POC

Hi all, as I am sure you all know, I am looking to replace my scooby with a BMW M3.

I am looking at the E36 shape, coupe or convertible, years 1995/6/7.

Does anyone have any first hand experience of this car. Any links to online information or BBS?

Lastley, anyone know of some for sale?

Cheers

Paul

Kevin Mc

Try http://www.bm3w.co.uk/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro

UK based forum for M3's..

Hope this helps.

Kevin Mc

MarkJackon

Dont get a convertible, youll look like a footballers wife !!!!

wilf

Alot of car for money. quickish not as sharp as scoob in corners though.

Seem to turn up cheap at BMW franchised for about 20k 15k in other dealers.

Tileys of Bristol have a T plate 4 door in at moment for 19k. Might be useful if you are trading a scoob for it.

Make sure you get the M3 evo model if considering early cars.

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

I have always thought that the E30 was the best drivers car. Not that quick but a lovely drive.

However I do like E36 M3s as well as 318is.
The 3.2 Evo engine is the obvious choice. But if you are into modifing heavily then the 3.0 is considered to be the better starting point.
Hope you find a good one
Best wishes
Steve

LEE P

Hi POC!
My brother as had the E36 3.0 and the 3.2 evo.
they both handle well, just got to build up confidence in them as its not quite as easy to push on as in the scoob.

snap oversteer can be a problem so becarefull when lifting off.
Both cars were great and i dont know why but we both thought the 3.0 was a better car, it was a Nreg at the time and **** was it fast!
We had the limiter bypassed which i think warrenders did or had done and on the clock it would do 170mph no probs, and felt secure with it.
the evo had the 6 speed box and more bhp, 321bhp i think but it just didnt feel as good somehow.

cheers Lee

Sheepsplitter

POC
A friend of mine is just about to part ex his R reg M3 for a new model. I know he's interested in selling it privately though.
He wants 15Kish for it, but it's a bit of a bargain as it had a new engine fitted when the VANOS went bang about 5K miles ago. I think it's on about 60K now. It has a FBMWSH and it's fully loaded.
If you want to take further post an email address or number I can get you on and I'll put you both in touch.

DazV

Hi, you're doing the right thing going for an E36 Evo. I replaced my MY00+PPP with one last year and never looked back.

-Build quality on another planet
-Very powerful engine (180mph with rev limiter off)
-Quiet
-6 Speed Box
-Tons of torque
-Proper climate control, toys etc...
-BMW Roadside Assistance is phenominal
-Faster than any production scoob in a straight line (eg. motorway) - anyone who argues that point hasn't driven both.

The downisde is wet weather grip obviously - don't flatten the throttle mid-bend with 321bhp running through a rear wheel drive car.

Another downside is practicality - I used to throw my gear into the backseat of the scoob without a second thought - now I've got silver, motorsport embossed, leather interior to think about.

Other downside is the questionable image of the BMW snob driver(!)
Insurance is group 20 (I pay about £1000 pa)

Also, take one for a spin and you'll notice a very different power delivery to the scoob. The M3 offers increasing smooth power all the way up to the rev limiter.

You'll also need to be more confident to drive an M3 compared with a Scoob. Practically any idiot can jump in a scoob and drive it relatively quickly, but the M3 takes concentration. Grip is just as good in the dry as a Scoob, but you must be on the ball.

oversteer isn't a problem at all and is very predictable and controllable - don't know what BMW motorsport division did to it, but the handling is fantastic for a rear wheel drive category car.

-DV

POC

Thanks for all the info guys, a great help!!

Sheepsplitter, send me some more details! pauloconnoruk@hotmail.com

Cheers lads

Paul

DMB

Daz hate to tell you this but BMW emergency service is the same as Subaru Assistance. Its all run by mondial assistance who do breakdown cover for vw and landrover aswell as many others. Still i have to agree they are rather good.

POC do you really want to buy a slower car? Sure it's more refined but the servicing is a lot more than a scoob (major services are £500 to £650 inc vat). If you do decide on one make sure it has full BMW service history. Mail me if you want more info on what to look for when buying.

Edited to say :-

just remembered i'm comparing speed to a ppp'd scooby not a std uk! sorry



[Edited by DMB - 3/25/2002 11:43:24 PM]

DazV

Hehe, DMB - it might be run by the same people but the BMW service/roadsite assistance is infinitely better as I personally know!

See what happens next time you ask your Subaru dealer to change a tyre on your car or get them to come to your house on a Sunday to top-up your car battery - like I did and yes, they came out within an hour.

Ha, I'd hate to think what my old Scoob dealer would've have told me on the phone if I'd asked for that!

[Edited by DazV - 3/25/2002 11:56:54 PM]

[Edited by DazV - 3/25/2002 11:57:27 PM]

DMB

Like i said they are very good . Dealers are fantastic to.

[Edited by DMB - 3/25/2002 11:52:13 PM]

Edited again to say i've driven more bmw's than most of you have had hot dinners m3 evo is faster over a ton but screwed if you hit anything twisty. The brakes were designed for the m3 evo and feature floating calipers, and yes they do work extremely well. M5 uses a slightly different set up, the m3 came first. If you want a proper m3 then get a new e46 truely amazing car.

Daz you don't know me or what i do, getting into an argument was not my intention just giving POC my view of m3 e36

[Edited by DMB - 3/26/2002 12:03:48 AM]

DazV

By the way, ignore that DMB blokes comments about a PPPd Scoob being faster. I've owned both, in fact my MY00 had PPP+Full Scoobysport+Induction and it wouldn't even get close to my M3 Evolution.

Did I mention an M3 Evo has PROPER brakes too ? (Taken from M5 I believe)

-DV

DazV

DMB, yep - just giving my opinion as well. Simply comparing 2 cars I've owned.

Won't bother with the new M3 - too boring sticking with same brand all the time, when there's Audi RS4s and Carrera 4's, etc.. out there!

Sheepsplitter

POC you have mail.

DMB

daz

mozzaITA

Get 1 they are tops!!!.. i thinking of getting one instead of a impreza, my cousin had one and in 2 years all he done was service it and replace one light bulb!!!

They are amazingly fast, bags of grip in the dry, not very nice in the wet!! The limited slip diff locks the wheels very easily and u need a big set of bollox to drive them to the limit!!!

Only thing that puts me off is the amount of other 3 series copys of M3!!

extreamly fast!! wikkid breaks!!!

go get 1!

zoog

Someone mentioned above the VANOS blowing - i would echo that warning as the same happenned to a friends evo at about 50K miles, and suggest anyone buyoing second hand gets an expert to look over the engine and drive it to se that there isnt any problems there brewing. Expensive if out of warranty.

POC

Anyone know of someone looking to move from an M3 to a Scooby?

Cheers

Paul

mozzaITA

But of a down grade!!... i would only do it if i was getting a P1 or a scooby with 280+ bhp remember the M3's got 287 and the EVO 3.2 got 321, massive accelleration right upto 150!!!

My cousin's (3.0) raced a modded intergrale evo3 and to 60 there wasnt that much init traction permitting but after 100 / 110 the bmw was pulling away big style and i would imagine the same would happen to an impreza, the intergrale used to eat uk scoobies alive!!! thats my bases for comparison!!!

DazV

The VANOS thing is VERY expensive to repair, but its a simple solution - whenever you buy a BMW from a BMW dealer you'll get a letter whenever the warranty is up inviting you to extend it.

VANOS is covered on that.

akshay67

Have you considered a Skyline? I think an R33 may be in your budget...

mozzaITA

VANOS? whot is it? ive not heard of it?

DazV

VANOS = BMW version of variable valve timing

So not only do you have a 3.2L v6 engine kicking out 321bhp, you have variable valve timing too!

-DV

neo

your spot on Daz except its not V6 its straight 6, and feel that torgue as you probably have guessed i sold my STI 5 type R and got a EVO M3 coupe got to admit after three scoobies its a different ball game alltogether anf for the better i reckon so far anyway...

DazV

oops, my mistake neo!

Still have a soft spot for my Scoob, but wouldn't go back. What I am looking for in my next car is a combination of the BMWs overall quality and the Scoobs 4 wheel drive.

Like I said in a previous post on this thread, will look at stuff like Audi RS4 and Carrera 4 when I get rid of the M3.

-DV

neo

yeah me too along with a porsche boxer, a bit tarty but i still like them.

GaryC

DMB - BMW and Subaru assist are not the same. I have used both.

Subaru Assist (used three times - immobilisor gremlin, overheating and central locking feeze) is just use a local car recovery (a la Green Flag) who has no specific knowledge of Subarus, and has to (or did on the three times I used it) ring up to ask what to do. Turns up in a no descript recovery truck and does a lot of head scratching. Fixes what he can, says to go to the dealership the following day to get it properly fixed and leaves without tidying up

BMW emergency service (used twice - both for punctures) is run and owned by BMW GB. The (BMW trained mechanic) turns up in either a 5-series touring, or an X5, having phoned a coupe of times to clarify ETA. He has been through the same training as the BMW techinicians in the dealerships (indeed most are ex-dealer techs) and then some extra 'fix on the roadside' training. Incredibly polite, If on the road side he makes you sit in his car with a cup of tea/coffee whilst he fixes your car. Once done he fully tidies up, including cleaning any dirtied bodywork. On both occasions they followed me for a mile or two to make sure everything was OK, and rang themselves an hour or so later to ensure everything is still OK. BMW emergency servies themselves then ring up a day or two later to make sure everything was satisfactory!

PaulT00

Earlier in this thread someone asked about moving from an M3 to a scoob. When I was looking to replace my E30 325 I drove an R-reg M3 evo at the Bristol main dealer. Very nice. Fantastic engine, brilliant build quality. "only" 22K for a 40Kmiler.

The same afternoon I test drove my MY00 silver scoob while the people who maintained my 325 looked over the M3.

The scoob was a lot more fun (my passenger on the test drive still jokes about my reaction when I floored it in third on a motorway slip road - "**** F!ck this thing's quick!!" and remember this was the same day as testing an M3...), and 5K cheaper for a much newer car.

The clincher, with previous experience of what BMWs can cost to run, was when the BMW guy (Clayton Cars in Bedminster - recommended) gave me the list of all the things wrong with the M3 and then said "and there's an odd noise from the valvegear just above idle which might be a problem with the VANOS unit - about 1K or so to fix if it goes". At which point I walked away from the M3 and I've been very happy with the scoob for over a year now.

On the subject of BMW emergency service, I got that with my 325 and kept it going for several years. Then when my car wouldn't start one morning (knackered starter motor) they refused point blank to have anything to do with any garage which wasn't a BMW franchise which left me looking at a weeks' wait before Dick Lovetts could fit me into their workshop schedule. Fortunately Claytons were able to sort me out. After that I cancelled the BMW breakdown cover as a waste of money.

Don't know what the Subaru equivalent is like because the scoob hasn't broken down yet (13 months) touch wood... and has only cost me two tyres and 600 quid in normal servicing (a minor and a 30K) in that time. Pity it guzzles optimax like it's going out of fashion but you can't have everything...!

Veracocha

"Like I said in a previous post on this thread, will look at stuff like Audi RS4 and Carrera 4 when I get rid of the M3."

RS4, mmmmmmmm. I want one!