WILL THE E36 EVER BE AS RESPECTED AS THE E30 IN TIME?

[320ise]

one day will a 328i sport start going up in value like the e30 sports have? and will the e36`s get more respect as they get more scarce? just after some opinions on the matter.

[Simon]

Yes.

The E36 is where the E30 was about 6 years ago.

In the hands of chavs, so most will get ruined, so not many nice ones will be left, those that are will eventually go up in value.

As with the E30, M3's will be worth dollar, the GT examples will be worth slightly more, and the special versions, 328i sport, alpinas etc will hold good money.

[Dr Firefly]

But not everything's worthy of getting that respect. E36s are a nice car, but there's nothing that special about them is there - the E30's what everyone thinks of as the original BMW - the one that rescued the company in the early 80s and jumped on the yuppie bandwagon.

Not making a judgement on the actual build quality, driveability etc of E36s, just that you don't get cults like the E30zone growing up round nice cars, you get them round special ones. I personally think it'll jump a generation and E46 will be the next E30 in 10-15 years (that's if the electronics don't get too hard to maintain on them as they age).

Or am I just talking out of my arse?

[bss325i]

I'm not so sure about that.

Of couse they will go up in value as sought after models become increasing rare in nice condition but i dont think they will have the same desirabilty as an E30 much like E21's compared to 2002's.

[Simon]

My answer was in relation to values, not desirability.

[bss325i]

My answer was in relation to the op's question.

[320ise]

i also think the e46 will be "the next e30" but i think the e36 is as good to drive as the e46 its just the looks! am looking at spending 3-4k on a very tidy sport (e36) what would be the projected price in 5 years? would i have lost on it? there will be few miles going on it and am after as mint as i can get to start with!

[GrindCulture]

I don't see E36s as becoming as desirable as E30s in the same way I don't see Mk3 Golfs being as desirable as Mk2s.

[bodger]

WILL THE E36 EVER BE AS RESPECTED AS THE E30 IN TIME?

no

[initial_g]

i own a e36 cabby m3 rep, the build quality is crap it put me of bmw's but i then drove a e30 that was it that felt like a bmw, imo the e36 could have been badged a vauxhall, itl never ever hold the status that a e30 does, mines a 96 n reg m3 rep all genuine parts e46 17's below av miles its a stunner to look at and i cant even get 2300 for it!

[RM2186]

I do hope so, we have a nice minty 328i Sport MTech spec beasty that the wife uses as her daily driver.

[320ise]

how is it on fuel in the real world? auto trader says about 30ish

[blackcountrybimmerman]

i also think the e46 will be "the next e30" but i think the e36 is as good to drive as the e46 its just the looks! am looking at spending 3-4k on a very tidy sport (e36) what would be the projected price in 5 years? would i have lost on it? there will be few miles going on it and am after as mint as i can get to start with!

In all honesty, I think you'll lose money.

You are still in the depreciation curve with the car.

Give the E36 another 10 years, then I think we may see some appreciation in value.

E36 is not quite ready yet for "cult" status IMO.

[m4xos]

WILL THE E36 EVER BE AS RESPECTED AS THE E30 IN TIME?

no

+1 NO X 500000000

[madaboutthe30]

But not everything's worthy of getting that respect. E36s are a nice car, but there's nothing that special about them is there - the E30's what everyone thinks of as the original BMW - the one that rescued the company in the early 80s and jumped on the yuppie bandwagon.

Not making a judgement on the actual build quality, driveability etc of E36s, just that you don't get cults like the E30zone growing up round nice cars, you get them round special ones. I personally think it'll jump a generation and E46 will be the next E30 in 10-15 years (that's if the electronics don't get too hard to maintain on them as they age).

I totally agree with you!

I cant stand the e36, the e30 to me is classed as a retro classic, the e46 as a modern day bmw and as for the e36 cant see where that could fit in.

I do think that one day the e36 will reach classic status but in the many years to come, it wont become a classic as easily as the e30, as theres nothing as distinctive about it, not at all rare or sought after.

Hope havent offended anyone, thats just my opinion guys

[zimmer-320i]

thing is you have to view it like this, is the e36 better than the e34 etc not e36 vs e30 two totaly diffrent cars in there own way they hold desirability, i dont like e36 ethier but in ten years time the e30 will be like the bmw 2002 or e28 and the e36 will be like the e30, people still grow up with the car etc, but then you never know. you cant say what will happen, i mean the e30 m3 for example will be worth double maybe more when the e36 is e30 prices now!

or maybe not, but still id prefer a e30, or maybe a 2002 but still id say no on a first thought awnser

[gra325i]

YES and NO..
.the E30 has gained its respect not only by the fact that we all grew up admiring them, but also by the over engineered quality feel and also by the, as i call it, "feel good factor" that an E30 gives you when driving it on the limit. I have owned three E36s (and 12 E30s) to date, and in all honesty they were crap..build quality is about as bad as a cheap fordy and handling..dont even get me started, imho bmw really dropped the ball on the E36..especially the "Fugly" contraption they call the "compact"

so yes while they may appreciate in value, they will NEVER be the cult machine that the E30 is and always will be.

mearly my opinion, and not meant to offend any E36 owners out there..each to his own, i say

[RM2186]

I must admit that I far and away prefer the MTech 1 Sport E30 that is mine compared to wifeys E36 328i Sport. I don't know what MPG she gets, I think it is around 25/26 mpg but is all around town.

And.... the only reason she has that is that I bought it from a garage that didn't know what to do with it and its knackered Nikasil engine for £200!

In went a nice alusil jobby and she just adores it, although I find it too low and noisy for my taste.

Still, might be a good investment yet, as long as she doesn't bend it in the snow soon.

[Morat]

For me, no. It's purely a subjective measure but I think they are ugly. I realise that if you were being objective then the E36 is a better car but people don't buy into hobbies for purely objective reasons.

I like the E46 because it is a pretty car but the difference is that the E30 was relatively rare when new, the E46 shifted so many units it can be seen everywhere.

[320ise]

how many e30's were sold in uk in comparison with e36? as they both had about a 10 yearish run (with exception of tourings cabs) as i would imagine the numbers would be close or was the e36 really pumped out lol?

[nikos]

but have in mind that this is an e30 forum, the same discusion would be quite different on a e36 forum, people here like like e30. Anyway, a nice m3 gt is an exceptional car and I would prefer it from an e46

[madaboutthe30]

but have in mind that this is an e30 forum, the same discusion would be quite different on a e36 forum, people here like like e30. Anyway, a nice m3 gt is an exceptional car and I would prefer it from an e46

Oh yh, obviously they would probably think that e36 is far superior, but it doesnt take much thought to realise that the e36 will take a very long time to recieve classic status.
These are some factors that instigate whether a car is a classic or just an old car:

-Rarity
-The cars historical values
-Demand and interest in the car

At the moment the e36 doesnt fall into many of the categories. Later in the future once chavs have killed of many e36s and theres less on the road, then, theres a chance it may recieve classic status.

Once again hope Im not insulting anyone, Im not saying that the e36 isnt a good car.

[zimmer-320i]

dont worry mate, the e36 IS a shit car!! asways is and always will be!

[320ise]

was there alot more e36's produced compared to e30's?

[E30BeemerLad]

The E36 will have it's day.

It's not dated enough yet, so doesn't yet have that "retro charm" but subjectively, the E30 is an old fashioned car now, whereas the 36 is still fairly current dynamically and mainstream looking. Clock on another 5+ years when a lot of the snotters have been killed off by the knuckle draggers & baseball cap brigade and there's your "classic" BMW.

[fuzzy]

like most cars, the people that buy them will try to convince everyone else of their classic status. everyone else will see it as an average old car.

[Jon_Bmw]

A decent e36 m3 has got to be a good shout now. Buy a really nice coupe for £5k+. IMO it is never ever going to be worth less than £4500. I think the prices of good ones will only go one way. /\

Not really answering the question is it, but there you go.

If someone offered me a swap between my e30 318is and a 328i coupe on lpg, the e30 would be gone, but if it was a 318is e36, I don't think i'd bother.

Top end models and rare ones will be worth something, just like e30s then. Who wants a moredoor 318 auto? No one.

You have to bear in mind, for whatever reason, most old BMWs are not worth the same or are as desirable as some ford junk that is now a classic. Some things there are no logic behind.

If I had to put £10-15k into any BMW now to try and make money when selling it in 10 years time, it would be a low mileage z3m coupe. Limited production numbers and performance pedigree. A match made in heaven?

[dickster]

Like previously mentioned, the E36 is still quite new with the youngest being around ten years old. They are probably now in the 'council' part of their lives so there are some horrific looking badly modified ones about which makes them look terrible and don't forget that the E30 went through this stage but came out a retro classic.

Unlike the E30 though you'll probably only find the M3 and maybe 328 models sought after, the 4-door M3 offers fantastic value for muller and I would imagine they'll bottom out value wise soon although this could depend on fuel prices also.

I own an E30 Sport and an E36 M3, it would be foolish to suggest that the E36 is a sh!t car because they're not and even the smaller engined cars are quite good. I'll admit that the interior fit and finish is poor but this is usually down to the inner door trims and the centre armrest that creak like buggery and let the whole show down so in that respect I prefer my E30 however the E36 is the better car.

The E30 is retro, its cool and its a great car to drive, the E36 will have its time but its a long way off and its probably too modern to ever be as retro as the E30. I don't think the E36 M3 will be as sought after as the E30 M3 or the E46 M3 as its alot more subtle than either, although that might just make it sought after in the age of 20" bling-bling wheels. Its also worth looking at what else was available when the E36 was new, in 5 years time my M3 is 20 years old, lets say I was in the market for something around that age, with that sort of power and performance and money, I could choose something Japanese thats technically brilliant but maybe not so refined, the E36 does alot of things well and its RWD-a fact that will always make a compact or indeed any BMW desirable.

Once all the council crap has been scrapped there will be less around and the ones that look original or tastefull will get people thinking how clean and well designed they look.

[steerfromtherear]

Always seem to hear a load of blinkered responses when anyone mentions e36s on here. Some people cant stand to admit that their e30s arent the be all and end all of the bm world.
I would hope my opinion is a fair one bourne out of experience not hearasay.

I have owned 4 e30s. 4 e36s and a few other bms along the way. I have yet to own a e30 that was "better" than any of my e36's. I really like e30s hence the 4 Ive bought and my membership on here but I dont understand the over inflated view some of you guys have of them.
They arent really old or cool enough to be "retro" yet. Ask any regular person on the street and they will say its just an old bm. They are a few years off being cool truthfuly.
They arent technically brilliant enough to be considered better than an e36 at anything they do, be it reliabilty, track work, day to day use etc.

Why the hate? You dont get it the other way round on an e36 forum. Everyone over there praises e30s along with most other bm's. In fact I dont see it on any other bm model forum and I go on a lot of them.

Re the OP question, I think so yes. I would happily stake some money that they will follow suit to e30s in every way. They are a few years newer than the e30s so they have a few years to go before prices head the same way. Just enough time for rough examples and council'd versions to go to the scrappys.
Genuine AC schnitzer, Hartge, will fetch the most being the rarest imo, then the M3s the GT being the holy grail there. Alpina's followed by sports will pull strong money too. Just like with e30s.

I cant see the prices dropping much on them now. They are pretty much rock bottom anyway. 325/328s can be had from £500 up, Sports from £1500 and M3s from £2250. Any less and its more economical to break them.

[fozzymandeus]

One day, decent E36s will be rare as you like. Nikasil will kill off all the pre 98 323s and 328s, (scoff all you like, but check out the number of E36s and E39s in scrappies due to "engine problems"), and the earlier models will die of neglect and probably cracked rear suspension mounts.

It's looking more and more dated as time passes, but it'll never be as good looking as an E30. However looks don't make a classic on their own.

[DublinBMW]

I don't think you can really compare the e30 and the e36 directly as they are totally different cars in my view.

I think the e30 was and is a beautiful looking car and is very much a drivers car and to a lesser extent a family car(moredoor model). The e36 however seems to me to be a sort of a mixture between the e34 5 series and the e30, a car that was designed primarily to attract family buyers who wanted a quality badge rather than a driving machine(I would like to see how many moredoor models were manufactured compared to the E30). I'm not trying to disrespect the e36 at all, I think it looks great and I would certainly buy one if the price was right.

In my opinion the e36 will never be the cult car that the e30 is, simply because I think it looks and drives better.

[djk]

The e36's time will probably come just as it does for all old cars produced in reasonable numbers. I'm into e30s though because I genuinely think it's a design classic - the simple 3-box shape has always appealed to me, hence why I also like the Neue Klasse saloons and 1602/2002, and the e12/e28, and for that matter, mk4/5 Cortinas and mk3 Granadas. With these blinkers on it's difficult to see anyone getting excited about an e36, but they appeal for different reasons. I could be sorely tempted by an e36 moredoor/touring 328 as a daily - they are the real value BMW at the moment, £1500 gets you a nice one and the chavs have mostly left those alone in favour of the coupes. I'm not sure I'd fall for it like I have my e30s though.

You have to remember that the e30 moved the game on and really created the small executive section of the market - the e21, being 2-door only and a bit ungainly just didn't capture the imagination, while the e36 was something of a consolidation rather than a genre defining car. It'll have its fans, but an e36 will never be an e30, just as a mk2 Golf will never be a mk1.

It's also a shame that the e36 M3 didn't look radically different to the cooking versions - I think this will hurt their desirability as time goes on, while the e30 and e46 M3s are unmistakeable and will continue to be coveted for that reason.

[steerfromtherear]

It's also a shame that the e36 M3 didn't look radically different to the cooking versions - I think this will hurt their desirability as time goes on, while the e30 and e46 M3s are unmistakeable and will continue to be coveted for that reason.

I wholheartedly agree with that statement. All e36 m3s should of looked like CLS'

[initial_g]

ive got both and imo the e36 has vauxhall build quality and is so much less respected

[zaust]

I have had my e36 cab up for sale for over 6 month's. And not had one call. This is because they are looked at like an orion or mk 4 escort. Just nothing special at all no matter what you do to them.

They all look the same and seem to have bbeenn in the wrong hands too quick.