Tripple'O G

I've been contacted by someone who has a mint S reg BMW E36 EVO M3?
Full service history with FBMWSH and 58k on the clock....

Would this be a good swap for my Subaru?
2001 Bugeye WRX running 350bhp....

Power doesn't bother me anymore......

I've done a search and WTF is Vanos?

Brendan Hughes

Trouble?

turboDean

iTrader: (4)

A Vanos unit is the BMW equvilant of VTEC i beleive, except BMW have loads of poblems with there's.
If your thinking of getting one best to get it checked as i pretty sure they are very expensive to replace.

Tripple'O G

Oh right thats what it means!

Ok thats something i'll check out but what about the cars in general?
toublesome?

Had a zm a while back and never had any troubles with that....

Gutmann pug

Vanos just needs to be properly maintained and it will serve you well AFAIK

Tripple'O G

Thanks for the tips.....

Are these good cars in general though?
I'm kinda getting out of the Jap scene mood and just want something with a little grunt as an everyday car....

sbk1972

Got any pics of the evo ?

I would be interested in that.

SBK

Tripple'O G

Not yet but i'm seeing it the last weekend of Dec....

You may well be interested....i'm seeing it first

Brendan Hughes

About £1200-ish, IIRC.

Tripple'O G

Right.......but all in all, would this be a good move?
any overview thoughts?

Robbie T

iTrader: (8)

Sold my scoob and bought an E36 328i sport coupe and i fcukin love it, they're so well built in comparison to the scoob.

The EVO's have 321bhp so it's not really a massive drop in power anyway, the VANOS issue is quite a major one apparently and they cost £1500 for the part and around £500 labour

If you're not worried about the power buy a late 328i sport coupe (all ///M kit and bits as standard so look nice) you wont have any issues with VANOS.

Have a look on e36coupe.com there's loads of info about them on there

Andy M3

An M3 would be better than a 328i IMO - more power - imporved spec and hadnling as standard. In addition 328's have their own problems.

Robbie T

iTrader: (8)

Of course it would be more powerful (he said he wasn't bothered about that though). How will it handle better than a 328 sport coupe? Both have m-tech suspension and a similarly weighted straight six. Also what better spec will you get on an M3? There are a lot of very well specced sport coupes out there (mine included )

What major problems are there with the 328's?

Tripple'O G

I'm only really going for it as the bloke is really interested in my Subaru and I, in turn, would be happy to go back to a bm....

sbk1972

Ive got a M3 evo conv. Had a subrau sti 6 coup R but sold that off for a supra tt. The M3 is a different car, feels more solid, but not as quick as you hope. Although 231 bhp on paper, more like 300. The new E46 is 343bhp.

Your impreza will feel / be quicker, the kick in the back of a turbo'ed engine is addicted, and the linear power of the NA 3.2L M3 will not seem as quick, although pretty much similar in power / speed.

You will miss the 4x4, M3 can be tail happy in the wet, wheel spin can be a issue.

The worst thing about BM's are the dealers, if this can has a warranty, you will need to deal with them if you plan to extend (£1800) +250 a claim.

SBK

Robbie T

iTrader: (8)

Fair enough, that's how i ended up with my scoob

Tripple'O G

Right ok.

It doesn't have any warranty but as it has FBMWSH and only has 58k on a 99, it sounds like a straight car.

I'm not too fussed about going back to RWD as even though the scoob is fantastic, it just doesn't excite me anymore.....

I'd rather go for something with more comfort....

Does this mean i'm getting old?

Do you miss the scoob?

I'm a little weary going from a 2001 back t a 99 (even though there's not that much diff to be fair)

Robbie T

iTrader: (8)

Yeah i do miss the scoob, for the pure acceleration and road holding but the BM is sooo good in other ways.

I love the comfort and smoothness of it, i hope i'm not getting old

brybusa

Nicasil...thats the biggy..

Go for the BM GGG...sounds a nice example..it'd certainly be my choice over the scoob

Robbie T

iTrader: (8)

Not on the late ones, post march 98 ones are alusil

Tripple'O G

Many thanks gents....

Always trying to make the right decision and never wanting to be caught like most people!

Going to meet the bloke and have a look at it....only problem is i've been told it's only worth around £6-7k and I was looking at £10 for mine......
So as long as it's a good example, nothing wrong and has some cash with it........it looks like a solution

Robbie T

iTrader: (8)

I'll give you £12 for yours

It's worth more than £6-7k thats for sure

sbk1972

The M3 is more comfortable, I think. Im 6ft+ and I find the vert's seats a little difficult to get comfortable in. I wish I had electric adjustment, as Im sure the position between two notches would be perfect for me.

The coupe seats are vaders and are a little more narrow, so depends on your size. Im slowly looking around for some black leather E46 M3 seats to do a swap on.

I dont miss the subaru no, if hoesnt, at 34 yrs old, Ive gone past the max power days, and got tired of the constant races, baseball cap wearing wannabess trying to race, tempt me everytime I was out.

I also got tired of the short service intervals, the high gearing on the STI, long motorway runs would be costly in fuel and noise. Also, I found the subaru expensive to maintain. During ownership, I had to replace the turbo, disks, and lots of other bits.

But, I do miss that incredible 0-90 from the STI 6, that car was one fast little 8astard.

My M3 vert has done 64K. Ive had it since new and know its history obviously. During this time, Ive had 3 vanos, 1 gearbox, 3 diffs, endless AC parts, and lots of other bits, all under the old warranty. Now that has changed since the new warranty policy, and have opted out.

The Vanos failure is the first reply you get from anyone. Lots of the BMW dealers were replacing Vanos's at a drop of a hat, charging the warranty. Ok, the vanos isnt the best, but 50% of the replaced units were broken, just noisey. The trick is using the right oil, let the engine warm up before thrashing it and regulary replace the vanos filter on the front of the vanos unit. (VANOS runs on oil pressure ).

I love my M3 vert, I spent £££ buying it, and have pretty much accepted Im stuck with it. Im currently looking for one as a company hack as I reckon overall they are a lot of car for the money. In sixth gear, you canreturn some good MPG, plus have a bit of power if you need it.

The only problem is that many chavs have them now and have lost that expensive feel now.

A good S reg one, like that one, goes for about £7K, realistically. How much is your impreza worth ?

SBK

Andy M3

I was under the impression that both the M3 and the M3 Evo had a different suspension/roll bar set up to every other E36 - in addition the 328i Sport is a very different spec to the M3, no leather, no aircon, no on board computer all of which the M3 had.

Here is the info on the M52 engine:

The BMW M60 V-8 and BMW M52 6-cylinder engines with Nikasil cylinder bore linings are particularly vulnerable to fuel with a high sulphur content.

The sulphur in the fuel breaks up the Nikasil lining in the cylinders, thus causing a loss of compression. Once the lining is damaged, excessive bore wear of the soft, underlying alloy occurs very quickly. Some Nikasil engines have failed in as little as 30,000 miles. And the effect is cumulative, so if the engine has ever been run on high sulphur fuel, the damage may already have been done and premature bore wear may result.

Some symptoms of the Nikasil problem are rough running at idle and difficult cold starting, both due to loss of compression. In severe cases, the loss of compression is so bad that the engine loses power. Oil consumption increases dramatically as oil is sucked up the side of the leaky pistons. In extreme cases, the compression decrease is so severe the car will not start in cold weather, especially M52 6-cylinder engines.

Over the years, BMW has provided replacements with steel, cast-iron or Alusil lined engines, at considerable cost to the manufacturer. Often, disgruntled owners have borne the brunt of these replacement costs, and prospective buyers are at risk, too.

Tripple'O G

How much is it worth or how much would I get for it from an enthusiast?

I could get £10k for mine if I waited it out.....but i'm of the mind set of just getting something standard, without worry and can drive it without worry....
I do realise no car is 100% worry free but I did love my old zm.....

I'm seriously considering it.......

Neilo

Id take it mate, with all due respect, you wont get 10k for yours anymore If you dont intend on keeping the beemer that long then id say it will hold its value better than the scoob

Tripple'O G

Thats what I was thinking....thanks for the vote of confidence!

Neilo

the other plus point of course being as you say that you loved your ZM, it will be a very similar drive albeing "slightly" less manic.

A neighbour has an E36 and when he fires it up its an awesome noise. Lovely car

Tripple'O G

I suppose my concern is that it looks old....being that old shape....?

Neilo

there is that, but its not an ugly car, or poorly designed. The cabin will still be on another level to the impreza too which in the comfort stakes is a big thumbs up.