E36 (6 cyl) running costs?
Discussion
Hi,
I'm looking to change my daily driver in the next month or two. I need something that's going to be reliable, with minimal maintenance costs (fuel isn't hugely important though) and room for a couple of mountain bikes (minus wheels) in the back. I've got a mk1 Focus at the moment, but it's frankly a little boring and I'm considering other options. I'm basically 90% sold on the idea of either a Peugeot 306 GTi6 (comparitively cheap and practical) or a VW Corrado VR6 (more evocative, but more of a gamble with running costs and practicality) and then it occured to me I might be missing a trick here...
Can anyone give me an idea how much an E36 325/328 would cost to run (or possibly the equivalent E46)? Better still - and this would be really good - has anyone that's got one previous run a Corrado or GTi6 for comparison?
Cheers,
Chris
I'm looking to change my daily driver in the next month or two. I need something that's going to be reliable, with minimal maintenance costs (fuel isn't hugely important though) and room for a couple of mountain bikes (minus wheels) in the back. I've got a mk1 Focus at the moment, but it's frankly a little boring and I'm considering other options. I'm basically 90% sold on the idea of either a Peugeot 306 GTi6 (comparitively cheap and practical) or a VW Corrado VR6 (more evocative, but more of a gamble with running costs and practicality) and then it occured to me I might be missing a trick here...
Can anyone give me an idea how much an E36 325/328 would cost to run (or possibly the equivalent E46)? Better still - and this would be really good - has anyone that's got one previous run a Corrado or GTi6 for comparison?
Cheers,
Chris
Chris71 said:
No one? I thought these cars were second only to the MX5 in PH estimation? 
I've got one Chris.Personally I do all the servicing I'm capable of myself - this keeps costs down. I don't know if you're capable of doing this yourself - if you can it will obviously make it much cheaper for you. I've found most bits are reasonably cheap and easy to DIY. Places like ECP, GSF, C3 all do cheaper bits than dealers but you pay your money and make your own choice
Oil changes you will need about 6.5 litres of oil ( 2 cans of oil ).
Last service I did, oil filter about a fiver, Magnatec 4.5 litres 10w/40 x 2 - £39.98 ( The Range is selling 4.5 litre cans at £19.99 at the moment which is cheap - next oil change I'll only need one 4.5 or 5 litre pack of oil though
), Air filter about a tenner.I also changed the diff oil but mine's a LSD so oil was a bit more than the open diff type - can't remember the exact price. Brake fluid change I used about 1.5 litres. Plugs are easy although you might need a hinged extension for plug socket to get at number 6 cylinder plug as it's right at the back and there's not a lot of access for a straight extension from above.
You will also need to get an approx £15 reset key to plug into the socket in the engine bay to reset the service lights if you do your own servicing.
Most awkward things I've found to do on it are
1. changing pollen filter
2. when I changed the lambdas on it ( they weren't broke but sluggish ) routing the wiring between the back of the block and the bulkhead
3. sometimes the cooling system can be a bxxxh to get airlocks out of when you change the coolant
Recently had to get new clamp pots for the ARB welded on front as I'd torn the mounts ( I do drive quite hard though and run uprated bars ) but I think that was the most expensive job I've had to farm out - £110.
If you're looking to buy one see if you can find one that's had new trailing arm/subframe/arb bushes and recent top mounts/drop links recently. Makes a big difference to how it drives. They're still a bit soft as standard, even a Sport spec, compared to a hot hatch but you can do bits and bobs to make them a 'sharper' tool. I've had a 309 GTi but not a 306 Gti-6 ( although have driven one ). IMO the BMW is a much better motorway blaster but you'll need a few mods to make it 'fun' on the twisties
On the mpg front, commuting about 30-ish mpg for me....but then several people will be along to tell me I am wrong about my own car. Suffice to say, I do a B-road commute in it, don't hold anyone up, overtake, enjoy the engine etc and get 30/31 mpg. If your commute is like the opening car for the Catalunya Rally it will be low mid 20s I guess. I don't drive in town at all. Car is a 98 E36 328i manual. If you do crawl about in town traffic it will be less, if you do a long motorway commute, probably more. I think they're quite good economy for the performance
ETA - missed the bit about the bikes - I can get a full sized MTB in the back of mine ( saloon with folding rear seats ) so i'd imagine a coupe would be the same (folding rears standard) - not tried 2 full sized bikes personally but I have a BMW roof rack so it's not something I would think to do
You should be OK in the snow with decent tyres
...but you can always get a set of winters if you're worried about getting to the good MTB places in the snowy weather
Edited by Shropshiremike on Wednesday 14th April 11:11
Edited by Shropshiremike on Wednesday 14th April 11:33
Two mtbs in the boot is tight. Our saloon does not have folding rear seats and I can squeeze two 19" hardtails in (need to loosen the handlebars on one), and two wheels. The other wheels end up behind the seats.
Most of the cars do not have folding rear seats.
There's quite a bit more space in the boot of an E46, but I wouldn't consider one unless you can stretch to a post 2002 model with revised steering and suspension.
If we took the bikes away more regularly I'd buy a roof rack.
I'd buy another tomorrow, but finding a decent one is becoming tougher. We've got a 323i SE as a daily driver and 328i touring as a track slag.
Bought the 323 with 85k on the clock. It now has about 118k on and has only let us down once (water pump made of cheese...).
Both average 28-34mpg in mixed use and feel similarly powerful on the road (323 has a remap, 328 exhaust and fewer miles than our 328).
Refresh all of the suspension if there is no evidence of it being done recently and renew the gear linkage bushes.
Most of the cars do not have folding rear seats.
There's quite a bit more space in the boot of an E46, but I wouldn't consider one unless you can stretch to a post 2002 model with revised steering and suspension.
If we took the bikes away more regularly I'd buy a roof rack.
I'd buy another tomorrow, but finding a decent one is becoming tougher. We've got a 323i SE as a daily driver and 328i touring as a track slag.
Bought the 323 with 85k on the clock. It now has about 118k on and has only let us down once (water pump made of cheese...).
Both average 28-34mpg in mixed use and feel similarly powerful on the road (323 has a remap, 328 exhaust and fewer miles than our 328).
Refresh all of the suspension if there is no evidence of it being done recently and renew the gear linkage bushes.
JimexPL said:
Two mtbs in the boot is tight. Our saloon does not have folding rear seats and I can squeeze two 19" hardtails in (need to loosen the handlebars on one), and two wheels. The other wheels end up behind the seats.
Most of the cars do not have folding rear seats.
That's very true in the saloon - I should mention I folded one of the rear seats down to get my MTB inMost of the cars do not have folding rear seats.
Is there a big diffrence in running cost for the 4cyl cars, I'm looking for a E36 for the wife and fancy a 328 so I can use now and then, but if a big cost saving then I may go for a 4 car as theat suits her. ^ cyl car is also cheaper to buy, not living in europe petrol is irrelvent to me as is insurance.
Berw said:
Is there a big diffrence in running cost for the 4cyl cars, I'm looking for a E36 for the wife and fancy a 328 so I can use now and then, but if a big cost saving then I may go for a 4 car as theat suits her. ^ cyl car is also cheaper to buy, not living in europe petrol is irrelvent to me as is insurance.
Overall servicing costs are a little higher on the 6 cylinder models, but then you do get more smiles. Check around your local independents for servicing costs - they normally have price lists for the cost of inspec1/2, oil services, etc.Okay, a change of plans means I may now be doing some fairly epic road trips over the summer (it's a hard life...) and a nice cosseting motorway car suddenly appeals even more. With that in mind I'm wondering... can you get a bike rack for the E36 in both saloon and coupe forms? As long as I can get one in regularly I think I could live with a rack when the OH wanted to come for a ride.
Chris71 said:
Okay, a change of plans means I may now be doing some fairly epic road trips over the summer (it's a hard life...) and a nice cosseting motorway car suddenly appeals even more. With that in mind I'm wondering... can you get a bike rack for the E36 in both saloon and coupe forms? As long as I can get one in regularly I think I could live with a rack when the OH wanted to come for a ride.
One for the roof? Yes definitely.One that goes on the boot ...I expect so
(ETA As long as you don't have a spoiler on the coupe you'd be ok with the one in the link below
http://www.roofrackshop.co.uk/Vehicle-Check/BMW/3-... )
Edited by Shropshiremike on Thursday 22 April 14:54
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