Buying a e36 touring

[muhuha]

Hi all looking to buy a e36 touring but can't seem to find a solid overview of one particular engine. There's the 2.0 6cyl, 2.3 and 2.8..... concentrating one the 2.0& 2.3 is there much in it power and MPG wise? They all seem rather high mileage 130k but surely that's nothing now days (but the car is 1997ish)? Any common problems and how reliable are we talking, i'd be doing about 7k a year.

Thanks

[Fox-]

muhuha said:

There's the 2.0 6cyl, 2.3 and 2.8..... concentrating one the 2.0& 2.3 is there much in it power and MPG wise?

There is no 2.3 litre engine.

There is a 320i - this is a 6 cylinder 2 litre M52 with 150bhp. There is a 323i - this is a 2.5 litre M52 with 167bhp. There is a 328i, this is a 2.8 litre M52 with 192bhp.

With the exception of insurance you will find the running costs are virtually identical irrespective of engine size. They all deliver similar fuel economy, they all cost the same to service, they all cost the same to repair if things go wrong.

Therefore buy a 328i.

[Rotary Madness]

Suspension will be buggered on older ones, especially RTAB and the front lollipop wishbone bushes. They can be fixed at home if you own lots of fire and are competent enough, otherwise itll cost a couple hundred to fix both.

Otherwise theyre pretty bombproof if serviced properly.

[rallycross]

muhuha said:

Hi all looking to buy a e36 touring but can't seem to find a solid overview of one particular engine. There's the 2.0 6cyl, 2.3 and 2.8..... concentrating one the 2.0& 2.3 is there much in it power and MPG wise? They all seem rather high mileage 130k but surely that's nothing now days (but the car is 1997ish)? Any common problems and how reliable are we talking, i'd be doing about 7k a year.

Thanks

Good cars even though getting old now, if you find one thats been well cared for it will still drive nicely and have plenty of life left even above 130k with fsh.

323 and 328 are similar to drive, I found my 323 was amazing on petrol, both the 323 and 328 will do almost 40 mpg sitting at a steady 70, but in day to day driving the 323 gives better mpg my 328. The smaller engined one feels a bit sluggish compared to the 2.5/2.8.

Watch out for

rust on rear arches and tailgate
central locking working ok
&
Worn engines, if they have nikasil block (96-98) they can use oil and be difficult to start in really cold weather, they can go on for years like this before they finally need replaced, and its very hard to spot one if its already warmed up.

Two ways to check, on tickover does it feel like its idling just slightly uneven? with the drivers door open does the window vibrate? If so probably low compression and on its way out. Also when driving keep the sunroof slightly open, the exhaust gases tend to get pulled back in through the gap in sunroof so if it smells of burning oil when you put your foot down its probably a worn engine.

[WeirdNeville]

poster above said:

both the 323 and 328 will do almost 40 mpg sitting at a steady 70, but in day to day driving the 323 gives better mpg my 328. The smaller engined one feels a bit sluggish compared to the 2.5/2.8.

Sorry, but that's a lie.
There's no WAY you're going to get 40mpg out of a 328i touring. I get a solid 30Mpg average across a tank, best I've managed is 37Mpg on the trip computer on a 40 mile run into london at a stead 50-60Mpg, really hypermiling it, but I know the trip computer is about 5% optimistic.

Great cars though, just check the items mentioned above. At 7,000 miles a year buy a 323i or 328i with the best condition, history and milage possible. That said, mine has 167k miles on it and still drives brilliantly, all considered. Parts are surprisingly cheap - a pair of lower arms with bushes are £90 delivered, I got a pair of Bilstein rear shocks for £80 to freshen up the suspension and working on them is a joy. The first time you change the oil filter you'll wonder why all cars aren't designed that way.

Edited by WeirdNeville on Wednesday 24th November 17:50

[edo]

There must be a catch here surely?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2247764.htm

BMW 323i Sport Touring Auto (1998)
26,500 miles £3,995


blue, petrol, automatic, 26,5600 geniune miles, MOT expires 21-09-2011, Tax expires end of March 2011, 2 owners, recently serviced at cost of £600, full leather interior, air conditioning, alloy wheels, roof rails, radio cassette player, rear headrests, central locking, PAS, trip computer, front and back electric windows, front head restraints, height adjustable drivers seat.

[varsas]

WeirdNeville said:

but I know the trip computer is about 5% optimistic.

You can calibrate them, see here:

http://www.bimmerinfo.com/E36_OBC_tricks.htm

if you are saying it's reading 5% over you would want to set value 20 to about 950, once calibrated it'll be pretty accurate.

As for buying a car; watch for rust on the rear arches and gearboxes and suspension wear (as people have said). Most of the ones I test drove had a very notchy gearboxes, even mine isn't great when cold.

[rallycross]

WeirdNeville said:

poster above said:

both the 323 and 328 will do almost 40 mpg sitting at a steady 70, but in day to day driving the 323 gives better mpg my 328. The smaller engined one feels a bit sluggish compared to the 2.5/2.8.

Sorry, but that's a lie.
There's no WAY you're going to get 40mpg out of a 328i touring. I get a solid 30Mpg average across a tank, best I've managed is 37Mpg on the trip computer on a 40 mile 7:50[/footnote]

We had a 328 sport tourer auto that we used to do London to Newcastle and Newcastle to Cornwall in sitting on cruise it would read 39+ on the OBC, but most of the time it was driven quite hard and would return lower mpg, driven steady it genuinely gave close to 40 on long runs.

[muhuha]

thanks for the advice all, well i think the 328i is out of my range insurance wise and i want it cheap on petrol to be honest. I'm 19 and been driving a 200sx s13 for almost 2years and they return 25mpg being steady so wanted something a bit bigger and cheaper too run. Anything wrong with the 320 apart from power? I'm not using it as a rocket ship but maybe as a tow car.... also in regards to price, how is a 13y/o car with silly mileage worth 2-3k seems a tad overpriced IMO

[Fox-]

edo said:

There must be a catch here surely?

The fact its £4k for a 12 year old two generation old 3 Series isnt enough for you?

[Mr_B]

I just bought a cheap eBay 323I Sport Touring.So far it's proving to be a good cheap car that I can improve on as I'm happy to DIY.
Body wise the rear arches go along with door bottoms and the tailgate too.Mine has the shot trailing arm bushes and the front wishbone bushes. You can get a set of Meyle brand ( o/e quality ) for £40 for both pairs. If the car feels like the rear end is stepping sideways when goig over drain covers or the like, thats the rear bushes. If you are happy to DIY on the car then most parts are very cheap, but don't get unbranded nasty replacement parts as they are junk. Ask on some E36 forums what's best and brands like Meyel or Lemforder for suspension parts will get a mention.
Check all the electrics and and things like the central locking work OK and that you have a set of the coded keys with the car and both front door locks operate.

[disco!!!!]

muhuha said:

thanks for the advice all, well i think the 328i is out of my range insurance wise and i want it cheap on petrol to be honest. I'm 19 and been driving a 200sx s13 for almost 2years and they return 25mpg being steady so wanted something a bit bigger and cheaper too run. Anything wrong with the 320 apart from power? I'm not using it as a rocket ship but maybe as a tow car.... also in regards to price, how is a 13y/o car with silly mileage worth 2-3k seems a tad overpriced IMO

the 320s are also a bit rubbish on the fuel, a good 318iS is only about 10 bhp down but the 4 cylinder engine is way lighter, better on the fuel and would have a 320 in the corners

[WeirdNeville]

varsas said:

WeirdNeville said:

but I know the trip computer is about 5% optimistic.

You can calibrate them, see here:

http://www.bimmerinfo.com/E36_OBC_tricks.htm

if you are saying it's reading 5% over you would want to set value 20 to about 950, once calibrated it'll be pretty accurate.

As for buying a car; watch for rust on the rear arches and gearboxes and suspension wear (as people have said). Most of the ones I test drove had a very notchy gearboxes, even mine isn't great when cold.

Thanks for that, handy tip!

To the OP: By all means go for one. If you're towing with it, you'll be glad of the extra power of a 323i or 328i, and economy won't be that much different I wouldn't expect. As for insurance, just run the different models through confused or compare the market, I'd be surprised if there was a huge difference.
About £1k should net you a good high milage but decent condition 323 or 328.