Thinking of a E36 of E46 BMW
 

Hi,
My wife has a 98 Honda Accord, and I just dont like that thing. Im thinking of selling that and getting a BMW E36 or early E46. I would be willing to spend up to about 8000, although cheaper is always better. I have seen several nicer E36s in that price range, and a few E46s. Any recommendations?

I know some are bulletproof, as a recent thread of a 325 having 400K on it and just needing plugs, but I also know that some of them are hand grenades. Im looking for something pretty reliable with an I6 probably.

What about the E36 M3? How does that hold up? I was also looking at the E36 328. The E46 330xi sounds very nice to me but is probably out of my price range.

Thanks for a quick lesson on the reliability of different years and models of 3 series BMWs!

I had an E46 330i and loved it. Super DIY-friendly and a nice, comfy and fast car. Can't recommend them enough. I miss it terribly, but I never drove it.

I would consider safety equipment in the vehicle (air bags) and would therefore go with the newer car (E46). I would stay away from the M - too many special parts (not cheap to fix any more).

I considered these for a while when hunting for a daily driver. I may revisit again next year ...

George

I have an e46 325i and can't recommend it enough. I looked at many other 4 door sedans and nothing else compared. My 2nd choice was a Cadillac CTS.

Anymore thoughts on the E36? Right now Im favoring those, although the wife thinks they look bland...

The e36 is an excellent car. The M is a good choice as well. The door panels on these tend to come apart however, the M door panels don't have this problem.

I wouldn't hesitate getting a manual E36 M3 that is in good condition.

I've been a Factory Trained BMW tech since 1994 and in my opinion, the quality of the e36 is much better.

While the e46 is a good car as well, they do have a bit more issues than the e36.

I've had my E36 M3 four door for six months and 12 000 kms. No issues so far, and that includes 1000 plus track kms, and at least four autox events.

Parts are pleasantly cheap, too. This may be the best car I've ever owned.

Ary you planning on getting an "Xi" model for the winter as I noticed you live in NY state?

I daily drive my E36 325i manual 80 miles round trip to work. It has 308,000 miles on it with only minor repairs/maintenance for the 12 years I have owned it.

My wife daily drives an '03 E46 330i manual.... we bought it w/ 70k on the clock and it now is just over 100k with no issues thus far. I obviously like driving the E46 more (bigger engine and sport package), but I think the newer cars are probably not built quite as solid o'all (I hope I am wrong though).

Most E36 cars will start to suffer from rust issues if they are from northern states. I have done several minor rust repair touch ups on mine and at some point it will probably the reason I choose not to drive it anymore. The interior of my E36 still cleans up nearly perfect while the E46 cars have an odd rubbery coating on much of the plastic parts which can be easily damaged with fingernails or hard objects.

I had a '95 E36 M3, sold it last weekend with 187k on the clock. The only major repair I'd ever done was the clutch; it drove fine, but the throwout bearing was getting noisy.

I just bought an E46 M3, and I wonder if it will have the long-term durability of the E36; can't argue with the power delta though! And mine has that rubber coating coming off in places.

I have a '98 328. We bought the car in 2003 with ~78k on it (and all dealer services) and the car has been incredible, the only problem being a small leak in the radiator which I immediately replaced. I honestly like it more than any of the e46s I have driven, it's solid and has yet to squeak and rattle- door panels are still 100% together, although I understand that this may be a bit of an anomaly. It has seen 145+ several times, causing me to seriously question how or if it's governed.

I had an E36 325i. It was a great driving car, but the interior was very unimpressive. Enough so that I've passed up several good deals on M3s. Obviously this will vary somewhat depending on upkeep.

Thanks for all of the great advice guys.

Since you arent steering me away from much, do you think I should get an E36 328 or the M3?

I was thinking of the xi because we live in Buffalo, NY-although I have a Subaru Impreza for when the streets get slick. That thing is a tank in the snow.

Speaking of tanks, in the giant Buffalo blizzard of 77 it snowed so much that the city closed the streets to all vehicles except snowmobiles and tanks.

If you pick up Bimmer magazine this month they have a feature on "cheap trackday cars". They cover the E46 and E36 M3's with some good info. They basically echo what has been said here with the addition of weak cooling systems on the E36- water pump and radiator are recommended upgrades.

Right, knew about the plastic cooling system issues. Thanks!

Close friend had a 95 E36 M3 (OBD I). They went to OBD II in 96 or 97 and also went from 3 liters to 3.2 then IIRC. He sold it last year with 200K miles on the clock. Car was flawless performing and drove like it was new. Did not burn/leak oil. Original clutch. The only repaisr I recall was new struts at 120K miles (DIY $400), full brakes (pads & new rotors...,$300 diy) at 150K, and shifter linkage bushings (DIY $30). He sold it for $6500 to a guy who has used it for DE's the past 8-9 months (it was a rare non sunroof coupe). It still is running flawlessly. Buddy wishes he still had it.

For $8K you should be able to pick up a pretty pristine E36 M3 with under 100k. I wouldn't hesitate. I've purchased 3 BMW's (318ti, 2 525's) at 100K miles that have been trouble free (save for stepdtrs blunder). Got 270K trouble free out of one of the 5's. Expect struts at around 100k and brakes around that point.

Probably not going to get a decent E46 in that price range.

Hands down - M3

The more expensive and possibly beat on M3 will be more fun, but if this is for your wife, I don't know why you would "need" the extra performance or potentially higher repair bills of the M3.

BTW...if you do get an E36, my buddy has a set of 18" wheels you can get real cheap.

And it looks like crap when it starts going. I ended up peeling it all off the center console - a major PITA. Other things to eyeball - bottom of door pillars in a 4 dr. A rust area that I had to have fixed. Remove rear bench bottom & check for water. Clogged sunroof drains are the cause. I won't rant - the way I usually do - about the airbag light tan I got . . .

Ian