Tell me about E36 M3 convertibles?

[Legacywr]

I’m thinking of getting myself a convertible, something that’ll hold its value reasonably well, and an E36 M3 could fit the bill!

I used to hate them, but, they are becoming a bit coole... less chavvy anyway

What is there to look out for? I know the vanos can play up, what are the signs?

How problematic are the electric roofs?

And the big one, what are they like for rust?

I’d only be looking for a good car with service history.

Thanks in advance

[bigalx]

Recently sold mine since our first baby was never going to be allowed in it!

I miss it greatly.



In terms of Vanos:

- a grumble which sounds like a diesel when letting the revs drop from about 4/5k down to idle.
- a shakey idle - mine actually sounded like a NASCAR till I gave the Vanos a service.

Electric hood:

- there are "elasctic" straps in the hood which help lift the rear section up horizontally - these stretch so sometime they need a helping hand to clear the "horseshoe" lid which lifts up for the roof to do in.
- when the hood is up there rear quarters of the roof lining can flap around if a section of the cord has snapped - not too bad an issue bot annoying none the less.
- if there car is hard top prepared where the hard top fits the plastic covers can snap

Rust:

- obviously the arches are suspect
- jacking points can be bad
- the bottom of the rear boot lid can be bad but you wouldn't notice it. - Peel off the rubber surround which runs across the bottom of the boot opening since it can rust here and if bad enough will need a new panel - not the hardest of jobs but does involve spot welding and other stuff which in my skillset isn't a home job.

Others:

- check the gear box since they are fragile - not just 2nd to third but all gears and ideally at pace since one of the ones I tested felt great but when pushing on between 3rd and 4th it crunched badly.

I have mine for 4 years and loved it and miss it plenty - and as you say the chav part is slowly disappearing, plus they are holding their money and climbing. In my opinion they are a very pretty car and given my previous car to this was an E46 330ci the difference in performance was amazing. What I miss most is the noise - there really isn't anything to beat that straight 6 when pushing on. All I would say is I enjoyed mine a lot but at the same time it wasn't cheap to own - new suspension components a number of new brakes (don't by eurocarparts spec since they are rubbish - genuine BMW isn't cheap but a lot of the parts are nowhere near as expensive as you would think). But those sunny Sunday morning and late night summers with the roof down will be massively missed and sadly as the prices seem to keep climbing I doubt in 18 years time I will be able to afford another.

Happy hunting.

[Legacywr]

Thanks for the reply

Just missed out on this which I quite liked the look of...

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[CRA1G]

Legacywr said:

Thanks for the reply

Just missed out on this which I quite liked the look of...

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

That looks lovely..and on the scale of things no wonder it's sold..to find a original unmolested low mileage on now is definitely a rare find,when I bought mine nobody wanted the convertibles...!

[Legacywr]

CRA1G said:

Legacywr said:

Thanks for the reply

Just missed out on this which I quite liked the look of...

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

That looks lovely..and on the scale of things no wonder it's sold..to find a original unmolested low mileage on now is definitely a rare find,when I bought mine nobody wanted the convertibles...!

The only thing that worried me was, that sometime in it's past, an owner had tinted the windows... not a great sign?

[n_const]

Not an M3 but romantic red is such a gorgeous colour..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E36-328i-Sport-Cabr...

[RossOCD]

I had one up until a year ago.

Already been said above really but in my experience - vanos grumble, although no longer the huge drama it once was, will set you back just uder £1k for someone to come to your address and replace, ive never had one fail on me though, they just sound nasty.

Gearbox, mine used to crunch a bit, there is a common mod on Evos for a braided clutch line which helps.

Throttle cables, if it hasnt been replaced do it, makes a huge difference on all the e36 m3s ive ever owned and its only a few quid!

Roof - will play you up at some point. Motors can be had fairly reasonably second hand the its just lots of messing around with the sequence etc...

Rust, at the age of them now most will be showing signs of rust, rear arches, below the boot, front wings, jacking points.

They do feel very old now, alot of fun when pushing hard, great sound too when its fizzing up into the revs. I think the design just gets better and better with age, they look great now.

[helix402]

A good one is great, but be aware that a lot were crashed and badly repaired in their youth. Also even a good one feels quite wobbly. Rust is also a problem, even garage stored ones can quietly rot away on the underside and behind sill trims.

[Walt Jabsco]

Glad to have stumbled across a recent thread on E36 M3 convertibles as I'm tempted to get one myself.

Just had a letter from the council telling me that my long standing application for a garage rental has come good and need something to go into it.

Always thought I'd go for an E30 325i convertible but my eye has been turned by the apparent value to be had from E36 M3s.

Wary of the Vanos issues and grateful to the forums for other tips and things to look out for.

Question is - do I go with my heart and get an E30... or let my head rule and go for more ooomph?

[Legacywr]

That's a difficult one, but, you should be ok with either, the E30 should be cheaper to maintain I guess?

I've not gone and looked at any cars yet! :/

[Walt Jabsco]

It's a difficult one that been made all the more difficult by the reality of the garage now being mine

I always knew that it would be a convertible, but now my head is being turned by the bewildering range of options that I have for under 10k

In fact, I can drop the budget to 5k and still get a lot of bang for my buck.

Examples:

Audi S4 for 4k anyone?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[Mr Whippy]

Only issue with post 2001 is RFD!

Pre 2001 M3 Evo sounds lots more tempting if you're gonna go older and do low mileage anyway as base cost is lower so more cash for maintenance which isn't money down the pan over the years.