It's Such a Shame that E36s Rust.

[Emeye]

Over lunch I looked at a nicely spec'd, mechanically sorted E36 BMW 323i Touring. It had heated sports seats, climate etc etc. Shame about the rust - Even for just under £1k it was just too flaky.

Every E36 I've driven has been lovely, it's just such a shame that many of them are rotten.

[varsas]

Yeah, I've seen some really bad ones. Shame, rest of the car seems well made. My advice would be to only look at ones with less then 80,000miles or ask for wheel arch pics before traveling.

[foz01]

E46's are just as bad!

[Andy665]

varsas said:

Yeah, I've seen some really bad ones. Shame, rest of the car seems well made. My advice would be to only look at ones with less then 80,000miles or ask for wheel arch pics before traveling.

Why would sub 80,000 mile cars be any less rusty - surely its how they have been kept thats the issue. I have a totally rust free 125k E36

[redgriff500]

Compared to most cars of a similar age they are in fantastic condition.

Except you can't actually compare them to most 15+yr old cars, as most of them have already been scrapped.

[fatboy69]

No rust anywhere on my 110k miles E36. It's in better condition than swmo's crappy Renault Laguna!!

[BDR529]

The rear arches on my T reg one are in okay condition, they are starting to bubble. Granted there is a design flaw in the rear arches which allows dirt and mud to build up, my solution is to scrape away this dirt with my fingers every 1-2 weeks.

[Baryonyx]

varsas said:

Yeah, I've seen some really bad ones. Shame, rest of the car seems well made. My advice would be to only look at ones with less then 80,000miles or ask for wheel arch pics before traveling.

Hmm, I'm not sure about this. Good pictures the the sills and arches are of use when buying any car, but mileage shouldn't be an issue. I've seen 'low miler' E39's of the same era that are in terrible condition and high miler models that look great.

Similarly, my 1998 MX5 was clean despite being a UK car. At the time I bought it, I looked at several later NB MX5's, on plates as late 2005 and 2006 that were horribly rusted! It varies from car to car.

[Emeye]

Do you think I am asking too much to find a relatively rust free E36 323 or 328 for around £1K?

[badgerade]

Emeye said:

Do you think I am asking too much to find a relatively rust free E36 323 or 328 for around £1K?

From experience, no. I picked up a P reg 323 last August for 1k which had no rust on the rear arches. Can see a very small bubble on the rear pax arch now though which is very distressing!

[S3_Graham]

Emeye said:

Do you think I am asking too much to find a relatively rust free E36 323 or 328 for around £1K?

Yes,

A good E36 is worth more. A cheap E36 will have some issues.

[BDR529]

Emeye said:

Do you think I am asking too much to find a relatively rust free E36 323 or 328 for around £1K?

I think you would struggle, unless you got a lucky bid on one on fleabay.
I've seen a few that look in very good nick go for around the 1K-1.1K mark, doesn't happen too often though.

[Gooly]

323, sure, 328, probably not. Since it's the highest spec before the M3, it attracts a disproportionate amount more attention than a 325 or a 323 as people tend to see it as the quickest E36 they can buy without suffering from the ///M tax on parts.

[s m]

Emeye said:

Do you think I am asking too much to find a relatively rust free E36 323 or 328 for around £1K?

If you're prepared to have a saloon your opportunities will be greater.

Everyone wants the coupe or Touring for looks/practicality.

[Emeye]

s m said:

If you're prepared to have a saloon your opportunities will be greater.

Everyone wants the coupe or Touring for looks/practicality.

I'm not fussed, a saloon would probably suit me better.

[varsas]

Andy665 said:

varsas said:

Yeah, I've seen some really bad ones. Shame, rest of the car seems well made. My advice would be to only look at ones with less then 80,000miles or ask for wheel arch pics before traveling.

Why would sub 80,000 mile cars be any less rusty - surely its how they have been kept thats the issue. I have a totally rust free 125k E36

They rust because mud etc gets flung up into the wheel arches, and because salt and stones attack the paint...less miles means less attacks on the paint. Just my limited experience.

As for comparing them to other cars they seem more prone to rust then contemporary Vectras. Again just my limited experience.