s good friend of mine has a E36 M3 4-door (I think '98) with over 200k miles on it - it's a fricking tank I've driven it before -- drives great. It does help that he is mechanically inclined and takes care of all the basic maintenance on it. I think he pretty much never takes it to the dealer. But the point is, if you know how to take care of those cars, they will last a long ass while.

 

He has probably replaced more than you realize.

I don't want to start this up again but if Rick is not a mechanic, he gone get it

 

You have the right for sure. Be very, very patient. If it doesn't have amazing service records pass in it.

If they have not done the cooling system, front and rear suspension & bushings, wheel bearings, and probably all the pullies, A/C, alternator, and guibo walk away if you can't do any if it yourself. Make sure you check the shock towers in the rear for metal fatigue or damage too.

That list is probably $6000 at a shop. There is also very little fundamentally different between my 328i and the M3 when it comes to maintenance.

 

Another vouch against the E36. My friend is a mechanic and has had an E36 M3 for years now. ~140k, in the ~50k miles or so he's had it he's replaced quite a few parts, none of which would be considered regular maintenance on most other cars.

I love the E36 and E46 M3s. But I decided never to get one after realizing how expensive maintenance and mods are.

To this day I have no clue why BMW and Volkswagen use plastic cooling system parts. A car that expensive with "German engineering" behind it shouldn't cheap out on such parts. The only thing I could think of is that plastic doesn't retain as much heat as metal does, but still.




a lot of the things charliemike mentioned had to be dealt with on my buddy's M3. When I worked at a parts store, I had the part number for that "guibo" memorized.

 

I'm no mechanic, but I have been reading up on what to expect with one of these cars for a while, so I have a pretty good idea of the routine maintenance.

If it's any assurance though, most of the cars I'm looking at are classified ads on BMW/M3 forums by owners who (90% of the time) list everything they've done & any maintenance the car may need. This one I've been looking at that has enough receipt evidence for all his work.
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=442006

 

Someone posted the repair process of reinforcing the subframe and replacing the floor on their E46 M3. Can't find the post but I remember it was red.

$5,000 IIRC. Supposedly BMW will pay for the repair as a good will gesture but a failure like this and the shock tower collapse on the E36 should never happen to begin with.




I love and hate BMWs. I just want a car that if something goes wrong, I can fix it myself. That or I'm buying it brand new so it's under warranty.

 

The E36 though, shouldn't be anywhere as difficult to work on. Compared to the E46's M54, the S50/52 is usually presented as a much simpler engine by owners & the parts for it are much more widely available which keeps a lot of costs down unlike the M54 which appears to require specific/highly recommended parts. The E36 car alone seems to be referred to by owners online as much more basic, hands-on friendly car compared to the E46. I remember one post detailing that doing the major service work on the E36 cars is doable in a garage by someone with general engine knowledge where as trying to do the major intervals on the E46 is not recommended for the faint of heart due to the amount of precise work needed.
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=113415

It's the labor costs that never change, but I wouldn't take the car to Classic or Dallas here anyway as labor fees reach $100+/hour. If my buddy Lee still lived here (served as a tech. for BMW Dallas for several years), he would be my go-to guy, but for now, Autoscope would be my choice as they seem to offer better rates & deals to members of a local club.

 

I hear you. Yeah I don't know what all he did.
did you mean E46 or E36 in the first paragraph?

 

What is screwed up is they both do it.

 

My best friend drives an E36 M3. He absolutely loves it and it hasn't really given him any problems.

Here's a photo... I photoshopped the wheels and trim dark in this, so ignore that. This is his winter setup, he normally has the OEM wheels mounted.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rphilman1/7173105978/

 

Love that color

 

Maybe I just got a bad car that sucked from the get go.

Because I have very, very little good to say

Other than it has always started the first time.

 

lucky you! hell I even had a 04 325i that didnt start once. (alternator)

 

so yesterday i went for that CTS-V Event at Monticello Motor Club and i had a blast i drove CTS-V Coupe in Automatic and manual and guys let me tell you this car is monster and for its weight it handles amazing... track was very technical and difficult but i was assisted by racing driver Stevan McAleer... greatest fun i ever had i wish i could stay there forever... they had also Lotus 2-Eleven, Radical, Ferrari but they would not let u drive those for known reason... if u guys intesteded i have few pics and i believe few vids too that i can share

 

That sounds like a really nice time! I'd love to see it.

 

So the new Audi DRLs... to me, they look like BMW angel eyes but for the headlight housing instead of the individual lights themselves. I almost like Audi's old strip version better, but these do look pretty neat and they really stand out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rphilman1/8700961547/

 

 

Don't cry, the tires asked for it!

 

naw I'm crying because I love that car and I can't have it.. lol

 

You can have it in Forza

 

 

just found out Gold Rush Rally is partying at the club I take photos at on their last leg in Chicago! good news that is gonna be a wild party!!!

 

Did someone say party?

 

I am 99% sure that is not stock.

 

Actually, it looks like thew new headlights on the Q5 - http://models.audiusa.com/q5/models

 

It was most definitely stock and indeed a Q5 2.0T. A woman in her 40s or 50s was driving it.

Headlights:



The two strips don't actually connect to make a full outline but the LEDs are bright enough to where it appears as they do.

 

Oh, a Q5 ... I didn't even think about that. I was thinking car the whole time.

My bad

 

in case anyone missed it, sh*t hit the fan hard regarding BC's Agera on L4P.

have a look here if you wanna see. it even made Jalopnik today.

http://www.luxury4play.com/koenigseg...g-agera-x.html

 

Who's BC?

 

big car guy on that forum and internet in general, he has quite the stable of cars - have a look at the sig in his posts in there

 

Saw the sig. Just curious.

 

Those Q5 DRLs would look amazing at night

 

Hey Guys,

I got an 04 Acura tsx with approximately 221k on it. The transmission keeps going into "limp mode" the d-light flashing, no manual option, check engine light, and VSA light come on, and the rpm revs RIDICULOUSLY high and won't shift out of 3rd. I ran the code and it says low b solenoid input. So i reflashed the wiring and even dumped some money in and replaced 4 solenoids. AND IT STILL came back. Any idea what this could be? A faulty computer? Required rebuild on the transmission?

Thanks,

 

your best bet is to ask guys here

https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-tsx-problems-fixes-128/

 

damn didnt realize the agera R would be that bad of a car and the ownership experience especially for a company that has such few clients.

Still reading through the thread

 

I didnt have time to read the thread, I just read the Jalopnik post. Interesting read.

I think Koenigsegg should send me an Agera R so I can form my own opinion.

 

Reading Koenigsegg's explanation of what happened, it sounds like they did all they could to make the guy happy and he just is a grumpy asshole

 

I'd be pissed too if I paid that much money for the car, waited much longer than expected for it to arrive, and had to go through that fiasco.

 

No doubt they could have told him they were going to have to homologate that car prior to it being sold in the States.

 

That guy has always come across has a douchebag on that forum, & whomever it was from Koenigsegg saying he had good taste was obviously being nice; he has some real shit taste in aftermarket mods & everything's white.

He's just a young (key word) guy who struck it big sometime ago in some form or another & now acts like he's owed something because of the internet fame he has managed to achieve. Lot of these young millionaires are that way in the age of the internet where everyone can see their purchases.