bmwe21.net forums

Hello,

I want to buy an 323i E21. I habe found 2 and dont know wich I should buy. Perhaps the forum can help me in some questions.

one ist from 1980 July - the seller says its an S Editon, but I think id couldnt. Is this possible. And he has the 5th gear Sport Gearbox. Is it possible that the model from 1980 has it already ?

the second one ist fomr 1978. This one has the 5th gear Gearbox economy not sport. But BMW classic said to me, thats not possible, because 1978 was it not possible to buy with 5th gear ?

Thanks form your help

Jürgen from Germany - Bavaria

Hi Jürgen, welcome here!

Above all, you should buy the one in the best condition! Usually there is quite some rust on most examples (also see our Buying Guide & FAQ section) so before you know it you are looking at a restore.

From the chrome mirror pre facelift versions (prior to Sep 79) there aren't too many left so if the difference in interior and exterior design doesn't bother you, the early one is the most rare.

The Edition S (see here for details: http://www.bmwe21.net/?page_id=137) was only available in 1982. The 1980 car may have similar specs as all the options apart from two tone paint were already available back then, but it can't be an Edition S.

The dogleg sports gearbox was available back then. However, a 5-speed was not available in 1978. But does that really matter? I reckon at least 80% of all 323i's had a 5 speed fitted at a later stage, and even though I love originality, that would not be enough reason for me to stick to a 4 speed. So gearboxes, not a real issue, just enjoy the fact both have 5 speeds already.

Curious what your choice will be in the end, will you keep us posted? Would be great to see what its going to be! If you need more advice, just ask here!

both in really great conditon.

the 78 is 98000 km and interior original.

the 80 is 65000 (thats not much !) but the seats are not original.

And I think like you the pre facelift is more rar.

Can I post pictures in this forum too ? I dont find how

the 80 are only the front seats nor original. and the price is 2000 Euros higher than the 78, but the 65000 km are not bad but I think I will choose the 78.

In the general section: Howto: posting photos and movies

Or a link to an advert if available. But both sound real good!

Here two pics of the 78 I choose. Its not a Alpina C1. Only the tires and on the back its a c1 sticker

Looks pretty clean to me and I love the Motorsport stripes. Wheels are not Alpina by the looks of it, more like King replica's? First impression isn't bad!

That does look really nice and clean

Hope you enjoy it

The 15 zoll Wheels are not original Alpina thats right. But the seller give me 13 zoll original Wheels on top. But I think the 15 Zoll looks better.

I really like that grey one

Great! I have a 1978 323i in polaris aswell. Has a dogleg sport gearbox, 5speed. Love the fact that yours had the electric chrome mirrors, very rare option on type 1's.

How do you see that the mirroors are electric .

Do have some pictures of your car ? It would be intresting to see onothet 78.

BMW classic said to me that the car was manufactured 1/78 and leave BMW at 04/78. Do you know when was the first 323 was manufactured ?

They're really fat mirrors compared to the manual ones haha!

Production data on our specs page see http://www.bmwe21.net/?page_id=295
Production for the 323i officially started in November 1977 so yours is a pretty early one.

Is it better to catch an early one ? Is it rarer ?

Defo less survivors of the pre facelift model