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BIMMERPOST Universal Forums General BMW News and Cars Discussion Who here has owned an E36? Would you recommend one?

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      10-30-2009, 10:05 AM   #23
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If you buy an E36 or E46, have the rear suspension mounting points inspected. There are plenty of threads describing how they rip out. They can be repaired, but it is a bit if work.
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      10-30-2009, 11:37 PM   #24
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i dont get how a lot of people here bash the E36. It is a rock solid car. Sounds like to me people didnt perform the maintenance properly, or let an issue go until it got worse and took out a matter of things with it.

My friends E36 has 250k on it, original engine. I recently overhauled it with $1200 in parts so far (all the gaskets on the engine besides the headgasket) new intake boot, etc, new waterpump, fan clutch, belts, tstat and hoses...

but I get a good discount thru my old dealership, plus I am a former BMW mechanic. My friends car runs like a champ....as long as you dont neglect them they will run forever....

I have an E30 325is that has over 240k on it..I bought it for 2800, prolly spent 1000 in parts, and it runs great. Body is a bit tired, but I did all the bushings and did a lot of maintenance myself, saving a great deal of money.
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      10-31-2009, 09:54 AM   #25
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e30's run forever too, I had 250k miles on one, and 280k miles on another one

but e36 are easier to maintain than e30's, and they have basically the exact same problems, other than timing belts & adjusting valves. In fact, ALL bmw's made after the e34 have basically the exact same problems, bushings, cooling system, and electrical stuff will wear out
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      10-31-2009, 10:29 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by itsbrokeagain View Post
i dont get how a lot of people here bash the E36. It is a rock solid car. Sounds like to me people didnt perform the maintenance properly, or let an issue go until it got worse and took out a matter of things with it.

My friends E36 has 250k on it, original engine. I recently overhauled it with $1200 in parts so far (all the gaskets on the engine besides the headgasket) new intake boot, etc, new waterpump, fan clutch, belts, tstat and hoses...

but I get a good discount thru my old dealership, plus I am a former BMW mechanic. My friends car runs like a champ....as long as you dont neglect them they will run forever....

I have an E30 325is that has over 240k on it..I bought it for 2800, prolly spent 1000 in parts, and it runs great. Body is a bit tired, but I did all the bushings and did a lot of maintenance myself, saving a great deal of money.
Not much maintenance to be performed on a fan motor, bushings, brakes or a "lifetime" transmission. Just replacement. Brakes are to be expected. Guess I could have changed the tranny fluid, but BMW claims it's not needed. Damn, car just went over 100K miles. Been BMW serviced till I bought it 2 years ago. Might have just bought a dog. Got close to as much $ in repairs as I paid for it.
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      10-31-2009, 11:33 AM   #27
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whats with these e36s why does everyone love them
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      10-31-2009, 11:54 AM   #28
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whats with these e36s why does everyone love them
They are the last "simple" BMW.
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      11-02-2009, 03:53 PM   #29
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My E36 M3 with 119k miles has been stunningly reliable. It needs maintenance here and there but no problem if you know how to wrench on cars. Buy a Bentley and a set of tools and keep pelicanparts.com in your favorites menu. You can run these cars all day long without replacing suspension parts but it'll feel like crap. You have to pay to play--but not because they're poorly designed/or built. My 5th BMW and all of them have been great. My previous car was an E39 with 185k. Ran brilliantly.
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      11-02-2009, 06:30 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moxie View Post
Not much maintenance to be performed on a fan motor, bushings, brakes or a "lifetime" transmission. Just replacement. Brakes are to be expected. Guess I could have changed the tranny fluid, but BMW claims it's not needed. Damn, car just went over 100K miles. Been BMW serviced till I bought it 2 years ago. Might have just bought a dog. Got close to as much $ in repairs as I paid for it.
What do you think maintenance on a car is? its just replacing old worn out parts.

e36's are great cars they have little issues with sensors (brake light circuit, coolant level) but these sensors have no effect on the driveability of the car they are just and annoyance... but they are cheap if you're really bothered by them.

I love e36's and would love to turn one into a track car in the future.

They are very robust and durable but you have to do the maintenance on them or they go to crap pretty quickly.
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