E36 328i Sport manual EOT
Discussion
Good evening all. I don't post much on PH, but have been a member for a few years now and thought I'd write an end of term report on the 1997 328i Sport I've owned for just over three and a half years.
I bought the car as a bit of a stop gap as I was buying a new house at the time and sold my MR2 Roadster to free up some cash. After the huge fun and impracticality of the MR2, my wife wanted us to have something a bit more sensible. Accepting this, my only stipulation was that it had to be a BMW 6 cylinder manual. It didn't take me long to spot a low mileage 328 Sport in a nice colour, so after taking a BMW tech friend along to see it, I bought it. I only had a short test drive and I must admit that I didn't initially think it was very special..... but that was at low speeds. I soon realised after owning it for a couple of days that it really comes into its own at higher speeds where the steering becomes more responsive and the throttle response improves higher in the rev range. I have an E46 M3, but I will miss the engine in the 328 due to its wide torque band, extra pull and responsiveness above 4.5k rpm and general creamy smoothness.
Obviously when looking at cars, wheel arch rust was on my mind and this one was completely rust free when I bought it. And the good news is that there is still no rust on the arches. In fact the only rust that has developed during my ownership is a very small patch on the bottom left corner of the boot lid.
The car is in metallic Montreal blue and looks great. It still manages to turn the odd head with its Mtech bodykit and I fitted some M3 Sunflower wheels (which need refurbishing, but don't look too bad at a distance).
I'm getting it ready to sell and have just re-gassed the aircon and had the oil changed plus during my ownership I've done the following:
New RTABs
New discs and pads (fitted about 3 months ago)
Lower ball joints
Rear shocks
Engine viscous fan
MAF
Engine breather valve
Aux belts
replaced tape HU with OEM CD HU
It's been extremely reliable with only the original engine breather valve causing intermittent poor running and stalling. Changing the MAF also really helped the engine perk up and run smoothly and it easily gets over 30mpg on a long journey. I had it serviced on schedule by a guy who works at a BMW specialist, but works on cars at weekends at his own facilities. All in all I've found it pretty cheap to run.
At one point I was considering upgrading the lower control arms to E30 ones and to put an E46 steering rack in along with a B12 suspension kit. I can imagine those mods would make it even more fun to drive. If I was in it for the long term I would also have fitted a 3.0l E36 M3 LSD and had the engine re-mapped.
When I bought it I overlooked a few minor scratches and a couple of small dents in the bodywork due to the overall excellent condition. I always keep my cars clean (including a few OCD clay-bar, polish and wax sessions) , but never thought to spend any money getting the dents sorted as I always thought it wasn't worth it on a car of this age. Well, it turns out now that mint 328 Sports are being advertised at £4-5k!!
The previous owner (who is the brother of the first owner) managed to put a couple of cigarette burns through the drivers seat bolster. Again, I haven't bothered to sort this out as I originally thought I would just run the car into the ground and scrap it! The private plate is the previous owner's initials. I guess it's worth £250 - £400, but I've never seen the point of selling it and I'll be leaving it on the car.
Well, during my time with the car I have really become quite fond of it. It really is an exceptional all-rounder and I think it has increased in value slightly. It's built like a tank and has a lovely "analogue" feel to all the controls (the gear change is smoother than the M3's!), plus it has a fantastic engine that is flexible and likes to rev. It's not massively fast, but it feels "powerful" and 70 - 100mph in 5th is pretty effortless.
As I mentioned above I have an E46 M3 now which is just phenomenal, so rather than missing the 328, instead I'm just going to have really fond memories of this car. It didn't cost a lot to buy, or to run; is fun to drive, practical and looks good.
Here's a few pics from today after giving it a full valet style going over
So all that remains is to either put a better set of front tyres on, or shell out for a refurbished set of wheels with tyres.
I'd prefer to sell it as it is, so we;ll see what interest it gets in it's current condition....
I bought the car as a bit of a stop gap as I was buying a new house at the time and sold my MR2 Roadster to free up some cash. After the huge fun and impracticality of the MR2, my wife wanted us to have something a bit more sensible. Accepting this, my only stipulation was that it had to be a BMW 6 cylinder manual. It didn't take me long to spot a low mileage 328 Sport in a nice colour, so after taking a BMW tech friend along to see it, I bought it. I only had a short test drive and I must admit that I didn't initially think it was very special..... but that was at low speeds. I soon realised after owning it for a couple of days that it really comes into its own at higher speeds where the steering becomes more responsive and the throttle response improves higher in the rev range. I have an E46 M3, but I will miss the engine in the 328 due to its wide torque band, extra pull and responsiveness above 4.5k rpm and general creamy smoothness.
Obviously when looking at cars, wheel arch rust was on my mind and this one was completely rust free when I bought it. And the good news is that there is still no rust on the arches. In fact the only rust that has developed during my ownership is a very small patch on the bottom left corner of the boot lid.
The car is in metallic Montreal blue and looks great. It still manages to turn the odd head with its Mtech bodykit and I fitted some M3 Sunflower wheels (which need refurbishing, but don't look too bad at a distance).
I'm getting it ready to sell and have just re-gassed the aircon and had the oil changed plus during my ownership I've done the following:
New RTABs
New discs and pads (fitted about 3 months ago)
Lower ball joints
Rear shocks
Engine viscous fan
MAF
Engine breather valve
Aux belts
replaced tape HU with OEM CD HU
It's been extremely reliable with only the original engine breather valve causing intermittent poor running and stalling. Changing the MAF also really helped the engine perk up and run smoothly and it easily gets over 30mpg on a long journey. I had it serviced on schedule by a guy who works at a BMW specialist, but works on cars at weekends at his own facilities. All in all I've found it pretty cheap to run.
At one point I was considering upgrading the lower control arms to E30 ones and to put an E46 steering rack in along with a B12 suspension kit. I can imagine those mods would make it even more fun to drive. If I was in it for the long term I would also have fitted a 3.0l E36 M3 LSD and had the engine re-mapped.
When I bought it I overlooked a few minor scratches and a couple of small dents in the bodywork due to the overall excellent condition. I always keep my cars clean (including a few OCD clay-bar, polish and wax sessions) , but never thought to spend any money getting the dents sorted as I always thought it wasn't worth it on a car of this age. Well, it turns out now that mint 328 Sports are being advertised at £4-5k!!
The previous owner (who is the brother of the first owner) managed to put a couple of cigarette burns through the drivers seat bolster. Again, I haven't bothered to sort this out as I originally thought I would just run the car into the ground and scrap it! The private plate is the previous owner's initials. I guess it's worth £250 - £400, but I've never seen the point of selling it and I'll be leaving it on the car.
Well, during my time with the car I have really become quite fond of it. It really is an exceptional all-rounder and I think it has increased in value slightly. It's built like a tank and has a lovely "analogue" feel to all the controls (the gear change is smoother than the M3's!), plus it has a fantastic engine that is flexible and likes to rev. It's not massively fast, but it feels "powerful" and 70 - 100mph in 5th is pretty effortless.
As I mentioned above I have an E46 M3 now which is just phenomenal, so rather than missing the 328, instead I'm just going to have really fond memories of this car. It didn't cost a lot to buy, or to run; is fun to drive, practical and looks good.
Here's a few pics from today after giving it a full valet style going over
So all that remains is to either put a better set of front tyres on, or shell out for a refurbished set of wheels with tyres.
I'd prefer to sell it as it is, so we;ll see what interest it gets in it's current condition....
Looks nice and clean, have had mine for 4 years now, but doesn't get used anymore, but will one day.
Pretty sure the m badge will be covering up a rover crest! Blaupunknt CD43 radios were made for both cars, slightly different font on the text and should say BMW business where the little m badge is. In reality it's the same CD player.
Pretty sure the m badge will be covering up a rover crest! Blaupunknt CD43 radios were made for both cars, slightly different font on the text and should say BMW business where the little m badge is. In reality it's the same CD player.
I too may well be interested, I've had mind for 9 years and over 100k miles, it's great. Unfortunately someone drove into the back of me on the way home from work tonight...
What a bugger. When I bought mine there were quite a few about, looking this evening, there are not many about.
What a bugger. When I bought mine there were quite a few about, looking this evening, there are not many about.
LanceRS said:
I too may well be interested, I've had mind for 9 years and over 100k miles, it's great. Unfortunately someone drove into the back of me on the way home from work tonight...
What a bugger. When I bought mine there were quite a few about, looking this evening, there are not many about.
You have pm What a bugger. When I bought mine there were quite a few about, looking this evening, there are not many about.
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