mga sirs, please give your insights about bmw e36

[zidane21]

kasi po sir, i'm also interested of having to own one, pwede po ba malaman yung mga gen. info in buying a 2nd hand bmw e36 (3-series 94-99 model)
kung magkano maintenance as well as kung madali at hindi kamahalan ang pag-maintain nito. thank you very much in advance po mga sirs!

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[SIZE=2]Mini Cooper with B16A Engine inside! [/SIZE]

[vinj]

Former E36 320i user here (didnt own it... belonged to my dad :P). Forget the 316 and shell out for a 320i. ;)

Pros: The driving experience: sweet and balanced handling, high speed cruising and acceleration over 100kph. Fuel economy is in the 6++km/L range in the city. Very solid bugger. The service light is also quite useful. This is a driver's car for those on a budget... I wouldnt mind owning one again if i could afford it.

Cons: Parts are very much available and can be relatively affordable but if a major part breaks down (i.e. tranny), masakit pa rin sa bulsa. Don't expect to spend just the same as maintaining a Jap 1.6L or 2.0L sedan of the same vintage.

There's a thread somewhere here on that particular model, a search can help you dig it up.

[ale828]

agree. dont get a E36 316i, unless you plan to use it as a show car only, put in 19 inch wheels, drop it to the ground and drive really slow. a E36 320i is the one to get, a sweet inline 6 motor, great drivng characteristics, ample oomph, good looks, better equiped. just be prepared with the fuel economy. Regular tune ups are only slightly more expensive than your regular jap car but once any major parts needs to be replaced thats when the price starts to rocket.

[orly_andico]

"major parts" equals what?
VANOS na ba yung engine ng E36?

i think the maintenance cost is important because one can't buy a new E36 anymore, so you can be sure once you buy one, a ton of parts will need to be replaced. i know Zee can fix the suspension but what about other parts?

[edl100]

Really? How ugly is the 316? If I do not need the torque or speed and just a daily drive, is it really bad? Malakas din ba sa gas ang 316? what do you think is the average fuel consumption of the LOCAL 316?

I also considered getting this a few years back since I noticed a used 316 is really quite cheap considering it was about 1.2 Million that time when it was new.

The body of this car is really a classic. Di masyadong luma masyadong tignan specially with a proper body kit and 18" wheels. It is still a looker compared to brand new Japanese car.

[caloyski5]

Really? How ugly is the 316? If I do not need the torque or speed and just a daily drive, is it really bad? Malakas din ba sa gas ang 316? what do you think is the average fuel consumption of the LOCAL 316?

I also considered getting this a few years back since I noticed a used 316 is really quite cheap considering it was about 1.2 Million that time when it was new.

The body of this car is really a classic. Di masyadong luma masyadong tignan specially with a proper body kit and 18" wheels. It is still a looker compared to brand new Japanese car.

that's just it. . it's only good enough to be a daily driver. . .we used to own an e36 316i .. gold pa (daddy color. herherher) power is adequate. . pero kung puno kayo and paakyat ng baguio, good luck .. hehehe. .. or puno kayo tapos going to 100kmh, mga 100 minutes OA noh? hehe

normal service is just a little expensive than jap cars. . pero tama yung pag masirang major part(abs master(ba yun?)) prepare. . it cost 70k
cons. .
engine (to weak for the heavy body)
aircon somewhat weak(expensive to maintain, replace filter every quarter)
rear legroom is for babies.hehehe

[orly_andico]

mas maliit pa daw ang interior ng 316 compared sa AE101 (1993-97) na corolla.. and i've heard it's quite underpowered (M43B18 1.6L engine outputs a measly 102hp, which is less than a 4AFE toyota engine) and the body weighs more than a 1.6L japanese car.. so civics and corollas are going to be leaving you in the dust..

heard the old saw "better a used BMW/Mercedes than a new jap car?" a 1995 or 1996 E36 320i (with the 6-cylinder engine) goes for sub-600k. so it's sooo tempting compared to a mazda3 or altis J which costs more. but i know nothing about the maintenance costs. that's a 10-year old car so tiyak maraming maintenance issues na yan. whereas an altis J would give a few years of trouble-free operation (and i heard Ford is giving out 5-year warranties on their Mazda's now..)

[edl100]

As with maintenance, Nakakatakot nga ng konti since my favorite neighborhood talyer has about 4 junked E36s. Iniwanan na ng owners due to high cost of ownership.
The two have busted computer boxes which cost more than P150,000,
the other was ran on knee deep "baha" and it sucked in Water on the low designed air cleaner. Since then, it was overhauled, etc.. and it never ran the same again.
Another one I saw was an E36 body. It got into a big accident without an insurance and up to now,(two years na) he cannot afford to put back the car again due to lack of money to buy parts etc....
There are times when I think "I can afford a used E36" but "can I afford to keep it running??"

[orly_andico]

There are times when I think "I can afford a used E36" but "can I afford to keep it running??"

yan din ang naiisip ko... :P
ang sarap talaga pag-isipan, pero the running costs might kill me..

the computer box for most jap cars run in the 50k - 100k range din naman (sa casa). pero you can get them surplus for sub-10k. i'm sure walang surplus surplus sa BMW!!!

[zidane21]

mukang ang daming cons na pag-iisipan pala when buying an e36. yung mga issues na sinabi nyo po ang mga dahilan bkit di ko kayang mag-risk to go euro wherein sa brand-new jap, just buy and drive kaagad with no hassles whatsoever.
it's between driving pleasure and brand equity vs. maintenance-free.
is it still good to buy an e36 nowadays?

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[SIZE=2]Mini Cooper with B16A Engine inside! [/SIZE]

[orly_andico]

siguro kung meron kang enough income to buy a BMW pero ayaw mo mag blow ng 2 million :D

[BlueBimmer]

my 320i never gave me any problems, and parts are not that expensive if you know where to acquire spare parts. Weak point of the E36 is the cooling system, but if you maintain it religiously it wont be a problem.

to answer your question, yes it is still good to buy an E36 but if you have the extra cash, get a 2nd hand E46 318i instead * 900k-1.2M.

[zidane21]

ot: sir bluebimmer ganda ng rims nyo ngayon a! m5 po ba yan?
sori po sir can't afford an e46 masyado ng out of range, mukang mazda3 2.0 ang mabibili ko kung ganun ang price range.

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[SIZE=2]Mini Cooper with B16A Engine inside! [/SIZE]

[BlueBimmer]

ot: sir bluebimmer ganda ng rims nyo ngayon a! m5 po ba yan?
sori po sir can't afford an e46 masyado ng out of range, mukang mazda3 2.0 ang mabibili ko kung ganun ang price range.

OT
yep, E60 M5 rim replicas lng naman

in that case, an E36 320i would suit you well * 600-700k

[orly_andico]

my 320i never gave me any problems, and parts are not that expensive if you know where to acquire spare parts.

i've heard about these alternate sources of parts, pero para sa aming mga curious (naks!) ano ba ang ballpark price figures for said parts? (e.g. valve cover gaskets.. timing belts and bearings, etc. etc.)?

[BlueBimmer]

i've heard about these alternate sources of parts, pero para sa aming mga curious (naks!) ano ba ang ballpark price figures for said parts? (e.g. valve cover gaskets.. timing belts and bearings, etc. etc.)?

some parts ive bought are thermostat * P800+, thermostat housing * 1,200+, italian made waterpump * 2,100+, Lemforder drive belts * P400-P600+ depending on size. valve cover gaskets cost around P1,200. these are all euro sourced parts. no timing belts since the M50 series engines use timing chains.

[orly_andico]

wtf... mura din pala!!! :D
hindi siya nagkakalayo sa jap na midsize car.

what about the "scary" items? yung mga "OMG di na ako makakapag-drive"

i was looking sa consumerguide.com $1200 ang cost of changing a timing belt/chain. kaya pala.. it's a chain so mas mahirap.

[BlueBimmer]

wtf... mura din pala!!! :D
hindi siya nagkakalayo sa jap na midsize car.

what about the "scary" items? yung mga "OMG di na ako makakapag-drive"

i was looking sa consumerguide.com $1200 ang cost of changing a timing belt/chain. kaya pala.. it's a chain so mas mahirap.

pag base mo sa US prices mahal talaga, there are shops in manila that specialize in euro cars, not to mention many DIY articles in the net. delicate parts would be the ECU and transmission, heard an E36 owner fried his ECU, had to shell out 30k for a replacement. not that expensive imo. havent heard any serious problems with the a/t tranny though.

[StraightSix]

i was looking sa consumerguide.com $1200 ang cost of changing a timing belt/chain. kaya pala.. it's a chain so mas mahirap.

Normally, the timing chain should last as long as the engine. I haven't read anything yet that gives a schedule for its replacement.

never ever buy from the stealer..even in the states they avoid the stealers

Same thing here in the UK, last resort yan, hahaha.

I still have my 1991 E36 320iSE (manual). Although it was already 11 years old when I bought it, the engine note is still sweet. 3 years of DIY'ing and 40,000km later it actually gave me fewer headaches than our younger dealer-maintained Civic. Besides the usual service items, the only parts I replaced were the 4 shock absorbers and some bushes. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it ain't bad for a car that has 200,000km on it.

As for the E36's handling and performance there's no comparison to newer, lower-category Jap cars.

[zidane21]

normally po sir bluebimmer pano ang maintenance ng e36? and ano pang ratio ng chance na makakuha ng "well-cared" na e36 sa may sirain na klase? ang galing po a meron din palang substitute replacement parts ang bmw. kala ko po kasi sa hahn manila ang murang substitute na pwede mabilihan ng parts other than casa!

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[SIZE=2]Mini Cooper with B16A Engine inside! [/SIZE]