zaglo6204

Hey guys,
I've just happened upon a 98 M3 in unbelievable condition for an unbelievable price...& I know its not a fluke....

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone out there has driven one, owned one, or just wants to say something about them. I have driven the car, & I will share my opinion after I hear some of yours, should I get to hear any!

Ike

It's a great car, IMO better than the current M3 if you're into things like driver feel and steering feedback. Beyond that, there are certainly a decent amount of newer/cheaper cars that wil trounce it that are also far less expensive to maintain. If you have the disposable income to maintain such a car and don't mind being beaten performance wise by newer less expensive cars, I say go for it.

P.S. I've done a few trackdays in an E36 M3 as well as everyday driving.

nt5k

My bro had one for a couple years. I liked it, it had something that most cars today lack. Balance.
It might not be faster than the boosted econo-box du jour, but everything in it came together nicely to make it enjoyable to drive. If the insurance rates weren't so crazy on it, I might have gotten one instead of the 8.

hondasr4kids

M3s are one of my favorite cars. Love the sound of them, they handle great and they respond good to mods. The only problem with the E36 early models, is the rear sub frame is weak. There are kits out there to fix this problem though. If you want to read more into it and find out if it affects the year that you are looking at I would contact this people. http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html..._ID=4111225649

I know people that never tracked their E36 M3 and had this problem.

and Ike the Best M3 out there was the original M3 IMO

Ike

I agree, the E30 is what I did my first trackdays in. I drove one not too long ago, it felt dog slow but it was still fun.

zaglo6204

This is the kind of response I hoped for, & expected to some degree. The car is awesome: beautiful, relatively rare (I NEVER see them around here), excellent handling, strong engine...there are a few typical querks among these cars that need to be addressed especially with age, as hondasr4kids mentioned the weak rear subframe, & I have researched them & plan on addressing them ASAP. I plan on lightly modding the car, mainly addressing the few weaknesses & 'enhancing' power & handling. The car simply has a presence like very few others, & I'm in love.

However, the 8 is not going anywhere, & I still love it as much as I ever did. The only problem is figuring out where to put money towards mods...I think modding the 8 will wait until I clean up the M3 to be more solid, as I just put new tires on the 8. I am so spoiled...I LOVE IT!!!

YESSSSSSS

Ike

Why not get something a little more mod friendly and go nuts if it's just going to be your second car?

zaglo6204

oh yeah, & thanks guys!

Ike: I have a BMW specialist whose shop is 5 minutes away from my house (1st commercial lot I pass going anywhere), & one of his customers has an E30 in which he dropped an E36 3.2L (S52?) Euro/Evo motor...its a beast.

The guy will be working on the M3 with me, so I shouldn't screw it up too much, & he plans on introducing me to his friend with the 'special' E30. Yay.

zaglo6204

My dad & I (yes, I'm a minor) will be sharing the cars, so both will be daily drivers, & therefore I can't really have anything too outrageous that it will put the car out of commission for very long.

Goodness, I'm so spoiled.

Ike

If your dad will be paying for the maintenace on the M3 that's a plus as well.

zaglo6204

haha yeah, I really don't mind. Once I get to college, however, I'll have to figure something out... my dad wants me to take one or the other to school (not for another year & a half), but I don't know how well it would work out. I sure would like to try, if I could find the money to keep it up.

zaglo6204

Oh, I'm going to wash, wax & detail both cars in & out this weekend, & I will try to post some pictures of the two sexiest vehicles on the planet together!!

hondasr4kids

My opinion is, don't dump money into the 8. I don't think the 8 is going anywhere so far, same reason I 'm looking into getting rid of mine. If you know about the subframe issue then by all means go for the M3. One of the cars on my list to replace the 8 is a 4 door late E36 M3 or a 2000-2003 M5 (I have 2 kids). Just haven't found the right deal and family situation are holding me at the moment.

Ike yes E30 are slow but a E36 M3 or even a V-8 motor in them makes them a hell of a blast to drive. I have riden on both. Also a 2002 Ti with a E30 M3 motor is a blast.

RX-Hachi

My previous car was a '98 M3. I bought it new back in '98 as a replacement for my '93 FD RX-7. Kept the M3 in mint condition until '04, when I sold it to make room for my RX-8. It was a great car and served me well for 6 years, no problems at all. I don't think you can go wrong with a well kept E36 M3.

But do I miss it? Nope. Still having too much fun with my 8. (My FD on the other hand is the one car I do wish I had back.)

cLLcLe

However, the E36 M3's don't have the same S-series engine as they do in their European counter-part. People say it's not a "true M3"
I think the E36 M3s don't have individual throttle bodies and the engine is smaller. I forgot the exact differences.

Detrich

it's a nice car, but get ready to pay thru the nose for even general maintenance- such as when u need new tires and a new clutch... the m3 is just an expensive car to maintain- period. even if u have a mechanic who'll do the work for free, the parts are expensive.

DARKMAZ8

All M3's have individual TB's us and eurospec.

playdoh43

im a huge fan of the E36 M3, i also think its more of a driver's car than the current soon to be outdated E46. I believe the euro spec E36 M3 was rated significantly higher in HP than the US spec. Eitherway the E36 handles like a dream and is pretty fast. My favorite part of the car is the gearbox, and the quick steering response. The E46 feels more sluggiesh and less agile in comparison. Its one of the best driver's cars out there.


My only knock against it is the rediculous amount of money it takes to maintain and fix it. I know many people in my local M3 club that sold their cars because they didnt expect the the upkeep to be so costly. my dad has an E46 and the warranty is about to run out, hes trying to sell it asap due to that reason.

Im_DANomite

iTrader: (1)

the S52 motor in the US spec E36 M3 does not have individual throttle bodies. it uses the same intake manifold as the M52 motor.

i would just reinforce the car. don't even bother modifying it. the plastic radiator/expansion tank is a weakness, look for an aluminum setup. i'm not exactly positive, but some of them came with plastic impellers for the water pump. this will eventually go bad, so upgrade to the aluminum impeller pump. but, i'm pretty sure the '98 is already equipped with a metal one. look for power steering leaks around the hoses, especially near the power steering pump, reservoir, and cooler. the factory clamps aren't that great and leak. front ball joints go bad on BMW's all the time, so look for that. the E36 M3 comes with solid thrust arm bushings, so no need to upgrade those. look to replace your rear upper strut bushings, the stock ones generally come apart. polyurethane bushing kits are usually a better choice. same goes for the transmission mounts. i haven't seen to many M3's with the rear subframe problem, it was mostly found on the Z3's.

when it comes to modifying, i know very little. i've driven plenty M3's in my time, and i will drive a lot more in my days to come. the car is awesome the way it is, if i owned one, i wouldn't change a thing.

BlueEyes

In '94 up here in Canada, we got a EuroSpec M3. Only 100 IIRC. Did you get that down in the states. I don't know enough about them to quote the differences, but they were pushing quite a bit more power. 286 hp I think.

Im_DANomite

iTrader: (1)

no...i don't believe we ever sold any eurospec M3's. i have heard the only differences were the intake manifolds and DME programming.

playdoh43

danomite, why is it in our area, used 5 series bmw seems to be as cheap or cheaper than 3 series of the same year and mileage?

Im_DANomite

iTrader: (1)

maybe because of the new E60 5 series? the 3 series will start to drop since the new E90 3 series is out now. i'm looking foward to picking up the E39 M5 in the next two years...prices are gonna drop pretty nice. plus i get my dealership benefits

StealthFox

e39=the ****. now you need to conjure 60k to spend on the top dinan e39 m5 package that makes 450+hp or something crazy like that.