So, tell me about E36 M3s. All you know.

[Azuremen]

Friend is looking at getting one, and I am curious as to what the things to look out for are and so on. I know we have some solid BMW fans on here, and this is all foreign ground to me.

Sedans and Coupes are both options, but manual is a must.

So, input?

Oh, and picture of cars so you know whats up and makes the post pretty, or something.

 

[Leonidae]

I assume were talking of a friend who lives in US.. thus, he will have a 1500kg+ car with mere ~240bhp thanks to emission equipment ( euro models had 300+bhp). there's also many variations of E36 M3, for example 3l and 3.2l models and submodels. about the issues? well, rear subframe tends to rip itself apart and tends to take some time, money, sweat and blood to get it sorted. Same issue plagues the later 3-series. This car also tends to be hard on front suspension joints.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

Be sure to check out the Bi-VANOS, it may have even been replaced by a past owner.

 

[Philly]

They are definitely cool cars that can be had for relatively cheap. I would love to have one, and may consider one when it's time to replace the VW.

Reliability might be a weak point. I don't know how well they hold up, but it might be a bit pricey. I have a friend who has a DINAN convertible. Very cool car. Loud too. 👍

 

[Duke]

I'll be looking at one at some point in the future as a track rat.

However, cheap ones are usually rode hard and put away wet. Although I would not call it an unreliable car by any means, I would say that it doesn't suffer deferred maintenance well. Unless it's already been done, I would budget for a new cooling system - radiator, water pump, fan, hoses, etc. Fortunately the parts are not hideously expensive and you can even get packages.

 

[Japspecvr6]

Tell yur friend to change his mind and get an E30 M3. He will love you for that.

 

[Azuremen]

Tell yur friend to change his mind and get an E30 M3. He will love you for that.

Yes, except a good clean one costs 10 grand more and is slower. They are gorgeous though.

So basically, just make sure they have maintenance records?

And yes, this would be a US market M3, not one of those fancy Euro Spec ones.

 

[Japspecvr6]

Yes, except a good clean one costs 10 grand more and is slower. They are gorgeous though.

So basically, just make sure they have maintenance records?

And yes, this would be a US market M3, not one of those fancy Euro Spec ones.

Still clean though.......

 

[Keef]

I've seen autocross-tuned E36s that lift the inside front tire in the corners. Isn't that just about the worst thing you could possibly do when you're trying to change direction?

Tell him the boss would be more impressed at lunch time with a new Rabbit instead of a ten year old Bimmer. And that if he wants a car that'll start up that one morning he's already running late for work, he should get a Civic or Miata--both of which keep their respective important tires on the ground in autocross tune.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

I've seen autocross-tuned E36s that lift the inside front tire in the corners. Isn't that just about the worst thing you could possibly do when you're trying to change direction?

Camaros and Muskrats do the same when set up for autocross. McStrut FTL.

 

[Philly]

Tell him the boss would be more impressed at lunch time with a new Rabbit instead of a ten year old Bimmer. And that if he wants a car that'll start up that one morning he's already running late for work, he should get a Civic or Miata--both of which keep their respective important tires on the ground in autocross tune.

I would bet that the M3 could still run circles around the GTI. My friend's DINAN was still pulling harder than I've seen from the VW, and that was fully loaded with people. It was cornering pretty well too.

 

[Azuremen]

I would bet that the M3 could still run circles around the GTI. My friend's DINAN was still pulling harder than I've seen from the VW, and that was fully loaded with people. It was cornering pretty well too.

An E36 would eat your GTi easily.

Most bosses would respect someone going out and finding a used car that is valued as much as a crappy base level car that is new. Boss man will be more impressed by the BMW badge than a VW carp model or something else worth about 13000 like oh wait, a Yaris or Fit.