E36 M3

dave1350

BMW E36 3.0. Pros and cons? What to look out for?

Could someone tell me please?

Johnboy Mac

My first concern is abuse, a service history would bring some comfort and a 2nd opinion when inspecting the possible purchase.

dave1350

Cheers john. Anything else? I know milage is not the be all and end all but what would people consider a bit high?

DaveD

Apart from all the usual service history, checks, etc Have a good look over it for rust, especially if its a UK car. Alot of them suffer rust around the rear arches so pay close attention there and have a look inside the boot and around the boot seals. Its common for water to get in around the rear tail lights.

The 3.0 is a very strong engine and once maintained should easily see 200k. They can be rattly so don't let this put you off, the right oil can sort that out.

I had one for 2 years and it never missed a beat. Fantastic car !

dave1350

Had heard the engines are pretty long lasting alrite. How about other things liker gearboxes, suspension etc.?
Also how heavy are they on juice. Obviously i know they are incredibly thirsty if you put the boot down. But what are they like for normal driving?
Thanks.

tommmy1979

Apparently the vanos system can give trouble.. tis some sort of variable valve timing yokeybob.. (where a lot of those rattles come from maybe)
Anyway some of the e36 m3 came with a double vanos and some came with a single vanos, single vanos is less troublesome i heard. How to identify single for double vanos?? not sure about that one but i think it's model dependant.

T

P.S: Wouldn't mind one myself, theres great value in them at the moment... hell of a lot of car for the money if you can get a nice one.. paying out that much on tax is a killer though :mad:

dave1350

dave1350 wrote: »

BMW E36 3.0. Pros and cons? What to look out for?

Could someone tell me please?

I heard the water pump is a bastard in the E36, not just the M3, but the 316, 318 etc...and the fact that the E36 was never the easiest machine to get 2nd hand parts for.

tommmy1979

tommmy1979 wrote: »

Apparently the vanos system can give trouble.. tis some sort of variable valve timing yokeybob.. (where a lot of those rattles come from maybe)
Anyway some of the e36 m3 came with a double vanos and some came with a single vanos, single vanos is less troublesome i heard. How to identify single for double vanos?? not sure about that one but i think it's model dependant.

did a quick google... it's the 3.2 (Evo) that comes with a double vanos.. so you're safe in that respect with the 3.0

dave1350

Bump. For the day crowd. Any other info?

Seth Brundle

Don't bump a thread please - if people wanted to reply they would!

DaveD

dave1350 wrote: »

Had heard the engines are pretty long lasting alrite. How about other things liker gearboxes, suspension etc.?
Also how heavy are they on juice. Obviously i know they are incredibly thirsty if you put the boot down. But what are they like for normal driving?
Thanks.

Gearboxes are generally fine, shocks would normally need replacing about 60k, springs are common enough to snap on them so check them. My passenger side one had snapped. I'd imagine a good few you'll look at will be on aftermarket suspension at this stage though.

I used to drive mine daily, in and out of work in rush hour traffic and would see 17/18MPG, it used to cost me €60 a week in petrol. On a Motorway you should see up to 30MPG.