Do I have an E36?

[Don Henak]

I have a 98 323i and think is an E36. I say this because the 98/99 years seem to "cross-0ver" to the next generation E46 on some of the sites I've looked at. Can anyone straighten me out? I'm not all that crooked.
Don
Gig Harbor, WA

[Rick V]

I would say yes but if you want to know for sure open your hood and look on your hood shocks they are marked e-whatever

[parolof]

or punch in you vin numer here http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do

[Don Henak]

Yep! Says E36 on the hook shock. Silly of me not to have looked there...lol.
Tanks,
D.

[supertack]

The instant give away is the hood/grill configuration. If your grill is part of the hood, & goes up with the hood, it's an E46. If your grill is part of the front bumper, & stays stationary when the hood is up, it's an E36. Pretty simple.

[Jeron]

I know it is concluded but...

I'm not trying to be condescending but you do know that the change from E36 to E46 is a platform change that includes a very different looking body.

So if your car looks like the 93-98 3-series then it is E36 and if it looks like the 2000-2004 cars then it is E46.

I only mention this Don because you should be able to tell at a glance the difference between E36 and E46.

BTW, the first E46 was the 99 4-door followed by the E46 2-door in 2000. There were no 1998 E46's in the US.

[Don Henak]

Thanks, Jeron. I'm mostly an E30/E28 (old school BMW) guy and just hadn't paid much attn to the newer models like this 323ic I got my wife. Even though I don't like the "feel" of the car much, it looks pretty like here and she loves it. It isn't an ultimate driving machine, even though it looks like one. The oldies were the goodies. I am stuck in the late 80s as far as BMWs are concerned....as are a lot of folks I know....
Thanks again,
Don

[supertack]

I think an E36 has a better profile than an E46, & the rear end of an E36 blows the E46 away. Therefore, it's kinda disappointing that the front hood/grill configuration of an E46 has a much nicer look than it's E36 counter part. It's a bit funny that BMW went back to the E36 hood/grill configuration on the newest E60.

[blkongry]

Just on an interesting note, a friend of mine here at work has a book on the E36, and it pointed out that there are subtle proportion changes throughout the various models/years on the E36... changes in rooflines, angles, and other not-so-noticeable attributes. When you look upon the car as a whole, it dramatically changes the 'image' of the car in my opinion. I always wondered why I would see different E36s, and one would look so clean, low, and cool, but then another would look all stodgy and plain like a Camry... it's because they are slightly different. Of course, then again, cars look different with different paint colors, so that could accentuate it, too.

[supertack]

BLK, that's a good point. You see this all the time when buying E36 body parts, & that you better get the chasis right, cause it won't fit if you don't. For example, you'd think like a front corner light from the same year in a sedan, coupe, convertable, & compact would all be the same part, but as you pointed out, those subtle changes make them a bit different. You'd almost think BMW would make it a point to have them all be the same to reduce inventory, but I guess there's a method to their madness.

[Don Henak]

Thanks agin for all the good E36 info. When I asked the original question I thought it might sound stupid, but now I feel enlightened as this is my first post on this site. With this new info, I now understand how my 98' looks much better to me than the earlier models of E36 I was looking at to get an idea what this out of state car was supposed to look like before I saw it for the first time. I consantly get nice comments on the looks of the car and I do notice the boxiness and plainness of others that I would have thought would all look the same. I applaud you.
Don H.