Just got an E36 yesterday!

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Yesterday, on the way home from the DE at Summit Point, my girlfriend decided she wanted to buy a BMW - which she did.

It was pretty cold and rainy all day, which I think is a great time to check out a car's real performance and safety features. She had intended on getting a Z3, but fell in love with the E36 conv. She ended up getting a '96 328ic conv. It has 21k miles on it, looks extremely clean and mechanically flawless. The sales guys were pretty low-pressure when I told them I had owned a few Bimmer's and did all my own work on my 911 and 325is. I got them to open up the service bay and I put the car on the rack. Everything looked and felt new and I verified they had done the work stated on the Inspectin II invoice.

So what do we need to look out for in this car? I know they're pretty bulletproof. And even if there are known problems for this model, I doubt they'd surface anytime soon, as this is a very low-mileage car. But what can I prevent or nip in the bud? Thanks.

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Well, they fixed the water pump problem. I had a problem with my transmission lines being hit on a concrete parking stop, which caused the tranny to get low. Someone told me that I should have the tranny serviced every 15K? That sounds a bit conservative to me...

Do you have a code reader? Did the car report any problems?

-Wayne

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I don't know anything about a code reader. Does it come with the car, or is it a tool one must buy? She brought it back to the dealership last night for some touch up work. They let her have the car for 5 days, during which she can drive it and get to know it, then take it back to them to have them fix anything she noticed. So far the only issue is minor paint stuff. But should I have her call and get the code reader looked at or explained?

todd951 · 03-19-2002, 04:20 PM

They fixed the ater pump problem in '97, so your '96 will probably need to have the pump updated. It should be fine until your next inspection II service, so you can have it done then if it needs it.
A code reader is a device that plugs into the diagnostic port and tells you any fault codes that the car's computer has stored. Mechanics use them to diagnose problems on modern cars that have OBD.

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

We carry these code readers. They plug into the car and read any trouble codes (like engine or tranny) that might be popping up. I woudn't own a BMW without one of these. We buy them from Peake Research:

www.peakeresearch.com

And we have them in stock too!

-Wayne