I am doing a little research into a few cars I am looking into for a spring vehicle purchase and need some help from anyone who owns or use to own an E36 or E46 BMW with a v6 and 5 speed.
How reliable are these cars? From what I have read so far, they are very reliable. What are things to watch out for and common repairs?
What kind of prices for parts? I’m not too worried about labor, I can usually figure out how to fix problems myself, but the cost of parts is what I need to know. I am use to paying almost nothing for GM cross platform parts, so I have no idea what I would be getting into.
Around how many miles do these cars last generally, before major problems? Trying to figure out the maximum mileage cars I should be looking at.
I think thats about it. Thanks for any input.
oh, BTW, this would be for a DD.
-Jeremy
I just bought an E36 M3. If you pick up a model that has had the maintenence done you will be ok. Otherwise you can look at a decent chunk of money if something serious goes.
Common issues on E36 that are minor are RSM’s and RTAB’s but replacement costs are cheap like $25. Also waterpump is a big must if you get a 95 with the plastic impellar, cheap to put in a new one with metal impellar. I replaced my radiator, waterpump and tstat already and parts were around 350 total so not too bad.
If you get on bimmerforums most vendors have huge deals or group buys for replacement parts that net you a savings from buying OEM. Dealership cost of parts = outrageous for a BMW but buying OEM from those vendors or a few online sites can save you a few hundred.
All in all, I love the E36 as a daily. I have no fear to drive it through winter, and can’t wait to autox/track it. I get about 26 on the highway and 18-20 city. So gas mileage is pretty good even getting on it every now and then.
If you want to pickup a fun DD at a decent price, get an E36 M3. They hold their resale value pretty well too, you can get a 95 with 120k for 9-10 or under 100k for 11-12k depending on the side of the country (anything over on the West coast seems to be 3k+ inflation haha). Even ones with 140k+ miles seem to still be selling for 10k if it is in great shape.
Feel free to pm any question, or Skunk since he has had his a lot longer than me, I am sure he can answer questions for you too regarding the E36.
I am sure quite a few other BMW guys can chime in here too if they read this.
Warped Brake rotors (Warranty, new rotors and pads)
Lower control arm ball joint loose (Warranty, new control arm)
Driver side door Seal fell appart (Waranty, new seals for both doors)
Water Pump Leak ($50 deductible, New Water Pump)
That’s all i can think of and I’ve owned the car now for 5 years.
Bought mine not too long ago so so far so good. Plan on doing some light suspension mods. As far as preventive maintenance; I allready did the Diff and tranny fluid (bout 30 bucks for the diff and arround 70 for the tranny). Doing the oil next and replacing the waterpumo and thermostat just to be on the safe side. In all honesty Bimmers are like any vehicle. Be patient and hunt for deals. Just make sure that you find a quality deal and not just a cheap part.
Juding by the OPs post, I’m betting he is looking at cars with more miles than Johs’s car, that have been taken care of by soccer moms just wanting to trade up.
werd, car was 8 months old when i bought it, currently has 62K on it. The problems i listed are the “typical” e46 issues they’ve been having. Nothing absurd.
since owning my 325xi, only thing I had to replace was the FSR (final stage resistor–controls the heater/ac fan speeds) Took a whole 30 mins to do, it was a bit** to get to inside the car but the part was cheap and i had to get a new steering angle sensor (dealer only part and programming) for my abs and traction control to function normally again.
…not bad at all. I love my 3 series as a DD
some other e46 things to look for:
-broken rear springs (3 series)
-leaky power steering lines
-control arms and related items.
If you can break it on an e46 I’ve done it. HVAC, (both the unit and the resistor), faulty fuel sender, broken 3 out of 4 springs, bent 4 wheels, cracked another (this was just with daily driving OEM wheels), destroyed both rear trailing arms, and bushings, vacuum valve on the intake (dont recall what the exact part name is), cracked radiator, had an AC line fall apart, replaced 2 shocks (though I attribute that to a few hours cruising at 120+ on a Montana backroad that I was going from full compression on the bump stops to fully unloaded over the rises), had to replace a power steering pump, had a wiring issue on the front harness. I’m sure there were more, but I cant remember.
the only problem i have with my e36 328is is axles. For some reason they keep breaking on me. That and my diff bolt keeps getting bent up into s shapes. Also im going through tires in the rear like crazy.:eek:
That and my diff bolt keeps getting bent up into s shapes.
Also im going through tires in the rear like crazy.:eek: