Will E36 cars appreciate?

[SidewaysSi]

They will be worth £100k soon I think.

Mine has been perfect. No issues at all. I would have spent around £7k on upgrades to make it more focused.

A very enjoyable driver's car and thoroughly exploitable on road. A cracking machine

[So]

SidewaysSi said:

They will be worth £100k soon I think.

The bits in bold contradict each other I think.

[LanceRS]

So said:

RobM77 said:

Yes, but like most classics, you may still not make money out of them. I tried to run an E36 328i sport coupé a few years ago and spent £5k on it in two years. I sold it in the end; I just didn't know what was going to fail next. You may buy the car secondhand cheap, but you'll be buying the parts new, and a £40k car is made up of bits that total at least £40k!...

A very sensible post and it's what has stopped me so far, despite my desire and continual encouragement from my son.

You see:

1. They are a cool looking car. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

2. They remind me of the 1990s when I also looked cool. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

3. They are eminently affordable TO BUY.

But.

1. They are a car that more than many has enjoyed the attention of tear-arsed drift-chavs.

2. They are from the 1990s, which is twenty something years ago now.

3. Even when they were new and under warranty they used to require a steady stream of new parts. But nowadays there is no warranty...

So I shall probably do about an E36 what I do about having sex with young attractive women. Daydream about the 90s.

If it helps, the biggest bill I ever had on mine was the new clutch. That,the replacement shocks and the radiator were the only real non Service items it had. I didn’t think that was too bad for a 17 year old car with 172k on the clock.
It was starting to show a few signs of the dreaded rust, but not too bad.
Go on, make your son happy, get it bought while there are still some to buy.

[DJMC]

g3org3y said:

What issues did you have DJMC?

318i four door. Just unremarkable after E30 316 and once into E46 318i. Then after the E46 something horrible came in, can't recall the model designation but I left three series alone after the E46. Had an 18 plate 320d saloon courtesy car recently. Again, nothing special, just a method of transport.

[So]

LanceRS said:

So said:

RobM77 said:

Yes, but like most classics, you may still not make money out of them. I tried to run an E36 328i sport coupé a few years ago and spent £5k on it in two years. I sold it in the end; I just didn't know what was going to fail next. You may buy the car secondhand cheap, but you'll be buying the parts new, and a £40k car is made up of bits that total at least £40k!...

A very sensible post and it's what has stopped me so far, despite my desire and continual encouragement from my son.

You see:

1. They are a cool looking car. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

2. They remind me of the 1990s when I also looked cool. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

3. They are eminently affordable TO BUY.

But.

1. They are a car that more than many has enjoyed the attention of tear-arsed drift-chavs.

2. They are from the 1990s, which is twenty something years ago now.

3. Even when they were new and under warranty they used to require a steady stream of new parts. But nowadays there is no warranty...

So I shall probably do about an E36 what I do about having sex with young attractive women. Daydream about the 90s.

If it helps, the biggest bill I ever had on mine was the new clutch. That,the replacement shocks and the radiator were the only real non Service items it had. I didn’t think that was too bad for a 17 year old car with 172k on the clock.
It was starting to show a few signs of the dreaded rust, but not too bad.
Go on, make your son happy, get it bought while there are still some to buy.

I might do. If a 328i sport coupe in silver comes up with the right miles and condition. I may countenance a blue one.

[CRA1G]

So said:

I might do. If a 328i sport coupe in silver comes up with the right miles and condition. I may countenance a blue one.

What about yellow.... can't beat a bit of Dakar....

[330ti]

DJMC said:

g3org3y said:

What issues did you have DJMC?

318i four door. Just unremarkable after E30 316 and once into E46 318i. Then after the E46 something horrible came in, can't recall the model designation but I left three series alone after the E46. Had an 18 plate 320d saloon courtesy car recently. Again, nothing special, just a method of transport.

You had all the bottom of the range rubbish four cylinder cars no wonder you weren’t impressed.

[helix402]

They’ve already appreciated. I sold a 4dr 328i manual E36 for £600 a few years ago.

It went to Poland on a car transporter.

[g3org3y]

RobM77 said:

Yes, but like most classics, you may still not make money out of them. I tried to run an E36 328i sport coupé a few years ago and spent £5k on it in two years. I sold it in the end; I just didn't know what was going to fail next. You may buy the car secondhand cheap, but you'll be buying the parts new, and a £40k car is made up of bits that total at least £40k!...

What did you spend 5k on (in 2 years)?

Cooling system apart, I felt my E36 was very robust (and one cooling issue was a stone piercing the bottom of the rad). Rear springs did seem to be considered consumables.

214k miles - original clutch and original exhaust.

330ti said:

DJMC said:

g3org3y said:

What issues did you have DJMC?

318i four door. Just unremarkable after E30 316 and once into E46 318i. Then after the E46 something horrible came in, can't recall the model designation but I left three series alone after the E46. Had an 18 plate 320d saloon courtesy car recently. Again, nothing special, just a method of transport.

You had all the bottom of the range rubbish four cylinder cars no wonder you weren’t impressed.

Disappointing engines are disappointing. E36s need 6 cylinders (of at least 2.5 litre capacity imo).

Edited by g3org3y on Saturday 23 November 17:02

[4rephill]

CRA1G said:

So said:

I might do. If a 328i sport coupe in silver comes up with the right miles and condition. I may countenance a blue one.

What about yellow.... can't beat a bit of Dakar....

A Dakar yellow E36 328i Sport would have to be an "Individual" special order model - That's going to be a rare beast!

(Or a repainted car of course!)

[CRA1G]

4rephill said:

A Dakar yellow E36 328i Sport would have to be an "Individual" special order model - That's going to be a rare beast!

(Or a repainted car of course!)

Yes I was thinking of my E36 M3 Evo....I have seen a 328 at a rally,my son had a E46 330Ci sport individual in Dakar my 840 sport is also a individual in Dakar...

[Kettmark]

What are people's thoughts on the 318is?

[helix402]

Kettmark said:

What are people's thoughts on the 318is?

They are good fun. A later 4 door M44 in particular. They like revs and are quite noisy engines in a fun way.

[Kettmark]

What about an early coupe? Good long term investment potential with low miles?

[Mr Tidy]

Some people seem to think they are climbing already going by this advert:- https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[gizlaroc]

They have been climbing for years, I guess it is whether they are going to continue?

Of course in another 10 years they will be more expensive, and probably double again in 10 more years, but will they drop a bit before they go up again?


The issue at the moment is, a decent respray is £5k+, sorting suspension a couple of grand, replacing worm trim bits and faded rubbers etc. can be a grand etc. etc.

Now how many are worth spending that sort of money on?

Going to advertise this in the next couple of weeks, will be asking quite a lot, but there will be a buyer who thinks it is worth the money. And it is an 80k mile M3 Evo so worth a gamble on getting things done.
Don't think it will recoup the money spent prepping it to be honest, in fact think it will be £3k or more hit, but sometimes it just feels the right thing to do.

[So]

gizlaroc said:

They have been climbing for years, I guess it is whether they are going to continue?

Of course in another 10 years they will be more expensive, and probably double again in 10 more years, but will they drop a bit before they go up again?


The issue at the moment is, a decent respray is £5k+, sorting suspension a couple of grand, replacing worm trim bits and faded rubbers etc. can be a grand etc. etc.

Now how many are worth spending that sort of money on?

Going to advertise this in the next couple of weeks, will be asking quite a lot, but there will be a buyer who thinks it is worth the money. And it is an 80k mile M3 Evo so worth a gamble on getting things done.
Don't think it will recoup the money spent prepping it to be honest, in fact think it will be £3k or more hit, but sometimes it just feels the right thing to do.

That looks lovely.

Ironically, if it were a 328i Sport I would make you an offer for it. When I owned a 328i Sport I wanted the M3!

[MParallel]

With all the Greta’s in the world, I fear that we’ll see the moment, where cars like this are no longer allowed on roads, sooner than later.

In which case they’ll become worthless junks of steel.

[RobM77]

MParallel said:

With all the Greta’s in the world, I fear that we’ll see the moment, where cars like this are no longer allowed on roads, sooner than later.

In which case they’ll become worthless junks of steel.

Classics are in such a minority I doubt that'll ever happen, other than perhaps town centres. You can still drive a veteran car with a top speed of 5mph on the public road. We also still have steam trains belching black smoke, and classic aircraft that burn a gallon of fuel every minute. I'm confident that legislation will always just target the majority.

[Kettmark]

Shall we all hazard a guess as to the likely asking price of this?:

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...