Retired my E36 328 Touring, bought a Z4 Roadster
Discussion
A sad day today, as I retired my ageing E36 328i Touring. 
Owned it since 2012, when I bought it as a winter car as I was using an E30 325i Cabrio as a daily.
Has been a really good car and surprisingly practical. Apart from a 2x leaking radiators (1x owing to a stone and the other leaking at the expansion tank) it has been very reliable. Bought on 126k miles, now just shy of 214k miles. It has done 138mph on the Autobahn during a road trip to Germany, multiple trips to Scotland, never got stuck in the snow (winter tyres), helped me move house 3 times (including squeezing in a king size mattress), many Ikea and tip trips, only washed once during my entire ownership (probably about 5 years ago) but always had oil/filter (and usually spark plugs) every 8-10k miles. It was always supposed to be a shed, I loved the fact I didn't need to be worried about parking dents. scraped etc. Very liberating!
Unfortunately the niggles (and the rust) got the better ofit me. Plus with a little one on the way, my wife understandably wanted something newer and safer.
Frequenters of the E91 Bearding thread will know the direct replacement for the 328 was an E91 330i Touring. This is now officially my wife's car.
Her 2001, 1.0 litre Polo I'll keep as a runabout/tip car. V cheap to run, only done about 70k(ish) miles. I'm rather fond of every single one of its 50bhp.
So the decision was what to have for myself. Debated an E87 1 Series, an E63 6 Series and also a 3 Series Convertible.
Given we would have a 'family car' in the Touring, it meant I could perhaps be more 'adventurous' with my choice of daily. I've mentioned before I'm typically alone in the car on my work commute and only rarely have medical student who I may take on home visits. Consequently, a 2 seater was not beyond the realms of possibility.
And here it is, E85 Z4 3.0Si Sport.
- Montego Blue
- Good spec including Xenons, heated seats, Pro Nav & Hifi System upgrade and most importantly manual box.
- It's sitting on run flats with lots of tread but the ride isn't that bad. As such, I won't be changing them until they are worn out.
It's a nice car tbh. Notably louder than the 330i and does pick up nicely with the manual box. Must admit, didn't notice a massive amount of difference in the character of the car with the Sport button pressed. Certainly can shift, but you do need to use the revs (v different feel to the M52 in the E36 328). There are a few little bits and pieces to be attended to in car of this age, but overall I'm happy. Looking forward to the summer.
Next car on the list: M3. Not sure in which flavour. E46s are going up in value, E9Xs are coming down.
Owned it since 2012, when I bought it as a winter car as I was using an E30 325i Cabrio as a daily.
Has been a really good car and surprisingly practical. Apart from a 2x leaking radiators (1x owing to a stone and the other leaking at the expansion tank) it has been very reliable. Bought on 126k miles, now just shy of 214k miles. It has done 138mph on the Autobahn during a road trip to Germany, multiple trips to Scotland, never got stuck in the snow (winter tyres), helped me move house 3 times (including squeezing in a king size mattress), many Ikea and tip trips, only washed once during my entire ownership (probably about 5 years ago) but always had oil/filter (and usually spark plugs) every 8-10k miles. It was always supposed to be a shed, I loved the fact I didn't need to be worried about parking dents. scraped etc. Very liberating!
Unfortunately the niggles (and the rust) got the better of
Frequenters of the E91 Bearding thread will know the direct replacement for the 328 was an E91 330i Touring. This is now officially my wife's car.
Her 2001, 1.0 litre Polo I'll keep as a runabout/tip car. V cheap to run, only done about 70k(ish) miles. I'm rather fond of every single one of its 50bhp.
So the decision was what to have for myself. Debated an E87 1 Series, an E63 6 Series and also a 3 Series Convertible.
Given we would have a 'family car' in the Touring, it meant I could perhaps be more 'adventurous' with my choice of daily. I've mentioned before I'm typically alone in the car on my work commute and only rarely have medical student who I may take on home visits. Consequently, a 2 seater was not beyond the realms of possibility.
And here it is, E85 Z4 3.0Si Sport.
- Montego Blue
- Good spec including Xenons, heated seats, Pro Nav & Hifi System upgrade and most importantly manual box.
- It's sitting on run flats with lots of tread but the ride isn't that bad. As such, I won't be changing them until they are worn out.
It's a nice car tbh. Notably louder than the 330i and does pick up nicely with the manual box. Must admit, didn't notice a massive amount of difference in the character of the car with the Sport button pressed. Certainly can shift, but you do need to use the revs (v different feel to the M52 in the E36 328). There are a few little bits and pieces to be attended to in car of this age, but overall I'm happy. Looking forward to the summer.
Next car on the list: M3. Not sure in which flavour. E46s are going up in value, E9Xs are coming down.
Love hearing these kind of stories, looks like a nice update on the fleet. We have an identical blue E91 ('08 325i) owned since new. Nice and fun drive, bit small inside though.
Felt a bit sorry for the old E36. Mind you, these all seem to be sheds run into the ground these days, they suffer badly from rust, especially in the tailgate.
Mr Tidy said:
Congratulations on the new purchase. 
I really like Montego Blue on the Z4s, but then I may be biased!
Good luck with the hunt for an M3.
I really like Montego Blue on the Z4s, but then I may be biased!
Good luck with the hunt for an M3.
Now with the Z4, may go for the E92 rather than the previously planned E93 (or even a really nice E46).
RiccardoG said:
Love hearing these kind of stories, looks like a nice update on the fleet. We have an identical blue E91 ('08 325i) owned since new. Nice and fun drive, bit small inside though.
Felt a bit sorry for the old E36. Mind you, these all seem to be sheds run into the ground these days, they suffer badly from rust, especially in the tailgate.
Thanks. Yes, I think if you want to keep the E36 in good condition you need to really look after them. The bodywork is the weak point. Tailgate, rear arches and the bottom of the doors seemed to be the areas worst affected on my Touring.Felt a bit sorry for the old E36. Mind you, these all seem to be sheds run into the ground these days, they suffer badly from rust, especially in the tailgate.
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