E36 Cabriolet buying information..
Discussion
I'm looking at buying an E36 cabriolet (you may notice i started a thread re. nikasil issues..) The one i've got my eye on is a 1993 325 manual.
I'm looking to the PH collective knowledge for any advice of anything to look out for.
I've owned two E30's in the past, 318 and 325 Baurs, hopefully E36's arn't as prone to tinrot. I am aware that like their E30 ancestors E36's do munch rear subframe bushes (i did this job on BOTH my E30s....) and of course there is the BMW 6 pot headgasket gremlim as well i assume.
Anyway....the car i'm looking at ATM has done 101000 miles, looks un-molested and has some S/H....
Do your worst
I'm looking to the PH collective knowledge for any advice of anything to look out for.
I've owned two E30's in the past, 318 and 325 Baurs, hopefully E36's arn't as prone to tinrot. I am aware that like their E30 ancestors E36's do munch rear subframe bushes (i did this job on BOTH my E30s....) and of course there is the BMW 6 pot headgasket gremlim as well i assume.
Anyway....the car i'm looking at ATM has done 101000 miles, looks un-molested and has some S/H....
Do your worst
Never heard of a headgasket failure in all my time spent with E36's and you won't have a problem with 325 and Nikasil.
Join www.bmwowner.com/forum for a wealth of E36 info, its their speciality.
Join www.bmwowner.com/forum for a wealth of E36 info, its their speciality.
Hi
My experience of HG failure is with M20 and M30 engines, so maybe the problem was solved on later engines. The HG went on my 325 Baur at about 130000, i replaced the whole engine as the bottom end was ropey...hey presto as the second engine hit 120000 odd the HG went on that too. My dad had two 7 series, an E23 and E32, both suffered from HG failure at around 130k.
Are there any particular trouble areas with the M50 engine?
My experience of HG failure is with M20 and M30 engines, so maybe the problem was solved on later engines. The HG went on my 325 Baur at about 130000, i replaced the whole engine as the bottom end was ropey...hey presto as the second engine hit 120000 odd the HG went on that too. My dad had two 7 series, an E23 and E32, both suffered from HG failure at around 130k.
Are there any particular trouble areas with the M50 engine?
Just watch out for the leaky roof at the edge of the windscreen. The E36 will have a lot more scuttle shake than your Baur. I had a 328 Sport end of the line model. Was good fun but wasn't the greatest beemer to drive. Felt a little floppy even when compared with the same engined Z3.
Thanks for all the info.
Quick question....
I'm looking at a car but it has cloth seats, not a deal breaker as the rest of the car is very good.
However leather would be nice, so are the seats in the convertible unique or will the set from a coupe fit? just been looking on the bay and there are lots of leather coupe interiors on there.
tia
Quick question....
I'm looking at a car but it has cloth seats, not a deal breaker as the rest of the car is very good.
However leather would be nice, so are the seats in the convertible unique or will the set from a coupe fit? just been looking on the bay and there are lots of leather coupe interiors on there.
tia
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