e36 328i colour coded handles?
Discussion
Hi guys
Just bought a 328i (1998 - old but cheap enough) but as with all second hand buys, there is a bit of work required to get the car to standard.
She is quite scabby at the momment with around 10 patches (small but still there!) or rust that have bled through in various places - although not enought to warrent a full respray, nor could I justify a new paint job with the cars value.
Nether the less, I need to sort the rust and touch up.
I have a small list of things to do to her over the next few months (money permitting), including replacing the front headlights for the newer angle eyes, replacing the side repeaters with clear lences, swapping the rear lights for new led versions, adding some rather tastey side airvents off an m3 and finaly (if i can afford!), ditching the 15" bmw alloys for some 18"s
However, before I embark on this 'modern make over', I feel it would be a waste of time if I cant get rid of the horrible black plastic external door handles (what are car manufacturers thinking off when they finish a car in cheap tat??) and replace them with colour coded ones.
I have seen people selling chrome clip ons on feebay but does anybody know whether you can get colour coded ones?
All help appriciated
Jay
Just bought a 328i (1998 - old but cheap enough) but as with all second hand buys, there is a bit of work required to get the car to standard.
She is quite scabby at the momment with around 10 patches (small but still there!) or rust that have bled through in various places - although not enought to warrent a full respray, nor could I justify a new paint job with the cars value.
Nether the less, I need to sort the rust and touch up.
I have a small list of things to do to her over the next few months (money permitting), including replacing the front headlights for the newer angle eyes, replacing the side repeaters with clear lences, swapping the rear lights for new led versions, adding some rather tastey side airvents off an m3 and finaly (if i can afford!), ditching the 15" bmw alloys for some 18"s
However, before I embark on this 'modern make over', I feel it would be a waste of time if I cant get rid of the horrible black plastic external door handles (what are car manufacturers thinking off when they finish a car in cheap tat??) and replace them with colour coded ones.
I have seen people selling chrome clip ons on feebay but does anybody know whether you can get colour coded ones?
All help appriciated
Jay
Can't help you with the handles but what I would say is keeping it looking standard is the way forward. No offence but I think adding chrome bits, vents and angel eyes will make it look cheap, IMO you are better off giving it the sport look (if it's not a sport) so the BBS wheels and Mtec bumpers etc. I love the 328i sport and having owned one I wouldn't tamper with the looks, instead sort out the performance 
Keep it as standard as possible.
The Sport look/body kit can look quite nice and subtle.
LED rear lights look bad on an E36, and vents when you haven't got an M3 are a total waste.
But a decent set of wheels and maybe a slight lowering would make it look much better. Disagree on the angel eyes though - you can get a set of the cfls added on and they can look quite good.
The Sport look/body kit can look quite nice and subtle.
LED rear lights look bad on an E36, and vents when you haven't got an M3 are a total waste.
But a decent set of wheels and maybe a slight lowering would make it look much better. Disagree on the angel eyes though - you can get a set of the cfls added on and they can look quite good.
Thanks for your pennies worth lol
I only want to bring car up to date as far as exterior mods go.
The problem I have is 'cash flow', I used to have a very genorous income and buy new cars, but alas, I now have to 'make do' with 2nd hand ones.
This leads me to the above problem of bringing to car up to date - after all, she is 10 years old now!
Unfortunatly, she is a bit like a square peg in a round hole, in the sence that she is not old enough to be a classic (so to offend!) but not new enough to be eye catching.
Hence the exterior mods I mentioned in my 1st post. I believe that changing the lights to clear (including the side repeaters) will take a few years off her and as for the handles ...... how can anybody say that colour coded handle would look bad?? It would make the car look almost seamless and not look like a cheap Tata made from plastic! (Although I fully agree with the chrome look .......... jeez how bad!!
I am not interested in any performance mods (except the 325 manifold) as my boy racer days have been and gone, and to fair, if I wanted a fast car, I would have gone down the jap turbo route - which i did when I came out of the marines a decade ago, plus I have the t-shirt already in the wardrobe somewhere lol
So, please try to reframe yourself with a poor sence of humour regarding nova's as im not a 17 year old kid with no taste lol
So if I rubbed anybody up the wromg way regarding changing the 'beloved' 328i, im sorry (either that or i dont really care lol) but all i want to do is make the little bit of cash i spent on a very good car appear to have been invested in a much newer, modern model.
Its all a matter of personal taste
Jay
I only want to bring car up to date as far as exterior mods go.
The problem I have is 'cash flow', I used to have a very genorous income and buy new cars, but alas, I now have to 'make do' with 2nd hand ones.
This leads me to the above problem of bringing to car up to date - after all, she is 10 years old now!
Unfortunatly, she is a bit like a square peg in a round hole, in the sence that she is not old enough to be a classic (so to offend!) but not new enough to be eye catching.
Hence the exterior mods I mentioned in my 1st post. I believe that changing the lights to clear (including the side repeaters) will take a few years off her and as for the handles ...... how can anybody say that colour coded handle would look bad?? It would make the car look almost seamless and not look like a cheap Tata made from plastic! (Although I fully agree with the chrome look .......... jeez how bad!!
I am not interested in any performance mods (except the 325 manifold) as my boy racer days have been and gone, and to fair, if I wanted a fast car, I would have gone down the jap turbo route - which i did when I came out of the marines a decade ago, plus I have the t-shirt already in the wardrobe somewhere lol
So, please try to reframe yourself with a poor sence of humour regarding nova's as im not a 17 year old kid with no taste lol
So if I rubbed anybody up the wromg way regarding changing the 'beloved' 328i, im sorry (either that or i dont really care lol) but all i want to do is make the little bit of cash i spent on a very good car appear to have been invested in a much newer, modern model.
Its all a matter of personal taste
Jay
You cant bring an E36 up to date becuase it is not an up to date car. It is a design which was released in 1990. Side grilles will look crap, not up to date, as no E36, not even the M3 Evolution, ever had side grilles.
Stop being ashamed of having an E36 and trying to pretend its newer. Love it for what it is. If you want something newer, trade it in for a Ford.
Stop being ashamed of having an E36 and trying to pretend its newer. Love it for what it is. If you want something newer, trade it in for a Ford.
Heres the thing, I believe in freedom of speach, hell, served enough tours to know that!
However, I believe that modifying a car is a personal taste and beuaty is in the eye of the beholder, so as such, I am free to do modify my ride as i see fit.
Yes you can have you traditionalist comments and to be honest, I respect people view. But to be perfectly honest, I just asked if anybody knew of where to obtain colour coded handled!
I came on to the forum as a new member asking a simple question and also giving my future plans of modyfying my car (in my personal taste!) and yet I feel like I have met a wall of critism - how to win friends eh??!!
Does anybody know where to buy these from, whether you can buy colour coded handles or does everybody just want to harp on about their own personal tastes and how wrong it would be for somebody to express themselves individualy??
Jay
However, I believe that modifying a car is a personal taste and beuaty is in the eye of the beholder, so as such, I am free to do modify my ride as i see fit.
Yes you can have you traditionalist comments and to be honest, I respect people view. But to be perfectly honest, I just asked if anybody knew of where to obtain colour coded handled!
I came on to the forum as a new member asking a simple question and also giving my future plans of modyfying my car (in my personal taste!) and yet I feel like I have met a wall of critism - how to win friends eh??!!
Does anybody know where to buy these from, whether you can buy colour coded handles or does everybody just want to harp on about their own personal tastes and how wrong it would be for somebody to express themselves individualy??
Jay
SuLu1973 said:
Hi guys
Just bought a 328i (1998 - old but cheap enough) but as with all second hand buys, there is a bit of work required to get the car to standard.
She is quite scabby at the momment with around 10 patches (small but still there!) or rust that have bled through in various places - although not enought to warrent a full respray, nor could I justify a new paint job with the cars value.
Nether the less, I need to sort the rust and touch up.
I have a small list of things to do to her over the next few months (money permitting), including replacing the front headlights for the newer angle eyes, replacing the side repeaters with clear lences, swapping the rear lights for new led versions, adding some rather tastey side airvents off an m3 and finaly (if i can afford!), ditching the 15" bmw alloys for some 18"s
However, before I embark on this 'modern make over', I feel it would be a waste of time if I cant get rid of the horrible black plastic external door handles (what are car manufacturers thinking off when they finish a car in cheap tat??) and replace them with colour coded ones.
I have seen people selling chrome clip ons on feebay but does anybody know whether you can get colour coded ones?
All help appriciated
Jay
This is a wind-up....surely?Just bought a 328i (1998 - old but cheap enough) but as with all second hand buys, there is a bit of work required to get the car to standard.
She is quite scabby at the momment with around 10 patches (small but still there!) or rust that have bled through in various places - although not enought to warrent a full respray, nor could I justify a new paint job with the cars value.
Nether the less, I need to sort the rust and touch up.
I have a small list of things to do to her over the next few months (money permitting), including replacing the front headlights for the newer angle eyes, replacing the side repeaters with clear lences, swapping the rear lights for new led versions, adding some rather tastey side airvents off an m3 and finaly (if i can afford!), ditching the 15" bmw alloys for some 18"s
However, before I embark on this 'modern make over', I feel it would be a waste of time if I cant get rid of the horrible black plastic external door handles (what are car manufacturers thinking off when they finish a car in cheap tat??) and replace them with colour coded ones.
I have seen people selling chrome clip ons on feebay but does anybody know whether you can get colour coded ones?
All help appriciated
Jay
If it isn't God-forbid the Porsche guys see this...they're going to have a field day with us!
Edited by derin100 on Saturday 9th August 19:17
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