I've got the chance of a 93 E36 2.5TDS with full history, I'm looking at it this weekend but it looks tidy from the pics.

 

It's an auto :yawn: anyone had any experience with these? are there any common problems that are worth checking for.

 

Ta

The first real diesel that wasnt a compromise! Infact this car won awards for the fact that it was diesel but not deathly slow or noisey! Although they are quite rare. I read a review of it (its in an old magazine I have) which boldy claims its faster than the 320i and in the real world every bit as quick as the 325i due to the torque and that with a 325 of course your wringing its neck all the time.

 

Being a 325tds it has the turbo'd and intercool'd 2.5 diesel straight 6, so 143bhp. Little known is that thsi engine powered the rangerover P38 and also the Vauxhall omega for quite some time! Autogear box suits these engines quite well, I cant remember if it was a 4 or 5 speed box that they got but either way it will be 20x better than a zed autobox - BMW autoboxes are generally sublime and very reliable! Its not to say that they cant go wrong, but alot better than most!

 

Usual E36 things to check for, front wings and rear arches for rust being preface lift the front wings can go around the side repeaters. Also the boot lid and if its had a spoiler nailed onto it, they can cause the top of the lid to rust. Rear trailing arm bushes wear and gives you an odd floaty backend + clunking not expensive to fix just a common one. Also general suspension wear, milage depending I would expect the shocks to be fairly shot at. I suppose if its a work hack it doesnt need to be in tip top condition as long as it passes an MOT.

 

Other than that they are a generally good car, typical BMW though check for working electrics, things like on board computer (if it has it). Window regulators can be bad as well. Another thing to check is that if the car has check control (basically tells you when bulbs are blown, fluids low etc etc) but bits from a none check control cr are fitted (e.g lights, radiator etc) it will cause the computer to report faults. Doesnt mean there are any but can be annoying and worth looking into!

Cheers mate some good pointers there :thumbup:

Thats okay, had a couple of e36's (323i, and M3 Evo) so its all imprinted in there. Just racking my brains for anything that might be good to look for. Ah, typical german cars can crack springs, again not always a huge problem (my dad has had 7's for years, he sent a 740's he had for service of which they called him and said "did you know two of the springs were broken?" of course dad hadnt even noticed!)

 

E36's to have a bit of a strange offset driving position, some people cant get on with it, It never bothered me so dont be worried if the pedals arent underneath the steering wheel LOL

The guy reckons it takes a couple of cranks to start it on cold morning. from what I've read this points to 1 of 2 things

 

1. The fuel pump is on its way out

2. new glow plugs needed

 

if it's the fuel pump do you know if it's a fairly inexpensive job

Not sure to be honest, I wouldnt think slow starting on a cold morning would be fuel pump though, Almost certainly glow plugs or maybe injectors need cleaning?