ive decided to upgrade my vectra sri estate runaround to something more exciting. so im going to look at a black 328i sport tommorow. its done 110k with a full service history, full mot, tax, black leathers etc.

wondering what i need to look for? dont know much about the engines but abit clued up on body as my mate had an e36.

any help would be great

 

Sign in here mate, a forum dedicated to E36's http://www.bmwowner.com/forum/index.php sticky threads and buying guides etc, basically all you need to know and more

Ive recently bought my first BMW and its the best car ive ever owned in terms of build quality and ride comfort, plus its done twice the mileage of any of my other cars yet it still looks/runs like almost new(128k)

 

What year is the 328 fella? Early ones suffered with nikasil liners but most have been sorted by now. Good cars otherwise.

 

deffo check for nikasil,should have had a new short motor at some point to cure it. check back arches for rot and knocking from rear suspension(shocker mounts and rear trailing arm bushes)

 

rear topmounts , rear trailing arm bushes. theyre common

nikasil engines are often a timebomb.

otehr than that the bootlid rusts, and the boot itself goes near the catch. arches will probably have spots of rust on em too

other than that it should be fine. miles dont bother BMWs so you should find everything works and drives ok.

 

get a M3 mate

 

i went the exact same route as a runabout from a vectra sri 140

to a 328i coupe,like night and day bmw is a lovely car to drive compared to a shonky vauxhall

check as above

 

good cars have had a few

look for

electric windows get sticky/stop working/return on auto close
rust on rear arches and bootlid where you'd open it with you hand (under num plate)
flickering odometer, no big deal as usual ok once warm

nikasil is massively exaggerated on forums, check on 97/98 cars does it smoke, drive with sunroof tilt open and you'd smell burning oil, or, on tickeover, does it have a slight uneveness, (the windows will shake slightly if doors open (a compression test will show it up correctly)

other than that main thing really is to be sure its not clocked, these cars will easily get towards 200k miles, so check seat belts, steering wheel and pedals for wear if you dont have every mot and documented history even then you might not see it..

and obc's often get a bit flakey in the display.
and airbag warning lights tend to be pre-tensioners which are expensive

 

Check condition of rear brake pipes that go up and over fuel tank - a common MOT fail - most places will charge you Ł200 up to replace as they drop the tank ( although you don't have to ).
If brakes feel warped it can be the bushes at the rear of the front wishbones or the balljoints on the same wishbones - check carefully before doing discs/pads .
If it feels flat and idles erratically it's probably a new cam sensor. Get a diagnostics done for about Ł30 - surprising amount of old BMs have got a sensor down

 

oh yeah forgot about the foors. the windows might be sticky

expect the doorcards to be hanging off and the doors not to shut properly unless slammed

 

Remember to check the V5 to see if its a genuine "sport" model - there are tons around that are 328i coupe "sport" replicas. Alot of the drive-train, suspension and brakes is different i believe.

 

sport should defo have an lsd

 

Theres always a mixed opinion on this issue. After 1996 most of them had TC instead of an LSD, but some had both. After 1996 the LSD could be fitted as an option though.

 

didint the 328 come out in 95,n-reg?

thats only a year before it becoming an option thats pish

e30 325 sport all came with them

 

Correct, 1995 and then released another version with a few tweaks to the spec sheet, and then again in 1997 but this time with more cosmetic changes.

The e30 was back in the day before traction control - luckily enough!

 

right guys i just got back from viewing one, left a depsosit before i could read these replies picking it up on thursday
but i checked the car over very well, knew what to look for body wise, chassis wise etc. all was sound. just had a little scab on rear arch, and the reverse lights wernt working? so that'll be more serious than just a bulb but i knocked Ł300 off his asking price down to Ł2200 so got a good deal i reckon. this is the car here..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...ayphotohosting

sounded awsome with the induction cone and was nice to be in a car with gradual power compared to my rst lol.

only thing i didnt know about is this nickasil thing? its a 96' model so guessing its got it. can someone elaborate on that lol.

col cos - yep its allitle better than a vectra isnt it lol. and to be honest other than a slight insurance hike, its the same tax, and the same fuel consumption if driven steady. wish i had made the change earlier.

AGAR-COSWORTH - you shot passed me on the m40 and we both turned off at wicombe. i was with my mate in my rst so i as i pulled off i gave u a quick boost and a toot. then i remebered u had sold the fez and i saw it was some chick driving it, she must have thought i was a right twat lol

 

oh and yeh its a sport on the v5 and i did a hpi check too. and yeh its a 96 so got the lsd. dunno wether to get it welded up tho for sideways treats shouldnt really as its gonna be my daily

 

Ram thats lovely mate, wouldnt change a thing on that

And yes it will have a LSD

 

cheers fella

only thing im gonna do for now is get some halo lights for it, not some tacky chrome ebay ones tho. the boots de badged at the mo, not sure wether to get as a 328i sport badge back on there.

 

yeah them halo lights look cool

Dont forget to check out that site ive linked above, it will give you some inspiration/ideas if you look in the gallery/detailing section

 

i signed up there couple weeks ago. but it all seems hard to use lol. why cant they just have a gallery section? i donty really want to see a million threads done by detailers on how amazing theyre 'mega glaze wheat free high spec super slick wax' is

u know of ne other e36 sites?

 

yeah its not that good for pics actually but for general info its great i think.

I dont know of any others, i just use this site and that one, but there must be others

 

if you want to know if your BMW had the Nikasil issue resolved under warrenty, just phone BMW customer services - 0870 5050 160 or email them customer.service@bmw.co.uk

read here for more info on the Nikasil issue https://passionford.com/forum/showth...hlight=NIKASIL

What is the “Nikasil issue”?



The “Nikasil issue” is a serious problem that affects all BMW motor cars with engine blocks with “Nikasil” liners in their alloy block when high sulphur fuel has been used. This is 8-cylinder models with the M60 engine made from approximately 1993 to 1996, and 6-cylinder models with the M52 engine made between 1995 and 1998 (note M52 Nikasil engine never went to the USA). The “Nikasil issue” is extremely serious as the final result is a non-functioning engine. The material “Nikasil” is also known as “Galnikal”. "Nikasil" is a very hard dispersion layer of galvanically (electrolytically) applied Nickel applied to the soft alloy bores to prevent wear. If this hard layer is damaged, excessive bore wear occurs rapidly.

 

you say the reverse lights don't come on, probably the switch on the gearbox, i changed one once, piece of piss to do, take about 5 minutes.

 

Phone your local dealer and they should be able to tell you if it's had the block changed. As said above you need a new reversing light switch, common problem and cheap and easy to fix.

 

Looks like a tidy one Ram, and in the spec of one i was after before i bought my Golf. As for spotting my car, it can't have been since my shell is still on my driveway. Was the one you spotted running 4x4 Saph Sharktooths?

 

cheers guys. bit worried bout this nikasil issue so il ring bm later. dont really wanna be driving a time bomb lol.
glas to hear reverse light is an easy fix, il get onto that on the weekend.

agar-cosworth - yeh mate i dont know of any others with sharktooths thats why i thought it was yours lol

 

dont worry abput the nikasil issue if you checked the engine properly and its fine today its not gona suddenly fail on you, not if it got this far in life and is ok (and the petrol these days is fine)

the whole thing about nikasil is massively over-exagerated on the net

 

Will have been this one then - exactly the same as mine was:

 

rallycross - good to hear

agar-cosworth - yep thats the one oops

 

No worries - easy mistake to make! Good to see yours is coming along. Love the new Azevs i spotted on FT.com

 

cheers fella. putting it away in the garage for winter as soon as i pick up the beemer tommorow then sell my vectra and stuff some more cash into the rst