E36 M3 people

[V8Granite]

I think an E46 convertible is going to be a better car than an E36, and I think the earliest convertibles would be 1999. Much better value because they’ve not started the classic price climb yet.

I’m really not a fan of the E46 convertible, it’s a bit of a pudding to drive and they appear to have quite a few problems. My brother in law had 2 and both were a pain and n the butt.

Dave!

[V8Granite]

The wife wants an older car and it has to be a useable 4 seater when needed.

I have tried a 124 Cab but she was having none of it

Dave!

[Rich B]

I'd rather have an e30 if I was after an older/ classic-ish car. E36 are still a bit chavvy.

[mik]

Also, when people say “nineties” they don’t mean 31st December 1999…

You were dreamin’ when you wrote this,
We forgive you if you go too fast.

[Mito Man]

Reasonably priced, nice colour, looks decent
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... AA&fromsra

[Rich B]

Reasonably priced, nice colour, looks decent
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... AA&fromsra

that is nice to be fair!

[Sundayjumper]

I’m really not a fan of the E46 convertible, it’s a bit of a pudding to drive and they appear to have quite a few problems. My brother in law had 2 and both were a pain and n the butt.

To be fair, my E46 Compact was brilliant and steadfastly refused to die, so it's not all E46s.

Looking up the MOT history - I sold it in 2017 with 201k miles, its final MOT was a clean pass in 2020 with 220k miles, then no more. Curiously although all the MOT records are available it doesn't show up on the VED check website; "Vehicle details could not be found". Means it's been written off / scrapped ?

[Sundayjumper]

I’m not really sure the fat tyres and firm suspension tuned to be sharp and agile really suits the heavier wobblier chassis.

100%. I put coilovers on my 323i Convertible and it was horrid. The convertible chassis needs compliance in the suspension, taking that away forces more work into the chassis and it's not up to it.

In my head the cabrio works best as a less energetic cruiser as a 325 or 328, even as an SE spec auto. Classic bmw straight 6 noises, enough power not to feel dog slow.

100% - as above re: suspension. Although I'd still go for the M-Tech bodykit unless the SE was really mint. A shabby SE looks rubbish.

[IanF]

Reasonably priced, nice colour, looks decent
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... AA&fromsra

that is nice to be fair!

Yes, that’s a nice one.

[Jobbo]

I think an E46 convertible is going to be a better car than an E36, and I think the earliest convertibles would be 1999. Much better value because they’ve not started the classic price climb yet.

I’m really not a fan of the E46 convertible, it’s a bit of a pudding to drive and they appear to have quite a few problems. My brother in law had 2 and both were a pain and n the butt.

Dave!

The E46 is absolutely not a pudding to drive. Lovely things, even a boring 318i saloon. An E46 M3 cab seems to be a fair bit cheaper even in manual form than an E36 as well.

[Ascender]

That purple one (Daytona Techno Violet?) looks very nice.

Really need to go see and drive it though. I remember some 3/4 year old M3s and Evos in convertible form varied wildly in terms of how hard a life they'd had - the scuttle shake was so bad on some of them it felt like the whole interior was going to fall apart.

[Rich B]

I drove a few e36 m3 coupes before I bought my e46 M3, as I said, a lot were pretty tired back then.

[integrale_evo]

I prefer e36s to e46s, they feel a lot smaller and lighter even if on paper there’s not a lot of difference.

There are also a lot or e46s which are a lot scabbier than the e36s that have survived this far.

[V8Granite]

I think an E46 convertible is going to be a better car than an E36, and I think the earliest convertibles would be 1999. Much better value because they’ve not started the classic price climb yet.

I’m really not a fan of the E46 convertible, it’s a bit of a pudding to drive and they appear to have quite a few problems. My brother in law had 2 and both were a pain and n the butt.

Dave!

The E46 is absolutely not a pudding to drive. Lovely things, even a boring 318i saloon. An E46 M3 cab seems to be a fair bit cheaper even in manual form than an E36 as well.

The R107 Merc we had for a weekend was a much nicer drive than the E46 cab. My brother in laws well looked after 330 was just dead on its feet, no fun and very leaden. I really wasn’t a fan.

The E36 Cab appears to be about 150kg lighter so hopefully would feel better. I should really sort out a test drive to see if she likes it.

So it looks like a nice SE with m sport kit 325 or 328 is the right spec for a cab then.

Dave!

[Jimexpl]

As others have said, don’t bother with the M3 and get a nice 328i.
The engine is a much better fit for the car and on 15 or 16” wheels with less sporty suspension they feel far more ‘together’.
Finding one without rusty arches will be the biggest challenge these days.

[Jobbo]

The R107 Merc we had for a weekend was a much nicer drive than the E46 cab.

Crikey. I may have been spoilt by my E46 cab being an Alpina but the R107 I've tried was the very definition of a pudding. Your comparative view between those two cars probably is not shared by anyone else on this forum

[V8Granite]

The 107 rose up on its toes and beautifully arced around, the e46 can always felt heavy and overtyred. I love how old Peugeots drive and still do so whatever has a lot of wheel travel and moves about on its tyres is a win for me.

Dave!

[Beany]

Yeah, I'm very much falling out of love with the E46 these days - it feels flat footed (fat tires, not enough power to overcome them) and it's fine for a cruiser, but nothing much to write home about if you start pushing it.

It's nicely balanced but there's nothing delicate about how it drives - grip and go, and not go that quickly by modern standards, and that's the three litre. Doesn't sound all that interesting either, frankly. In short, I'm in total agreement with you on the driving experience, for all the reputation BMWs have, once you get past about 6/10ths in the convertible, the show's over.

Also, don't know about the E36 specifically, but describing the E46 as being able to seat four is a bit of a fucking stretch, too - I'm 6ft with long, luscious dancers legs, and if I have someone around that height in the back, I have to move the seat so far forward that driving becomes a fucking chore - I'd not do more than a few miles like that, and the idea of getting three mates in, roof down and going for a day trip to the coast - not a fucking chance. Small kids? Possibly. Anyone who's hit puberty? Expect complaints.

Given my recent experience (leaks into the boot, resultant dodgy electrics that I still haven't quite sorted) I'd strongly recommend against keeping any older convertible outside 24/7 - it's only taken a few weeks of heavy rain to fuck me over, and that's on a newer car than an E36, with (presumably) a better designed seal and draining system. My neighbour has a 306 convertible and he recently had all the carpets out because of leaks, too - older convertibles I'd just not trust.

You can work around that by checking under the boot floor etc every time it rains, but at that point, it stops being a reliable, everyday car that you can just leave to itself, and starts to become more of a project car that needs constant attention to keep reliable, which sort of defeats the point.

Otherwise, I mean, if she's dead set on it, you could build a car port to keep the worst of the rain off, perhaps put a new roof and seals in it, and hope that her mates have short legs if she wants to carry more than one at a time....and then still keep an eye out for leaks every few weeks....

I'd not bother, honestly.

[Swervin_Mervin]

The 107 rose up on its toes and beautifully arced around, the e46 can always felt heavy and overtyred. I love how old Peugeots drive and still do so whatever has a lot of wheel travel and moves about on its tyres is a win for me.

Dave!

So not an E36 M3 then?

[V8Granite]

It certainly doesn’t sound like it now

Dave!