I have an infatuation….with a 1998-98 BMW Sedan..PICS

Some of our neighbours drive M BMWs. One of them has been driving a couple of M3s over the past, say, 15 years. Costs seem to be very steep in comparison to the normal 3 series (which aren't specifically cheap either). Worst story yet was the guy with the E39 M5 (yes, I know, different engine), some minor noise from the engine bay turned into the need for new pistons which had to be newly forged by BMW M - IIRC he waited nearly a year for them, and don't ask about the price. Surely great to drive, but especially as a student I'd rather refrain from such cars and look into something more... predictable.

Edit: I'm not very well versed in BMWs, but I think the 'true' M3 was only offered as a coupe, the 4 door sedan M3 just has some kind of a sport package (-> spoiler, skirts, interior). I might be completely wrong on this, so someone with more experience might want to chime in

 

I'm getting an E36 M3 coupe hopefully by this time next year. Yes, prices are steep but you could do a lot worse (B5 Audi S4's are a lot worse). Head over to bimmerforums and ask your question there, i think you'll get a lot more responses with a lot of good info

 

Get a proper 2 door, or else don't bother. From personal experience, they are cheap to maintain, and have decent power and handling. Coming from a Subaru it might feel great at first, but it looks old and is lacking modern features. IMO, seriously consider an E46 instead.

 

Are you talking about the M3? What are you comparing it to?

 

I had a perfect E36 M3 a while back. Fun car, but there's no getting around the fact that it's a modified 3 series. The problems with the car are in its design, and not things that can be fixed. The biggest flaw in the car is the flimsy sheet metal it's made from.
However, it's great as a daily driver. Old car at this point, so no worries about it getting damaged/stolen/vandalized. Parts are cheap, and it can be driven spiritedly with proper maintenance.

 

They are Great looking cars, but yes you would be making a mistake.
I looked into them, they are full of problems, so I decided not to get one,
Plus your infiniti is a good reliable vehicle. Keep it and get a cheaper sporty car
so you don't have to worry about it being your only car when it breaks down.

 

What kind of problems did you find?

 

I have a '96 M3, it's a coupe though.
I don't think they are particularly expensive to run, it's an old car so things need reparing. Mine has 65k miles, some of the things I needed to replace when I got it at 40k miles were most of the bushings and the suspension. I changed up the stock suspension with something a little sportier, but not too rough as I daily drive my car.
Since then, the only major thing I had to replace was my radiator/cooling system, but that cost less than $400.

Depending on the mileage of the car you can start running into issues with the shifter and possible tranny problems, but these are mostly wear and tear parts that just need to be replaced. Some things are really cheap parts (couple bucks) but it takes a few hours to replace the part. I am going to replace a shifter seal which has caused my shifter to get a little sloppy, it's a $10 part but you need to drop the tranny to get the part replaced. So if you are mechanically inclined and can do things yourself, parts are not too bad.

I probably spent between $2k-$3k as soon as I got the car replacing everything so that it ran great, and after that, probably somewhere around $500-$1,000 a year in repairs, closer to $500. Of course every car is different and mileage will play a large part.

If you want to make it a little more sporty than stock, change the suspension, add a cold air intake, short shift kit and nice tires, then call it a day.

 

Nope, true 4 door M car. It had exactly the same engine and suspension. I drove one for two years and it proved very practical because of it being a sedan. I found the car to be very dependable and a lot of fun to drive. You can get a 3 series sport that has some good looking air dams, spoilers and side skirts but has the basic 3 series engine. This is totally different from the M3 Sedan.

To tell the difference, look at the twin tip dual exhausts and then open the hood and see the M cam covers. Many people are posers and put on M series badges and brag about it being an M car. The sport package car even has an M series steering wheel that will pass for an M but the engine is the dead giveaway. Open the hood.......

 

If you are a student I would stay away from a car like this. When I was in college I was driving an Audi TT, and while I could afford the car payments, the repairs killed me. And unless you really need the 4 doors, you might as well get something that really stands out for that price. I never got the chance to drive an M3, I just didn't feel like I could spend that kind of money on a car with dated interior and exterior designs. I know ther performance is a big factor, but for that kind of money, you also want a car you look at in the garage and it makes you just smile....

 

I had to decide between a e36 M and a e46 3-series and ended up with the e46 328i sedan; a bit more civil and newer and I just needed a DD is why I went with it. 3-series have a great ride and feel to them, and they are always winning awards in magazines, but I must admit I've been somewhat disappointed in the reliability and maintenance costs. In the past year I've had to replace a number of parts and I still have things broken on it that need fixing.

 

I've owned two M3 sedans, and still have one as a part time daily driver part time track car. These cars (they were only made in '97 and '98) are starting to get old, and stuff will be failing from not only milage but time. Finding one with under 50K miles is hard. Also finding an unmolested car is hard.

I found both of my cars to be very reliable. They (like any early OBDII car) will need the oxygen sensors replaced every so often. The power steering system ALWAYS leaks, and the early cars really need the water pump, thermostat, and thermostat housing replaced. Also, the rear suspension mounting points are subject to significant wear and in some cases metal failure--a good PPI by a BMW shop should be able to check this. Fixing the problem prophylactically is relatively cheap. If it is already damaged look for another car.

There are of course a number of internet chat boards, the most active being bimmerforums.com.

And, as said above, they are true M's and BMW quoted identical performance figures for both the 2 and 4 door. I really prefer the 4 door for a couple of reasons--I think it looks better than the coupe, it is more practical (my track tires are easier to get in and out of the back seat), it is much more rare, and the shorter front doors make getting in and out in tight parking lots easier.

 

US e36 M3's are not true M cars........they're reworked 325i's........slap on some spoilers, stroke the motor and what do you get....M car.


Euro e36 M3's on the other hand are the real deal, and a completely different animal.........

 

I dont believe that is the case at all - actually I am sure it is not.

There are some differences but to call US E36 M3's "reworked 325i's with some spoilers and stroke" is just BS.

 

some differences, i think so...............like a completely different engine than it's euro counterpart

visually......different bumpers, side skirts, moldings, slightly bigger brakes and upgraded suspension......

engine...... the euro got the S50B30(286bhp, 94-95), and S50B32 (321bhp, 96-99), with Individual throttle bodies, hand built.......

in the US we got the S50B30(95) and S52B32(96-99)(both rated at 240bhp), which is a stroked version of the M50 found in other 3 series cars.........

apparently the euro engine was too expensive to build and maintain in what was for BMW M a weak market at the time......

so, with out the real M engine, I guess we can call the US M3 mostly an M car??........

 

IIRC the engine did not meet emission requirements for the US.