Advice on purchasing M3 cab e36
Discussion
Hi all
I'm looking at purchasing the e36 model of the M3 cabriolet.
I've never owned one, and don't know an awful lot about them. I've heard of one going locally which has done around 70k miles mark, but so far know nothing more about it at the moment, I'm waiting for a reply from its current owner.
Can you offer me any advice on purchasing this type of car, what things should I look out for, any work which should have been carried out by this milage or will need to be, common faults etc.
I'm not even sure how many 'flavours' of this car there are, auto, manual spec etc
Any advice or experiences you guys have had I would be greatful to hear.
Cheers!
I'm looking at purchasing the e36 model of the M3 cabriolet.
I've never owned one, and don't know an awful lot about them. I've heard of one going locally which has done around 70k miles mark, but so far know nothing more about it at the moment, I'm waiting for a reply from its current owner.
Can you offer me any advice on purchasing this type of car, what things should I look out for, any work which should have been carried out by this milage or will need to be, common faults etc.
I'm not even sure how many 'flavours' of this car there are, auto, manual spec etc
Any advice or experiences you guys have had I would be greatful to hear.
Cheers!
SMG or manual. Get manual, SMG unpopular.
The coupe is most sought after then the saloon then the cab.
Rust on arches and vanos two key issues. Make sure wheels are original, hood is good and history is good.
Don't buy a modified one.
They don't do vader seats in a cab.
Personally I love the dark green e36 m3 coupe on autotrader.
The coupe is most sought after then the saloon then the cab.
Rust on arches and vanos two key issues. Make sure wheels are original, hood is good and history is good.
Don't buy a modified one.
They don't do vader seats in a cab.
Personally I love the dark green e36 m3 coupe on autotrader.
It's manual, and I also believe completely untouched or tinkered with. I was thinking should it have had some belts or similar changed by this age it miles too? He's said there are no rust patches on it and it comes with the hard top. It was only ever used as a wedding car from new then this fella purchased it earlier this year. He's got a shed full of cars and is off loading some.
AndyP75 said:
It's manual, and I also believe completely untouched or tinkered with. I was thinking should it have had some belts or similar changed by this age it miles too? He's said there are no rust patches on it and it comes with the hard top. It was only ever used as a wedding car from new then this fella purchased it earlier this year. He's got a shed full of cars and is off loading some.
Hard top is useful.Can handle miles well.
How much?
Sounds about £6k?
Know nothing about this car, but on ad description make the one being offered to the OP look a tad toppy.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...
E36 hard tops can be bought used for around £300-350.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...
E36 hard tops can be bought used for around £300-350.
Get an Evo (1996-99), quite a bit more performance for not much more money. You can get decent Evo cabrios without galactic mileage for under £5k. Coupes command a bit of a premium.
Make sure the roof mechanism works completely unaided, the clips and strings break quite easily and the tension belt loses elasticity and that's a £300 part from BMW! Or budget £1200 for new roof outer lining, inner lining and tension belt.
Look wisely and don't buy the first example you see, quite a few dogs out there.
Make sure the roof mechanism works completely unaided, the clips and strings break quite easily and the tension belt loses elasticity and that's a £300 part from BMW! Or budget £1200 for new roof outer lining, inner lining and tension belt.
Look wisely and don't buy the first example you see, quite a few dogs out there.
A good evo convertible with less than 100k, good history and no rust can still be had for less than 5k. I bought a 83k, full history convertible a year go for 4k. The coupes are definitely more valuable- I would say about 30% more money for the equivalent car,.
I would buy on condition not mileage. i would also pay more for a car that has been looked after and does not need any work on the suspension, brakes or vanos. Non of these jobs are going to break the bank but collectively it all adds up.
I would buy on condition not mileage. i would also pay more for a car that has been looked after and does not need any work on the suspension, brakes or vanos. Non of these jobs are going to break the bank but collectively it all adds up.
Finally picked one up.
Boston Green '98 Evo Cabrio. 59,000m, years MOT, fresh out of an Insp II and New Vanos unit.
Have a few questions.....
It never seems to quite get up to temp on the water side of things? It hangs just below the middle marker. Oil sits around 80-90 when warmed. Normal?
One of the latches on the roof appears to be a intermittently failing. Working perfectly until I got it home, typical! Just needs a bloody good clean but I love it already.
Boston Green '98 Evo Cabrio. 59,000m, years MOT, fresh out of an Insp II and New Vanos unit.
Have a few questions.....
It never seems to quite get up to temp on the water side of things? It hangs just below the middle marker. Oil sits around 80-90 when warmed. Normal?
One of the latches on the roof appears to be a intermittently failing. Working perfectly until I got it home, typical! Just needs a bloody good clean but I love it already.
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