The car I'm interested in specifically (E36) is known for its usually trashed interior. I found one in immaculate mechanical/cosmetic condition, but with three owners and no service records. 140k miles.
Assuming I get a PPI and everything is perfect, what is the likelihood of mystery history giving me more problems in the future?
On one hand the fact that the car is so perfect points to 19 years of good maintenance. On the other hand shit could break as soon as I shake the guy's hand.
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Who cares, you're gonna be rebuilding the entire cooling system before too long anyway. Buy on overall condition.
Cooling systems go from 80-100k, so I should still be able to get at the very least three years out of it before having to get my hands dirty.
K
>no service records
meaning you will have no idea if the previous owner neglected it
you also will have no idea when to expect things to fail, so stuff'll just crap out on you out of the blue
i mean, PPI is nice but it will miss things. Still, if it's been neglected, it'll be apparent during the ppi due to lots of leaks and such
Don't buy an E36. They're shitboxes just like the E30. Get an E46.
You want to know if the regular service was performed by a dealer or BMW indie with a good rep. You also want to know that the owners treated it properly, like using 91 octane and distilled water with coolant. BMWs las a long time, trouble free if they have good owners. Unfortunately, many don't. Those owners put tap water in the cooling system and then blame BMW for failure.
do you even wrench, faggot?
What should I replace immediately to get the car on my own schedule? Should I do a complete cooling system refresh at 140k?
Debatable, E46 is more luxurious for sure but E36 is far from a shitbox. Problem is the E36 got caught between the simplicity of the E30 and luxury of the E46, therefore it's simple and a good driver's car but has less of a definite identity.
>
It's probably stupid to buy a 323i after admitting it's a driver's car but I'm only 18 and I loooove going slow, who cares.
Nigger I'm buying this car so I can learn how. Word on the street is BMWs aren't any more expensive than other cars if you do your own wrenching
complete cooling system
valve cover gasket
oil pan gasket
oil filter housing gasket
window regulators
fuel pump and filter
Coolio, what'll that run me stateside in parts only?
Be careful, even with an older BMW
I just bought an immaculate E30 too expecting it to need nothing, but then I dumped 2k into redoing the entire undercarriage because no one ever changed the bushings. There should be a factory "service booklet" if the car still has its owners manual (see picture). PPI can only do so much, so start researching if you're dead set on an E36. It's worth it to replace/inspect all the common problems to just get them out of the way, as well as to just go ahead and do a fluid flush of everything and replace any and all bushings/mounts just so you know what you're dealing with.
If the car in your pic is the one you're looking at, watch out for poor aftermarket modifications. Those wheels are obviously aftermarket so there's a good chance it was hooned a bit and had ebay parts thrown at it.
If you can find an E30, they're a bit easier to wrench on and no >vanos to worry about.
One in the pic was an M3 shitbox I found earlier, had the same color scheme and I didn't feel like saving the pics from the other. Is vanos that big of a deal? I don't know what it is but people really seem to fucking hate it
Add shit to your cart and find out
ecstuning.com
My guess?
>complete cooling system
$415
>valve cover gasket
$25
>oil pan gasket
$25
>oil filter housing gasket
$5
>window regulators
$100 a side, $200 each
>fuel pump and filter
$75ish
Vanos is just BMW's homebrew variable valve timing. Afett about 100k(?) they tend to wear out and you'll hear the timing chain rattle around. Your best bet is to replace the whole unit with a Dr. Vanos unit and just get it over with, even if it isn't rattling already.
drvanos.com
Let's see the one you'll be dumping paychecks on nerrrrddd
>dr vanos
don't give those jews a fucking cent
there's plenty of fellows on the e36 forums that do vanos rebuilds with better teflon seals for very cheap by comparison and they actually know what they're doing
That's news to me. Listen to this guy OP.
those fuckers literally just replace the seals for the m62tu vanos units (both of them) and they charge fucking FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS to do it. that's after the core return charge and all that. four hundred fucking bucks, jesus CHRIST.
a fellow who's done like 15 vanos units at least charged me $100 to do both of mine
>service record for a used shitbox
lol what the fuck
when did these estrogen infused clowns get to Veeky Forums?
thats a 3k shitbox bmw, it doesn't matter. Its practically a civic or a ford taurus with a new badge on it
Nice, all that shit sounds simple except the cooling system. I have never worked on a car except for butchering a door lock actuator swap on a 2013 Landcruiser. How much fun will I have?
I thought timing chains were supposed to last the lifetime of the car? Is the M50 interference?
The pic isn't the one I'm looking at. And try $4k
the vanos units and the chains are different things. the vanos unit is the VVT system for bmw but i didn't think the m50 had it?
timing chains last forever but bmw often uses plastic guide rails to keep the chain tight and without slack even during cold starts. problem is, the guides are plastic and wear down over time and become brittle, eventually breaking apart or outright shattering, which makes an almighty racket and risks the timing chain skipping a tooth and valves getting bent.
thing is i don't know how often the m50 has that issue, it's MUCH more common on the m62tu, basically an inevitability
also
>doing coolant related stuff in the cold
lots of fun. look up guides, there are many
I didn't realize dr vanos was that much of a fucking kike. Good thing I don't have vanos lel.
>timing chain
>lifetime of the car
They'll stretch over time and the rail guides will get worn out. They won't stretch as fast as belts will, but they still will after time and they're more of a pain to replace.
The cooling system is a pain if you've never done it before, just make sure you watch videos and read (i.e. actually understand) what the fuck you're doing before you start fucking around with it.
He mentioned 323i , and iirc that had the M52 with vanos.
why not just rebuild it? it's wayyyyyyy cheaper and literally not hard
Thanks.
Fug, I'm in florida so I better buy the car soon to maximize funness
>Good thing I don't have vanos
Avoid M50, M62, and S50B32 and you can be happy like this guy. Cumulative Vanos failures rank as one of the biggest engineering disasters in automotive history.
The cooling system is simple too, don’t worry
Also N62
I bought an E36 and I've had to rebuild pretty much the entire car. Pulled the engine because it was too worn out, replaced all the suspension and rear end bushings. The brake lines are also corroded to shit and will need replacing. I still have to weld reinforcement plates onto the chassis so that my rear subframe and trailing arms don't fall off. At least I didn't have to touch the interior yet.