How bad are E36 BMWs really?

never had a headliner problem in any car I bought that was built past 1990. American, german, whatever.

What the e36 M3 has that the WRX doesn't is the kind of cost-no-object engineering and material callouts that just don't happen on $20-some-K cars. Sure, a 10 year old e36 needs 18 metalastic bushings and a pile of ball joints. But the idea is that the Krauts assumed that the car could and was worth being rebuilt ad infinitum. It wasn't designed to be disposible, or an appliance. Every time I went through the climbing esses through the south bend to oak tree @ VIR it made me grin in my helmet. And on the drive out of 11a, the delicious inline 6 howl, rendered through a Conforti intake and UUC/Corsa exhaust and reverberating off the concrete wall on drivers left...was really berkeleying cool.

The car just has this kind of competent, slightly menacing solidity like a H&K automatic pistol, or maybe an FW190 fighter plane.

I'm not a "badge whore" by any means at all. I had a bunch of Civics before, though there were a few cool Civics. I'd admired the e36 M3 since they were released in Europe before they came here, and had watched the prices drop for a decade 'til it became apparent they were nearing the bottom of their depreciation curve. I do need a practical vehicle for snow, hauling motorcycles, bicycles, RC planes and rowing shells. Taking crap to the dump. I got a nice used Tacoma V6 Xtra cab for that. So since the M3 doesn't have to be a DD, I reckon seats, harnesses and a 'bar are next.

WRX is a fine car. They beat me up at the autocross alot last season, but no one will ever use the phrase "modern classic" or "junior supercar" about one...

motomoron wrote: What the e36 M3 has that the WRX doesn't is the kind of cost-no-object engineering and material callouts that just don't happen on $20-some-K cars.

funny, all the guys I work with (myself included) call it german over-engineering. Why go the simple, effective route when you can over engineer it and make it look cool. lol

If there's anything I hate, it's things that are over-engineered that look cool.

over engineered? Never heard that term for the E36 before. If anything, it is under built compared to the tank like solidity of the E30.

Problem with the E36.. it was the first BMW designed with CAD CAM.. this allowed the engineers to know exactly how much metal they would need in the chassis to get the stiffness and strength they wanted.. it also let the bean counters know.

mad_machine wrote: over engineered? Never heard that term for the E36 before. If anything, it is under built compared to the tank like solidity of the E30. Problem with the E36.. it was the first BMW designed with CAD CAM.. this allowed the engineers to know exactly how much metal they would need in the chassis to get the stiffness and strength they wanted.. it also let the bean counters know.

Over-engineered in the sense that an oil change is a pleasant experience that doesn't require a rag to clean up after... that you can swap a front strut w/o popping the ball joints... that you can pull 2 lateral Gs with slicks on stock hardware for years and not break stuff... that you can haul a family of four with luggage to VIR, empty the car and boogie all weekend, load them up again and go home 30x a year on oil changes and gas money.

Not over engineered in like... say... cup holders that work, radios that sound good or headliners that say glued. That would be asking too much :)

I've got a '97 328i, manual with sport package. Bought it with 84k on it, now with 116k.

It was a two owner car when I bought it. First owner had it dealership maintained. Second owner only had it for a year and traded it in on an Accord. So, I suppose that fits with the typical E36 ownership history mentioned above.

Leaked oil when I ran synthetic, now back to dyno and it drips a little but not bad enough to do anything about it. Only rust is at the bottom of the drivers door, and it's been in IL and WI its whole life.

My radio display is the only interior bit that doesn't work right. I did have to replace the brake light switch when I bought it. About $10 in eBay parts and a hell of a yoga session to get it changed. Also changed the stoopid cabin air filter.

Did the cooling system overhaul at 112k when the radiator popped. That was a few months after the cats went and the O2 sensors had to be done at the same time.

The airbag light is on and from what I've read it could be anything from an airbag issue to a defective seatbelt latch sensor. I think it will stay on rather than pay the stealership to diagnose it.

All the rubber stuff on the non-shiny side should probably be replaced. The tires wear fine and it is a blast to make turns in so I'm not in a big hurry to do it.

Can't wait to take the Blizzaks on steelies off and put the OEM's with MX's back on for the summer. It handles even with snow tires so every spring I'm amazed at what it does with good tires.

As for badges, my hood badge is half delaminated. I don't really care. It's still fun to drive.

I already have the next car I'd like to own picked out. '05 Legacy GT wagon. The last year of the manual in the wagon. It will likely sit next to the '95 Legacy L wagon that currently has 130k on it and will likely be ours until it dies.