E36 M3 - can I afford one? :)

[Chris71]

I'm looking for a new car with a £6k budget and I've noticed quite a few E36 M3's now dipping into this range - are they likely to be a bag of nails at this price or is it realistic?

Secondly, anyone here under 25 insuring one? I'd be 24 with a few years NCB when I'm looking to buy in the spring. Any idea what sort of premium I'd be paying?

It's a shame I have to park the damn thing in London as there seem to be plenty of the same generation of (straight 6) M5 coming into that price bracket and even lower.

Edit: Ok - a quick scan of the classifieds suggests it is realistic (would people agree?) So, I have a few questions to add to the above....

Is it worth going for an Evo (especially in this price range)?
What sort of MPG could I expect? (boring but I have to think about it!!)
What mileage is a realisitc life span for one of these and what signs of ageing might I see? (parts that wear and tend not to get repalced etc)

Many thanks

Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 13th December 13:30

[dan101smith]

My M3 Evo is insured with Admiral, fully comp with protected NCB is £1000 - I'm 25 with 5 years NCB.

Strangely, having Tracker fitted didn't reduce it at all.

[spicjt]

mate,
i am 28, pay £825 (with my 22 year old g/f as a named driver) a year full com. 5 years NCB. tracker was not even a requirment with mine also. I am with Tesco mate.

MPG - depends! I get ave 25, but if you take the revs up, which you will do, then the old level soon drops!

jase t

[Chris71]

Had enough fo comprimising and was planning to get two cars - a fun car and a sensible car. But starting to think 320hp and RWD should be just about fun enough to justify only having one

[apache]

There are plenty of good uns at this price, sub 100k too. For some reason a lot of ads say 'rare opporunity' or that it's a 'rare car' But unless it's a GT then fook knows why

[dan101smith]

The bottom seems to have fallen out of the market for Evos at the moment - trust me, I'm trying to sell one!

At the £6k mark you should have a pretty good selection to choose from.

Just bear in mind that it costs ~£60 to fill the tank, and you'll struggle to get 300 miles from that...

[neil_cardiff]

dan101smith said:

The bottom seems to have fallen out of the market for Evos at the moment - trust me, I'm trying to sell one!

At the £6k mark you should have a pretty good selection to choose from.

Just bear in mind that it costs ~£60 to fill the tank, and you'll struggle to get 300 miles from that...

I'm finding it a pain in the arse enough as it is with the 328 - I average 24 with combined driving (on the telltale thingy)

Its not so much the fact that you can afford to insure, and fuel the thing, its whether you can afford the repair bills when something goes wrong.

I was swayed away from the M3 when I researched some of the servicing costs, and the parts costs.

I simply could not afford to repair it should it go pop - but the 328 seems to be quite a bit cheaper.

A TVR adage: If you can't afford to run a good one, then don't buy a bad one - meaning if you can't afford the nicer examples out there, then consider whether its worth getting into trouble with a cheaper perhaps less reliable one...

Edited by neil_cardiff on Wednesday 13th December 16:14

[Chris71]

All true. On the upside I don't think I've ever owned a car that beats 25mpg (the one I owned longest returned high teens) although I would prefer slightly more range if I was to get a relatively sensible car (the alternative is to get something like a TVR S3 and a hatchback for when it breaks down or I need to carry stuff)I do however fear the insurance would be atleast twice my current £750 a year premium at 23 (or 24 given a few months to save)

I was tempted by a 328 coupe before and asked about it here, where the general consensus was that the M3 was a lot more car for only a few grand extra. I think subjectively the 328 coupe is a fantastic car, but I'm not sure it's quite special enough to justify giving up my two car idea. An M3 on the other hand might do...

[Apache]

Try a C5 then.........seriously good mpg for the power

[Podie]

Apache said:

Try a C5 then.........seriously good mpg for the power

Corvette... or Sinclair..?

[Chris71]

Apache said:

Try a C5 then.........seriously good mpg for the power

Isn't the handling a bit, well, american?

Would also expect the insurance premium to be comical.

They're also 3 times my budget!!

Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 13th December 17:40

[MitchT]

Chris71 said:

Had enough fo comprimising and was planning to get two cars - a fun car and a sensible car. But starting to think 320hp and RWD should be just about fun enough to justify only having one

For £6K you're looking at a 3.0 M3 which has 286bhp, not a 320bhp 'evo' 3.2. Some clean ones are around but at this this price but you'll need to know how to inspect it to ensure you get a decent example. The 3.0 conventiently avoids the hideously expensive 'double vanos' issue that afflicts the 3.2, but on the flip side it's an older car so more prone to issues that can be expected of any older car. That said, they're great cars. For more advice than I can dispense, head here... www.e36coupe.co.uk/forum/index.php

[M5Dave]

apache said:

There are plenty of good uns at this price, sub 100k too. For some reason a lot of ads say 'rare opporunity' or that it's a 'rare car' But unless it's a GT then fook knows why

I think if you find an original, unmolested car, in genuinely nice condition, with a low number of owners, all the books and spare keys present, and a detailed history of proper BMW maintanence (not just a stamped service book), then it is indeed a 'rare oportunity'.

Over the years many of these cars have sadly fallen into the hands of people who don't maintain them properly, if at all, carry out questionable modifications on them and thrash them to death.

[Apache]

Chris71 said:

Apache said:

Try a C5 then.........seriously good mpg for the power

Isn't the handling a bit, well, american?

Would also expect the insurance premium to be comical.

They're also 3 times my budget!!

Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 13th December 17:40

Not at all, don't believe they hype and the ins might not be that bad. Admitedly they aint that cheap yet though

[oola]

Unfortunately, the current price of E36 M3's reflects the market. BUT, the bargain purchase price is probably driven by the running costs which are fairly high. Services required every 6000 miles, BMW main dealer £170, Inspection 1 £400 (+ parts) and Inspection 2 £800 (+parts).

If you plan to keep the car a while, then a good independant will make the service costs more bareable ...

I also echo M5Dave's comments, many M3's have fallen into wrong hands and poorly maintained.

Edited by oola on Wednesday 13th December 18:01

[vee]

oola said:

Services required every 6000 miles

Since when ?
I thought they follow the same schedule as other E36s don't they (ie based on 5 green lights).

I understand that Evos around £6k are moneypits but it will buy a very good non Evo.

[M5Dave]

vee said:

oola said:

Services required every 6000 miles

Since when ?
I thought they follow the same schedule as other E36s don't they (ie based on 5 green lights).

I understand that Evos around £6k are moneypits but it will buy a very good non Evo.

6,000 miles probably isn't that far off the mark. I had my M3 Evo for four years and it was consistently 7-7,500 miles between services. As my journey to work was done mostly on the motorway at off peak times in light traffic, I was probably at the upper end of the distance you could expect between services.

[derin100]

Yes...about 6000 miles would be about right for just about all older BMWs...it's only of late that (eg E38, E39 and beyond) they seem to go longer between service intervals.

Whilst the green-light system isn't a simple mileage recorder the reality in my experience with these olders car is also about +/- 6000 miles bewteen services. The service indicator takes into account the way the car has been used, cold starts etc.

But ultimately a very good and simplistic way I once read somewhere once was to regard it, in a sense, as something that really just calculates how much fuel has gone through the system between services eg. more cold starts/ short journeys = propotionately more fuel has gone through for less miles...so the green lights go down earlier for less miles.

I'm not sure why the service intervals should be so much lomger on the later cars? Maybe someone more technical can shed light on this? Surely things like oil haven't changed that much have they?

[neil_cardiff]

Chris71 said:

All true. On the upside I don't think I've ever owned a car that beats 25mpg (the one I owned longest returned high teens) although I would prefer slightly more range if I was to get a relatively sensible car (the alternative is to get something like a TVR S3 and a hatchback for when it breaks down or I need to carry stuff)I do however fear the insurance would be atleast twice my current £750 a year premium at 23 (or 24 given a few months to save)

I was tempted by a 328 coupe before and asked about it here, where the general consensus was that the M3 was a lot more car for only a few grand extra. I think subjectively the 328 coupe is a fantastic car, but I'm not sure it's quite special enough to justify giving up my two car idea. An M3 on the other hand might do...

Just got 39.8 average MPG on a 66 mile run this morning. From start to finish took it very easy flowing with the traffic, and rolled into work and lo and behold - 39.8

[spicjt]

going back to the original question, would you be gutted if you got the older M3 rather then an EVO?? always thinking, I wish I got an EVO!

I always wanted one and I got a mint 1 owner (bought it at 68!) from New. It cost a bit more then average, but comaired to other I test drove, the engine is so much better.

Either way I would look for a decent example one whatever you choose.

Perhaps the 6K would also get a nice Scooby. Perhaps not the power of a M3, but they are great fun on the roads!