M3 buying advice?

[paddymcc]

Ive sourced my self a 1998 M3 Evo with 42k miles in black.

I know the VANOS units had to be replaced on all the Evo's? So thats one thing to look for in the history.

Any other things i need to look out for?

 

[errigle]

yeah the other VANOS unit, i heard the evo's came with 2, think they are something stupid like £1000 each, dont quote me on that though

 

[sexymanda]

listen for the usual winey diff, me dad had one bak in 95 and altho it was new then after him owning it for a yr the diff never quit wining, altho he hadnt threw it round that much!

 

[Boydie]

VANOS?

 

[paddymcc]

VANOS?

BMW's verion of variable valve timing on the M3 Evo's.

 

[Boydie]

lol thanks! learn somethin new every day!

 

[andy m3]

with an evo make sure it has fbmwsh, an a bmw waranty if possible. the double vanos is a disaster, they didn't have to b replaced it's just they give that much trouble the most of them have (maybe more than once or twice) have a good listen to it 4 ne funny noises,

they ain't the cheapest things to run either so watch out for shortcuts people have took, with only 42k on her shouldn't b to bad but check the exhaust as they are near the £1500 mark i think 4 a new 1, the diff as well can give trouble listen 4 it wine'in an if u get the chance make sure its still limited slip . traling arm bushes as well m8 make sure they have bin done as they don't last to long either,

there is just an endless list, but believe me they are expensive to run

 

[pablo]

get it inspected paddy by someone who knows what they are at.

could save £££ in the long run!

 

[paddymcc]

get it inspected paddy by someone who knows what they are at.

could save £££ in the long run!

I never thought of that. I should get RAC/AA to inspect her when i get out to look at it.

 

[pablo]

was thinking more of a bm specialist dunno if Id trust those monkeys.

 

[paddymcc]

was thinking more of a bm specialist dunno if Id trust those monkeys.

It'll be hard finding someone to trust thought over on the mainland.

 

[pablo]

what about a bmw specialist closeby?

arrange with them to either inspect the car in advance (with you paying) or make an appointment for when you are over there to go together.

 

[Jason]

my uncle does indeed know his ****, worked for quite a few bm garages and in canada untill he set up his own a gd few years ago,but he's in ballymoney so maybe no use!

 

[Pac-Man]

Wheres the motor at Pad Lad? Anywhere near London/Birmingham/Nottingham?

I'm heading over to MPL and i'm meeting up with a guy who has a BMW dealer in London and it'd be no problem him looking at the car if it was local to either of those places.

PM me and i'll give you more info.

 

[stevie wheels]

If it has a service history it should be dead on. Vanos doesn't go on them all, my coupe is as quiet as a wee mouse. Rear bushes are cheap to buy,£8 EACH.

 

[RickyB]

Hey Stevie! How quiet is a wee mouse going in circles?????

 

[Skillie]

It'll be hard finding someone to trust thought over on the mainland.

Source a specialist nearby the car, pay him by credit card and arrange for the guy to drop in the M3 to him and get a full report then. If all checks out then at least you know you're not wasting a trip. Get the M3s VIN number and enter it on the site below for general info. Give BMW customer services a ring in UK and give them the VIN they are excellent and will tell you everthing they have on record about the car (service history and whats been replaced, when and why).

http://www.bmw-z1.com/VIN/VINdecode-e.cgi

Go to www.e36coupe.com and get on the forum brilliant bunch of lads on there and more expertese than you could ever need, for any type of E36.

Best of luck

 

[Dermot]

get it inspected paddy by someone who knows what they are at.

could save £££ in the long run!

I never thought of that. I should get RAC/AA to inspect her when i get out to look at it.

I just Drive em to the nearest MOT centre and See if they find anything wrong with it... But then they are only looking to see if the Cars 'safe' not checking for a knocking engine etc... I'd Say a BMW Evo Paddy, If someone had the money to buy it, Insure it and Run it, They would have had it well serviced and looked after... Maybe if you go look at it bring it to a BMW dealers and just say... Find something wrong with that please!

 

[pablo]

id say there are some rough evos out there mate - especially if they had a sniff of vanos trouble they would sell up if they had any sense.

 

[Ciaran]

I've looked at a few which weren't great, servicing had been done by joe's mate billy - I think they used a mechano set of spanners to do the work.

 

[Ciaran]

the only thing holding me back getting one is the servicing, I've heard too many stories about £1000 + inspection II services.

 

[stevie wheels]

Servicing costs have come down alot,25% discount for cars that over 4years old.

 

[Dermot]

If Its Cheap Enough Paddy I'd Go for it... Dont like the sound of the Vano's though..

 

[Skillie]

like i said follow the steps above and you should be sorted. www.e36coupe.com will give you more than enough info. You may even get one of the members if close by to have a look at it before you travel to make sure its not a pile of piss. They're a sound bunch. Theres also lots of cars in there for sae section and likelyhood is a member of the club will have looked after his car religiously

 

[S_Gault]

having worked at several touring car engines in these, the biggest hassle is the resistor in the plug lead, this can cause Electromagetic noise that spikes the main processor in the ECU.

Steven