Bmw E36 316I

Schiffer · February 8, 2013

i am planing to sell my corona and move for a 91-92 E36 316i (in need of some cash at the moment)

can u give advice and pros and cons of owning a E36 (spare parts availability, reliability etc)

or is it better to keep the corona premio instead?.

Edited February 8, 2013 by Schiffer

Supra_Natural · February 8, 2013

i am planing to sell my corona and move for a 91-92 E36 316i (in need of some cash at the moment)
can u give advice and pros and cons of owning a E36 (spare parts availability, reliability etc)

or is it better to keep the corona premio instead?.

Pm Members Octanehead, Bugatti, Pathola1... between them they should be able to give you chapter and verse...

The short answer is... If you want something you can run like the premio without bothering about the mechanical aspect, then an E36 is not the car for you.

If you're willing to get invested in the upkeep of it and invest in quality parts and proper workmanship, then you can consider one.

Edited February 8, 2013 by Supra_Natural

Schiffer · February 8, 2013

Pm Members Octanehead, Bugatti, Pathola1... between them they should be able to give you chapter and verse...
The short answer is... If you want something you can run like the premio without bothering about the mechanical aspect, then an E36 is not the car for you.

If you're willing to get invested in the upkeep of it and invest in quality parts and proper workmanship, then you can consider one.

thanx supra.

i use the corona premio as a second car. so we don't use it much. and about the quality parts and stuff i don't mind. no gonna be a cheapo when it comes to cars . im not planing to ruin the car

i

esdeez · February 8, 2013

The E36 is a great little car, not quite as connected to the road as the E30, but definitely not too far off. Unfortunately I see quite a few abused E36's on our roads, come to think of it, actually it seems to be a global trend, as they are prime targets for youngsters who just wanna look cool, but ultimately mess the car up.

I'd suggest you think long and hard about the purchase, especially as you're coming from a jap, there is a great chance you'll be cursing the marque for life. That said, compared with newer BMW's, I personally feel the quality and reliability of the older ones far surpasses that of the new breed. Be prepared to pay a premium for parts etc, but not as much as people would have you believe, especially if you can use your own methods of getting parts down. Off the top of my head I'd suggest you check things like service history, whether it was performed at the correct intervals, and the suspension (if you can, take it up to 80-100 check that there's no steering wobble) in addition to the obvious things you check prior to buying.

I do personally recommend you look for a 318 too. The difference in all areas is not gonna be great (initial purchase price, maintenance, economy, performance), but at the end of the day the 1.8 will feel less underpowered. I don't think it should be deal breaker though, especially if you find a 316 in very good condition. If you're really looking for silky smooth performance then go for a 6 pot. But again, economy will suffer if its your daily commuter. The E36 also came with two variations of engine in the 1.6 lines: the M40 (1991-93?) and M43 (93 onwards?). Long story short, the M40 uses a timing belt as opposed to the timing chain of the M43. The latter is more reliable due to the chain, and again has a slight performance increase.

Hope I haven't scared you away, but I can guarantee the driving pleasure you'll get once everything is working perfectly, will far surpass most Japanese cars. The 36 is a GREAT car, and you'd be joining quite a few people who've been bitten by the 36 bug. Add Rukster to the list of 36 owners too

Octanehead · February 9, 2013

Interesting! Well Esdeez just mentioned everything i had to say

Schiffer · February 9, 2013

wow..

thanks alot ezdeez.

however my money problem was solved. so not gonna buy a 316i but i will deffs buy a E36 in the near future

and like u said my plan is to get a 6 cylinder one as well. they are quite hard to find here but ill give it a shot anyways.

when it comes to driving pleasure. u should not worry about economy

i have been bitten by the 36 bug. fallen madly for this car. got to drive one ones and its just different compared to a equelent jap.

anyways thanks alot again ezdeez

esdeez · February 9, 2013

Haha, no problem. Hope to see you in our club soon

GTAm · February 11, 2013

Hmmm. Not sure why many people feel this way, but after owning both models for several years I just cannot agree. The E36 is LOT more connected IMHO. If there's anything not quite connected it's the rear end of an E30 on a damp road. I'm not talking M3s here just the low down 316/318/320s etc. Take a round-about or a series of bends fast it both cars one after the other and tell me that I'm wrong.

The E36 is a great little car, not quite as connected to the road as the E30, but definitely not too far off.

GTAm · February 11, 2013

@Schiffer

The ~~main~~ only thing you should aim for is previously well cared for car(not easy to find). Preferably a home delivered car as some of the UK imports were South African built (and not as well as the German ones). 316i is under powered. I would aim for a 318i or higher.

Rajiv Perera · February 13, 2013

hmmm... seems the E36 still strong in it's sporty looks and style. @Schiffer If your planning to go for a six pot then you must be very lucky as their are few well maintained six pot cars available and none of them are for sale and may not be on paper for a longtime. So if your planning to go for a 4 cylinder then consider going for a 318i with M43 engine which has much more power(not like a M50 or M52) and parts are available all around (ebay,etc). But make sure the car is well maintained especially the interior as lot of the E36 cars out in the market have poor interior. Also make sure the cars wheels are aligned, balanced periodically else you may find it hard to handle the car properly.

About the engine do not get worried about the mileage as these engines can stand for a very long time IF properly maintained/serviced.Also go for a B/N import as their are lot of UK imports which have many problems like the A/C ,etc. and contains few options compared to a B/N import. So good luck with your hunt for an E36 .