BMW E36 EVO M3-opinions please
07 August 2003, 11:01 PM
#7
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I had a 98 R reg Evo rag top. I had loved M3s for ages and always wanted one. I bought it about 2 years ago. Techno violet with light grey leather. It lasted about 6 months. An overview in my opinion is:
- My experience is that if you buy at the right price you wont lose much at all in 12 months on a rag top
- If you do get a rag top though the handling suffers, they develop more rattles and be prepared to worry about leaving it because of some t*t slashing the roof
- I had a hardtop with mine because I personally think conv with hardtop on E36 looks far better than coupe and if you want roof down you can so you get best of all worlds
- Mine was completely standard apart from rear stainless steel exhaust. Don't know if that added any BHP but it shifted. At the time it was the fastest car I'd had by a long way.
- Service intervals like all BMs based on how hard you drive. I don't think I drove it hard often but I only got 7.5k between services and my most expensive was 1767 quid! That was Inspection 1, new front alloy, new front tyre and KDS. If it goes wrong it will cost a lot
- It attracted attention you don't want and selling them is a nightmare. Be prepared to deal with some prize tw*ts and dreamers.
It was a very nice car, fast I did like it but it wasn't the "dream" I expected.
Cheers
- My experience is that if you buy at the right price you wont lose much at all in 12 months on a rag top
- If you do get a rag top though the handling suffers, they develop more rattles and be prepared to worry about leaving it because of some t*t slashing the roof
- I had a hardtop with mine because I personally think conv with hardtop on E36 looks far better than coupe and if you want roof down you can so you get best of all worlds
- Mine was completely standard apart from rear stainless steel exhaust. Don't know if that added any BHP but it shifted. At the time it was the fastest car I'd had by a long way.
- Service intervals like all BMs based on how hard you drive. I don't think I drove it hard often but I only got 7.5k between services and my most expensive was 1767 quid! That was Inspection 1, new front alloy, new front tyre and KDS. If it goes wrong it will cost a lot
- It attracted attention you don't want and selling them is a nightmare. Be prepared to deal with some prize tw*ts and dreamers.
It was a very nice car, fast I did like it but it wasn't the "dream" I expected.
Cheers
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07 August 2003, 11:48 PM
#8
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boos had a soft top:
rattled like a golf clipper
image....very bad...lots of hand signals from others!
looks- getting dated against the E46
speed...quick but not quick enough to make up for the above.
rattled like a golf clipper
image....very bad...lots of hand signals from others!
looks- getting dated against the E46
speed...quick but not quick enough to make up for the above.
08 August 2003, 09:43 AM
#11
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The what?????????????????
Vanos??????????
Vanos??????????
) never seems to go wrong.Usually replaced by BMW under warranty, but if purchased without warranty will cost around £2K to put right.
tiggers.
08 August 2003, 10:03 AM
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08 August 2003, 10:06 AM
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I have an m3 evolution....great cars, not that thirsty given the performance, very easy to live with, excellent acceleration..
Insurance is very pricey ( more than a Evo 6 and scoob).....
Insurance is very pricey ( more than a Evo 6 and scoob).....
08 August 2003, 10:22 AM
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I prefer the E30 too, however the E36 EVO is a fast,comfortable cruiser that still packs a mighty punch. The spec (trim and mechanicals) varies wildly on them- make sure you get one with the most power and all the goodies.
Back in the days of IT contracting madness 3 of the guys I worked with on a telco contract had them and I had plenty of opportunity to find out what they can do. Mostly oversteer wildly in the wet on roundabouts! Great stuff, try doing that in a Subaru.
Back in the days of IT contracting madness 3 of the guys I worked with on a telco contract had them and I had plenty of opportunity to find out what they can do. Mostly oversteer wildly in the wet on roundabouts! Great stuff, try doing that in a Subaru.
08 August 2003, 10:29 AM
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I drove my mates E36 4-door M3 on a trackday earlier this year.
I was impressed with how it could be chucked about, the normally aspirated throttle response, and the fact the car was completely standard - ie brakes - yet stood up to a fulls days track work with no probs - apart from the tyres
I was impressed with how it could be chucked about, the normally aspirated throttle response, and the fact the car was completely standard - ie brakes - yet stood up to a fulls days track work with no probs - apart from the tyres
10 August 2003, 10:06 PM
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Go for it!
Couple of checkpoints:-
Double VANOS - around 50% of M3s have had problems with this (only the evo, non evo is bullitproof) Comparing VANOS to Vtec is misleading, as the BMW system runs rings around honda's.
Air Con - has a tendancy to need regassing.
Servicing - works like this, oil change - inspection 1 - oil change - insp 2. Insp services can hurt the wallet with an insp 2 costing around 800 if unlucky. Use it as a barganing tool if the M3 you're looking at is approaching one
Warranty - best to buy with BMW extended warranty just incase that VANOS goes (2k to put right without, less if FBMWSH as BMW will make a goodwill cont.)
Fantastic car, you wont regret it! Good luck, its a buyers market atm, so put you bargaining hat on!
Couple of checkpoints:-
Double VANOS - around 50% of M3s have had problems with this (only the evo, non evo is bullitproof) Comparing VANOS to Vtec is misleading, as the BMW system runs rings around honda's.
Air Con - has a tendancy to need regassing.
Servicing - works like this, oil change - inspection 1 - oil change - insp 2. Insp services can hurt the wallet with an insp 2 costing around 800 if unlucky. Use it as a barganing tool if the M3 you're looking at is approaching one
Warranty - best to buy with BMW extended warranty just incase that VANOS goes (2k to put right without, less if FBMWSH as BMW will make a goodwill cont.)
Fantastic car, you wont regret it! Good luck, its a buyers market atm, so put you bargaining hat on!
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