You know, this sounds a lot like my first post here.
Not sure yet how they handle in snow. I just got my car last Friday, so no snow to play in. The car sounds like it might be a good buy for that kind of money. As for which model it is, I'm guessing it's not the Sport, as I believe they came standard with fog lights. That leaves you with a base or active model. As Brendan mentioned, you should post over in Mallard's thread and he can give you a complete option printout for the car which should help figure out the model.
Performance wise, it's a pretty snappy car. In my car (a Sport model), 1st gear seems incredibly short. Saw a book at Border's yesterday (before my wreck) called "BMW Buyer's Guide." It listed the 0-60 as 9.3s for a manual, 8.3s for a manual Sport model, 10.2s for a slushbox, and 9.6s for a slushbox Sport model (these are for the '96-99 models with the M44). Can't really say anything regarding modifications as I'm mainly focused on getting my car repaired.
If you can, take the car to a BMW dealership or reputable mechanic to check out the car before buying. You may find it needs a lot of maintenance work or not much at all. As cooljess76 said, it is a 12-year old car, so be prepared to replace common wear items. This is a good reason to get it inspected before buying (so you can get an idea of what needs work). Also be aware that these cars are known to have persistant problems with the window regulators and some of the coolant line pieces.
Good luck with the car and home you'll be joining us proud owners soon.
Justin |