Opinions on the E36 BMW 328i

[j_jza80]

Hey guys, looking at a few BMW 328i's at the moment. Wanting something RWD and fun for around £1k and these seem to fit the bill perfectly. I was looking at 200sx's but the manual S14s seem to go for £3k these days.

 

Have any of you guys ever owned one? Would raise my budget a bit and get an M3, but M3s come with Supra TT running costs and then i'd wish I had TT performance.

[Scott]

Mr2?

[j_jza80]

Mr2?

 

Would rather front engine, rear drive ideally but thanks. Just cleared some room on the drive, so I have room for another couple of cars now if I want

[Homer]

I owned one for 5 years, will post up some feedback later!

[Snooze]

I had one prior to the Supra.

 

My advice: do NOT get a '95. Mine had serious valve stem issues and eventually went up in flames (insurance payout got me a Supra, so - silver lining and all).

As it turns out (with some digging required), this was, apparently, a known problem on the '95 engine. The car was re-issued in '96 with the problem suppsoedly "alleviated". A friend of mine had a P-Reg '96 and he ran that for several years without encountering the problem.

 

Aside from that - yeah - nice car. Not too much of a step down from an N/A Supra. The handling is not too shabby, and it's only 20hp less than the Supe. As long as you can cope with the BMW image, I would happily recommend the car (assuming you stay away from the '95s!).

[TopgunTT]

Pics

[j_jza80]

 

Aside from that - yeah - nice car. Not too much of a step down from an N/A Supra. The handling is not too shabby, and it's only 20hp less than the Supe. As long as you can cope with the BMW image, I would happily recommend the car (assuming you stay away from the '95s!).

 

I was under the impression that they handle very well. They weigh approx 100kg less than an NA Supra so shold be about as quick. The Only reason im not looking at NAs is that they do require a bit spending on them to make them handle IMO, and both my previous Supras had far more power than i'd get from an NA.

[Snooze]

I was under the impression that they handle very well. They weigh approx 100kg less than an NA Supra so shold be about as quick.

 

Errr - "maybe" (see below) and "yes" (in a straight line).

 

Whilst you can certainly throw them around, it definitely felt more like an exec car (more detached from the road, bouncier suspension, less pointy steering) than the Supra to me. But to be honest, I can't really speak for handling per se, as I never really drive at the limit enough to gauge that, so whether it actually cornered any slower or not I couldn't tell you.

[ozz]

I'd look for a 325 rather than a 328, there are cheap mods you can do to the 325 to beat the power on the 328 (decat, throttlebody, chip), whereas the 328 has a restricted manifold for EU emissions. I've owned several 3 series models, loved my 325, not as powerful as my supra NA IIRC but not much in it.

 

The 323 has similar restrictions to the 328. 325 is the best purchase unless you find a moddified 328.

[fuldhat]

What you do is buy the 328 and then get a 325 intake manifold and boom 210-215 hp.

 

Stock is 193 hp, so it will be cheapest hp you can get. A remap after new manifold is a good idea. The remap alone should give around 5-10 hp. So you would end up with something like 220 hp total.

[Homer]

Got some time to reply now..

 

Snooze has hit on one of the points I was going to make, make sure it's a 96 onwards car.

 

Also ensure that the engine block has been replaced under warranty, they had Nikasil issues: http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/nikasil.htm#what_is This iwas not done as a product recall and they were only done if they were under extended warranty, hence many are somehow still running on engines with compression problems. Also make sure the steering rack has been replaced under product recall as they could suffer from a serious failure - they lock! This was a lte year product recall and not all E36's had it done, especially if they were no longer being serviced by BMW.

 

Overall it was the best car I've owned. I very rarely had any issues with it despite using it daily and clocking up a lot of miles.

 

The engine is not all that powerful. The VANOS gives a very good amount of torque through the mid range (210ib/ft) but as it's so flat it doesn't feel all that quick! They are quicker than the BMW stats reveal, my old car was recorded at a 0-60 of 6.7s so about the same as an NA Supra.

 

The handling is pretty good and certainly a much easier car to get the the most out of compared to a Supra, they are prone to understeer going into corners but don't give much issues with oversteer. Good quality rubber is absolutely essential on BMW's.

 

They shouldn't rust, so if there any signs of that walk away. Modified ones are best to avoid as they will tend to be thrashed.

 

I would also stay well away from the 325i, they didn't come with the uprated sport suspension as standard (only the 318is and 328i had this), plus the engines are a much older design (M50)

[j_jza80]

Got some time to reply now..

 

Snooze has hit on one of the points I was going to make, make sure it's a 96 onwards car.

 

Also ensure that the engine block has been replaced under warranty, they had Nikasil issues: http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/nikasil.htm#what_is This iwas not done as a product recall and they were only done if they were under extended warranty, hence many are somehow still running on engines with compression problems. Also make sure the steering rack has been replaced under product recall as they could suffer from a serious failure - they lock! This was a lte year product recall and not all E36's had it done, especially if they were no longer being serviced by BMW.

 

Overall it was the best car I've owned. I very rarely had any issues with it despite using it daily and clocking up a lot of miles.

 

The engine is not all that powerful. The VANOS gives a very good amount of torque through the mid range (210ib/ft) but as it's so flat it doesn't feel all that quick! They are quicker than the BMW stats reveal, my old car was recorded at a 0-60 of 6.7s so about the same as an NA Supra.

 

The handling is pretty good and certainly a much easier car to get the the most out of compared to a Supra, they are prone to understeer going into corners but don't give much issues with oversteer. Good quality rubber is absolutely essential on BMW's.

 

They shouldn't rust, so if there any signs of that walk away. Modified ones are best to avoid as they will tend to be thrashed.

 

I would also stay well away from the 325i, they didn't come with the uprated sport suspension as standard (only the 318is and 328i had this), plus the engines are a much older design (M50)

 

Thankyou, that's spot on.

[ozz]

Got some time to reply now..

 

Snooze has hit on one of the points I was going to make, make sure it's a 96 onwards car.

 

Also ensure that the engine block has been replaced under warranty, they had Nikasil issues: http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/nikasil.htm#what_is This iwas not done as a product recall and they were only done if they were under extended warranty, hence many are somehow still running on engines with compression problems. Also make sure the steering rack has been replaced under product recall as they could suffer from a serious failure - they lock! This was a lte year product recall and not all E36's had it done, especially if they were no longer being serviced by BMW.

 

Overall it was the best car I've owned. I very rarely had any issues with it despite using it daily and clocking up a lot of miles.

 

The engine is not all that powerful. The VANOS gives a very good amount of torque through the mid range (210ib/ft) but as it's so flat it doesn't feel all that quick! They are quicker than the BMW stats reveal, my old car was recorded at a 0-60 of 6.7s so about the same as an NA Supra.

 

The handling is pretty good and certainly a much easier car to get the the most out of compared to a Supra, they are prone to understeer going into corners but don't give much issues with oversteer. Good quality rubber is absolutely essential on BMW's.

 

They shouldn't rust, so if there any signs of that walk away. Modified ones are best to avoid as they will tend to be thrashed.

 

I would also stay well away from the 325i, they didn't come with the uprated sport suspension as standard (only the 318is and 328i had this), plus the engines are a much older design (M50)

 

the 325 coupe had m-tec suspension as standard, it was optional on the saloon iirc. I think they you get LSDs on some 325s as well, not an option on the 328. A few years since I owned one tho!

[Homer]

the 325 coupe had m-tec suspension as standard, it was optional on the saloon iirc. I think they you get LSDs on some 325s as well, not an option on the 328. A few years since I owned one tho!

 

Ah, then I was wrong about the suspension on the 325, sorry.

 

The 328i sport had the LSD as standard but was discontinued on later models. It was as you say an option on the 325, but was not present on the 328i

 

Same for me, been 7 years since I owned one and can't remember all the in's and out's of them now.

[ozz]

Ah, then I was wrong about the suspension on the 325, sorry.

 

The 328i sport had the LSD as standard but was discontinued on later models. It was as you say an option on the 325, but was not present on the 328i

 

Same for me, been 7 years since I owned one and can't remember all the in's and out's of them now.

 

I could be wrong, too long since i was part of that scene. TBH with the age of the cars I don't know how much difference you'd see anyway, best just getting the best car for your money, whether 325 or 328 it will be fun and cheap.

[j_jza80]

Been offered a White manual 1998 328i sport with just over 100k miles and service history for £1200 (after a bit of negotiation) Still not entirely made up about it, but looks like a tidy car and an awful lot of car for the money. The only problem i'm aware of is the aircon isn't working, but that doesn't bother me too much.

 

Hmmmm...

 

Really struggling with this one, might save my pennies for a couple of months and buy a 6 speed NA Supra and start saving for a GTE transplant.

 

I'm just struggling to justify an extra £4k for an NA Supra, although the 6 speed would obviously have great potential.

[j_jza80]

Managed to get it for £1150 in the end, so i'm having it delivered on Saturday morning

 

Really looking forward to getting my hands on something RWD again!