opinions on an e36 m3 evo with SMG

[andymc]

i have been offered the chance of an S plate with 86k on it for a shade over five grand, the car comes with previous MOT's but no history, its just had an inspection 1 though, firstly are they ok to drive in SMG variants, secondly, with the lack of history would you run for the hills?
all help appreciated

[M3John]

Some will slate the early vertions of SMG - and yes compaired to the newer ones it's not as good but i really quite like it. Having to deal with London traffic on a daily basis i find that it gives me the best of both worlds and when out on one of my little events i organise on the twisties it makes `pressing on` so much easier. Yes it is a little jurkey but once your used to it you can iron all that out.

I wouldn't buy another car without SMG if i had the choice.

What does worry me though is the car having no history at all. Surely there must be some?, Service records?, Garage recipts?, Old MOT's?, Anything?
My car is a cherished example and an everyday driver. OK, i got lucky with finding it but it's got a history file 2 inches thick - even down to old tax disc's !!

With these cars you are generally buying on condition and not milage so try and do any investigation on it you can. BMW may be able to help with the registration number.

Hope this is of any help to you sir and trust me they are a stonking car and you get a lot of bang for you buck !

M3J.

[andymc]

thanks M3J, nice car by the way, are they the standard seats?

[M3John]

Thank you very much sir. Yes they are standard Vador seats but not many cars in the Esterial (sp?) blue with black leather i believe. You'll see more in the blue with silver leather.

How are you getting on with this car you've found ?

[MitchT]

M3John said:

Yes they are standard Vador seats but not many cars in the Esterial (sp?) blue with black leather i believe.

It's Estoril... oh, and it's Vader

You're right. I've been looking at E36 M3 Evos for ages with a view to snapping one up if the right car appears, but there's very few in Estoril Blue with black leather. Most have light grey leather, which isn't a problem in itself, but those come with a grey dashboard and door cards and I think it all looks a bit bland. Personally I'd prefer the ones with light grey leather to have a black interior to create some contrast and excitement - I love the way the light coloured leather stands out from the rest of the interior on the 'individual' spec. cars that have a black interior and Lotus White leather.

[M3John]

MitchT said:

M3John said:

Yes they are standard Vador seats but not many cars in the Esterial (sp?) blue with black leather i believe.

It's Estoril... oh, and it's Vader

I knew someone would be along to correct me in due time

[Zod]

Matt, of bm3w/mtorque fame, had an SMG E36 M3 and would tell you not to buy it. He's a big fan of SMG in the E46, but slates the earlier version.

[brianharvey]

ive heard some pretty nasty reviews about the first generation smg and it made me rethink buying an e36 M3 as a spare car.there is also a guy on bm3w called bex,who has had loads of issues with his smg and a few other things,may be worth dropping him a PM just to get an insight into the issues he has had.

[NBTBRV8]

Zod said:

Matt, of bm3w/mtorque fame, had an SMG E36 M3 and would tell you not to buy it. He's a big fan of SMG in the E46, but slates the earlier version.

Only because he had a very early SMG car which had upmteen problems. I have a Oct 98 model and have no problems at all in 30,000Kms. They are slow on the change in auto mode low down in the rev range but you can drive around this. Mine is very quick on the change in SMG mode at full rpm and I have no problems at all. However having said that it isn't a easy car to drive, you are slightly disconnected from the driving experience but overall I would not have a manual car, it is still enjoyable. The main things that go wrong are the SMG hydro pump (behind RH headlight) and the actuator which is the bolted on bit at the side of the gear box that does the mechanical changing. The Hydro pump should fully prime within about 15 seconds upon opening the door.

You do need to drive one for an extended period to see if you can adapt to the car, I find the auto mode reasonably good and I use it for 80% of my driving but most people slate it. Good luck with it.

[Cactussed]

I opted for the SMG in the end. I got a 98 with less than 70k on the clock, The auto mode is not as smooth as a regular auto, but close enough to my mind and tbh, I use it around town or traffic regularly and its great. For that, it is simply unparalleled IMHO.

In manual mode, the changes vary speed depending on how hard you are driving (slow, low rpm they are slower, high rpm / hard acceleration they are quicker than I could change gears). Much the same as you would drive really. Nobody flat changes between traffic lights.

You'll hear horror stories all over the place, usually about SMG and Vanos. As always, its usually a few people who have problems that create the fuss. If either of them go, its about 1500 squids to fix so factor that in I guess but in the scheme of things its (a)not guaranteed to happen by any stretch and (b) its not gut wrenchingly expensive to fix. Bear in mind the smg box is designed to make the clutch last the life of the car too. There is heaps of info here and on e36coupe.com about all these points.

At the end of the day I'd say:
1. Drive the car and see if you like the smg. It takes about 10-15 mins to get used to, after which it will seem like normal. I was skeptical, now glad I made the choice. Its not quite as involving, but I bought the car as a GT, not a 4-seater caterham and for that its just perfect.
2. There are heaps of cars with fsh so be careful of overpaying for no history, as it may cost you in bills to bring up to scratch and definitely at resale time; and
3. With the above in mind, it comes down to price. The no history car may be in perfect condition, but its more of a punt. You should definitely get a specialist inspection and you'll need to factor resale into your offer.

As with any 2nd hand purchase, you could be getting a bargain or a lemon. FSH is no guarantee either way really, but it is usually a good indicator of how its been treated and also peace of mind which most people are willing to pay for.

Edited by Cactussed on Monday 1st October 19:54

[E36GUY]

SMG.

S Plate

Around £5k.

Lack of service history

Dude. Seriously. Please do not be foolish.

Run for beyond the hills.

A decent S Plate with FSH and that milage should easily command more than £8k. If it's around the 45 mark then it's either a scam or there is something very very wrong. So don't do it umless you are a trained BMW tech with deep pockets.