E30 Zone

Seems very reasonable to me..

Thats got to be a nice engine

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/594072.htm

Why so cheap, what's wrong with it? Or is that the way prices are going?

I paid over an extra 1k for a p plate iS about 4 months ago...!

these cars are getting very cheap now but beware cheap BMW's they often cost way more to fix than the price of a good one in the first place.

Id be wary of a cheap E36 with a big engine, i know all prices are low atm but i dare say a lot of 25 and 28 E26's have been around the block a few times and had a damn good fragging...

Is there not an issue with Vanos on these packing up? Pretty pricey to fix.

Block is probably scrap

no vanos problems as far as i know... but that engine is right in the nikasil danger era, so as Dan says, probably a fairly nice car, so long as you dont mind fred flintstone power.

Lots of negativity. Shouldn't really expect the best of welcomes for an E36 here I guess but come on guys, that is cheap money. If the motor is hanging then a new one can be got for cheap too. E36's are going to be the new E30 now. Live with it.

Would you buy a mouldy molested E30 sport for 4 grand or a reasonably optimistic 328i sport like this for 2 grand?

I like both to be honest, it's not like you have to make the choice between daddy and chips now is it?

old_skool wrote:Lots of negativity. Shouldn't really expect the best of welcomes for an E36 here I guess but come on guys, that is cheap money. If the motor is hanging then a new one can be got for cheap too. E36's are going to be the new E30 now. Live with it.

Would you buy a mouldy molested E30 sport for 4 grand or a reasonably optimistic 328i sport like this for 2 grand?

I like both to be honest, it's not like you have to make the choice between daddy and chips now is it?

+1.

I have to say, after trawling the ads and getting in the odd test drive over the last 6-7 months, you'd be hard pressed to get the range of choice in E30s that you have with E36s. If you can find an "honest" one, they are extremely good value atm. I have fond memories of my touring.

I love E30s but you have to be lucky to find one that's actually worth more than about 1.5 clicks and if such a car is for sale, it will probably not be in good condition / popular spec without a serious premium. Worth the extra if you can find one that the seller has lavished some serious attention and £££s on but generally more of a minefield than buying a straight dirty-six. This one is up for cost of straightening a crapy 325, ffs!

I'm actually thinking I might have to go with the E36 option if I want a relatively compact RWD in the near future - it's either that or something bigger (E34 / E39 M5) or completely different (GTR / Elise).

If I had 2K I'd go get that. If the engine was really a dog I'd swap the block and re-build her as a 2.8 iron block I think. Why not. I might even go find a 3.0 litre s50 to drop in.. At that price it's actually worth doing.

Set of M3 Evo running gear waiting at a friends place. Some E46 M3 CSL brakes all round. Bilstein dampers. Sleeper.

Tits. Now I'm thinking about an E36.... SLAP

Im having rust issue's with my motorsport and more modern w's are become more appealing.
Never really been a great fan of the e36 but an e39 m5 is my cup of tea.
Followed a lovely e34 m5 today to work and that looked a class beast.
The e36's are really coming down in price. Thats what I was highlighting.

Ive had 3 E30s and recently got myself a 328i Coupe and its the best car ive owned; easily better than the red M50 E30 i had

Smooth effortless power, dont think there are any VANOS issues with the M52 (only the M3 EVO engine i think?). Nikasil can be checked with either a call/email to the dealers who will check it against their records for a warranty claim or theres meant to be a tag on the block of the engine.

Dammn fine car, its refined but still handles very well. Only thing id fault it for is fuel economy after owning 4 cyl for a few years

I owned an E36 sport for a few months a while back and although it looked nice and was smooth to drive i found it totally un-inspiring and boring. Sold it for 2.5k after about a month and it was a lovely old thing with full leather, air etc etc..The one in the original post looks nice but i don't think its worth any more in the current ecenomic climate and with the cost of fuel as it is.

I sold my 328i Sport with more miles on it and an auto for double that!

Looks like a bargain. Nice colour too!

It doesn't have the computer though, nor full leather... and either the Mtech badge is missing off the wheel, or it's the wrong wheel.

Looks tidy enough though. Shame about the rims being like they are.

The steering wheel is ok, its a normal leather one of that period. Most decent E36 have digital climate control

Sport rims for E36 seem to peel and go off quite easily

Dont forget tho, even the newest E36 are about 8/9 years old so theyre not gonna be worth very much!

My Sport had digital twin climate control and the FULL 13 button computer... The one advertised appears to have manual heater controls and no computer. It also doesn't seem to have a sunroof, which without climate control seems odd. Maybe, without all the extras, that's why it's so cheap...?

I had my rims blasted and lacquered. Much better.

To be honest, my E36 Sport was (and still is) probably the best all-round car I've owned to date.

I've had one and they are a damn good car. Make more sense than an e30, but they just don't look as cool.

they are great cars but they don't have that little something that makes driving an E30 fun. BUT when new they moved the game on sooooooooo far from the E30 it's unreal. They are a much better car than an E30 in most areas but.......

A good E36 drives as nice as any e46 and isn't a million miles off an E90 either from my wheel time in these variants.

Geeman wrote:My Sport had digital twin climate control and the FULL 13 button computer... The one advertised appears to have manual heater controls and no computer. It also doesn't seem to have a sunroof, which without climate control seems odd. Maybe, without all the extras, that's why it's so cheap...?

thats VERY cheap.
cant tell if its nikasil or not without a look (or quick call to bmw uk) b ut even if nikasil could well do 150,000 miles with ease.

the digital heater control panel didnt come in till just before the facelift, sometime around P reg iirc.
doesnt say if that has aircon or not and without a better look at the controls you cant tell.

proper bargain for someone, you could probably buy it and sell it on for an extra £500+ without a problem

At last some informed opinions , rather than the usual" its not an E30" crap. We all know an E36 is not an E30,
but that does,nt make them a bad car. Most of us here love our E30,s, thats why we are on here half our lives, just gets a little tiring hearing the same old rhetoric churned out every time some one asks for an opinion on different models. Apologies for going into one.

Never liked the E36 shape personally. If I was to get another car, I would go for an E46. Of course, it would have to be a convertible!!

6potWil6pot wrote:Most decent E36 have digital climate control

it wasnt introduced until '96 some 5 years into production.
so id say a lot of decent e36's dont have it.

Bavarian_Autotech wrote:

6potWil6pot wrote:Most decent E36 have digital climate control

it wasnt introduced until '96 some 5 years into production.
so id say a lot of decent e36's dont have it.

Whoops i forget how long the E36 has been out

Still tho theres so many around and for so little you may aswell get a facelifted one!

You gotta be sihtitng me - Will on the Zone again? how's it hanging bruver.

Hello mate!!

Well im in an E36 now so probably not that welcome around these parts

Im still p!ssing about in Enfield, will have to pop by sometime and check out what your driving!!

lol - it varies daily, your more than welcome just let me know when.

Geeman wrote: the FULL 13 button computer...

Full OBC on the E36 has 18 buttons.

whys it so cheap? have you seen the petrol prices recently?

Remember its still a 12 year old car, i think ppl forget now the successor to the E30 is an old banger by most peoples standards!