Are e36 BMWs good platforms

[Golf IV]

HI are the e36 2 doors good cars in the sense that they don't always have to be maintained/ are poorly designed and have many problems?

[t-im]

Originally posted by Golf IV
HI are the e36 2 doors good cars in the sense that they don't always have to be maintained/ are poorly designed and have many problems?


if it's been taken care of..then it's good to go...

[Kaos]

Every car has to be maintained the same.
Oil changes every now and then and regular maintenance.

[three.eighteen.]

the later they get the better, but yes they are a very well designed platform...the E36 M3 was at one point "the best handling car in north america"

[C4S]

E36 came out in 1990 .. at that time .. can't recall any car over better chassis .. ( well, not talking about F40, 959 those super cars ! )

And in 1993, E36 M3, offer 286 "NA" HP, and offered quicker 0-60mph time then the Porsche 911, Ferrari 348, NSX, Lamboghini Diablo ... ( but still a bit slower then the Lotus SE, 911 Turbo ! of course ! ) and even rated better handling # ... and it took the honor for best performance car for many years ...

So .. what else can I say ?

[bol]

I have a '94 318is and a '98 328is. I love these cars! They have quirks and problems... but so does every car.

[GTS Jeff]

they suffer from "unreliable mid 90s european car syndrome". UM9ECS for short. basically, theyre super awesome for driving and shiet, but tons of annoying shit goes wrong all the time and it costs lots of to fix cuz its a bimmer.

[t-im]

Originally posted by C4S
E36 came out in 1990 .. at that time .. can't recall any car over better chassis .. ( well, not talking about F40, 959 those super cars ! )

And in 1993, E36 M3, offer 286 "NA" HP, and offered quicker 0-60mph time then the Porsche 911, Ferrari 348, NSX, Lamboghini Diablo ... ( but still a bit slower then the Lotus SE, 911 Turbo ! of course ! ) and even rated better handling # ... and it took the honor for best performance car for many years ...

So .. what else can I say ?

...........

Canada, E36 sedan officially came out in 1992....or mid 1991 for 92 models.....

E36 M3 was ~94..not 93

[rage2]

The Canada 286hp M3's were really rare. There's a lot of US imported M3's which have only 240hp. The later CDN M3's were also 240hp, but with 3.2L of displacement to match the US.

[ZorroAMG]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
they suffer from "unreliable mid 90s european car syndrome". UM9ECS for short. basically, theyre super awesome for driving and shiet, but tons of annoying shit goes wrong all the time and it costs lots of to fix cuz its a bimmer.

Kinda generalizing without owning one, aren't you? All cars that are 10-20 yrs old are going to have issues, doesn't your Corolla?

[RSeXy]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG


Kinda generalizing without owning one, aren't you? All cars that are 10-20 yrs old are going to have issues, doesn't your Corolla?


Of course older cars have issues... But Jeff is right, BMW's are expensive to fix up, especially if any of the electrical stuff goes wrong...

[FiveFreshFish]

M3 production dates clarified here:

http://www.bmwmregistry.com/faq.php

[three.eighteen.]

it really depends on what kind of reliability youre talking about, the engines will generally last forever, the body panels are more solid than your average japanese or american car, the electronics are a little iffy, but like i said pick up a newer one, and there probably wont be many problems at all

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by ZorroAMG


Kinda generalizing without owning one, aren't you? All cars that are 10-20 yrs old are going to have issues, doesn't your Corolla? yea i definitely am, but im stating it as a fact, not as a diss to anyone. i know more than a few euro car owners and when i lived at home my parents kept more than a few euro cars in the stable as well. like cmon, even MBs arent exempt. for example: i think jackie has burnt out her taillights like 3 times in the last 2-3 years? as a rule, theyre great cars, minus the annoyingness of little shit going wrong all the time.

and actually my mid 80s corolla has less problems than a few mid 90s euro cars that i know of ;)

but seriously, i dont think theres any euro owners who could completely disagree with me while keeping a straight face.

[ZorroAMG]

Oh I wasn't taking offence at all and my comment on your corolla wasn't meant to be rude either :) I think the benefits of owning an older euro outweighs the inconvenience of the odd issue...

BTW Jackie's car is not considered older euro LOL, in fact the newer MB's have more issues than say mine or Hakk's because in 96-97 MB (and BMW a year or so earlier) went into cost cutting methods, (as did most other car companies but no one talks about them haha)

[m10-power]

I'll dissagree with you for sure, electronics on the E36 are very well designed and built, especially the ground system.
How does a light bulb buring out have anything to do with the electrical system? Perhaps stop buying cheap bulbs???

I've owned my E36 for over 100,000km (now at 180k km) and never had an electrical problem, or problem for that matter, only routine maintenance. After doing some major wiring on another E36 for engince conversion I am more impressed with the electronics.

Avoid the dealer, find a local BMW specialist and take your car there for servicing. BMW's are not any difference then any other vehicle for parts prices, this is a misconception. If there is a price difference its due to quality and perhaps quantity, certainly not a big deal.

[C4S]

Originally posted by t-im


...........

Canada, E36 sedan officially came out in 1992....or mid 1991 for 92 models.....

E36 M3 was ~94..not 93

I am talking about general E36 production date .. we know about when E36 started selling in Canada .. ( late 91 as 92 model ) and when the M3 arrived in Canada .. :D