[schreck]

Hey, my dad mentioned a 1994 BMW 325is to me for me. He saw the car and the guy was asking 7k, my dad would think of making an offer of 5-6k. The car has 125k miles, has a new clutch, and is pretty stable the guy claims. The e36 M front bumper, an in dash cd/screen up front, subs, 17 inch aftermarket rims. Those are thing I really don't care for but thought I'd add that the car already has installed in it. My dad was curious about the realiability of this car. If the car has no problems as of right now how well could we expect this car to run out? Would this be a good idea?

Thanks a bunch,
Alex

 

[Reno]

if its auto than its too many mills for the tranny

tho e36s are great cars!
i had 3 of them

 

[schreck]

No way man. It's a 5 speed manual.

 

[dboffa]

The reliability for that engine is very good. The greater concern is the wear and tear items, which seem to be a problem on all BMWs.

Have the car looked at by an independent BMW specialist. Also make sure the O2 sensor has been replaced. If it checks out, the car shouldn't present serious problems. In addition, the OBDI engines are great for tuning.

 

[akhbhaat]

Expect to have a couple grand set aside for maintenance. As stated, the motor should last, but you can expect a variety of niggling problems which can add up over time. Things like the alternator, A/C compressor, water pump and power steering pump are all prone to failure as the car ages. Also, on BMW's, the control arm bushings tend to go every 30-50k miles. Parts aren't actually that bad (not that much worse than a comparable Japanese car), but labor rates are excessive. If you really want this car, I strongly recommend finding a good aftermarket shop that charges 50-60 per hour or learning how to do some of the work yourself.

 

[dboffa]

ak - Are the control arm bushings an issue on the E36? I haven't heard of them, but I really don't know. I do know other suspension components have problems, such as the rear trailing arm bushings on the E36.

And if the water pump hasn't been replaced already, you're going to want to do that.