E34 to E36 Questions

[pgrindstaff]

I currently have a '94 530i which has been good to me for the past year and 3 months minus a failing fuel pump. I am getting ready to move about 50 miles away from work and am thinking about getting a '97 or '98 328i since the price of gas is getting fairly expensive. What are some things I will have to deal with going from a V8 to an I6 and OBDII? What kinds of things break on E36s? I guess it all boils down to how reliable will a 328i be for mostly highway travel? Any insight to E36 ownership is much appreciated.

-Patrick

[PScalfano]

I am a current E36 owner and used to own an E34 (1995 525i). My E36 is not OBDII and it has an M50TU like my 525 did, so I won't be able to answer your OBDII or V8 to I6 questions. I will say that my 325i cabrio gets 28.5 Highway MPG compared to the 20 MPG my 525i was getting. The only mod I have on the car is a performance chip that was from the 525. I was amazed at that gas mileage because that's the same that my daily commuter ('00 Honda accord 4 cylinder VTEC) gets. My E36 is about 3300lbs as a cabrio; I think a coupe or sedan would be lighter.

As for what you should expect to go wrong, I'll give you a quick summary of the problems I had with my E34, versus what I've read about the E36. (I've only owned my E36 for about 2 months now, so I can't really give a good account on what you can expect to break.)

E34: I replaced 3 window motors, A/C Compressor, and Radiator. I dealt with a failed lock actuator on the driver's door and electric seat adjustment problems. These repairs were over the course of 55,000 miles of use. I bought it with 80,000 on the clock and had just rolled over 135,000 when it was totaled 3 and 1/2 years after I bought it.

E36: I have read things about the water pump with plastic impellor and plastic radiator expansion tank. Also, the radiator fan is known to explode. The E36 community on "Bimmerforums" have embraced a "fan delete mod" as an alternative to the radiator fan, but personally I am a bit skeptical about removing the radiator fan in favor of a cooler thermostat.

On my particular E36, I replaced the paper cone speakers which had disintegrated, and the radio's display was also broken. I got Rubbertech floor mats to replace the BMW ones which had the black nonslip surface flaking off (exactly like on my E34). When I removed the door panels, I had to re-epoxy the plastic pieces that hold the clips on much like when I was replacing the window motors on the E34. So overall, the build quality and materials are the same. Expect the same brittle plastic pieces as the E34, and also expect the excellent ride quality and fun driving experience. Most of my driving is just finding scenic roads and taking the top down, so it could be considered "highway" driving, and it's been as reliable as my E34 for the 2k miles I've driven it.

Owning an E34 definitely helped me to know what to look for when shopping for the E36 and also helped me to know what to replace after I got the car (case in point, A/C Cabin microfilter). I saw some familiar items on the service history from what I've read on this board as E34 problems (o2 sensor, strut mounts). Also, the E36 Bentley manual was recognized as an old friend after having to deal with the Chilton book I have for the Accord.

I hope that this has given you some insight as to the similarities and differences of E36 and E34. I hope I don't get blackballed on the E34 section where I still lurk for "converting" you to an E36 owner. I'll do my best to answer any other questions you may have.

-Phillip

[pgrindstaff]

Thanks for your reply. It does seem that the two models have similar issues which I have been lucky enough not to face yet with my 530. I'll just have to see how everything works out and decide from there.

-Patrick