Will E36 cars appreciate?

[So]

I had a 328iS coupe in the late 90s and loved it. It was a stunning looking thing.

They remain a great looking car from when BMWs were still aspirational and they can be bought today for very little. Will they ever start being renovated and increasing in value?

I must say I am a bit tempted to buy another.

[So]

Mr Tidy said:

A mate of mine is hoping it happens soon!

He's been trying to sell a nice clean 320i Cabriolet Auto with just over 100k miles on it for a few months and had very little interest.

I would guess that keeping them running is relatively pricey is it?

I had mine for about 18 months, when it was under warranty, and it had loads of new parts. Including an engine rebuild because the liners didn't like British petrol. By way of an apology BMW replaced everything on the car that was showing wear, which was quite a lot considering the car was less than three years old.

I think the driver's seat bolster was re-covered or replaced 3 times whilst I owned it.

[So]

The 328i sport coupe, which is what I had, seems to be quite colour-dependent. The silver (what I had) still looks hot, other colours less so IMHO.

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V1nce Fox said:

Mine's estoril. ironically i'm not mad on it but it was the healthiest one for sale at the time.


I had 2 manual 328i coupes before it. One was a dark metallic green SE with black leather interior (really like it in the colour) and the other one was a completely standard one, no sill trims, grey sill paint (factory) in arctic silver. I bloody LOVED that car, it just looked right.

I think Estoril is about the best colour on your car.

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Touring442 said:

I can't stand silver on these. Avus blue and Bright red (Hellrot) were great colours along with Boston green and Cosmos black.

Estoril has never been a fave either. Daytona and Techno violet were both epic.

I think it depends on the model.

The silver looked excellent on the 328i Sport, less good on other models. I think the contours of the body and accents just worked with silver.

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Obison said:

I really liked the 2 saloons i had in Morea green, everyone else hated it!

It was a good colour.

I was less keen on the forest green metallic, or whatever it was called.

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Touring442 said:

Morea green and Samoa blue were both absolute shockers - real Nissan Almera stuff from 1996.

Samoa blue was a lovely colour when really clean and shiny - it really 'popped' in the sun, the darker Orient blue less so.

All of those were OK - and of their time. Though Orient was a bit dark.

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Mr Tidy said:

It's dark metallic Green (Boston I think) but has a black full leather interior.

A bit Marmite then.

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V1nce Fox said:

never liked daytona or dakar, i wanted a subtle colour. i think as theyve aged silver is best.

This thread reminds me that there were few really bad colours on the E36.

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V1nce Fox said:

They were a fairly handsome shaped car, but for me the colour is very make or break on them.

They still look surprisingly sharp in flat red too.

Hmm there is a flat red 328i coupe sport near me. Not one of my top 3, though probably nice when clean.

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LanceRS said:

I really miss my old 328 coupe.

Was rear ended and written off 3 years ago. I couldn’t find a replacement even then and the few that came up were far more expensive than the ‘market’ value.

It was an inspired move to buy one the same colour as your front door.

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LanceRS said:

Anything to keep the wife happy.

Was it the sport with the BBS wheels?

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gizlaroc said:

I keep looking out for a 328i Touring, I never had one back in the day, I had an E30 325i Touring and loved that car, had loads of E46 Tourings, and 335i E91, but never had an E36 328i Touring, I moved to E39s during that period.



Mate, just got this back from a full respray.......

Edited by gizlaroc on Monday 4th November 19:15

You're not bloody helping. I'll be buying one again soon...

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MParallel said:

I love the E36. Been my favorite since forever.

Color Palette of the E36 was great as well.

Most have been mentioned already, except Alpine White.

My old daily 328i cab now has bad rust on one rear arch. Doubting to have it all fixed.

It still drives wonderfully even at 293.000km now. Never let me down really. Recently replaced the cam sensor, which was the original one.

That and a starter motor in 2012. Besides that, never had to replace anything major.

Fit an LSD and it still is a very refined drive this many years after end of production.

Long live the E36.

The Alpine white needs some M sport decals doesn't it.

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g3org3y said:

Not necessarily. This looks like a kitchen appliance.

FTFY.

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DJMC said:

E36, horrible thing in my ownership experience. Not a classic.

Get him lads.

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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.

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SidewaysSi said:

They will be worth £100k soon I think.

The bits in bold contradict each other I think.

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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.

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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!