E36 (One Before the latest one) had a problem with the adjustable cam system. My buddy has one of the very last, and luckly it had already been replaced.

Basically he bought a mint, full service history car with 36,000 miles on the clock. But at 33,000 it had needed to have its adjustable cam timing (Similar to V=TEC, but BMW Called it something else) all replaced at a cost of 1600 quid. The BMW wouldn't foot the bill, even though it was a common problem on the early cars. Basically listen for a tappety sound when cold. If it dissapears within a couple of seconds, then that's normal, but if it last longer than about ten seconds it's going to need replacing.

I'm sure if you go onto the BMW Web site, they'll give you the low down on this and confirm it's a common and very expensive problem. By the way, 1,600 was for the parts alone, this didn't include the labour.

Great cars, if you get a good one.