DnewmanSS

Well I just happened to run across while looking at a camry this weekend. The guy just got divorced and is selling off some of his cars. I have always liked the look of the older BMWs and kinda fell in love with this one.

BAN HAMMER

Wrong.

They are good cars, easy to work on, and parts arent any more expensive than a ford or a chevy.

That being said, stay away from the automatic transmissions, THOSE are known to be problematic.

Like everyone said, water pump, cooling system, suspension.

Dubee88

yeah i think eXploited was attempting to troll...my e36 has been easy as shit to work on...

worst thing ive had to do was a clutch swap but the one youre looking at is an auto so its not an issue. ive had to replace my lower control arms and power steering pump as well but neither of those were very difficult jobs. i love mine

DOOM

Best advice I could give, buy from an owner with all maintenance records.

Yea you pay a little but more, but you know most of the headaches are gone and car was properly maintained by a responsible person.

BAN HAMMER

The E36 I bought had been brought to a BMW dealership in NC for pretty much its entire life (97 328i)..... UNTIL the guy I bought it from got ahold of it. Luckily he didnt put too many miles on it and didnt mess it up TOO bad. But for $2000.00 you cant beat a strong running car.

DOOM

Then you came up on a good deal, they are out there

trickyricky

Check driveshaft, cooling system including thermostat housing, overflow tank, hoses, water pump, fan/fan clutch, fan shroud. Then fresh coolant and air bleed the system. Weak point in all bmw's, it will save you tons of cash, all relatively easy to do, and wont break the bank. Valve cover for oil leaks. I think with the e36 you have to check/replace the rear strut mount ever so often.

Bushings, bearings, etc.
Name of the game is maintenance, as long as the things were done on time, the car will run for a long time with no major shiite to do. Bentley's is the way to go, and get a hold of pelican parts.com and other like sites. Bimmerfest/bimmer forums for all kinds of fiy, part numbers stuff.

Auto trans are fine as long as you change the fluid, do not flush, just remove old fluid, replace with new, new filter afterwards,

BAN HAMMER

Ignition tumbler had the "death roll" and someone tried to wire up a pushbutton start... it didnt go to well.

Only thing I REALLY had to do was take apart the ignition tumbler (which of course required me to dissasmble the ENTIRE steering column and chisel the bolts out) and put a new starter switch in it. I ahve a small coolant leak to address, but anything else I've done has been cosmetic. the boneyards are full of these things, so finding parts for the is a breeze.

Trunk Impaired

This. So many E36s with blown headgaskets from cooling system neglect just sitting around. If you don't want to you rarely ever have to buy new parts.

DnewmanSS

The guy I am buying it from has owned it for the past 10 years and says he never had to do anything to it other than oil changes, brakes, and he just put new tires on it a few months ago. He has only put 20,000 miles on it in the 10 years he had owned. He has several cars that he has collected over the years and is having to sell a few of them because of a divorce. He knew alot about the car and I feel pretty confident that he is being honest. I figure the first thing I will do is an oil change, spark plugs, and water pump and thermostat. I really appreciate everyones advice.