[RE: OT? -- communter car search] - BMW 3-series

[jason@scirocco.org (16V Jason)]

At 03:34 PM 2/21/2002, Erik LaCelle wrote:
>The E30 would be preferable (smaller size, lighter weight(?)) but harder to
>find in good condition.  I've had enough experience fixing other people's
>problems!  The E36 is a beautiful car, though.  As soon as I win the
>lottery, I'll consider the new ones....

The E30 is indeed much smaller and lighter than the E36... and yeah, 
they're a bit tough to find.  Of course, the best ones (IMO) are the later 
1989 and above 325i... with the updated lights, bumpers, etc.

The E30 is pretty indestructible.  Apart from people commonly learning how 
much valves cost because they're too lazy to change the timing belt every 
60k, the engines will last more than 200k miles with no major 
problems.  The only problem areas on the car are those that are typical 
BMW:  Control Arm bushings, driveshaft flex joints, tie-rod ends.  The 
other one is that there are some problems with the instrument cluster on 
E30s -- more often than not, you have to replace half the instrument 
cluster if a light looks like it's burned out -- it's not the light, it's 
the circuit board.  And the rechargeable batteries in the Inspection 
computer tend to die eventually, and IIRC they can't be replaced without 
soldering and generally causing a pain in your ass.

Otherwise, the E30s are solid, fast, well-balanced cars with the best 
sounding engine this side of a VR6.

The E36s?  Well, you're probably asking the wrong person having just sold 
mine a few months ago.  The '92s are disasters -- steer clear of them.  Not 
only did the 2.5-liter 6 not have VANOS (which means it had *NO* low-end 
torque), but there were lots and lots of trim and general production problems.

93s (like mine) were much better in terms of material quality and 
assembly.  The 2.5 was still a pig down low even with VANOS -- and if 
you're looking for an automatic, look elsewhere.  Even though they last 
forever, they're dreadful transmissions.  And the stereos suck ass.  0-60 
was the same as the 1992 with a 5-speed, but the auto gained almost a full 
second.

1996 was a nice revision to the E36.  It got a new automatic transmission 
from GM to replace the shitbox from BMW, a slight interior redesign, and a 
facelift with body-colored mouldings.  And then in 1998 (IIRC) they did a 
final interior update with digital climate control, etc -- and dropped the 
325i in favor of the MUCH MUCH faster 328i.  (Fast as shit at high revs, 
and tremendously torquey down low).

The big problems with the E36 are all engine cooling problems.  The 
thermostats, radiators, and water pumps fail.  The original water pumps had 
plastic impeller blades and generally didn't last more than 40k miles.  I 
doubt if there are any left on the road, but if you get an E36, make sure 
it has the metal water pump.  The neck on the top of the radiator is also 
plastic, and they generally crack and fail suddenly at around 100k miles.

In terms of longevity, you should easily see as many miles out of an E36 as 
an E30 -- i.e. millions.  They get great gas mileage on the highway (better 
than the E30 -- about 30mpg with the 2.5 and an automatic), but horrendous 
in the city unless you get a 5-speed.  Again, the only maintenance issues 
are the BMW-typical stuff I mentioned above.  All E36s timing chains, so no 
worries there.  And a 4-cylinder BMW other than a 2002 is utter and supreme 
sacrilege -- so you don't want one.... especially since they are well known 
for horrible head problems.

The ever un-opinionated Jason