E30 Zone

I went and looked at a 1998 323i touring with full history and 94k on the clock. The car is in excellent condition but priced fairly high at £2995 though will come with 12 months MOT and 6 Months tax.

However on the test drive i noticed that whenever we came to an incline or hill the car lost power and felt restricted/flat. Pushing the accelerator pedal down further made no difference. When on the flat the car drove beautifully and was nice and smooth.

I suspect the air flow meter has gone but if anyone else has any ideas id much appreciate your opinions. The dealer tried to fob me off when i mentioned it that it was due to him running out of fuel yesterday and as he only put 5 litres in it the fuel must be sloshing to the back of the tank..yeah right mate...why take me for an idiot??!

The car is a manual.

I was a bit disappointed as the car was really nice in all other respects apart from a bit of rust on the o/s front wheel arch.

Cheers in advance.

lol first of all id leave the car mate hes just a tool by the sounds trying to take ur money u can get sum really proper examples of the 323i tourer and the 328i tourer m sport i saw one the other day for 2.5k so dont be fooled i to have a 328i sport e36 which isnt rusty and is bloody quick with 92k on the clock now ......ive learnt the hard way with alot of things in life and my only advice i will give u .......................once a car starts rusting they dont stop , and when somethings usually not quite right , its gonna fuck u over all the time theres plenty of em mate to be honest for 3 k i wouldnt touch it no matter how much tyre shine or polish the twat selling it has put on it mot , tax who cares we can all get mot and tax if we pay 2k eh ? lol

hope that helps dude ian. ps if u want help finding a good un let me no im sure i can help.

H35-IAN wrote:lol first of all id leave the car mate hes just a tool by the sounds trying to take ur money u can get sum really proper examples of the 323i tourer and the 328i tourer m sport i saw one the other day for 2.5k so dont be fooled i to have a 328i sport e36 which isnt rusty and is bloody quick with 92k on the clock now ......ive learnt the hard way with alot of things in life and my only advice i will give u .......................once a car starts rusting they dont stop , and when somethings usually not quite right , its gonna **** u over all the time theres plenty of em mate to be honest for 3 k i wouldnt touch it no matter how much tyre shine or polish the **** selling it has put on it mot , tax who cares we can all get mot and tax if we pay 2k eh ? lol

hope that helps dude ian. ps if u want help finding a good un let me no im sure i can help.

lol..you are dead right mate..he was really turning on all the b/s and i wasnt budging. I rang my mate who is an ex bmw mechanic and he said pretty much the same as you. It confirmed my gut feeling about the car and i walked away. Id be quite prepared to put in a few more grand and get a nice e46 sport touring but i just like the e36. Ive also got an e36 328i sport which ive had for over 3 years and with 98k fsh so i knew what i was talking about though he still treated like a total dunce!! Ive had beemers for over 10 years!

If you can help me source a decent touring that would be great!

My e30 325i touring is doing a fantastic job of getting me to and fro plymouth and southampton via gloucester (my g/f lives there!) Ive just done over 200 miles today alone and the car runs sweet as a nut..just keeps munching the miles!

Thanks again..Andy

Is 1998 after the nicosil issue

Regardless of that, you've said yourself it's overpriced and it has rust. 'nuff said.

B7 wrote:Is 1998 after the nicosil issue

Regardless of that, you've said yourself it's overpriced and it has rust. 'nuff said.

It had a build date of April 98 which would make it an Alusil block so no issues there.

Id be prepared to pay decent money for a top notch example which this one promised to be. If it didnt have these problems i would have made an offer..never pay the sticker price and cash always talks!!

yeh theres easy ways to tell nikosil anyway


yup andy your dead right ah id love to see sum pics of your 328is i love em i love e30s to but i like you think the e36 is a dead good car also i think the 328i sport tourer e36 is the best buy of all id try stick out for one of them bud you no your stuff anyway by sounds .........hate ppl that lower the tone and treat others like donuts , that i never do id keep my eyes and ears open though i saw a gorgous 328is tourer other day in avus blue same colour as my 328is god it looked so good had every extra sure it was no more than 2.7 k mate less than 90k may have been 76k miles or something so theyre out there .
glad you walked away to best thing you can do i to have had bmws for about 10 yrs now on and off love em

if i see any i will pm you details matey no probs would like to see more about the 328is you have to i will put sum pics of mine on this thread maybe later ian.

Couldnt agree more about the 328i sport touring in Avus blue being the best allrounder...my sport is Avus as well..best colour!!

M3Macao wrote:It had a build date of April 98 which would make it an Alusil block so no issues there.

No M52 E36 has an Alusil block.

darkchild wrote:

M3Macao wrote:It had a build date of April 98 which would make it an Alusil block so no issues there.

No M52 E36 has an Alusil block.

http://forum.bmwcarmagazine.com/viewtopic.php?t=40620

M3Macao wrote:

darkchild wrote:

M3Macao wrote:It had a build date of April 98 which would make it an Alusil block so no issues there.

No M52 E36 has an Alusil block.

http://forum.bmwcarmagazine.com/viewtopic.php?t=40620

IIRC M60's (V8's) were Alusil replacements but E36 323i/328i's got steel liners.

Fella £3k is just too much money-especially if there are problems with it.
I bought my E36 323i SE Touring in February - 91k, FSH, 1 owner, 12 months MOT and no rust on it anywhere. Had some initial problems with the cooling system which were sorted under warranty FOC by the dealer - I paid £2k which I felt was top money but was worth it as the condition is excellent - it drives like a new car.

Theres some decent cars for not much cash out there at the moment - you've just gotta look at a few

darkchild wrote:

M3Macao wrote:

darkchild wrote: No M52 E36 has an Alusil block.

http://forum.bmwcarmagazine.com/viewtopic.php?t=40620

IIRC M60's (V8's) were Alusil replacements but E36 323i/328i's got steel liners.

Ive heard this as well as there seems to be a difference of opinions on the issue. I looked into this when i bought my 328i sport and made sure i wasnt getting a nikasil block engine.

Not to worry.

capri_rob wrote:Fella £3k is just too much money-especially if there are problems with it.
I bought my E36 323i SE Touring in February - 91k, FSH, 1 owner, 12 months MOT and no rust on it anywhere. Had some initial problems with the cooling system which were sorted under warranty FOC by the dealer - I paid £2k which I felt was top money but was worth it as the condition is excellent - it drives like a new car.

Theres some decent cars for not much cash out there at the moment - you've just gotta look at a few

Cheers Rob ive been reading your thread with interest..nice tidy car you got there

Im quite happy to wait for the right car to come along...bit of a dilemma though about what to do with my e30 touring..ive become quite attached!!

Im going to look at a silver 323i se touring with 80k fsh etc £1800. Only downside is its an auto but its worth a look.

wats the coding on the forum now for uploading pics ?? sorry any example would help many thanks ian.