spend the cash on a e36 m3 its well worth it. its way more then just the Displacement in the motor. You get Better suspension"bigger sway bars,stiffer springs",bigger breaks,way better interior, better body styling sure there is more just a few things off the top of my head. Also If you plan on doing simple bolt ons, Intake,header,exhaust,Shit like that id would Really also try finding a 95 its the only year they came obd1 And Take better to Bolt ons Without having to spend an arm and a leg on tuning soft ware. Oh only down fall is the 95 has a 3.0 and the 96-98 have a 3.2
My 95 had intake,And a catback exhaust and was chipped and i was neck and neck with my buddy with his 3.2 with intake & full exhaust "header back" No software.


On another note just keep your eyes pealed you will find deals that pop up. I got my 95 m3 for 4k from some old guy sat in his garage for almost 2 years he said before he put it up for sale. Car was actually in great condition for what i paid had a few lil things go bad but nothing major. Worst thing was the water pump went but it was like a 200$ 25 minute fix. And thats only cause i bought the nicest pump there was.

5 series are turds unless its a m5, Awesome Cars My roommate had a 02 m5 with Full bolt ons and clutch and flywheel And still till this day one of my favorite cars. but they will run alot more $$$$$

328i's aren't bad Alot of people do m3 cam swaps in them and with I,H,E,Cam swap and tune people make pretty much the same power as the m3's but of course less tq.

Hope this helps a little. Any questions lmk

a lil teasing for you
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesready/5842616471/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesready/5842616471/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/jamesready/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesready/5931928469/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesready/5931928469/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/jamesready/, on Flickr