Discussion
Great car, I'm on my second, only mechanical problem has been broken front spring, easy to mod and very fast.
If you have driven one before you'll know all about making sure it's warmed up first, must be above +70 degrees before giving it the beans, make sure it's got a good history, and make sure any recalls have been carried out.
Contact BMW UK with the registration and they will talk you through the history, and verify main dealer serving etc
good luck!!
If you have driven one before you'll know all about making sure it's warmed up first, must be above +70 degrees before giving it the beans, make sure it's got a good history, and make sure any recalls have been carried out.
Contact BMW UK with the registration and they will talk you through the history, and verify main dealer serving etc
good luck!!
Unfortunatly the Double Vanos can fail in lots of different ways.. You might hear a rattle on tick-over or as suggested above the stick it in 4th at low revs and floor it test works too.. Just make sure you've got £1500 put away as "Vanos money" and you'll be fine. Some cars it never happens.. but the later replacement parts that BMW produced are better than the originals so if it's been done then it's less likely to go again..
To check the vanos, open the bonnet and get the seller to bring the revs up to 2k and let them drop. If the vanos is a bit worn it'll make a brrrrrrrrrrrr type sound as the revs drop. That is not to say that the system is knackered but it's an idicator.
Don't worry about what sounds like a rattle from the gearbox. They all do that. A decent dose of Royal Purple gearbox oil quietens them down a touch and put that in the diff too.
Get the VIN number of the car you are looking at and call BMW customer services on 0870 50 50 160. As long as it has dealer history (and I wouldn't buy one without!) they will tell you where and when the car was serviced. YOu can the call those dealers indivdually and see what work was done. It's a bit time consuming but as with any M power car, everything costs more if it breaks so it pays to do your research. When I was looking for mine it was a ballache but it helped me discount at least 3 different cars and I eventually settled on a great one.
Don't worry about what sounds like a rattle from the gearbox. They all do that. A decent dose of Royal Purple gearbox oil quietens them down a touch and put that in the diff too.
Get the VIN number of the car you are looking at and call BMW customer services on 0870 50 50 160. As long as it has dealer history (and I wouldn't buy one without!) they will tell you where and when the car was serviced. YOu can the call those dealers indivdually and see what work was done. It's a bit time consuming but as with any M power car, everything costs more if it breaks so it pays to do your research. When I was looking for mine it was a ballache but it helped me discount at least 3 different cars and I eventually settled on a great one.
had mine about 6 months now, M3 Evo Cab estoril blue 60k etc. it is my only car and i do over 1,000 miles a month in it (town, motorway etc) and have two young kids with carseats in the back!. i love it.
gearbox is a little "agricultural" when cold, but great when it warms up. bear in mind the design is getting on for 10 - 15 years old so getting away from the lights will hammer it a bit but mid range grunt when you drop a cog is great. keepaway from the sequential g/box - it was not properly developed until the E46 came out.
handling for a cab is surprisingly good - not awsesome, but good. expect to be a little disappointed when you frist drive one in anger as it will not feel that quick (i came from a TVR Griff) but a quick glance down at the speedo will surprise you at just how quick you are travelling - in the right hands, it is a very fast car. cruising along in 6th then drop it to 4th - very little can keep up with it.
it costs about 30% more than normal BMW to service and if you drive it with your toe welded to the floorpan
the service lights go out alarmingly quickly! (i know this from experience!)
get yourself onto www.e30coupe.com loads of advice there. don't ask the same old questions though, do a search and there are answers to almost everything.
don't get too hung up on the Vanos issue - you would probably never have heard about it if it had not been for internet chat rooms (it's a little bit overhyped) if its going to go, its going to go and there is sod all you can do about it. some rumble on for 1,000s miles, others go without warning. Good idea about keeping £1,500 as "back up cash". Mine is currently whisper quiet (there we go, i've said it now - that's the kiss of death - i can expect it to go shortly!)
rear bushes take a hammering, in fact all supension parts get a bit of a hammering as it is bound to have been driven hard. check for front and rear accident damage - it's a different car when the road is wet - no traction control etc....
plenty to choose from, £10k will get you a good'un.
FSH is essential (not necessairily main dealer in my opinion through)- plenty around with "gaps" - don't touch them - there will be another good one around in a minute. take your time looking. i bought mine xmas eve - so got it for a snip - you will pay a premium as it is summer.
if you want to have a look at mine/test ride - you are welcome - i am in watford, herts
gearbox is a little "agricultural" when cold, but great when it warms up. bear in mind the design is getting on for 10 - 15 years old so getting away from the lights will hammer it a bit but mid range grunt when you drop a cog is great. keepaway from the sequential g/box - it was not properly developed until the E46 came out.
handling for a cab is surprisingly good - not awsesome, but good. expect to be a little disappointed when you frist drive one in anger as it will not feel that quick (i came from a TVR Griff) but a quick glance down at the speedo will surprise you at just how quick you are travelling - in the right hands, it is a very fast car. cruising along in 6th then drop it to 4th - very little can keep up with it.
it costs about 30% more than normal BMW to service and if you drive it with your toe welded to the floorpan
the service lights go out alarmingly quickly! (i know this from experience!)get yourself onto www.e30coupe.com loads of advice there. don't ask the same old questions though, do a search and there are answers to almost everything.
don't get too hung up on the Vanos issue - you would probably never have heard about it if it had not been for internet chat rooms (it's a little bit overhyped) if its going to go, its going to go and there is sod all you can do about it. some rumble on for 1,000s miles, others go without warning. Good idea about keeping £1,500 as "back up cash". Mine is currently whisper quiet (there we go, i've said it now - that's the kiss of death - i can expect it to go shortly!)
rear bushes take a hammering, in fact all supension parts get a bit of a hammering as it is bound to have been driven hard. check for front and rear accident damage - it's a different car when the road is wet - no traction control etc....
plenty to choose from, £10k will get you a good'un.
FSH is essential (not necessairily main dealer in my opinion through)- plenty around with "gaps" - don't touch them - there will be another good one around in a minute. take your time looking. i bought mine xmas eve - so got it for a snip - you will pay a premium as it is summer.
if you want to have a look at mine/test ride - you are welcome - i am in watford, herts
Good feedback thanks.
The Vanos issue seems to be the M3 equivalent of the 996's RMS!
I am pretty much decided on a Manual one with with a FSH and as low miles as I can get. I've set myself a budget of about 11K assuming I get near trade money for the wifes old car. Not too excited about running costs, it'll probably work out cheaper than our family car to run whatever happens!
This car will be pretty much be a toy/thrashabout/cruise in the odd nice day we get in NE Scotland! The kiddiewinkles may make it into the back seats on occassion but not too often!
My last quick car was a Porker 911 C2 (996 facelift) but that's got the punt to make way for a more expensive family motor, hence spending a wee bit less on a toy but still looking for something nice. I had a few beemers in my earlier days of motoring and nearly bought a couple of E36's (One Alpina and one M3 4dr) a few years ago but both times opted for something else. I had an E39 535 sport for a couple of years and loved it to bits, it was bullet proof and never missed a beat despite being nailed regularly!
Doesn't seem to be many E36 M3 Cabs about up in Scotland so I'm shifting my search further south, also trying to get rid of the wife's old car into the bargain is limiting me to looking to the trade rather than private deals.
The dealer in Bradford that I bought the Cayenne off is having a look around his contacts to see if he can turn up some nice options for me at the moment so that will hopefully turn something up for me next week.
The Vanos issue seems to be the M3 equivalent of the 996's RMS!
I am pretty much decided on a Manual one with with a FSH and as low miles as I can get. I've set myself a budget of about 11K assuming I get near trade money for the wifes old car. Not too excited about running costs, it'll probably work out cheaper than our family car to run whatever happens!
This car will be pretty much be a toy/thrashabout/cruise in the odd nice day we get in NE Scotland! The kiddiewinkles may make it into the back seats on occassion but not too often!
My last quick car was a Porker 911 C2 (996 facelift) but that's got the punt to make way for a more expensive family motor, hence spending a wee bit less on a toy but still looking for something nice. I had a few beemers in my earlier days of motoring and nearly bought a couple of E36's (One Alpina and one M3 4dr) a few years ago but both times opted for something else. I had an E39 535 sport for a couple of years and loved it to bits, it was bullet proof and never missed a beat despite being nailed regularly!
Doesn't seem to be many E36 M3 Cabs about up in Scotland so I'm shifting my search further south, also trying to get rid of the wife's old car into the bargain is limiting me to looking to the trade rather than private deals.
The dealer in Bradford that I bought the Cayenne off is having a look around his contacts to see if he can turn up some nice options for me at the moment so that will hopefully turn something up for me next week.
best places to look are
autotrader - although the better ones are with the dealers - the cheap thrashed ones often tend to be in private hands as dealers wont touch them
pistonheads
and a few nice ones come up on e36coupe.com
funny - i was thinking of getting a 996 3.4 before the e36 but wanted a 4 seater cab and the RMS came up as the intenet chatroom hype too!
autotrader - although the better ones are with the dealers - the cheap thrashed ones often tend to be in private hands as dealers wont touch them
pistonheads
and a few nice ones come up on e36coupe.com
funny - i was thinking of getting a 996 3.4 before the e36 but wanted a 4 seater cab and the RMS came up as the intenet chatroom hype too!
Have found this one, seems a wee bit on the dear side for an R plate but does look a good un, not too up on the miles and a manual with a FSH.
He's bid me "near trade money" for the wifes old CRV over email so I'm considering a run down to take a look.
http://www.snippersgate.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=115...
He's bid me "near trade money" for the wifes old CRV over email so I'm considering a run down to take a look.
http://www.snippersgate.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=115...
Yup, decided to have another go at punting the wifees old car with a reduced price, I'd rather give it away to someone (relatively speaking!) than get rogered both ways by a trader!
Private cars roughly the same as the one at snippersgate seem to be around for quite a bit under 10K, seems like a fair old margin to pay for the convenience of getting shot of the old car.
Private cars roughly the same as the one at snippersgate seem to be around for quite a bit under 10K, seems like a fair old margin to pay for the convenience of getting shot of the old car.
Any thoughts on this one......
http://www.bedmondmc.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=15107&...
It's apparently got 22K's worth of AC Schnitzer bits.
Bit worried by any ridiculous additional costs if any of them break...
http://www.bedmondmc.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=15107&...
It's apparently got 22K's worth of AC Schnitzer bits.
Bit worried by any ridiculous additional costs if any of them break...
I've got a shortlist of about 5 I'm interested in.
All of the others are sub 60K miles std ones 98-99 R-S-T plates and are priced between high 9's and low 11's.
Got to admit though that as this is going to be a toy the thought of 22K's worth of AC Schnitzer factory upgrades has got me thinking about the one I posted the link above for. It's priced not a million miles away from some other 99 machines with similar miles yet is a much more unique machine. It would be absolutely dismissed out of hand if it was aftermarket work but given that it is all factory stuff on the original invoice (For 66K!) I am tempted to the point me and a mate are going to fly down for a butchers on Saturday morning.
The other favourite is http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/191189.htm
Also quite like this http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/194645.htm but is at the upper end of the miles range I'm looking at.
Hmmm
All of the others are sub 60K miles std ones 98-99 R-S-T plates and are priced between high 9's and low 11's.
Got to admit though that as this is going to be a toy the thought of 22K's worth of AC Schnitzer factory upgrades has got me thinking about the one I posted the link above for. It's priced not a million miles away from some other 99 machines with similar miles yet is a much more unique machine. It would be absolutely dismissed out of hand if it was aftermarket work but given that it is all factory stuff on the original invoice (For 66K!) I am tempted to the point me and a mate are going to fly down for a butchers on Saturday morning.
The other favourite is http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/191189.htm
Also quite like this http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/194645.htm but is at the upper end of the miles range I'm looking at.
Hmmm
I would be carful of the bespoke colours, I've got a custom (on an E36)carbon black with Modena interior, it may make resale a little more difficult, your just going to have to bit the bullit and get behind the wheel of a couple.
Just another point, have a good shake down of the gearbox, they can be abit clumsy when cold, but should free up when warm, if you notice a notch dropping from 3rd to second, steer well clear (IMO)
Just another point, have a good shake down of the gearbox, they can be abit clumsy when cold, but should free up when warm, if you notice a notch dropping from 3rd to second, steer well clear (IMO)
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