1999 E36 318i S - Good choice? What to look out for?

[Grimezy93]

Hi guys,

I'm going to see a 1999 E36 318i S this week with 90k miles on the clock. Looks in tidy condition from the photos, has MOT until the end of Feb, tax runs out this month, apparently had 2 previous owners, the most recent one being a lady driver since 2001 (not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing). Really nice car with full black leather interior and completely standard. They want £999 for it and have said no offers, first to see will buy, blah blah.

Just wanted a heads-up on what to look out for? I've read rusted rear wheel arches is one of the main issues and wondered if there's many more..?

The car will be used for around 7k-8k miles per year, a short 5 mile each way commute to work down country lanes and then probably weekly/fortnightly motorway trips (usually around 90 miles each way). Do you think it's a good choice? I assumed those sorts of distances could be done by any motor and I expect a 1.9ltr beamer to cruise nicely at 70 (correct me if i'm wrong).. I expect it'll be quite a nice step up from a 60bhp punto.

The other thing is it'll be my first rear wheel drive car and I've heard it can be quite tail happy in the wet which they don't really seem to mention on reviews of newer BMW's... Is it a poor first choice of a RWD car or will it be the same as any other RWD car? Should I factor in the price of winter tyres straight away or are they the sort of thing that only help in more extreme weather conditions?

Thanks in advance!

[R12HCO]

I had one about 5 years ago. Nothing went wrong apart from the gear box blowing up. It use to jumo out of first gear.

Other than that was a solid car and took all the abuse I could give it. Very flat low down in the revs though but once driven hard it wasnt too shabby. I struggled to get over 27 mpg but it rarely went on a motorway.

I miss it in despite now driving a e39 525i. I would have one again in the future if a required a cheap car.

[RobM77]

E36s can get a bit tail happy when the suspension is worn or the geo is out; when it's fresh and the geo is good there is absolutely no problem at all and the handling balance is really nice. I've had two E36s, and both needed new dampers, springs (changed anyway, but they were probably ok) and suspension bushes at around 90k to 100k. Two garages told me everything was fine and nothing needed doing, but once everything was done it utterly transformed the car and yes, totally removed the tail happy tendency. In terms of judging when it needs doing, it's very much subjective - the car should recover from bumps straight away and shouldn't wander over bumps.

As for other things to look for beyond the normal service history checks etc: check the rear diff has no leaks once the oil is up to temperature and also check recalls - the E36 had a steering column recall (I think) that's easy to spot - do a search on the web for that. Rear damper mounts often pop out leaving the damper flailing - if anyone's silly enough to try and sell a car with that then it'll be a knocking from the rear - the mounts are a few pounds and fairly easy to change yourself (the worst bit is getting the boot carpet in and out for access!).

The E36 is a great car - in my opinion one of the best four seater saloons ever made.

[Grimezy93]

Thanks for your input, I assumed that might be the case with the 'tail-happiness' and figured if it's had a lady owner for 12 years then surely it can't be too demanding. I'll be sure to check for those things though.

I didn't mention that it's the Coupe model, not the saloon. I'm guessing this has no impact on the mechanical features of the car though, just purely the practicality (apologies for sounding a bit daft)?

[RobM77]

Grimezy93 said:

Thanks for your input, I assumed that might be the case with the 'tail-happiness' and figured if it's had a lady owner for 12 years then surely it can't be too demanding. I'll be sure to check for those things though.

I didn't mention that it's the Coupe model, not the saloon. I'm guessing this has no impact on the mechanical features of the car though, just purely the practicality (apologies for sounding a bit daft)?

I think the suspension on the coupé's was set up a little differently, but I'm happy to be corrected on that. Mainly though yes, it's just the styling and practicality that's different.

Most/all cars will need suspension refreshing at around 85-105k (you can notice as low as 30k...), it's just that it's much more noticeable in a BMW when it's worn.

[spikey78]

I had one very briefly-it wasn't a great car in all honesty. It's looked great, but: suspension bushes, wheel bearings, diff(which probably isn't that typical to be fair) and the odd electrical gremlin.. and it was dog slow-i wouldn't worry about losing the back end unless it's icy or something! Basically could've been nice, but wasnt

[Daniel1]

Grimezy93 said:

Thanks for your input, I assumed that might be the case with the 'tail-happiness' and figured if it's had a lady owner for 12 years then surely it can't be too demanding. I'll be sure to check for those things though.

I didn't mention that it's the Coupe model, not the saloon. I'm guessing this has no impact on the mechanical features of the car though, just purely the practicality (apologies for sounding a bit daft)?

The 318is is not tail happy. It was something like 140bhp when new and thats not really a lot to unstick what are likely to be 8inch tyres at the back. You can do it on wet roundabouts though if you are a bit brutal.

For what its worth, i liked mine, a £700 m-tech snotter. It had an engine that liked to zing and was fundamentally a good car to learn what RWD was all about on a wet roundabout. But the indcution howl of a 6-cylinder was too much to ignore, suggest you try those first (323, 325 or 328)

As with most BMW's rust is an issue. Mainly rear arches and boot lid (behind the numberplate light holder) but it can be everywhere, so check sills and all edges including bonnet, doors, etc.

Water ingress is a problem, check the central locking works. There is a connector block in the floor under the passenger seat: water gets in, soaks the carpet like a sponge and corrodes the connectors, making them come apart.

The four cylinders also like to leak oil around the rocker gaskets.

Apart from that its normal car buying stuff: Look for accident damage, make sure it drives straight and make sure its had oil it.

[jmflare]

I have had a 98 i bought for £970 for over a year now, and will be buying another very soon as a daily. Few problems, bad geo, worn bushes, rear wheel bearing, front calipers and rust rust rust. probably spent around £700-800 to keep her on the road and quite a bit more needed to be in perfect condition. Absolutely brilliant car though, engine is great fun high in the revs even if slightly under powered, handles nicely too. Personally don't plan on ever selling mine i like it that much.

Just make sure you check for rust on the front and rear wheel arches, sills, boot, front panel and bonnet. Some rust can be cheap to repair but if it has a little visible rust it probably has a lot of non-visible rust.