As above my cossie could be away soon , and am probably going to go for a m3

Now i know it will not be as fun and as fast as my cossie

But this does`nt matter to me so much any more and need tips on buying im totally into fords but what the hell do i look for on the e36 m3 ? least its rwd ehh

Estoril blue with black leather mmMMmmm

Any help greatly appreciated

 

Great cars. Good choice I know them inside out, will post some stuff up tomorrow for you if no-one else does but just about to watch a film!

 

Hi rabmc,

Have a look on here for some info : bm3w.co.uk

I have some good links at work to buying guides etc, give me a nudge on Monday and I will post them up.

Theirs a few of us on here with both evo and non evo versions.

If you can find one with warranty its a very good idea - mines recently just had a full top end rebuild due to a snapped camshaft

If the price is right I would sell mine - 1998 (r plate), 57k, full BMWSH, BMW extendable warranty, BMW CD, heated seats etc. All standard apart from a ACS pipe, pm me if your interested.









Cheers,

WD

 

Cheers porkie that would be great WD pro that looks right down my street

 

i just sold my dakar yellow one ....... never known a car to use that much petrol i do miss it cos it looked lovely and everyone noticed it



everything just seemed expensive for it but i suppose your used to that havig a cossie

 

my cousin has had a the convertible version for years now in estoril - top car but my 3dr when stg 3 spanked it proper

 

Firstly, it WILL be as much fun, guarenteed. Not as fast, but smoother more refined. Buy the best example you can find, dont rush. Get FSH and if poss one that is still under warrenty(you can extend them) save hassle if anything expensive goes wrong. Dont buy SMG, you'll get bored with it and they can be prone to probs. Vanos, they can be a problem, but if it's shot it'll sound rattley. Should run smoothly up to 7200rpm, dont be scared to kick the shit out of it on the test run. If it's good, it isn't going to bother, done 16000 miles in mine and ragged its arse completely off every other day Engines and 5 speed gearboxes are pretty bullet proof, mines is still on it's first clutch! Evos apparently can have probs with 6th gear. Check for rust at arches, accident damage, etc. Other than that it's like looking at any other car really, check for knocks and clunks and be patient and find the right one, lot of dogs out there. Good luck

 

Good info on the "vanos" wot the fooks vanos ??? sorry ?

Cheers fellas taking all on board

 

Variable valve timing, it sits at the front of the engine, the silver bit sticking out of the engine cover

 

think its the BMW version of variable valve timing

 

to slow again

 

lovely cars, luve one myself.

Vanos is the only major problem, ill dig the link out which expalins all, other than this nothing much goes wrong with these. The earlier 3.0 version doesnt have this prob thou, its just the 3.2.

 

Vanos can go on either, just the Evo has 2 and is seen to be more unreliable lol

 

Im looking to buy a 36 318is or 323 next month, coup of course

 

 

Rab check this link on vanous issues

http://www.mukerji.co.uk/vanos/

you have pm mate


cheeRS stu

 

I stand corrected.

but I could have been as wrong as this fool

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

 

Oh my fookin god , supercharger ??

 

No probs, everyone gets confused over the Vanos issue. Believe it or not there are supercharger kits available, especially in America. That however is not one lol

 

hi rab mate..

i had a nice black non evo e36 which is the ealeir 3.0 litre car.

go for a last of the line evo and defo non smg as the gear change is so slow!

excellent cars and very reliable but one thing to check is the exhaust... prone to rusting as they are getting on a bit and a replacement from bmw is close to 2k...


the vanos does go sometimes, think it shows itself up with a dodgy idle? but not sure....

i had my at and indicated 165 on the speedo a few times


check for un even tyre wear and tired suspension/bushes on cars over 80k.

can be expensive to run but no more than the cossie.

try to get one with as much optional extras as you can as they are plus point when you come to sell it on.

could go on for ages but there are loads of buying guides on the net.

try munich legends or a specialst like that for a good car!

the GT spoiler is a must!!!

 

Brilliant , never thouht there was so many " fans " of this car on this forum

 

The links :

http://www.totalbmwmag.com/Buying/BuyingJuly02.pdf

http://www.totalbmwmag.com/Buying/BuyingJan02.pdf

http://www.totalbmwmag.com/HandsOn/TechApr02.PDF

http://www.totalbmwmag.com/HandsOn/TechJun02.PDF

http://www.bmwmregistry.com/model_faq.php?id=15

http://www.m3forum.com/

http://www.geocities.com/mhenry_au/SMG_Page.html

http://www.geocities.com/mhenry_au/info.html

http://www.mukerji.co.uk/vanos/

Cheers,

WD

 

my cousin just sold his M3 Evo Estopril blue convertible for 10K and had 98k genuine miles - proper mint too.

He just bought the E46 version in same colour

Best get the cossie up and running to full power

 

Ive had a couple of M3's over the last couple of years, had an R plate Evo and was superb, never skipped a beat and was 100% reliable. Then bought an M3 evo cabriolet but unfortunately was the SMG one! If it wasnt for the crap SMG gearbox I would most probably still own it!!!!

Chris