E36 328i coupe - whats the going rate these days?
Discussion
Probably not, I'd say double that and you'd still be lucky. There are precious few that haven't fallen into the hands of someone undesirable who has ruined it. Good ones are commanding more and more money, like any BMW of the era. Bear in mind they can be cheap cars to run, but to keep them tip top you will spend a fortune.
In a word, no.
I had mine written off two years ago. It had 172k miles on it and the insurance paid out £1250. I searched a lot for replacements which I provided for the insurers, half decent ones were between £2000 and £4500 even then.
Too many have gone to drifters/scrap yards/people of questionable taste, leaving not enough for those of us who truly appreciate what a little gem of a car they are.
I wish you luck in your quest though.
I had mine written off two years ago. It had 172k miles on it and the insurance paid out £1250. I searched a lot for replacements which I provided for the insurers, half decent ones were between £2000 and £4500 even then.
Too many have gone to drifters/scrap yards/people of questionable taste, leaving not enough for those of us who truly appreciate what a little gem of a car they are.
I wish you luck in your quest though.
Another no man here I am afraid.
With searching you "may" get lucky but I doubt it.
While they don't cost much to maintain or even keep in good shape they were at the price where people just didn't want to spend any money on them.
Alot of them I have seen for sale now all tend to have a little rust on them, have been drifted and despite being a "clean" car have questionable bits fitted on them to suggest otherwise including untidy aftermarket wiring looms and electric fans to replace the AC and viscous fan because "racecar". The latter being despite the fact that alot of aftermarket fans won't shift enough air to keep them cool (i.e, above 2500CFM at a minimum; most cheap fans will struggle to do half that).
I know of one candidate for your but it is 320i that is now a 323i due to an engine swap as well as being on coilovers and an iS spec rear diff. I can put you in touch.
While it is tempting to get a "cheap" 328i I'll say it again ; Buy the best you can afford. If you buy right it will be cheaper in the long run by quite a way.
With searching you "may" get lucky but I doubt it.
While they don't cost much to maintain or even keep in good shape they were at the price where people just didn't want to spend any money on them.
Alot of them I have seen for sale now all tend to have a little rust on them, have been drifted and despite being a "clean" car have questionable bits fitted on them to suggest otherwise including untidy aftermarket wiring looms and electric fans to replace the AC and viscous fan because "racecar". The latter being despite the fact that alot of aftermarket fans won't shift enough air to keep them cool (i.e, above 2500CFM at a minimum; most cheap fans will struggle to do half that).
I know of one candidate for your but it is 320i that is now a 323i due to an engine swap as well as being on coilovers and an iS spec rear diff. I can put you in touch.
While it is tempting to get a "cheap" 328i I'll say it again ; Buy the best you can afford. If you buy right it will be cheaper in the long run by quite a way.
No chance, and that's if you can even find one for sale!
I paid £1650 to rescue my banged up 328 sport from its previous pauper (oh sorry i mean owner) 6 years ago, and I've dropped about £1200 a year on it up until recently mechanically restoring / maintaining it through rolling repairs.
And I've still got about £3k worth of body work to consider as it was already banged up and rusty back then!
The last tidy 328 coupe I saw for sale recently was an unmolested low mileage garage queen 328 sport with an auto box and the owner wanted around 14K !!!!
I paid £1650 to rescue my banged up 328 sport from its previous pauper (oh sorry i mean owner) 6 years ago, and I've dropped about £1200 a year on it up until recently mechanically restoring / maintaining it through rolling repairs.
And I've still got about £3k worth of body work to consider as it was already banged up and rusty back then!
The last tidy 328 coupe I saw for sale recently was an unmolested low mileage garage queen 328 sport with an auto box and the owner wanted around 14K !!!!
You stand a chance of finding a decent 323i, 170 bhp and not too shy. Forget Sport models, a nice SE is fine as long as it's original and unmolsted. An M50 manifold and remap gets them up to 190-200 bhp.
By the time they're on coilovers and have had one or more of the usual 'enthusiast' owners, the game is up. I can see a nice standard E36 Coupe being very desirable in years to come. The ER36 was one of the last simple, fixable BMW's. The E46 was just a rust bucket with some very tiresome issues and if the E90 I have now is any indication, they're just rubbish.
By the time they're on coilovers and have had one or more of the usual 'enthusiast' owners, the game is up. I can see a nice standard E36 Coupe being very desirable in years to come. The ER36 was one of the last simple, fixable BMW's. The E46 was just a rust bucket with some very tiresome issues and if the E90 I have now is any indication, they're just rubbish.
This is worth a look - lose the stupid M badge though.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/bmw-e36-coupe-2-5-manual...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/bmw-e36-coupe-2-5-manual...
SebringMan said:
Have you driven an E36? I'd drive one first and then drive an E46. I preferred the latter by quite a bit. Yes they are heavier but they seem to 'work'.
tbf i havent but ive hankered after one for a long time now that it was an itch i wanted to scratch. im not even a BMW person, total jdm fanboy but an e36 coupe just looks right to my eyes.I'll be honest here, and I don't want to deflate the vibe.
I bought my 323i because it was cheap. £950 worth of cheap! For that I got:
A 2.5 Manual
3 Owner Car
130k on the clock
2 months of free tax ( a mate owned it and after buying a car from him before I knew what he was like with no. plate transfers)
On top of that it had:
-Discs, pads and Calipers changed before he bought the car
-New LUK clutch fitted by him
-Koni springs and dampers all round
-New genuine top mounts
-Powerflex front lollypop bushes and PowerFlex Black Series RTAB bushes
-Style 68" 17" wheels on cheapo but brand new tyres
-Full service done almost everywhere.
-New Lemforder E30 Lower Arms
-Sports Seats
All I did to it was change the thermostat, reinstate the 15" wheels with Continental WinterContact part-worn tyres and reset the geometry prior to that.
According to most people here it should have been a wet dream. 6 pot, manual and an iconic 3 series. It was not to be. In short;
-The coveted manual was annoying ; quick flick from 3rd to 4th? Crunch! Neutral to first? Crunch. You get the idea... It's a shame as the gearshifter was a very light action. I sort of wished it was an auto!
Bear in mind my other car had a Helix 4 paddle clutch (Escort RS Turbo Series 1 running 230BHP). In a few respects I preferred that and that is saying something! Anyone who has driven a paddle clutched car will appreciate that.
-Steering ; It didn't have much feel despite all of the suspension improvements and TBH the steering was on the slow side. I have owned my share of classic cars as well!
-On a run it was fine but it could have done with feeling more planted.
-Not much pace. I've had a 306 GTi-6 before and a Mondeo 2.5 Auto Mk3. While this 323i could shift it never felt 'all that'. It seemed that the harder you revved it the more noise it made! Sure you went faster but it was not exactly inspiring. You feeling the love? Me neither?
-4 seater car? Yes! Practical? No chance! My Clio 172 boot was more practical!
My old man had a MkIV Mondeo 2.5T which in comparison was a revelation despite being wrong wheel drive and having more miles. The gearbox like most Fords was superb and the engine was a superb package to go with the car.
Even if my E46 M3 has the haters gearbox, I'd dare to say it's a much better car in almost every way over my E36 323i. The only thing I don't like about it are the costs associated with an M-Car. Then again I guess you cannot have your cake and eat it.
A mate of mine has bought a 323i Manual Touring in quite a sheddy condition. If I am honest, I preferred that to the 323i in terms of driving dynamics, and pulling power etc. That car even has 30k over the 323i ; the E46 is on 152k and rising.
While my review differs it is my experience. Like many I really looked forward to owning an E36 but that put me off. It's a shame as the car itself was quite reliable and with the work done to it should have been a long lived car and a cheap car for me to own in the long run.
But what do I know? The above comments would claim that I am no petrolhead...
I bought my 323i because it was cheap. £950 worth of cheap! For that I got:
A 2.5 Manual
3 Owner Car
130k on the clock
2 months of free tax ( a mate owned it and after buying a car from him before I knew what he was like with no. plate transfers)
On top of that it had:
-Discs, pads and Calipers changed before he bought the car
-New LUK clutch fitted by him
-Koni springs and dampers all round
-New genuine top mounts
-Powerflex front lollypop bushes and PowerFlex Black Series RTAB bushes
-Style 68" 17" wheels on cheapo but brand new tyres
-Full service done almost everywhere.
-New Lemforder E30 Lower Arms
-Sports Seats
All I did to it was change the thermostat, reinstate the 15" wheels with Continental WinterContact part-worn tyres and reset the geometry prior to that.
According to most people here it should have been a wet dream. 6 pot, manual and an iconic 3 series. It was not to be. In short;
-The coveted manual was annoying ; quick flick from 3rd to 4th? Crunch! Neutral to first? Crunch. You get the idea... It's a shame as the gearshifter was a very light action. I sort of wished it was an auto!
Bear in mind my other car had a Helix 4 paddle clutch (Escort RS Turbo Series 1 running 230BHP). In a few respects I preferred that and that is saying something! Anyone who has driven a paddle clutched car will appreciate that.
-Steering ; It didn't have much feel despite all of the suspension improvements and TBH the steering was on the slow side. I have owned my share of classic cars as well!
-On a run it was fine but it could have done with feeling more planted.
-Not much pace. I've had a 306 GTi-6 before and a Mondeo 2.5 Auto Mk3. While this 323i could shift it never felt 'all that'. It seemed that the harder you revved it the more noise it made! Sure you went faster but it was not exactly inspiring. You feeling the love? Me neither?
-4 seater car? Yes! Practical? No chance! My Clio 172 boot was more practical!
My old man had a MkIV Mondeo 2.5T which in comparison was a revelation despite being wrong wheel drive and having more miles. The gearbox like most Fords was superb and the engine was a superb package to go with the car.
Even if my E46 M3 has the haters gearbox, I'd dare to say it's a much better car in almost every way over my E36 323i. The only thing I don't like about it are the costs associated with an M-Car. Then again I guess you cannot have your cake and eat it.
A mate of mine has bought a 323i Manual Touring in quite a sheddy condition. If I am honest, I preferred that to the 323i in terms of driving dynamics, and pulling power etc. That car even has 30k over the 323i ; the E46 is on 152k and rising.
While my review differs it is my experience. Like many I really looked forward to owning an E36 but that put me off. It's a shame as the car itself was quite reliable and with the work done to it should have been a long lived car and a cheap car for me to own in the long run.
But what do I know? The above comments would claim that I am no petrolhead...
Edited by SebringMan on Friday 17th February 00:44
Edited by SebringMan on Friday 17th February 00:45
Edited by SebringMan on Friday 17th February 00:46
As above, a worn out 100k+ mile car with no upgrades is probably not that great to drive.
Depends what you are after - they are no agile hot hatch at all. Before my E36, I had an Integra R which was certainly more focused machine out of the box, hiwever speed wise, my 328i is probably on a par with the Honda.
I think if you spend £5k or so as a total package (can plus upgrades), you could have something really quite good to drive. And they do something the Honda couldn't - power oversteer.
Plenty of E36s are out there on track so the base car can't be too bad - you need to bring out some of the focus.
http://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-fleet/bmw-3...
I can see a 'Clubsport' style build as being a rather nice road car.
Depends what you are after - they are no agile hot hatch at all. Before my E36, I had an Integra R which was certainly more focused machine out of the box, hiwever speed wise, my 328i is probably on a par with the Honda.
I think if you spend £5k or so as a total package (can plus upgrades), you could have something really quite good to drive. And they do something the Honda couldn't - power oversteer.
Plenty of E36s are out there on track so the base car can't be too bad - you need to bring out some of the focus.
http://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-fleet/bmw-3...
I can see a 'Clubsport' style build as being a rather nice road car.
I recently got one (See readers cars thread 328i Sport Coupe) for less than your budget but I have to replace the engine so if you fancy a bit of work they are out there - bodywork wise mine is ok, couple of rust patches that need doing but it's pretty straight. Running/driving model as others have said north of £3k.
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