BMW question..

[RS13]

I haven't really spent much time with E36s, but have been asked to check one out. Aside from the usual inspections, is there anything in particular I should look out for? Its' a '96 318i with 140kms and auto.

Are these generally good cars? What are parts etc like to buy?

Cheers!

[rollaholic]

no they are not good cars, parts are expensive and many repairs will cost a good portion of the cars value. 318s in particular are to be avoided as they are very common for cracked heads which is usually a 2k+ bill

thorough service history would be well worth a look to give some idea of what you can spend keeping them on the road, and to find out what has been done. if its got a passenger airbag then the passenger sensor mat in the passenger seat is another very common fault with an expensive fix. outer balljoints shit themselves on a regular basis, and theres plenty of plastic parts in the engine bay just dying to fall to bits as soon as you touch them. poor idle caused by faulty PCV is an easy fix but 3 or 400 in parts. roof lining is pretty common for hanging down on import models (think the heat and humidity in our main used car providing countries kill the glue or something)

find out where it was imported from, if it was singapore tie your friend up and dont let them go till they promise not to buy it.

thats all i can think of at the moment, personally i would rather own an E30 but most of the guys at BM workshop prefer the 36s.

there will no doubt be a few posts from others saying they owned one and it was fine, but i see shitloads of the things at work and my experience would be that your friend will constantly find they are trying to justify to themselves the expense involved in keeping it in good condition.

at 140km i would say its done most of its reliable motoring already

if you are going to be working on it starter motors are an asshole to get off, hah

[Leon]

From what I have been told a 318 auto will be about as quick as the tide. Which might be a good thing if they're not into performance cars.

[XSVWGN]

From what I have been told a 318 auto will be about as quick as the tide. Which might be a good thing if they're not into performance cars.

correct they are like a boat to drive to...so i just converted mine to an rb20det instead;)

[Mr Revhead]

I agree with all of the above
except the last sicko!

Suspension bushes are very very common to fail, along with the aforementioned ball joints. Autolign do some replacement arms for not too much $$ but a lot of the rear stuff is dealer only so $$$$$.
The rear can also be $$$ to sort out if its been lowered too much.

Tell your mate to save more and get an E46 much much nicer car
Just happen to have one in my drive atm only down side to this one is the crap gear change and stupidly low front suspension

[jakesae101]

when i worked for a mechanic this guy overheated his e36 318 so badly that the bores were blue and the head was hugely warped like 2mm +

[Adamal]

The old E30 318's are the only ones worth having. Engine was nicely placed, the car was light enough so that it could still get up and move, and handled pretty well too.

The later models are just gutless wonders really.

[Subway]

Interesting....
Im thinking of trading up to an e39 528i
thoughts?

[Mr Revhead]

The old E30 318's are the only ones worth having. Engine was nicely placed, the car was light enough so that it could still get up and move, and handled pretty well too.

The later models are just gutless wonders really.

so an M3 is poos then?
A 318.... OMG mate had a 320 and I thought that was as slow as a wet week

[Boost_4_Life]

bosses wife has a 318. nothing but trouble. constant airbag light trouble, every wof... its a bucket of shit, hugely expensive to fix and they have spent a small fortune on it in the time they have had it. stay away from them i say!

[XSVWGN]

my old man has had a 2002 and surrently has a m540i. My boss has a 2006 530 and they are constantly off the road. Bosses wife has a new 320i and both his and hers have blown heads and his is now on its 3rd engine in 6 months and he hasnt even had it out of the shop...

[Mr Revhead]

2002's are cool though

[Adamal]

my old man has had a 2002 and surrently has a m540i. My boss has a 2006 530 and they are constantly off the road. Bosses wife has a new 320i and both his and hers have blown heads and his is now on its 3rd engine in 6 months and he hasnt even had it out of the shop...

They run a pretty high compression in those engines. Hasn't been running them on 91 has he?

[xsspeed]

Ha should show this thread to mrs' sister who HAD to have a e36 328...all on finance too

[frost]

we also have been looking a bmw's for my girl,
been looking at a 2002 E46 330Ci (as close as you can get to the m3 model)
and 2002 E65 745ia 4.4ltr v8 luxo barge with serious power and torque,
there was a nice 650 that i jizzed over too but its about $30k over budget

she wont relent on owning a euro,

[Mr Revhead]

i think an e46 330 would be nice....
but i guess time will tell if the 46 is like 30's or the 36's!

[frost]

i use to daily a e36 328i about 6 years ago, it was quite nice to drive, better on petrol then i expected, i find the bigger engine models a WAY better on petrol then the small bangers.

only thing that cost me money was when a cortina mk2 took the nose off, the kit was m3 and the parts guys wanted to rape me so i got a fiber glass copy instead,

rs13
tell your friend to save for a better model or at least get one with the better engines,

[TRD Man]

Wife's had an E36 320 & an E46 328 MS.
Have done over 100k's in each without problem. Like any car, if they're genuine, are serviced regularly and correctly they'll do the distance and parts are not expensive at all. In fact many 3 series parts are actually cheaper than the equivalent parts for a Corolla.

And make no mistake, they haven't made a jappa yet that can steer, handle or stop anywhere near as well.

Have looked at replacing the 328 with Lexus but I haven't found one yet that compares in quality.

[Mr Revhead]

Wife's had an E36 320 & an E46 328 MS.
Have done over 100k's in each without problem. Like any car, if they're genuine, are serviced regularly and correctly they'll do the distance and parts are not expensive at all. In fact many 3 series parts are actually cheaper than the equivalent parts for a Corolla.

And make no mistake, they haven't made a jappa yet that can steer, handle or stop anywhere near as well.

Have looked at replacing the 328 with Lexus but I haven't found one yet that compares in quality.

ah! but see how you go in the next 100k!
I agree the 3 series beemer certainly is a nice drive.
but my money would be on the toyota/lexus equivalent for reliability over the 2nd 100k

[XSVWGN]

my old man has had a 2002 and surrently has a m540i. My boss has a 2006 530 and they are constantly off the road. Bosses wife has a new 320i and both his and hers have blown heads and his is now on its 3rd engine in 6 months and he hasnt even had it out of the shop...

They run a pretty high compression in those engines. Hasn't been running them on 91 has he?

$&#$% knows what my boss runs but hes a bit of a moron and my old man runs his on 98