Please Educate Me: E36 M3s

[lawdogg]

Looking to pick up a commuter and my eye is on a particular E36 M3 I found for sale, it's a 4-door auto for sale for a little over $3k.

Currently it won't shift into 4th, owner says it's probably a wheel speed sensor which is cheap.

Can anyone give me any advice? Anything to look out for when I inspect it / anything to ask the owner about? Any personal experiences with them?

Thanks,
Ryan

[HilbillyHomeboy]

I had a 95 E36 325i. The computer/display in the middle front console gave me unlimited grief, and affected all kinds of other operation(s) of the vehicle. Some stupid brake part fell off and grooved my inner front rim within hours of buying it(LOL). This was an 80k mile car.

Anytime someone says what's wrong with a car, and the fix is "cheap", they are usually full of shit and just trying to pawn their problem off to the next shlub. If it's so cheap and easy, why didn't they fix it themselves? Most mechanics will tell you owning a German car without a warranty is a disaster waiting to happen. My BMW experience (owned 2) has also shown me the cars are very sensitive to part tolerances. IE, they like Bavarian and not local auto parts stores parts. I fought and fought with a 318i and the clutch. Finally got a hold of the right person and they informed that the car will (basically) not tolerate an aftermarket clutch. Ordered a genuine BMW clutch and never had another problem. Same mechanic did the work, so there was labor control.

Do what you want, but that's not the kind of car I would be considering for a dd.

Jeremy

[lawdogg]

Thanks Jeremy. I'd like to get more info on the E36 in this thread, but I'd also appreciate suggestions for other cars that could fit the bill for a unique, fun, 4-door car in the NA Miata price range (since that was what I initially set out to find). Any ideas?

[Jimvr4]

Ryan, might want to check bimmer forums for specific info. I have an E90 and happy but they're far above your price range still.

[familyMAN]

Bimmerforums.com is a good forum for research (decent forced induction section also filled with mostly e36 builds)

I haven't owned an e36 but we loved our e39 540i. I would steer you that way for a dd just because it was very comfortable, sporty, not super heavy but still felt like a solid and substantial car.

This should make more sense......E36 = DSM. E39 = 3S.

Both have 90s German electronics so why not drive the nicer one. We didn't have any issue a with ours. I changed a water pump which was easy. Had around 115k IIRC when we sold it for the minivan I had enough confidence in it that we were supercharger shopping. (Was my wife's dd and she loved stoplight blasts.)

Edit: I did replace tires also. Rears seemed to wear abnormally fast

[lawdogg]

Thanks both. Maybe it's just the E36 auto trannies that seem like nightmares.

With the size, I want an NA Miata. My other half wants me to get "a real car" instead of "another toy car" that "I'll be working on all the time" so we don't "have to take her car everywhere" ... the 4-door E36 / Audi B5 chassis is about as big as I want to go. Any bigger and I'll be looking at wagons. In fact, I would love a B5 S4 avant but they are too expensive out here.

[Jimvr4]

My son had a B5 A4 with a 5 speed for a while but totaled it a couple of years ago and got an E92 328i. The A4 was a bit underpowered and difficult to work on (I had to do everything while he watched lol). Typical german car. He has a couple of years to get the E92 paid off.

[familyMAN]

E39 sedan isn't huge. Basically sized like a new 3 series. Approx 34XX lbs if I recall. Considered the benchmark for sedan handling for many years.

E39 wagon? I could never convince my wife to go wagon

Edit: our 540i was listed as 3750 curb weight. Heavier than I thought but not totally surprising. Was a really nice car to drive. I'd daily one in a heart beat.

[lawdogg]

I actually was looking at DSMs

[anyonebutme]

I have/had both E36s and E39s. Like my answer to everything, "it depends on what you want". I highly suggest a manual in ANY BMW, and avoid like the plague 1st gen SMG gearboxes. Also, I would personally only look at I6 BMW's unless it was a clean M5, out of your price range. I also wouldn't bother with the US spec E36 M3 unless the price is right, it's not really that much better than the 325/328, and the 3.0-3.2L has enough trouble keeping head gaskets on at stock power, so making modern HP out of it is pointless while the 2.5 makes easy 350 RWHP with just a turbo slapped on. Do your research to see which parts you can use aftermarket and which ones to buy OEM.

E39 Pros: Looks best, quiet, small enough while having real room inside, cheaper insurance. cons are the V8 won't last nearly as long as the I6's and valley pan and rocker gaskets will be changed a few times in it's life on the V8, dead display pixels, and electrical issues like AC fan and door locks having mind of their own. Like my alarm also randomly goes off in the afternoon. Also, you'll replace a few window regulators, not hard. power steering lines will leak on both. The I6 has rack and pinion steering while the V8 cars have truck steering, lol. You probably won't notice a difference driving around. Torque arm bushings will need replaced unless done so lately, get the HD bushings or flip X5 ones, then you won't have to worry for a long time. No LSD available unless you swap in M5 rear diff and subframe, or pony up big bucks for Kaaz.

E36 pros: Light, compact car size, more mod paths, cheaper and more available parts, LSD in the M3 and winter package non-traction control cars, less electronic issues in my experience. cons: rear subframe tearout requires reinforcement, insurance is slightly more, and if you plan on tracking, oil pump nut.

FWIW, I sold my 325 to Boomer with like 280K miles on it, and he proceeded to ream it til 320K miles, until he managed to blow apart 2nd gear. You know how I drove it, you can imagine how he drove it.