E36 M3 Evo saloon - prices/tips.

[RacingTeatray]

I am going to look at, among other things, an E36 M3 Evo at a specialist dealer on Saturday.

It's the rarer 4dr (which I prefer to a coupe) and is an unmodified 1997 car in Boston Green with grey leather, 2 owners, 59k and FBMWSH.

(A) what's it worth; and

(B) anything specific to look out for when checking it over?

Any advice gratefully received.

Cheers.

[m3psm]

RacingTeatray said:

I am going to look at, among other things, an E36 M3 Evo at a specialist dealer on Saturday.

It's the rarer 4dr (which I prefer to a coupe) and is an unmodified 1997 car in Boston Green with grey leather, 2 owners, 59k and FBMWSH.

(A) what's it worth; and

(B) anything specific to look out for when checking it over?

Any advice gratefully received.

Cheers.

With FBMWSW it should be OK with no major issues. Most people will say "vanos" but I've never personally known one to go, so disregarded it when I was looking.

Main things to look for are rust on rear arches, rear suspension bushes (clonks on corners), tired suspension and modifications.

Ideally you want it totally atandard so you can do your own mod's and have some peace of mind that it hasn't been thrashed.

The brakes aren't great and the suspension isn't as firm as you'd expect, actually giving a comfy ride. The power is quite dissapointing until you hit about 4000 rpm, then it should pull like a train to the redline with peak power at about 7000rpm, so keep you foot down to the end if you can to check it keeps pulling.

If you don't floor it, you will be dissapointed in it. If you do though, you'll love it.

Check the tilt on the sunroof, as this is prone to packing up (if the car has one). The air is pants and will need regassing most years.

Generally at that mileage, everything should still be fairly tight and there should be no oil leaks at all. My 3.0 has no leaks with 115k miles.

Can't think of anything else. It's worth what you're prpared to pay, but generally the saloon are worth less so with that mileage, off the top of my head, I'd say around £6-8k but the do fetch more from dealers and less on Ebay.

Good luck.

Paul

[rossb]

largely agree with what m3psm says re: what to look for and prices

i also prefer saloon and got an e36 4 door saloon 3.2 evo - aug 97 - from Pistonheads classifieds back in May with fbmwsh - 98k miles - cosmos black without spoiler - was specifically looking for low profile q car.

paid £8k from a dealer - strongish money but car is mint and i specifically wanted a black no spoiler car - i was also not too worried about vanos stuff - i am sure there have been failures - but it's a bit like web folklore about using a cast 2.7 ETA crank when building a 2.7 m20 lump - i have never heard of any failing - and mine had some serious stick

anyway - up 4.5-5k it's ok but not special - but from there to just past 7k - or just before limiter comes in it's feels really strong . i love mine to bits - only problems are that rear tyres seem to wear quickly and my clutch release bearing is rumbling a little - which i'll attend to in next month or so - might also upgrade brakes at some stage aswell - can fade a bit after a serious caning

cannot see what i'd replace it with - love the jekyll and hyde nature of the car - on the motorway in 6th it cruises v.quietly and surprisingly economical - but you have only got to drop down into 4th for a delicious growl from the engine and some surprising grunt. agree with m3psm - that if you do not go above 5 you'll wonder what the fuss is about.

strongly recommend these cars - and trade seems to value saloon at the very least £500 cheaper than a coupe - in my experience mileage is less of an issue - providing car has been well looked after - but the low miles on your car sound a bonus

Edited by rossb on Tuesday 27th June 17:13

[RacingTeatray]

Many thanks for the tips - sounds like it's horrifically overpriced then. They want 11k for it!

Never mind I'll still take a look since I've got to go there anyway to have my other BM serviced.