The ultimate driving machine I

’ve just read the article by Ian Ramsay re. the subject [ The BMW 3 Series E30 — A Future Classic? in Issue No. 327] and, to be honest, was somewhat disappointed — I will explain why in due course.

I purchased my 320i, fivespeed manual in June 1996 with 100,000km on the clock. It has now done 445,000km and finally requires some mechanical work. I doubt I would have spent more than $5K on repairs [on it] since buying it almost 22 years ago. It has been the most brilliant car and can still outperform modern cars on the hills and bends; but as someone said when I was considering buying it “European cars are drivers’ cars”, and being manual gives much more control than an auto. That said, have to be careful on wet corners as it has a tendency to be a little twitchy particularly when applying power coming out of a corner in second gear.

I cannot bear the thought of parting with it ( been married twice and neither marriage lasted as long) as it would be like losing a child, [and] the driving position for me is perfect — I can see into every corner and any defect there may be in the road.

So why was I disappointed? I hoped [the article] … would have led me to someone who has the mechanical ability, access to parts, and passion for keeping alive the best BMW ever produced. I also think the editorial understated the sheer pleasure of owning and driving them. Darcy Snowden, Auckland That’s fairly impressive, Darcy — 445,000km is good going by anyone’s standard. AFW