E30 Zone

Got offered this the other night and thought it may make a good runaround for the family:

318i Touring on the "R" in Boston. Nowt special there then except:

Fully documented history from new (not all BMW unfortunately) with just 74k on the clock . Even the original bill of sale from Chandlers in Worthing (+20k) and the credit agreement is present and it's still wearing it's chandlers plates. Every MOT is in the file and one family owner from new. I bought it off the owner who placed the original order and it's since been cherished by his wife and father in law.

Spec is :
275 Boston Green
D6AT Antracite cloth
473 Front Centre armrest
520 Front fogs
Alloys
and the big one
534 Auto (Climate) AC which still blows icey cold and all works perfectly

This thing has to be one of the last nice original ones out there having received no repair work to the body except the rear bumper was repaired in Dec 2000 via the dealership network.

Needs a little detailing but to be honest, it don't even need waxing. The paint beads it's water like it was waxed this morning. The wheels look like they've just been taken out the box and the boot area has had house carpet over the top since new. The first aid kit is still in it's cellophane and the tool kit, jack and warning triangle are unused.

Has a little ding in one rear arch and needs a drivers fog light and two front bumper corner trims. Oh and there’s a little bit of damage to the drivers interior door card fabric. Rest of the interior is as new albeit it with a crappy car kit that I'm removing.

Overall I'm please. F*ck knows why I bought it to be honest but it seemed rude not to

Pics are as I collected it.

Looks a well looked after chariot.

I really like these old M43 powered E36s - cheap to run with bulletproof mechanicals.

Very nice Trev

My E36 Touring was one of the best cars I've had - well looked after ones are rare though

looks a nice runabout pretty clean

Nice.. Been looking at Tourings to replace the Compact recently.. A nice one is a great car

Jhonno wrote:Nice.. Been looking at Tourings to replace the Compact recently.. A nice one is a great car

They are still a good car theres no doubt about it. Driving home from Worthing back to Surrey, it drove like brand new. Tight, smooth and zero sign of any top end rattle even from stone cold.

Nice car!

The E36 climate control is a god send on hot days!

B7 wrote:

Jhonno wrote:Nice.. Been looking at Tourings to replace the Compact recently.. A nice one is a great car

They are still a good car theres no doubt about it. Driving home from Worthing back to Surrey, it drove like brand new. Tight, smooth and zero sign of any top end rattle even from stone cold.

Tbh as a cheap comfy etc daily I don't think you can beat an e36..

I don't even mind a bit of Boston.. My Compact rocks it. Looks good in the sun when polished.

M43'd shooting brake FTW ! much cheapness to maintain and lots of room for frag . Good to see you got one with the 'trade' friendly anthracite velours, can't be having any of that silver grey wrongness

Thats nice. Been looking at these.

Would you want some nice Boston green se sill covers to go on that?

ucpsale wrote:Would you want some nice Boston green se sill covers to go on that?

No thanks.

German Racing Green! Not too shabby at all. It's always nice to see original unmolested cars. Very very decent purchase.

looks spot on have owned a few e36's but never a touring,i wanted to buy the missus one when we had our daughter but she didnt want a rwd ive had a 318ti compact.328i convertible.m3 evo coupe.and am now driving an m3 evo vert with 70 k also.
i think theyre lovely motors good buy

ucpsale wrote:Would you want some nice Boston green se sill covers to go on that?

would these fit my coupe 318is?

Engine bay has not come up too bad. No oil leaks, just a spray of weak traffic film remover found this:





Will need some detailing but not too shabby I reckon. Door shuts are even better

its nearly as nice as my 328i

still alive then!

Nice find and looks in great nick

BTW - think I've got a tin of Boston Green in the garage (used but still some in) - pm me if you want it - just pay for postage

Simon13 wrote:its nearly as nice as my 328i

still alive then!

Yeah, Sorry mate. It's been one thing after another and then this weeks been hell. Started off well picking this up but then the next day

fingerman wrote:Nice find and looks in great nick

BTW - think I've got a tin of Boston Green in the garage (used but still some in) - pm me if you want it - just pay for postage

I may well take you up on that if the touch up I've ordered from eBay don't match!

Nice car Trev.

pacerpete wrote:Good to see you got one with the 'trade' friendly anthracite velours, can't be having any of that silver grey wrongness

I thought exactly the same thing when I saw the pics, the light coloured interiors always look so dirty.

That"s tidy, Trev.
A clean ,well polished Boston Green is a very colour, imo.

So..... Grabbed a few hours here and there and got it finally cleaned up. And I have to say, it's impressed me with it's originality and condition. It's come up spanking.

First job was to lose that hideous phone kit which left me with four lovely holes in the centre console So a trip to the scrap yeard secured a new centre console along a pair of bumper trims and a replacement fog light. Then a clean up of the interior which saw a wipe over with some citrus valeting gear I bought (which is superb gear), a hoover out and the glass cleaned.








The door shuts saw some degreaser then TRF with a stiff brush:





Which then meant that left the exterior. I removed the bumper trims, number plates, lights and rubbing strips to make the job a goodun and ended up with:











I have just got a bit of touching up to do, Stone chips and you can see a little battle scar on the front bumper below the rubbing strip but thats it.

Now what to do with it. Keep or sell? Have to say the 530 sport is more me and to be honest, I'm not a great fan of Boston green but it drives so nice and is so clean I'm unsure as to the next step. I have till the reg document arrives to decide!

B7 wrote:Now what to do with it. Keep or sell? Have to say the 530 sport is more me and to be honest, I'm not a great fan of Boston green but it drives so nice and is so clean I'm unsure as to the next step. I have till the reg document arrives to decide!

Blimey, thats a lovely clean old thing. E36s were way ahead of their time - they still drive well now. If you're not going to use it I'd get rid - thats a car with a good 10-15 years life let in it and assuming you got it cheap should provide a nice bit of profit. These due an easy 40mpg on a run too. If it was auto I'd be very interested - would be ideal for my wife for lugging her photography kit around but she hasn't driven a manual in 10 years!

Awesome paedoing skillz !

Get it to the Surrey meet on Thursday Trevor for an E36 mini meet and you can give me some paedo tips on how to clean my silver grey leatherz in my £350 323i convertible assuming the clutch lasts till then

PS ; I'll bring the Celit bang/ Ajax and the scouring pads !

PPS ; Everett is coming so hide your fags/ beer bottles/ children !

Pete. I won't be there this Thursday due to a bereavement in the family. See you next month though.

looks a nice purchase, has cleaned up well

Car has come up seriously nicely, love these E36 Tourings and Bostons always been a favourite of mine. Very sorry to hear of the bereavement

I have come to a decision. It's going to be sold. Have decided 4 pots are not for me so will be sticking with the 530i sport for a while longer. While the econony is very good and it drives like new, I get in the 39 and fall for it all over again .

Once the paperwork arrives, I will be moving it on.

Fair comments mate, if its not doing it for you theres no point in hanging onto it! Lifes too short to be driving something that doesent do it for you. All the best with the sale

A 4 pot E36 is a serious peasant mobile after all