E30 Zone

My E30 325i cab got writen off last year and I am on the look out for its replacement. I am looking at getting an E36 328 cab as I cant find I nice E30 without paying a fortune for one.
Has anyone gone from a E30 to an E36, if so anything I should know before I go and buy one.
Thanks, Andrew

A 328i opens up the whole nikasil/alusil can of worms - a search on here and/or google will provide info regarding this. Worth contacting BMW with the chassis number to see if its had a block swap. The later alusil blocks can be just as traumatic though with head gasket issues.

Never had an E36 convertible, but the saloons and coupes tend to be heavy on suspension parts. Balljoints and snapped springs are common favourites. IIRC the electric roof is a lot more reliable than the E30's.

Thanks for that, The one I am looking at is a 1999T so no Nickasil problems.
Is the headgasket going a regular thing on these then, if so would I be better off going for an older one thats had its block changed?
Cheers, Andrew

The later alusil blocks tend to be boat anchors if they're cooked - if you read the 330ci thread on here at the moment all is explained. They're lovely, smooth, fast cars but the engine is a bit fragile compared to the old M50 2.5 lump.

What about the early M3, non Evo? I wanted to go for as new as possible, that was my reason for going for the 328 rather than the M3 in the first place, but if its going to cause me trouble I would rather go for the M3.

Don't really know much about the E36 M3's apart from what I've read regarding the earlier 286bhp engine being more relaible than the Vanos 321bhp Evo one. The 328i thing is just something to be aware of - a friend of mine has a 1996 coupe thats just ticked round to 160K with no problems whatsoever. The last really fixable BMW engines were the M43 and M50.

A 328i convertible will be a very nice car. I had a 323i convertible until a couple of months ago and I did enjoy the drive. If you're moving from E30 it will seem stiffer in the chassis (but nothing like as stiff as any steel roofed counterpart). MPG won't be that bad for the type of car either.

The down side of the E36 is mentioned above - lunching suspension components. They break coil springs rather more regularly than I would have expected - my convertible was much, much worse for this than my old E36 316i saloon.

I wouldn't worry about age so much as condition. The newest of these cars are 9 years old anyway so have had plenty of opportunity to be abused. A nice 325i convertible from 1994/5 would be as good an ownership prospect as a later 328i, but cheaper to buy in the first place. Buy carefully and look for bodywork rust.

Find an enthusiast who's selling a stock 325i with some choice options.

I used to own an e36 M3evo Vert. before the e30!Lol.

It was a very nice example, went like sh1t and looked sweet with the hood down

Rear bushes tend to go but it's not an expensive thing to replace. The vanos is a much debated issue! some go between 60k-90k miles but not all. Just listen to the engine ticking over, if you hear a sound like a bag of rattling marbles then walk away.

I'd try to get one with BMW/Indy specialist fsh.

Good luck

I've got a nice E30 cab for sale and not too much money (£3500), certainly cheaper than an E36 328. Stick with the E30's.

I've got my e30 325i and my 99 V plated e36 323i convertible. The e30 is an enthusiasts car. It's a more rewarding drive but the e36 is a far better everyday car. It's much easier to live with day to day.

Don't disregard the 323! It's still a bloody good car and is an excellent all rounder. I wanted the 328 but got tempted by mine and I've not been disappointed. I had a 523 e39 prior to this and I did find that the engine in that could not handle the weight. Plus it was auto. The e36 is a manual and it's......well a bloody good car.

The reason I was tempted by the 2.5 and not hold out for a 2.8? It's a 99 'V' plate with 66k up and FULL bmw history with all reciepts (it had 55k up when I bought it 14 months ago). In Titan Silver with a black hood and black sports leather, it came from new with the FULL M3 style body kit, Mtech suspension, tri colour stitched M3 steering wheel, PDC etc. etc. And it had a brand new hood via dealer assurance at Vines BMW 2 years ago. This was a MASSIVE plus point cos the hoods on these can be a nightmare. It is the most immaculate car I've ever owned. It is virtually perfect. So I bought it and as I say, it's a great car.

It will be up for sale very soon if you're interested

The 328 is good strong engine, providing its Alusil, the most common problem is overheating (still not common), but this is nearly always is down to the plastic impeller water pump. I haven't really known them to get through head gaskets, something that the M50 325 was well known for, they certainly don't have the head, head gasket and cooling issues the 325 had, as such I've always felt that they are a much better engine.

They can be a bit lazy though, swapping the intake manifold (as above) and fitting a BBTB will help, along with a good light fly wheel, but if your happy just cruising around you will never need to do this. The torque curve is nice and the car does lend its self to comfortable driving as well as storming down the motorway.

As said above, they do tend to break springs, nearside rear being the most common, but your looking at a car that is up to 13 years old now, so I don't think thats an unexpected thing, same with the bushes really. They do like to munch lower ball joints though, but at about £20 each and a bit of labour to press out and press in new ones its not bad. The climate control has a common fault, but a search of the forums will show you the capacitor fix, or you can get someone to do it for a fair price.

They tend to rust on the rear arches and the front wings, especially if front mud flaps are fitted, its also worth checking around the inside of the boot. Also check the wiring that link in the boot, this part of the loom can get worn and cause all sorts for weird faults. Basically though, if you have been around e30's for a bit, you should be thinking along the same lines with an e36.

As with any BMW its all about the spec and condition, B7 shows that perfectly.

Thanks, I have found a nice 328i 1999 with a good spec for £5600. Its done 106,000 miles but has full bmw history and only 1 previous owner
The thing is now I cant make up my mind on a 323/328 or going all out and getting the M3. I have found a nice one 99k N plate non evo £5600 with a hardtop.
I dont want to look at either untill I make my mind up on what I am getting.
The 325 E30 convertible I had felt very slow untill it got going, does anyone know if the 323/328 feels the same?
Cheers, Andrew

Hi Andrew

I went from a e30 M/S cab, to a '96 328 cab and never looked back!

Its less noisy, more responsive, more economical and much much smoother. The car has 165k ok the clock but clock was replaced 65k agao.

It now needs front wishbones and control arm bushes and a suspension upgrade but i for a car thats done 165k i think thats fair enough.

Ive done the inlet manifold and bbtb conversion and it happily revs up to the redline easily. before it had trouble getting past 4.5k

I cant comment about going for the m3, but im happy with the performance and economy this is giving which im sure the m3 wouldnt (economy that is) (around 300 miles for full tank!)

tomski wrote: The thing is now I cant make up my mind on a 323/328 or going all out and getting the M3. I have found a nice one 99k N plate non evo £5600 with a hardtop.

It depends what you want from the car!

If any of those I would go for the m3