OT: a few e36/M50 questions

[Kalevera]

Guys...

There's a 4 door e36 325 for sale about a mile away from my house. 5 speed 1992, so I think it's an M50, not the TU'd variant. A friend of mine wants to buy it, and they're asking $2000. It's probably been sitting there for two days...max.

Here's my assessment (haven't TD'd it yet): Car looks alright and has 196k on the clock - has a few cosmetic issues, dings, and it appears the front DS fender was replaced from a parts car of a similar color. The headlights have the classic nasty film on them, paint's peeling/gone on the trunk lid, pass side rear bumper shock looks to have been bumped in. The black plastic trim has lost the coloring, per norm. The interior's in NICE shape (for an e36) from what I can tell - seats could use a little rejuvenator oil.

In terms of the mechanics (I just stuck my head under the car): rear looks fine - no rust (southern cars rock!) except for a spot on the muffler. I'd say the rotors have 2k or less left in them and the rear tires are about the same. The only questionable things I saw on the car were: 1) there's a power steering leak...appears to be at the rack; 2) I noticed evidence of an engine oil leak from the bottom of the pan.

Questions:

- I know the M30's good for 300k+....what about the M50? Is a 196k M50 a really bad idea? (aside from service records and a compression test -- both of which I haven't checked yet). Are there any common places for oil leaks, as on the M30?

- My friend really likes this car. I told him I'd help him fix it up, but I'd feel really bad if he ended up like I did and discovered that the car needed more work than expected (I know the best way to combat this is to check service records and run through the engine compartment prior to buying). Given the cosmetic/plausible mechanical issues and mileage, is a 5 spd e36 that supposedly drives well WORTH $2k?

best, whit

[granit_silber]

Guys...

There's a 4 door e36 325 for sale about a mile away from my house. 5 speed 1992, so I think it's an M50, not the TU'd variant. A friend of mine wants to buy it, and they're asking $2000. It's probably been sitting there for two days...max.

Here's my assessment (haven't TD'd it yet): Car looks alright and has 196k on the clock - has a few cosmetic issues, dings, and it appears the front DS fender was replaced from a parts car of a similar color. The headlights have the classic nasty film on them, paint's peeling/gone on the trunk lid, pass side rear bumper shock looks to have been bumped in. The black plastic trim has lost the coloring, per norm. The interior's in NICE shape (for an e36) from what I can tell - seats could use a little rejuvenator oil.

In terms of the mechanics (I just stuck my head under the car): rear looks fine - no rust (southern cars rock!) except for a spot on the muffler. I'd say the rotors have 2k or less left in them and the rear tires are about the same. The only questionable things I saw on the car were: 1) there's a power steering leak...appears to be at the rack; 2) I noticed evidence of an engine oil leak from the bottom of the pan.

Questions:

- I know the M30's good for 300k+....what about the M50? Is a 196k M50 a really bad idea? (aside from service records and a compression test -- both of which I haven't checked yet). Are there any common places for oil leaks, as on the M30?

- My friend really likes this car. I told him I'd help him fix it up, but I'd feel really bad if he ended up like I did and discovered that the car needed more work than expected (I know the best way to combat this is to check service records and run through the engine compartment prior to buying). Given the cosmetic/plausible mechanical issues and mileage, is a 5 spd e36 that supposedly drives well WORTH $2k?

best, whit

My m50 has 162k+ on it. I also have a very small oil leak that I think we've (bimmer.info) narrowed down to the bolts holding the pan to the block. The fix is to tighten the bolts as they loosen slightly over time.

Here's a buying guide from Total BMW (british mag) all about the e36.

http://www.totalbmwmag.co.uk/Buying/BuyingAug02.PDF

It's a couple of years old so adjust accordingly. They also published an updated buyer's guide in the March or April (2005) edition (not up for download yet).

I will say that 190K seems a little high. I'm looking at an '83 533i with 177K, of course mine has 162 so whatever.
-ashley
-ashley

[western99]

Those cars in general are pretty solid cars. When I got rid of mine with 177k kms on it, it still drove like the day I got it. The engine should last. In general, the M50s are bullet proof engines. If it is leaking oil, check the valve cover gasket, those are known to go on the M50's. If it were up to me, now knowing the history of the the car, I would see if you could take the valve cover off and check it out. For $35 for the valve cover gasket kit, it is worth the money to take a look at the inside of the engine. The last thing you want is an engine full of crud. If everything looks fine from that point of view, I would say do a compression test and you are set to go. Like all M50's check to see if the Tstat, wpump,rad and fluids have been changed. If not, those will need to be changed soon. As for the suspension, depending on how the car was driven, it may need some attention. From a mechanical point of view, if the engine checks out, and the suspension looks to be in relatively good shape, $2k does not sound all that bad.

Brian

[bjl4776]

I had 212k on a turbo M50 and it ran great. Probably was going to blow up soon enough, but nevertheless it ran great before my accident. Sounds like a good deal, I got a 95 325is with 72k and sport package for 1700 and it didnt run and needed a front bumber assembly.

[Rory]

Guys...

There's a 4 door e36 325 for sale about a mile away from my house. 5 speed 1992, so I think it's an M50, not the TU'd variant. A friend of mine wants to buy it, and they're asking $2000. It's probably been sitting there for two days...max.

Here's my assessment (haven't TD'd it yet): Car looks alright and has 196k on the clock - has a few cosmetic issues, dings, and it appears the front DS fender was replaced from a parts car of a similar color. The headlights have the classic nasty film on them, paint's peeling/gone on the trunk lid, pass side rear bumper shock looks to have been bumped in. The black plastic trim has lost the coloring, per norm. The interior's in NICE shape (for an e36) from what I can tell - seats could use a little rejuvenator oil.

In terms of the mechanics (I just stuck my head under the car): rear looks fine - no rust (southern cars rock!) except for a spot on the muffler. I'd say the rotors have 2k or less left in them and the rear tires are about the same. The only questionable things I saw on the car were: 1) there's a power steering leak...appears to be at the rack; 2) I noticed evidence of an engine oil leak from the bottom of the pan.

Questions:

- I know the M30's good for 300k+....what about the M50? Is a 196k M50 a really bad idea? (aside from service records and a compression test -- both of which I haven't checked yet). Are there any common places for oil leaks, as on the M30?

- My friend really likes this car. I told him I'd help him fix it up, but I'd feel really bad if he ended up like I did and discovered that the car needed more work than expected (I know the best way to combat this is to check service records and run through the engine compartment prior to buying). Given the cosmetic/plausible mechanical issues and mileage, is a 5 spd e36 that supposedly drives well WORTH $2k?

best, whit
E36 is a great car and easy to work on. The M50 is a typical BMW 6 cylinder engine and is bulletproof as long as it is well maintained. Like anything else, if the car has been taken care of it should be just fine for another 50-100K miles, but if it has been neglected it could be a money pit at first to bring it up to spec. What is the build date of the car? It is the first model year of the E36, and the first model year is always asking for annoying problems IMHO. YMMV.

Best,
Rory

[Kalevera]

Well, the car sold in a day, so I didn't get to it in time ;)

Thanks for all of the input...I'm always scouting deals.

best, whit