A few E36 M3 questions

[bga]

Hi all,

Due to the missus changing career I'm probably going to have to ditch the Chim for something slightly more practical for a budget of £6-8k.

My Q's to the guru's on here are will an E36 M3 fit the following criteria:

* Fit a pushchair + some shopping in boot (only occasional - relatives nipper)
* do the rear sits fold down
* Would a 4 door be better than the coupe given the above critera

That's all I can think of right now

Cheers

[M3John]

bga said:

Hi all,

Due to the missus changing career I'm probably going to have to ditch the Chim for something slightly more practical for a budget of £6-8k.

My Q's to the guru's on here are will an E36 M3 fit the following criteria:

* Fit a pushchair + some shopping in boot (only occasional - relatives nipper)
* do the rear sits fold down
* Would a 4 door be better than the coupe given the above critera

That's all I can think of right now

Cheers

Hello mate good decision of car to choose from BUT choose wisely. A lot of these cars have been driven pretty hard during their lifetime. So don't just jump on the first one you see. To answer your questions above :-

* Yes a pushchair and some shopping will fit in the boot which is quite a reasonable size.

* Rear seats do fold down (in a coupe anyway) and this makes the load carring space huge.

* Given the above critera, to me it sounds as if the saloon would be more suited to you as it seams like your edging towards more of a full 4 seater with a boot than a coupe (which can be a little tricky to get out of the back of ie: in a multistory carpark).

Also with the saloons you'll probably find that these are genrally better looked after than the coupe's. As with all cars spend to the upper most of your budget. If i were you and looking for a good one i'd bank on spending nearer the £8k figure. Check for the belly pan under the engine (a good sign that its not been pranged), that the inner lips of the front wings are nice and straight (a sign that its not been driven by the next Jenson Button wannerbe).

I've owned mine for a couple of years now and still look forward to getting behind the wheel for the next flight . Also, just pointing out the obvious here, the ///M cars can be a bit on the expensive to run. It's not just another 3 series with a big engine under there.

Feel free to drop me a line through my profile if you'd like to talk first hand as i know other things can pop into ones head when talking to another owner. Also on there you'll notice some piccies of mine, this is what a goodun` should look like.

Hope this is of any help.

M3John.

Edited by M3John on Tuesday 10th October 18:57

[Smartie]

Don't think the seats fold in the saloon though, didn't in ours anyway.

[bga]

Hi John, thanks for all the useful info, it's much appreciated. Your car looks great in the profile pics!

I'm in no rush at the moment so won't be buying the first car I see in a fit of enthusiasm. I appreciate that it takes time to find a decent example.

I figured that the M Series can be on the pricy side to maintain, however after spending £3k on servicing & repairs on the TVR this year, am reasonably prepared for the potential costs of ownership

Cheers

[bga]

Thanks Smartie, I'll make sure I check them out on a Saloon

[Jam Rock]

hey mate,
i own an evo coupe, and its my pride and joy, its a fantasticly practical everyday car that you can drive normally,it will seat 4 adults, and take all your shopping and then some (infact it helped me move house recently!!) infact you often forget exactly how potent it is when you wind her up past 3.5 rpm!!! it can be shockingly quick.

i would say that the you will get more for your cash if you buy an evo saloon (ie they are cheaper than the coupe), and they may well be better looked after although this is not always the case. i would say go for as much service history as poss, and have a look around e36coupe.com
they are a great bunch of lads and they have saved me money in the past, indeed i bought an ex members car. personally i would go for an evo coupe, say around 97 98 year, with a nice spec and ave miles, you should be able to pic one up well within your budget of 8k.

hope that helps mate, feel free to pm if i can be of any more help.

cheers jam

[mat205125]

bga said:

Hi all,

Due to the missus changing career I'm probably going to have to ditch the Chim for something slightly more practical for a budget of £6-8k.

My Q's to the guru's on here are will an E36 M3 fit the following criteria:

* Fit a pushchair + some shopping in boot (only occasional - relatives nipper)
* do the rear sits fold down
* Would a 4 door be better than the coupe given the above critera

That's all I can think of right now

Cheers

As already replied by others, Yes to both the first questions.

The 4 door will make lifting in and out easier, however the Coupe front seats slide forward as well as tilt when you open the door to make a big gap for egress.

I've posted this on other threads, but check out my add for my Avus Blue M3 in the classifieds to see what you think (picture on my profile).

I love it to bits, and am only selling due to the large amount of miles I'm putting on it with my new commute to work. It's worth close to £6k, however I'm letting it go for £5300 (no offers). It really is the best you will find at this price, and in beautiful condition.

Drop me a mail to [e-mail] for more info, or call my mobile (from Friday when my new contract is patched over, and after 5pm when I am out of work) on 07989 434131 for a chat.

This really is an absolute steal at this money and will be bought by the first person who views the car ..... absolutely certain of that!

[mat205125]

Here's the link to my car for sale:

www.pistonheads.com/sales/105663.htm

[bga]

Hi guys, thanks for all the tips. Looks like e36coupe.com is somewhere to check out.
The access to the rear seats isn't really a problem as they will only be used occasionally so possibly the coupe may do the trick.

Mat - it'll be a couple of months before I'm going to be buying as I've got a couple of small jobs on the Chim to sort before it goes on the (slow at the mo) market. Hope you get a quick sale

[mat205125]

Hope I do too.

Don't want to see it go really, but needs must and all that.

Hope you do well with the "TreVoR" too!

[hugepiece]

BGA - you have mail......

[hugepiece]

Sorry just realised how rude my last post must have read. What it should have said is I went the opposite way 2 months ago (Chim - M3 Evo). EVO is a great car and bloomin quick but I miss the chim noise/feel like mad. If you need more than 2 seats (which I don't.....) or more practicality its a good "close" match for the same money.