E36 4-door -- which one is best?

are some years more or less desirable than others, in terms of reliability / fuel mileage / interior / suspension / etc?

i can't afford an M, and i definitely prefer manual transmission.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/1503113183.html

How hard is a manual swap?

while i prefer a manual, i would not bother doing the swap unless / until the automatic totally shat the bed.

*shat is the past tense of E36 M3. i didn't want to say E36 M3 in a post about an E36 M3.

The sedan version of the M3 seems to be less valuable, and more practical

aussiesmg wrote: The sedan version of the M3 seems to be less valuable, and more practical

They're often referred to as M3/4/5's and they tend to be highly sought after.

Well, I had a 93 E36 with the M50, which i think was the first year of Vanos. I liked the VANOS system, though there are those who like the non-VANOS M50. From what i remember, they had a problem with leaky head gaskets, just look at the back of the block for a coolant trail. I still miss mine...

There's not a whole big lot of difference during the model run - the advice to "buy the nicest one you can afford" is probably the way to go.

The '92 has a couple of unique things about it. Only year with the M50 non-vanos motor, which some prefer. Also some minor differences with the front struts, which is no big deal as long as you watch the build date and order the right parts.

The rest is all minor evolution, OBD-II starting in '96 and at the same time the 2.8 was added as another engine option, auto climate control vs manual, body color bumpers vs grey, etc. etc.

Dan, not sure what you're looking for, but I'm about to sell a pretty decent '92 4door 5-speed 325i for not too much more than challenge money. PM me if you want more details.

My '92 started to rust a few years back so I got rid of it. Man that was a fun car. 325i with a 5-speed, heated leather seats and a LSD rear (yes you could get them without the "is" package). Great autocross and overall track car with some aftermarket suspension goodies. That M50 ran near red line all the time. Never had any motor issues and it had 180k worth of hard but maintained miles. My friend had a '96 328i and I have to admit it was a better car with a nice solid road feel compared to my '92.

get an 328 with the sport package and a manual trans... then add the intake from the 325 and you will be good to go.

I have to wonder what your budget is.. all E36s are in the toilet money wise.. except for the Zs and TIs.. those two are holding their value

95 and later cars will have the M subframe reinforcements, they like to tear and its a pretty extensive project to fix and reinforce torn subframe mounts. If you buy an early car plan to install the reinforcement plates, the kit is $90 but you may as well do all the bushings while you have it out too so plan on about $500. Upgrade the trailing arm bushings to poly for sure, they take a lot of abuse and even new ones allow for quite a bit of toe change.

I would wait for a manual car there are no shortage of e36's on the market so it won't be that hard to find.

The upholstery likes to peel off the door panels, and headliner.

The kiddies on the forums say the non Vanos cars are faster (92) and the lightest of all e36, I was sort of looking for one just to avoid the extra complication of vanos. It's plenty fast, traps 94 in the 1/4 and that's darn fast for a car that's only supposed to have 192 hp.

Look for an LSD also, if it has traction control it does not have LSD. On cars without TC it is random.

But like I said the market is flooded with them. Decide what features you want, throw a 200 mile radius net ( use a 3rd party Craigslist searcher), and go buy exactly what you want.

SupraWes

^^^

What he said. . .

E36 4doors are literally EVERYWHERE for whatever price you want. . .

I like the 328i w/ manual & LSD. Its got quite a bit more punch than a 2.5 at around the same price point.

The reinforcement plates... people make a big deal out of it but as long as the car wasn't auto-x'd with torn subframe bushings its going to be fine. Just make sure you put a light on the pan where the 4 mounts attach before you buy. Even if its showing cracks... if you were DIY welding the plates in anyway... its an easy "while you are in there" fix.

These cars are pretty much bulletproof if they were not overheated or wrecked. If overheated - the 5/6 cyl head gasket wall will breach eventually and pressurize the cooling system. Do a leakdown test if its got a funny idle.

Everyone knows the cooling system is a wear item... its easy to do and pretty cheap. The one thing people always overlook is the reason the radiator neck breaks off isn't because the plastic is falling apart... its the motor mounts. The hoses are yanking the beejeepers out of it. If it goes too long that way it will jamb the fan into the shroud... craced fan blades are the big tip off. BMW motor mounts do not seem to have play if you yank on the motor... you have to start the car and load test them. They are cheap and easy to replace.

Powersteering lines leak. They will eventually rupture so if they haven't been replaced by 100k, do it. $70 or so - I had HP lines made by the local speed shop for $60. Never going to be a problem again.

Lessee... what else can I come up with... GET A SPLIT/FOLDING REAR SEAT!!!! You can haul mor ecrap than you would believe in one of those cars.

Check the battery. BMW runs the car off the battery and charges from the vreg so when it starts to fail... you get no warning. As soon as the voltage drops to a certain point the gauges will flicker a little as they change state a few times fast. When you go to start it next time... nothing. Autozone sells a battery with the vent kit for $65. 7yr warranty.

I'll ponder it a bit more and let you know what pops into my head.

For what it's worth. The Auto-Manual swap is almost stupid easy.

I did it in a 318Ti but I can Imagine it would be any harder in an M3.