pitfalls at buying E36 M3 Evo ??

[TuxMan]

just started looking for one of these and could do with a bit of advise from the pistonhead massive !!! do they suffer from the same vanos issues as the m-roadster ? is it the same S50 motor ?
What else do i need to look for ??

There is a very nice blue one on pistonheads classified with 78k on the clock for 9 grand is that the right price ?? thanks for all your help . simon

[smartie]

yes, same S50 engine so same Vanos problems.

About £1600/1700 to put right so not the end of the world.

[Stevo///M3]

The price is right, so to speak!
BUT you must inspect it carefully as with any other car. No rust = good, there will undoubtedly be chips at the front end. Test drive it, check clutch / gearbox working fine.
Lovely cars, just make sure it is straight!

[TuxMan]

Thanks guys ,we have a M-roadster at the moment which is the wifeis car and i fancy one of these for myself !!

did i read somewhere there was a issue with bottom end shells ?? not to worried about the Vanos as i know what to look for ,

one thing i don,t like with the roadster is the very long clutch are the evo's the same ??

What do they go like as well ???

[dan101smith]

Shells is more an E46 issue I think.

Clutch typically bites on the floor, the (cheap) fix is to get a braided clutch hose fitted. Looking at £50ish.

What do they go like? Stink, if it's a good one!

[smartie]

we had shells done our 65K miles S50 in my wife's Z3M - cost about £800.

[TuxMan]

Yep done the braided hose mod to the m-roadster but i do find the travel to be very long ,makes the gearchange a bit awkward imo .

i do love the way the roadster goes though !!!

What do you guys think to this one ??

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/513766.htm

Edited by TuxMan on Monday 14th July 16:55

[dan101smith]

I wouldn't pay £9k for that.

OK it's a late car, and it's well spec'd with leccy Vadars, but it hasn't been advertised by someone who knows all that much about it, from the way the advert reads, which would make me wonder how well it had been maintained (clock symbol showing, for example - if you were selling, surely you'd just change the fluid and clear the light??).

Just my opinion, but I can imagine you'd spend as much on maintaining that as you would a £7k car.

And the electric seats weigh a tonne apparently.

Not for me, but might be exactly what you want - your call on that.

ETA - having re-read that ad, it is by no means fully loaded as stated. It doesn't have electric rear windows, PDC, heated seats, Harmon Kardon upgrade, CD changer, cruise control...

Edited by dan101smith on Monday 14th July 17:03

Edited by dan101smith on Monday 14th July 17:04

[TuxMan]

Thanks Dan for your input ,what does the clock symbol mean ? i thought the 3 green lights means its got a while to go before it needs a service .

i liked the way he has taken his photo,s tried to show the panels and how good they are ,not sure about the KN filter though ?? is that std ??

thats very odd just found the same car for £7800 in a different add

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/549820.htm ???????


now i,m very confused !!!

Edited by TuxMan on Monday 14th July 18:23

[dan101smith]

Clock symbol means it needs a brake fluid/coolant change. Comes on every 2 years regardless.

£7800 is probably a more realistic price, but I'd not pay more than £7.5k for it. It isn't the high spec he makes out. That driver's seat looks a little bit worn for 78k miles, too.

The filter looks like a DaveF induction kit - certainly not standard, but if it is a DaveF then it's worth keeping, as apparently they're better than standard setup.

[wmg100]

It's been on for a while, with the price gradually coming down but he hasn't withdrawn his old ads; hence the different prices.

When I've sold my car, I'm after one of these and there are others I'd be looking at first.

[andygtt]

9k is top money for a E36 Evo... I paid 7.5k for mine over 4 years ago and after 60k miles that I have done its still going strong without even a trace of a vanos going.
That does indeed look like the Dave F air filter kit, I have it on mine and it sounds awsome.

Can't recomend one enough as mine has been a fantastic car... and I bought mine 3months after I sold my canam as well.

Its not a replacement for the Ultima though... you need a noble for that lol

Edited by andygtt on Tuesday 15th July 01:43

[TuxMan]

Thanks guys ,will keep looking ,Andy ,hows the noble going Graham says his hands are still shaking !!!!

[scz4]

Simon,

Even a seemingly good M3 can be a money pit.... all the small things add up. I bought a 1998 Evo back in March, with 70k on the clock and full BMW Service history. I imagine I've spent around £3000+ getting it into the mint condition it's in now, but then I am quite anal Some costs are what I'd consider essential mods for any M3. Here's what I've done -

Full Insp II service - all fluids changed inc Diff\Gearbox\Brakes\Coolant\Engine etc
Exhaust manifold flexi pipe repaired - another common and expensive problem.
Braided Clutch and Brake Hoses fitted - Greatly improves clutch biting point, weak point of M3.
Rogue Rear Suspension Top Mounts - Standard ones are known to go causing clunking from the rear end.
New throttle cable - Needed refreshed after 10 years
Full Air Con Service & Recharge
4x New Goodyear F1 Tyres
4x Reconditioned Motorsport Alloys
New Battery
New Rear Window Seals - Common Problem
Faulty Ignition Barrel Replaced - Another common problem
Leather door cards replaced
BMW ZHP Short shift and Weighted gear knob
Replacement front Splitter - Badly chipped.
Vanos Filter Replaced - Essential, should be done frequently.

I am sure there is more.... I can't imagine how much a bad example would cost to sort out.

If I can't sell my supercharged Z4 in the next month (been trying for 6 months now) then the M3 may be on the market shortly. Let me know if you want more details or if I can help with any M3's you're looking at

Graeme

Edited by scz4 on Tuesday 15th July 10:18

[Stevo///M3]

On the induction kit, I have a K&N set up and it sounds brill, much more vocal from the inside than the standard airbox (which, incidentally, was a nightmare to remove for some reason - the box came off fine, it was the connecting pipe part between the box and the kidney grills that didn't want to come out!). I understand Dave F kits are decent, equally, you might look at a Simota kit (carbon and supposedly proven to increase power). Either way, you'll love the noise when it hits 4000 rpm!

[TuxMan]

Thanks for all the help ,graham car sounds very nice send me some details of better still put up some pictures !!!!!

[scz4]

TuxMan said:

Thanks for all the help ,graham car sounds very nice send me some details of better still put up some pictures !!!!!

Depends if Dakar Yellow takes your fancy I love it! The only colour to have an Evo in. Anyway, here you go, double click on them to make them slightly bigger









Disks aren't corroded, just washed the car....


Come on... surely someone wants to buy this beast??

Edited by scz4 on Tuesday 15th July 16:59

[blade7]

That's a big oil leak on your drive. LOL.

[andygtt]

TuxMan said:

Thanks guys ,will keep looking ,Andy ,hows the noble going Graham says his hands are still shaking !!!!

god that man is a woman, you'd never beleive he drives a fire breathing Ultima would you lol.
Remind me to give it full beans next time he comes out with me!

the Noble is great... and you should get one of them instead of the M3 if you already have the Z3 IMO as the Noble is way better than the Ultima and well usable every day.... The M3 is great but it gona be well slow after the Ult, but then you know that already.

[TuxMan]

Hi Andy ,its his age i think !!!! the problem is everything feels slow compared to the Ultima !!! thats the bloody problem !!!


Graheme , M3 looks lovely unfortunately i can't do Yellow ,after spending weeks cleaning my wifes Cupra R in bright yellow my eye's will not take it any more !!

thanks for all the help .