Will E36 cars appreciate?

[BGarside]

My current 328 is morea, but I find it a bit insipid (though perhaps not as bad as the sea of silver, black and grey moderns that surround it).

My previous 325i was Calypso Red, which was much nicer and really glowed in the sun....

[Touring442]

BGarside said:

My previous 325i was Calypso Red.

Good old Grandadrot metallic. :-) It only looks nice when really clean and shiny but it does sparkle well.

[CRA1G]

No mention of Dakar yellow... imo the best E36 colour...Ok might be a little biased having an M3,ZMC and 840 Sport in the said colour....

[Touring442]

Dakar is indeed epic.

[So]

Touring442 said:

Morea green and Samoa blue were both absolute shockers - real Nissan Almera stuff from 1996.

Samoa blue was a lovely colour when really clean and shiny - it really 'popped' in the sun, the darker Orient blue less so.

All of those were OK - and of their time. Though Orient was a bit dark.

[Mr Tidy]

aka_kerrly said:

Its not surprising is it!! Fair enough E36 M3 and 328/325i manual coupes are desirable models that are getting pretty slim in numbers.

A 320i cabriolet auto is not an enthusiasts car and it's not super low mileage either. Bet its green with beige interior or something nasty like that as well.

Well for it's age it is pretty low mileage, but I'd agree it isn't a car an enthusiast would lust after! I wouldn't want it, but then I always want my BMWs in manual flavour and the bigger the engine the better.

Well done with the crystal ball too.

It's dark metallic Green (Boston I think) but has a black full leather interior.

[So]

Mr Tidy said:

It's dark metallic Green (Boston I think) but has a black full leather interior.

A bit Marmite then.

[V1nce Fox]

never liked daytona or dakar, i wanted a subtle colour. i think as theyve aged silver is best.

[So]

V1nce Fox said:

never liked daytona or dakar, i wanted a subtle colour. i think as theyve aged silver is best.

This thread reminds me that there were few really bad colours on the E36.

[V1nce Fox]

They were a fairly handsome shaped car, but for me the colour is very make or break on them.

They still look surprisingly sharp in flat red too.

[So]

V1nce Fox said:

They were a fairly handsome shaped car, but for me the colour is very make or break on them.

They still look surprisingly sharp in flat red too.

Hmm there is a flat red 328i coupe sport near me. Not one of my top 3, though probably nice when clean.

[V1nce Fox]

[g3org3y]

geeks said:

They pretty much already are, cheap saloons and coupe are (mostly) rott boxes and the good ones are getting on for silly money!

Rust, rust rust. That's the killer on the E36s IME. Very difficult to find one that is rust free.

Mr Tidy said:

A mate of mine is hoping it happens soon!

He's been trying to sell a nice clean 320i Cabriolet Auto with just over 100k miles on it for a few months and had very little interest.

Problem is, the 2.0 litre was always considered the worst engine. Just as thirsty as the bigger sixes but v minimal performance increase over the 318i. Auto box needed at least the 2.5 imo.

Mr Tidy said:

The Nikasil bore issues I'd guess you suffered from aren't an issue any more now you can only buy unleaded petrol.

For E36s I would have thought any good (as in rust-free) Coupe, Saloon or Touring should hold it's value.

Re Nikasil engines, I'd be more wary of buying a low mileage Niksail engined car than a high mile one. The low mile example may already have damage that's yet to surface and may do once you start driving it (there was actually a member on here who suffered this very fate iirc). If a higher mile Nikasil car hasn't failed by now, it's unlikely to.

Touring442 said:

The E36 was the last BMW that was easy to work on. Everything is designed to be simple to get at, pretty straightforward - no can bus electronics, no EML. The E46 is an absolute pig by comparison, a collection of rust and fragile plastics held together by luck and designed by a maniac although a good one that's been well looked after is okay as long as you keep on top of it. They are quite needy though. A decent E36 also drives very well, even better with a few inexpensive mods such as an E46 steering rack.
318i saloons will never be wirth a great deal, 323i and 328i Coupes will, and a good Touring with any engine will always have a value. Maybe even Compacts as well.

Never needed a code reader until I purchased an E91 (and more recently a E46).

As I've said on other threads, Tourings FTW. Miss my 328i Shed.

Touring442 said:

Montreal blue was a lovely colour when really clean and shiny - it really 'popped' in the sun

Yep...was clean at one point (soon after purchase, came on Alpina reps). It did look good...

Edited by g3org3y on Friday 1st November 21:33

[Big bore]

I am just starting to restore a 323I coupe which i picked from eBay in the summer, Its 1998 car with 97000 miles on it with full service history completely orignal down to the radio.

Mechanically its sound i have given it full service all fluids and filters were changed and four tyres and it went straight through its Mot. Then was using it over the summer.

Body wise its not perfect been touched up down one side parking dents in drivers door and scuffs on bumpers, Bird pooh has burnt the paint in several places which is a shame.

Longer term its of to the body shop over the winter for a glass out and bumper and trim off full respray. We have not found any rot in her yet but until she comes apart we will know for sure so fingers crossed

The good thing i am find in this process all the replacement trim parts are still available at BMW and are not that expensive and have been collecting parts over the last six months so when she goes back together she will look as original as i can get her.

its a bit of gamble of how the prices of the E36 will go but as other people have said they are low at the moment but starting to creep and its a car i am looking to keep for a good few years.

For me its about saving a car and having something old school to drive when everybody have been forced into electric cars !

[Output Flange]

I’ve got a 328i auto saloon that I bought a couple of years ago for no good reason, that I barely use but still can’t quite bring myself to get rid of.

It’s an individual in Mora with champagne leather, and it’s bloody great!

[LanceRS]

I really miss my old 328 coupe.

Was rear ended and written off 3 years ago. I couldn’t find a replacement even then and the few that came up were far more expensive than the ‘market’ value.

[So]

LanceRS said:

I really miss my old 328 coupe.

Was rear ended and written off 3 years ago. I couldn’t find a replacement even then and the few that came up were far more expensive than the ‘market’ value.

It was an inspired move to buy one the same colour as your front door.

[LanceRS]

Anything to keep the wife happy.

[So]

LanceRS said:

Anything to keep the wife happy.

Was it the sport with the BBS wheels?

[4rephill]

LanceRS said:

I really miss my old 328 coupe.

Was rear ended and written off 3 years ago. I couldn’t find a replacement even then and the few that came up were far more expensive than the ‘market’ value.

Looks just like my old E36 328i Sport (mine was a '97 "P" plate) - Loved that car!

The rear arches started to rust horrifically, as did the area around the boot, and from the day I bought it, it used oil a litre of oil every 500 mile (strangely, it never seemed to smoke unless it was up around the red-line). I had BMW check the engine out, and they said it was the original Nikasil engine, that had finally started to suffer from bore wear.

It also had a weird habit of losing all the revs once in a blue moon when the clutch was dropped, and just cutting out completely on the approach to a junction, requiring a quick rolling bump-start to get her going again (by once in a blue moon, I mean maybe once a year, with no warning - nothing regular. BMW couldn't explain that one either - No fault codes or anything apparently wrong anywhere!). Once fired back up again, she was fine for another year plus.

I blew the motor eventually (she was burning a litre of oil every 200 miles by then), and had every intention of restoring her back to factory condition, but the funds didn't allow at the time, so she was sold off to Quarry motors, to help other E36's live on (I was so gutted when she went - I felt I had let her down ).

I replaced her with a Topaz blue E46 330ci with grey leather interior, as a temporary stop-gap car whilst I saved up for a newer car - That was 5 years ago!

The E46 is SE spec - not Sport, but has the Sport memory seats, and has Xenon headlights (which are so much better than the E36 candle headlights - I can actually see the road ahead at night, rather than having to guess where the road goes! ).

Also, the 3.0 litre M54 engine in the E46 is a much better engine than the 2.8 litre engine in the E36 (Don't get me wrong, the E36 2.8 was pretty good, but the 3.0 M54 is one of BMW's all time great engines - the torque delivery is superb!)

Which car was/is better? - Hard to say for me - I like them both.

I loved the 328i Sports M3 looks, and it's handling, but always wished it had a bit more power/torque without M3 running costs (an E36 Sport with an E46 3.0 M54 engine would've been superb!).

My E46 in SE spec is a bit soft on the handling side (despite wearing a front strut brace), but the engine pulls beautifully, and feels more flexible than my E36, which lacked the shove in the back that the E46 gives.

Also, I like the xenon headlights, the auto-wipers, the auto-dipping passenger mirror, the cruise control, the memory seats, the six stack CD unit, the steering wheel controls, and, the interior mood lighting.