Discussion
With my budget of roughly 4K would you even bother trying to get into an M3?
I understand it is very much a case by case basis and heavily dependent on how its been looked after and even preemptively maintained. Ideally I think I'd most like a saloon. Not a shed with key maintenance and known issues taken care of.
Start my search in earnest or go look for an unmolested impreza?
Does anyone know of a decent example that would fall into my budget? (coupe or saloon)
Ta
I understand it is very much a case by case basis and heavily dependent on how its been looked after and even preemptively maintained. Ideally I think I'd most like a saloon. Not a shed with key maintenance and known issues taken care of.
Start my search in earnest or go look for an unmolested impreza?
Does anyone know of a decent example that would fall into my budget? (coupe or saloon)
Ta
Edited by screwloose on Saturday 18th August 15:01
iguana said:
4k is a great budget, I've had decent e36 M3s for far less, don't get hung up on milage, of my 5 e36 m3s I've only had one I bought with under 120k, one of them has racked up approx 20 odd trackdays & no issues.
It does beg the question, if they are so good, why have you been through 5 of them 
E46's @ £6k are the bottom of the pile - you'd be far better off paying £5k+ for an E36 (unless you really want an E46)
Although £4k is not the bottom of the E36 market, a lot of consideration has to be taken to future costs. If £4k means all your money, then it's probably not wise. At £4k, you can expert some issues to need addressing in the near future. new tyres, discs & pads and maybe a suspension refresh can swallow £2k in no time - and they are just consumables.
Although £4k is not the bottom of the E36 market, a lot of consideration has to be taken to future costs. If £4k means all your money, then it's probably not wise. At £4k, you can expert some issues to need addressing in the near future. new tyres, discs & pads and maybe a suspension refresh can swallow £2k in no time - and they are just consumables.
TEKNOPUG said:
E46's @ £6k are the bottom of the pile - you'd be far better off paying £5k+ for an E36 (unless you really want an E46)
Although £4k is not the bottom of the E36 market, a lot of consideration has to be taken to future costs. If £4k means all your money, then it's probably not wise. At £4k, you can expert some issues to need addressing in the near future. new tyres, discs & pads and maybe a suspension refresh can swallow £2k in no time - and they are just consumables.
This is good advice. Mine was 3500 but i spent roughly another grand getting it mechanically and cosmetically right over the next 6-12 months. Also, toget the speed out of them you need to be in the revs all the time and only use 98+ fuel. If being on a budget is a strong consideration, dont buy one. You'd end up resenting it. This is often overlooked with the e36 becaues theyre the "cheap" m3.Although £4k is not the bottom of the E36 market, a lot of consideration has to be taken to future costs. If £4k means all your money, then it's probably not wise. At £4k, you can expert some issues to need addressing in the near future. new tyres, discs & pads and maybe a suspension refresh can swallow £2k in no time - and they are just consumables.
As you say, it's still a £40k M car - you'd be daft to expect it not to have high running costs. They aren't fragile or unreliable but when parts need buying - which they will with any car (and particulalry high-performance cars), they are going to cost a bit more - quality comes at a price.
TEKNOPUG said:
As you say, it's still a £40k M car - you'd be daft to expect it not to have high running costs. They aren't fragile or unreliable but when parts need buying - which they will with any car (and particulalry high-performance cars), they are going to cost a bit more - quality comes at a price.
Theyre definitely not fragile.TEKNOPUG said:
This. Which is why you'd really have to want an E46 to get one at the bottom of the market, rather than an E36 at the top of the market.
In theory an E46 should be in better condition as its younger.But I'd rather have an E36 that has had bushes, clutch and well service than a ropey e46...
Buy on condition rather than age / mileage.
Make sure engine/gear box are good, and there is no rust, everything else is easily fixable
I liked the look of this one when I was having a browse the other day.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4084872.htm
Price was £4.6k when I first noticed it, then went down to £4.3k. Just noticed it's down to £4k in the ad so you might get it under budget if you negotiate hard.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4084872.htm
Price was £4.6k when I first noticed it, then went down to £4.3k. Just noticed it's down to £4k in the ad so you might get it under budget if you negotiate hard.
I paid £2500 for my black '96 3.0 saloon about six months ago. It had done 76k, 3 owners, full history and about 4 months T&T on it.
The spec isn't fabulous, and it does have a walnut interior... But it's rustless and entertaining.
The only maintenance it's needed was a viscous coupling. Although I've fiddled unnecessarily with suspension bushes and what not. It is due a service now though, so I will be pushing money at it.
Effectively, a saloon body and a 3.0 engine make it the most unappealing M3 there is, and so, cheap. However, both of those things were exactly what I was after, although I was looking at E46 330's at the time!
The spec isn't fabulous, and it does have a walnut interior... But it's rustless and entertaining.
The only maintenance it's needed was a viscous coupling. Although I've fiddled unnecessarily with suspension bushes and what not. It is due a service now though, so I will be pushing money at it.
Effectively, a saloon body and a 3.0 engine make it the most unappealing M3 there is, and so, cheap. However, both of those things were exactly what I was after, although I was looking at E46 330's at the time!
The trick is to buy one from someone like me. I had an E36 M3 which snapped one of the diff carrier locating bolts, leaving half the bolt in the diff. A local garage had to remove the diff to drill it out, which meant removing the drive shafts. The splined driveshaft bolts were old and rusted in place and the garage broke some when removing them (through no fault of their own). The overall cost for that snapped diff bolt was £500.
The other major thing that happened with that car was that the engine pulled the mounts out of the crossmember. I bought a new one for something like £250 IIRC, then paid another £50 or so to have it fitted. I then got the taste for something else so sold the car onto Iguana, who put it through countless trackdays and a trip across Europe with no major issues at all!
Which all proves only that I'm pretty good as a shakedown tester.
The other major thing that happened with that car was that the engine pulled the mounts out of the crossmember. I bought a new one for something like £250 IIRC, then paid another £50 or so to have it fitted. I then got the taste for something else so sold the car onto Iguana, who put it through countless trackdays and a trip across Europe with no major issues at all!
Which all proves only that I'm pretty good as a shakedown tester.
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