BMW 3 series E36 316,318,320

[s700ttt]

Hi all ,

looking at getting a bit of an old bmw,

like the 3 series e36,

i just want to know what to look for when buying one, got my eye on a 144,000 mile 320 se saloon at the moment.

it has 12 months mot and 5 months tax ,

what do i really need to check out on this befor buying ?

thanks

[seismic22]

Biggest weakness on these seems to be the cooling system, i.e pumps, stat and viscous fan.

Rear trailing arm bushes wear and create rear end steering feel.

Front ball joints and bushes prone to failing.

Rear top mounts seem to go.

Rust round all arches particularly the rear.

Sticky lifters.

leaky power steering pipes (directly bellow bottle)

.

[s700ttt]

thanks for the reply.

it does have 11 months MOT

would the ball joint and bushes be picked up on an mot,

i dont want to buy it and it fall apart 3 miles down the road thats all i am willing to spend a bit on a bush kit ect to get it back to original,

what sort of pricing are we talking to fix these common problems ?

Edited by s700ttt on Sunday 1st January 19:50

[seismic22]

seismic22 said:

Biggest weakness on these seems to be the cooling system, i.e pumps, stat and viscous fan.

Rear trailing arm bushes wear and create rear end steering feel.

Front ball joints and bushes prone to failing.

Rear top mounts seem to go.

Rust round all arches particularly the rear.

Sticky lifters.

leaky power steering pipes (directly bellow bottle)

.

Pump stat and viscous - under 100 quid in parts and easy enough for the novice to change IF theres anything wrong with them.

Unsure whether mot picks up trailing arm bushes

Mot should pick up front ball joints

Rear top mounts are pennies - look on ECP or GSF - V.quick and easy to do for the novice.

rust arches wont be an mot fail on these really, i got a "PROPER" job done on both my rears, cut out, new stuff welded in, zince treated etc and then the rear quarters blown in for £150 which is stupid cheap but thats what i paid and the finish is top notch.

leaky p.steering pipes - cost of couple jubilee clips and your time.

[s700ttt]

seismic22 said:

Pump stat and viscous - under 100 quid in parts and easy enough for the novice to change IF theres anything wrong with them.

Unsure whether mot picks up trailing arm bushes

Mot should pick up front ball joints

Rear top mounts are pennies - look on ECP or GSF - V.quick and easy to do for the novice.

rust arches wont be an mot fail on these really, i got a "PROPER" job done on both my rears, cut out, new stuff welded in, zince treated etc and then the rear quarters blown in for £150 which is stupid cheap but thats what i paid and the finish is top notch.

leaky p.steering pipes - cost of couple jubilee clips and your time.

you seem a wealth of knowledge !,

would you be bothered by 140,000 miles?

what is ECP or GSF ? ,

The car doesnt look to have rusty arches, but i will have a poke at them ...

so really for about £250 and a bit of time i could solve most of the common problems,

i will also give it a good service, what about the gearboxes and diffs ect,

anything to listen for engine wise ?

thanks for the info.

[BalhamBadger]

seismic22 said:

rust arches wont be an mot fail on these really, i got a "PROPER" job done on both my rears, cut out, new stuff welded in, zince treated etc and then the rear quarters blown in for £150 which is stupid cheap but thats what i paid and the finish is top notch.

Crikey, PLEASE can you tell me where you got this done for £150?

[seismic22]

BalhamBadger said:

Crikey, PLEASE can you tell me where you got this done for £150?

I know I know! Was a local garage down the road from where I work, I was sceptical as to the quality of the job but thought id give him a try. Being so close to work I walked down on my lunch break on the day he was doing it and sure enough he was doing exactly what he said he would do. Small garage/mot/bodyshop just outside southampton, turns out the chap doing all the bodywork was the owner of the firm.

[seismic22]

s700ttt said:

you seem a wealth of knowledge !,

would you be bothered by 140,000 miles?

what is ECP or GSF ? ,

The car doesnt look to have rusty arches, but i will have a poke at them ...

so really for about £250 and a bit of time i could solve most of the common problems,

i will also give it a good service, what about the gearboxes and diffs ect,

anything to listen for engine wise ?

thanks for the info.

Unfortunately I dont have a wealth of knowledge, i just work on my own cars and what I have pointed out is what I have learnt/ tackled myself and read since I have owned my e36!

140,000 isnt fresh as a daisy but the m50's in the e36s can do mega mileage if maintained normally and if this is the case could easily have another 60k in it. Unsure whether the m50 lump in the 320i had vanos, i believe the early cars didnt and the later cars had single vanos.

Not sure about the g.box and diff, think they are fairly reliable units.

Listen for noisy w.pump, lifters, pulleys, air leaks...... im sure others on here could add to this.

ECP is Euro car parts and GSF is German swedish french, both large motorfactors found across the uk.

cheers

[s700ttt]

seismic22 said:

Unfortunately I dont have a wealth of knowledge, i just work on my own cars and what I have pointed out is what I have learnt/ tackled myself and read since I have owned my e36!

140,000 isnt fresh as a daisy but the m50's in the e36s can do mega mileage if maintained normally and if this is the case could easily have another 60k in it. Unsure whether the m50 lump in the 320i had vanos, i believe the early cars didnt and the later cars had single vanos.

Not sure about the g.box and diff, think they are fairly reliable units.

Listen for noisy w.pump, lifters, pulleys, air leaks...... im sure others on here could add to this.

ECP is Euro car parts and GSF is German swedish french, both large motorfactors found across the uk.

cheers

cool thanks for the info just found a megga guide on buying one

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=...

the one im looking at is a 1993 k reg , ill have to have a look