done up well with the M-kit and looks classy once you stay away from the flames and can o' beans exhaust!!. Plus BMW's have a good resale value. Cant go wrong.

michaelanthony

The E36 compact is based on the E30 chassis. The E30 handling seems quite popular with a lot of people.

colm_mcm

The newer Compact isn't too bad though.



Rear end looks too much like Polo Saloon for my liking though!

aldy05

I drove a BMW 3 series for awhile wasnt the compact one, they look pretty horrible too, if your going for a bmw get the coupe one at least. Now have a Golf Mk4 but before that had a 91 Honda civic 1.3, pretty similar to the CRX spec-wise but the crx has a better engine, i believe V-tec came in for it. Civic was the most fun car to drive ive had to date, still drive it every so often they handle amazingly. Only thing is you get looked at as if you are a boyracer and i am far from it. Still have the civic because i could never sell it. Civics and CRXs are cheaper for running in the long term

awishawash

Yeah my boy racer days came to an end years ago!Hard one to bite but I spose Ill have to, are the compacts really viewed as muck?even the 328 ones?Looking to spend around €10 ish I think!:mad:

kdevitt

The older compact (the E36 one) never came with a 6 cylinder engine over here - just the 316i and 318ti (which is 140bhp and would be your best bet if you want one) LHD markets also got a 323ti.

Eoin

awishawash wrote:

Yeah my boy racer days came to an end years ago!Hard one to bite but I spose Ill have to, are the compacts really viewed as muck?even the 328 ones?Looking to spend around €10 ish I think!:mad:

If you have 10K to spare, then I am sure you'll pick up a nice e36 coupe for that money - no contest for me.

TempestSabre

Only the back end (and axle) is different on a compact. IS it only ugly from the rear then?