Let's talk e36's. What e36 parts will be valuable and harder to find in the future?

[Javier h]

A lot of the stuff is still available at the dealer but I would hunt things downs like parking assist, headlight washer spray, rear window motors (yes for a coupe, the console above is from a coupe), shade, anything euro. Most people dont even know these feature exist.

[Bimmer_Baron]

The glovebox flashlights will probably be worth a fortune in the future - it's hard to find working ones for under $60 nowadays.

[Matt-B]

they are such a shitty car to work on.

lol what?

how so


OP buy an m3 parts car, then you will be set. interiors are usually shit. door panels are shit, LSDs are spendy now, wont be cheaper in 10 years

nothing is really hard to find now, just impossible to buy used parts from flaky ass people on CL or FB posts

[Bimmer_Baron]

lol what?

how so

+1. The only things shittier about my E36 than my E30 I've encountered so far are ICV access (M50) and my door panel mounting brackets decided to melt off on a really hot day once.

[flyboyx]

lol what?

how so


OP buy an m3 parts car, then you will be set. interiors are usually shit. door panels are shit, LSDs are spendy now, wont be cheaper in 10 years

nothing is really hard to find now, just impossible to buy used parts from flaky ass people on CL or FB posts

+1. The only things shittier about my E36 than my E30 I've encountered so far are ICV access (M50) and my door panel mounting brackets decided to melt off on a really hot day once.

starter, intake manifold, oil pan gasket just to name a couple. i hate that fucking car.

[JimmyP]

E36s do have an advantage when making one into a track car as the interiors self gut.
Also do provide easy access to the undercarriage when the rear suspension falls out.

[M-technik-3]

Be nice Jimmy you have a halfer.

[JimmyP]

Poor thing, Its started showing its poor E36 genes.
Door panels have started failing off requiring me to anti-E36 them, the sunroof motor cover just fell off into my lap one day, the rubber covering on the stock steering wheel was no longer really part of the "wheel" and sort of just sitting there semi attached to the wheel as a loose cover,,, to which required a Momo wheel donated from one of my E30s.
I am on my 3rd radio as the pixels stopped being pixels. The volume control on this one is now possessed and up is down, down is up, wiggle it and it may or may not make a volume change.
I replaced the entire cooling system including heater core upon my 2nd year of ownership.

However,,, Its good E30 Genetics has kept the rear end under the car and the rear floor free from ground viewing ports.

[M-technik-3]

I just got another one. I am parting the rusty sport andkeeping the second one the third might become an AER car.

[TobyB]

'course, after working on an E46 for the last 6 months, I am now thinking that the
E36 is less shitty to work on. By a degree or 2...

Plastic. Anything plastic, especially the small bits. It's all falling apart already...

t

[flyboyx]

Just think...you live in the pnw. The sun is about 100 times milder where you live compared to Texas. My e36 only has 100 k on the clock and probably spent most of it's life in a garage. All of those parts are still in good shape. However, the ones I see in junkyards, the plastics are practically dust.

Looks like I have a gentleman's agreement to sell it to the neighbor. I can't wait for that feeling of euphoria as he hands me that final 100 dollar bill. I would love to stand on the roof and take a piss all over the hood. That's probably taking it a bit far though......

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Jesus so much hate on e36s... I have to disagree totally with all this negativity. I think they're great cars and easy to work on. Yea, after 100k miles or so little things here and there start to go, but that seems pretty typical to me. No different to any of the e30 parts that fail over time, or the e46 for that matter. It's a great daily to me. Fun, sporty and relatively quick especially with a handful of tasteful mods

[MR E30 325is]

Jesus so much hate on e36s... I have to disagree totally with all this negativity. I think they're great cars and easy to work on. Yea, after 100k miles or so little things here and there start to go, but that seems pretty typical to me. No different to any of the e30 parts that fail over time, or the e46 for that matter. It's a great daily to me. Fun, sporty and relatively quick especially with a handful of tasteful mods

Amen,

I have posted this before, while I love E30's none of the ones I have owned (which are many) matched the lightly modified 97 M3 I had as far as the fun factor is concerned.

Sure, stuff breaks, some stuff is a pain (not sure about all of the hate on removing the starter, except if you are unfortunate enough to have the nut/bolt combo. But the threaded bolt on my 98 was a breeze. A modified 8mm wrench (think bent at a couple of places) made the removal of the starter very easy. Didn't even pull IM and had the starter replaced in 1 hour), but this is no different than just about any other car I have ever put my hands into.

I'll have another E36 M3 one day. They're just too good.

* Disclaimer, never driven anything E36 that was non-M, so I bet the 325 is very lame.

[TobyB]

I agree, it's a great car- to drive. The rear suspension is lightyears more
advanced, the transmissions are so much better, and the 24v engines and electronics
(in the later cars) are
a big step up. And I fucking LOVE the driving position. I have yet to find anything better. I daily one.

But.

The interiors are self- disassembling. The sedan I have came from Arizona, and you can
write your name in the hard plastic with your fingernail. The dash has shrunk and twisted
to the point where the self- disassembling glovebox won't even fit into the hole.
Parts fall out of the dash vents randomly. They might be from the vents, or something deeper.
I wear the headliner as a hat.
The door panels, I finally gave up and tek- screwed to the sheet metal.
I rebuild/repair/replace a window regulator about once a year- and this thing's a sedan!
There are spare window switches in the door pocket, since they last about a year.
The expansion tank's only blown up once, which puts me at least 1 below average at this point.
The ti has only blown up the plastic coolant pipe once, which is also below average
(and its door panels are TRULY a disaster)
I never had to polish an E30 headlight. Nor replace it because it was opaque.
That rear suspension is nice- but if you do the 'rear subframe bushing refresh' you're going to
be spending something approaching $1k in bushings and parts- and a full weekend-
if you use BMW parts, and the aftermarket parts are either n/a or kind of terrifying.
And I never had to zip- tie the heat shield up off the driveshaft on an E30, either....

I do wonder how long all that plastic intake material will hold up. So far, it's kinda impressive...

So no, it's not a lovefest, by any stretch. But no shitshow, like the E21 was, either.

t

[mtech325]

The e36 is a tough package to argue with, regardless of if it’s an M3 or not. They make good power and handle very well. The e30 is a fun car but the e36 is simply a better design. Here are some items that I feel to be better designed from a serviceability perspective on the e36:

-Front strut replacement with flange that separates from knuckle (as opposed to e30 insert style and need for separating ball joints on 4 lug cars)

-Differential easier to install in e36, unlike aligning the e30’s 4 subframe mounting bolts (unless you have a stud conversion)
-Inner Rear brake lines accessibility

-Stock muffler clamps are easier to undo, as opposed to the strap style on an e30

-Steering rack removal due to rear sump

-Headliner replacement is much easier in an e36 than an e30. The fix is to use better glue than the factory.

-The coolant expansion tank can be a PITA when they crack, but there are other solutions if you don’t want to replace it with a stock unit. The e30 does take the cake for being easier to bleed the cooling system though.

I will agree the plastics aren’t the greatest in the e36, but I feel a majority of this pertains to the interior. I have over 270k miles on my 328 it has held up very well for its age, with the first 170k being from the first owner.

The e30 will always be one of my favorite cars, but honestly…most of the things that have really improved it have been updating it with e36 parts (24v, ZF, steering rack, etc.). The way I like to look at things is that the e30 is the end of the 2002 lineage, whereas the e36 marks the beginning of the “modern” BMW. It’s larger, heavier, and more complicated than an e30, but ultimately, that’s why the e36 sold so well. The aftermarket support is still very strong on the e36 too. Another benefit to the e36 is that M-cars and Non-M cars can easily swap parts, including bits from the e46.

Just my two cents from owning both the e30 and e36 over the years.