E36 Reliability/Running Costs

[TW]Fox;11716397 said:
Irrespective of the luck that some members of this forum have been having with them it remains my opinion that an E36 6 pot is not an epicly reliable, cheap to run car. It's an enjoyable to own car provided you can justify the cost of running them, but it's not cheap or easy to run unless you have detailed mechanical knowledge yourself.
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I wouldn't exactly call myself a wizz with a spanner, and there really wasn't that much learning to do in order to become very familiar with the car, the layout, and the most common of work. Going further than that, being faced out of the blue with one 3-series, and one engine that need mating together, it took 3 of us who had no real 3-series experience, a whole bank holiday weekend to get a running car.

[TW]Fox;11716397 said:
If you need to pay other people to do things for you, as many of us do, it remains a 6 pot BMW and thus remains associated with reasonably high running costs.
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Other than bodywork (and engine out jobs if you don't have the room to keep a rented engine hoist), I really can't find anything on the car that "needs" someone else to do the work. Its not as if there is a warranty to maintain by getting the book stamped.

[TW]Fox;11716397 said:
Plus they look like bangers these days unless you get an absolutely pristine minter in an unusual colour.
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Thanks, you're too kind ;) I guess diamond schwarz black II is a pretty rare colour on the e36.
 
I think it's fair to say anyone considering buying one of these won't be running it day to day, so cosmetics are way down on the list. I can see the consumables being more expensive (rear tyres?) but this is hopefully offset by having a mahoosive engine bay that's *relatively* easy to work on.
 
i'm thinking of getting one, but seeing as i know naff all about doing stuff under the bonnet, maybe i shouldn't :o
 
E36 M3's seem to offer a lot for the money, but I'd imagine there are many very expensive pitfalls with them now, as most have a fair few miles under their belts.

Still, I often look out to see what I could buy if I sold my CTR. Although I keep reminding myself that a set of tyres for an M3 would likely cost as much as servicing/parts on my current car per year.
 
It there a huge amount that goes wrong with these engines though? Most small things are very cheap to buy direct from BMW (I.e. new thermostat for £25) and easy to fit for anyone but the most hamfisted of DIY'ers.

Parts are plentiful on eBay too due to the sheer number of the things on the road.

I don't run mine enough to comment properly on reliability but in terms of minor fixes and tweaks, it's very easy to work on.
 
They are pretty simple engines to work on. As said you have a lot of room in that engine bay.. When a lot of the time on other cars its no room that makes the the simple jobs a nightmare.
 
ZG002 said:
They are pretty simple engines to work on. As said you have a lot of room in that engine bay.. When a lot of the time on other cars its no room that makes the the simple jobs a nightmare.
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Oh don't get me wrong, some jobs are a PITA, but they are generally ones you wouldn't need to do day-to-day, week-to-week. Like getting to the coolant lines that run to the heater matrix. You need to be a sodding contortionist to get to those!
 
I always thought the 3 Series engine bay was a bit small - on the E46 at least half the engine vanishes under the bulkhead bit?
 
:D

My E36 was a bargain, cant say that there is anything about the engine or drivetrain after the gearbox that scares me. The auto box is a ticking timebomb, but then the car is essentially "disposable", so its not so bad at this end of the market but you'll ultimately be after a manual so just don't worry about it.

So far, I have done an oil change which cost me about £40 in total, about to change the oil in the final drive unit which will cost me £10 and I need to replace the air filter at some point which will again be cheap as any other car.

Petrolwise, I seem to get a lot better than paradigm - my best so far on an extended motorway jaunt (100 miles) is 41.6mpg driving like a granny. Normal motorway miles will see me returning 32-35mpg and the normal about-town driving I do gets me low 20s, high teens if I am being a bit daft.

Insurance is relatively inexpensive too :)

ZG2002, lots of room in a 325i engine bay?

eng1.jpg
 
To be fair, that shot makes it seem like there isn't a lot of room, but you can get down the nearest side of the engine to the exhaust manifold bolts easily, and with the airbox off (three screws), you can get to anything over the other side with ease!
 
Yes lots of room to get to the things to want to... But then im used to stuff like the Celica which is a right PITA to work on. Japs like to over engineer stuff and put a million brackets on everything!


Start taking the simple things like the plastic covering and the air box off you will have room ;)
 
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s0ck said:
Whilst we're on the subject, I know you've researched it a bit para, E36 M3 3.0?

Are we still talking 'stupidly simple to work on'. You can pick them up from upwards of 3k and whilst I do not even have 3k to burn, I KEEP hankering for one!
I need to stop reading PPC ;/

E36 M3 vs 328?
Either would get stripped so having a pretty one or one with lots of toys isn't an issue...
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An M3 e36 can very quickly get pricey to run from what my mate (who works for a BMW specialist) tells me.

That said, I think the 3.0 M3 is probably the pick of the bunch.

Having driven both the 325 and 328, I found the 325 felt quicker, perhaps the particular 328 I tried was a pooch?

Me I'm looking for a 325tds (and have been for a good while - decent ones are like rocking horse poo)
 
I came across a fair number of 325TDS that appeared decent when I was searching for my 325i.

What budget have you been looking at mr R124?
 
I had a '92 4 pot e36 316i, that featured epic reliability and low low costs. It still is chugging about today locally. Not the fastest kid on the block & was more show than go.
 
[TW]Fox;11717901 said:
I always thought the 3 Series engine bay was a bit small - on the E46 at least half the engine vanishes under the bulkhead bit?
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Nah, it's not that bad - it looks like it does, but it's only the Microfilter housing that sits above it. Sounds like the e36 where you can just unscrew it and lift it off.
 
paradigm said:
I came across a fair number of 325TDS that appeared decent when I was searching for my 325i.

What budget have you been looking at mr R124?
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Around £2.5k - Seen a few and not one compared to my old (175k mile) e36 318i.

Probably end up with another e38 tbh.
 
For 2.5K you should be able to just buy the pick of the bunch, are you looking in a localised area or wider afield?
 
paradigm said:
For 2.5K you should be able to just buy the pick of the bunch, are you looking in a localised area or wider afield?
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Local thus far, found a minter in Essex (when out & about in the truck) a few weeks back (62k miles on a P plate) rang the garage the following day & it had just sold. :(

I keep looking for my tds 3 Series..... As I say probably end up with a 4.4V8 7 Series!
 
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