E36 M3 3.0, is it a money pit?

[theboyfold]

I'm still swinging from pillar to post with what I should do with my 'fun' car as I'm still without one (Long story)

So anyway, I've been browsing the classifieds and stumbled across the E36 M3 and it looks like it's at a really nice price now. However, are these cars just money pits waiting to happen, I don't really want a 2nd car with high costs at the moment as I'm planning to take it to the track.

This is the one that caught my eye http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1152732.htm and it's around the right price, and it's a pre-EVO car, so no VANOS worries, but what are they like when they have 100k on the clock?

[GTWayne]

I bought more or less the exact same car as you are looking at above but with just over 150K on the clock and have been using it solely on track for the last three months modifying bit by bit as I go. It is out of action at the moment due to suffering oil starvation at Silverstone (I am using slicks mind) and running a bearing dry but that was my fault for not coming in when the oil temp. crept up and not fitting the Evo sump that I bought a few months back sooner than this but live and learn 'eh?
I wish that I had discovered these cars sooner; they are fantastic! Just make sure that you carry out the 'must do mods' before you start to use it in anger

[gizlaroc]

They're pretty bullet proof.

I would budget £500 to get all the bushes changed and the geo done, I have yet to see a used one that doesn't need them doing.

That looks a nice tidy car, and for the track perfect.

[theboyfold]

What are the 'must do mods'?

Would it be able to survive as a part time road, part time track car, say 3-4 track days a year?

[GTWayne]

Your intended use for the car would be well within its capabilities
I guess if you are not going to be using slicks, have huge brakes or fitting coil overs with very stiff springs you don't REALLY have to do anything but fitting an oil restrictor in the head to limit the amount of oil that tends to sit under the rocker box cover under hard track cornering would be a good start with the adition of an Evo sump and oil pick up + ARP rod bolts for ultimate peace of mind. An enlarged oil cooling capacity is also a good fail safe mod as these motors do not like mega hot oil (240 degrees +) even though a decent synthetic is good for a fair bit more than that!

[theboyfold]

So the engines and major running gear should be ok with about 100k on them, no real major worries about them lasting? Just look for a good history and a solid feeling on the test drive I guess?

[Phugoid]

theboyfold said:

So the engines and major running gear should be ok with about 100k on them, no real major worries about them lasting? Just look for a good history and a solid feeling on the test drive I guess?

As with any BMW 6 they'll generally handle 200K + easily. Some say the S50 really begins to open up and reach its full potential at 100k, not sure if that's myth or not but mine's on 107k now and feels and sounds incredibly healthy. At 100k however it'd want new suspension consumables which are not cheap, assuming it hasnt been done before. Rust is prevalent round the rear arches and the bootlid area, finding one without is difficult but I'm not sure that'd be a priority for a track day car.

Get one, the performance bargain!

[GTWayne]

It really is about as simple as that. Remember the 3.0ltr is not Vanos free - it is merely single and not double but to be honest, the hype has once again clouded the actuality and this is not really the huge problem that it was ever supposed to be so don't get to bent out of shape about it. I would be surprised if you can't find at least one worn bush or bearing but you may be able to make this work in your favour as a bargaining tool, a couple of hundred quid will cover bush replacement and to be honest, as the fella above said, at that sort of mileage it is probably the single best performance sharpening bit of required maintenance that you can do, good luck

[andygtt]

Ive had an M3 Evo for nearly 5 years now and its been pretty much trouble free and ultra reliable... got it with 105k on the clock and its done 165k now although ive bearly used it in the last year.

Only mods ive done is the air filter and exhaust, they could do with better suspension and brakes but you dont need them for a road car.

Bloody fantastic car with what I consider the best production car engine out there (100bhp per litre NA engine that can do 200k!!!).