is E36 reliable enough?

[fabianyee]

If on tight budgeting, u'll tend to skim on the maintenance which will bring on bigger headaches in the future... So make your wise choices... Stick to your trouble free Nissan for a while more and look slowly for a good car.. Don't make a hasty decision..

 

[Russie]

Armandd, you are getting mixed comments here, so I believe you would get blur soon
I would suggest that you keep your Nissan Sentra as 2nd car, shop around for a good E36 be it 318, 325 or 328.

If you want relatively more fun driving, choose the 325. If you just want to have the experience of owing a BMW and power is not what you are looking for, go for the 318.

Once you have identified the car, negotiate for a test drive and a drive to your mechanic for a proper check up and if the price is right, buy it according to your budget.

Then repair all the wear and tear parts and slowly learn about BMW. Just in case the car breaks down, you can park it at home while learning and waiting for help as u still have your loyal reliable nissan sentra.

my 2 cents

 

[Prinze]

Armandd, you are getting mixed comments here, so I believe you would get blur soon
I would suggest that you keep your Nissan Sentra as 2nd car, shop around for a good E36 be it 318, 325 or 328.

If you want relatively more fun driving, choose the 325. If you just want to have the experience of owing a BMW and power is not what you are looking for, go for the 318.

Once you have identified the car, negotiate for a test drive and a drive to your mechanic for a proper check up and if the price is right, buy it according to your budget.

Then repair all the wear and tear parts and slowly learn about BMW. Just in case the car breaks down, you can park it at home while learning and waiting for help as u still have your loyal reliable nissan sentra.

my 2 cents

I agree with Russie. Actually, that's exactly what I am going to do. I am keeping the B14 Sentra that me wife is driving. Good work horse. I think its a good idea to always have a reliable Jap working horse at home for just in case moments (of course if budget allows that is)

All the best..

 

[armandd]

Thanks guys! :wink:

 

[initialM]

E36 very very reliable & fun to drive. Dun believe me? see this vid:top:

[video=youtube;TBmQybX2gFI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBmQybX2gFI[/video]

 

[anaksarawak]

initialM.... you sure kuat racun!!

 

[enkil]

Hahaha... very nice.

 

[bimmer73]

Armand

E36 is a reliable car..thanks to my E36 525i 1994 with no airbags..Saved my life I was driving to kuantan and at 150kmh which is probably a guess on my end. i hit a pot hole on the highway with 18's ACS 3 rims and Koni Adjustables, the car hit the barrier in the middle of the highway and spun 3 times. from the wreckage i would think the the drive would be badly injured with broken ribs and internal injuries i was without a scratch.The Car total Lost. Made a claim and bought a 525i Msport to go faster heheheehe. Pics below


The point is it is a very good car provided you find one with a good maintainence record and and preferebly already with some free bees etc... accesories ie..rims bodykits and some simple mods...The 318 4 cyilinders is a wise choice for your pocket but if you ever come across a E36 320i with 6 cyilinders inline please Grab it quickly as it's quite a rare model and a much smoother ride plus It will give you a slightly better mileage than the 318...and plus it will aslo give you more power to carry the chasis..

Good idea keeping the Nissan as a second car...But i will advise you to just stick to one car cause you will have to spend on 2 cars instead and once you sit behind A UDM you will not likly be driving the Nissan or any other Japs anymore and it will be collecting dust and rust. Driving a S40 for me once in a while is like Driving a Vios.. But thats just me...

If IT is your dream car then just go out and get it considering that you have gotten all the advise to you might ever need here just to buy a car..The racun part you just need to play a deaf ear. Look at this this way forget not being able to go to the pubs, Thailand for women and the golf handicap. You main motivator to upkeep the RIDE will be the car itself. With a BMW park at your drive way I think you will be setting higher Goals then just how to maintain a BMW..

Just My 2 Cents.

 

[armandd]

Armand

E36 is a reliable car..thanks to my E36 525i 1994 with no airbags..Saved my life I was driving to kuantan and at 150kmh which is probably a guess on my end. i hit a pot hole on the highway with 18's ACS 3 rims and Koni Adjustables, the car hit the barrier in the middle of the highway and spun 3 times. from the wreckage i would think the the drive would be badly injured with broken ribs and internal injuries i was without a scratch.The Car total Lost. Made a claim and bought a 525i Msport to go faster heheheehe. Pics below


The point is it is a very good car provided you find one with a good maintainence record and and preferebly already with some free bees etc... accesories ie..rims bodykits and some simple mods...The 318 4 cyilinders is a wise choice for your pocket but if you ever come across a E36 320i with 6 cyilinders inline please Grab it quickly as it's quite a rare model and a much smoother ride plus It will give you a slightly better mileage than the 318...and plus it will aslo give you more power to carry the chasis..

Good idea keeping the Nissan as a second car...But i will advise you to just stick to one car cause you will have to spend on 2 cars instead and once you sit behind A UDM you will not likly be driving the Nissan or any other Japs anymore and it will be collecting dust and rust. Driving a S40 for me once in a while is like Driving a Vios.. But thats just me...

If IT is your dream car then just go out and get it considering that you have gotten all the advise to you might ever need here just to buy a car..The racun part you just need to play a deaf ear. Look at this this way forget not being able to go to the pubs, Thailand for women and the golf handicap. You main motivator to upkeep the RIDE will be the car itself. With a BMW park at your drive way I think you will be setting higher Goals then just how to maintain a BMW..

Just My 2 Cents.

Wow, glad u're okay :top:. Thanks 4 da advice, appreciate that. By the way, the 320i is JDM version right? A manual would be very rare i suppose..

 

[anaksarawak]

six potters 2.0 and 2.5 = same maintainance cost... pls go for the 2.5

 

[climenta]

Armandd, don't get yourself this headache right now. When I got mine, I was around your age & I got myself into a crappy financial situation, repair & maintenance costs will be at least RM2k per month for the 1st 6 months & then RM1k per month for the next 6 months. After that, you'll be having bills around RM50-500 per month for the next 2-3 years which is ok but then the blardy gomen will decide that their fuel subsidy is simply too much to bear & they'll raise the fuel price to a whopping RM4.50 per litre. Then you might cause hazard to your health by eating too much of instant noodles & starch coz the car gets hungrier than you. And imagine an adolescent deprived of beers, poor fella

Once all the necessary items have been changed on your future ride, your hands & arse will be itchy & you'll make alot of new friends who drive the same cars & they are in fact Mr. S.A.Tan in disguise. They'll tell you this is good, that is good, everything is good & you'll listen to them & buy buy buy. In the first 2 years, you'll be burning at about RM20k on maintenance & repairs alone, but the ride will be simply immaculate la... like mine

The temptation to enjoy life is just too high, so save lots of cash & stop drinking & womanizing 1st before buying an e36. By then, cars will be cheaper & you'll be alot wiser. Good luck in your search & remember to stay away from all the Mr. S.A.Tans, my friend:wink:

 

[armandd]

six potters 2.0 and 2.5 = same maintainance cost... pls go for the 2.5

noted :top:

 

[armandd]

Armandd, don't get yourself this headache right now. When I got mine, I was around your age & I got myself into a crappy financial situation, repair & maintenance costs will be at least RM2k per month for the 1st 6 months & then RM1k per month for the next 6 months. After that, you'll be having bills around RM50-500 per month for the next 2-3 years which is ok but then the blardy gomen will decide that their fuel subsidy is simply too much to bear & they'll raise the fuel price to a whopping RM4.50 per litre. Then you might cause hazard to your health by eating too much of instant noodles & starch coz the car gets hungrier than you. And imagine an adolescent deprived of beers, poor fella

Once all the necessary items have been changed on your future ride, your hands & arse will be itchy & you'll make alot of new friends who drive the same cars & they are in fact Mr. S.A.Tan in disguise. They'll tell you this is good, that is good, everything is good & you'll listen to them & buy buy buy. In the first 2 years, you'll be burning at about RM20k on maintenance & repairs alone, but the ride will be simply immaculate la... like mine

The temptation to enjoy life is just too high, so save lots of cash & stop drinking & womanizing 1st before buying an e36. By then, cars will be cheaper & you'll be alot wiser. Good luck in your search & remember to stay away from all the Mr. S.A.Tans, my friend:wink:

aiyooo... RM2k per month?? . Then e36 is not for me i think.. At least not now... :106:

 

[fabianyee]

aiyooo... RM2k per month?? . Then e36 is not for me i think.. At least not now... :106:

It all depends on the condition and how the previous owner had maintained it. If u get a lemon car, then may god bless u.. If can good condition car, then much less maintenance.

 

[Russie]

Dei, u r scaring the guy away. Where got RM2k per month for maintenance lah wei? Armandd, back to simple logics, once u have identified the car u wanna purchase, negotiate for a test drive and a drive to a reliable mechanic for some checking. Like many of us here said, buy urself a lemon and u'll be stuck with high monthly maintenance. However, if u get urself a fairly well maintained car, then the normal wear and tear + normal maintenance is just a common thing.

 

[climenta]

Dei, u r scaring the guy away. Where got RM2k per month for maintenance lah wei? Armandd, back to simple logics, once u have identified the car u wanna purchase, negotiate for a test drive and a drive to a reliable mechanic for some checking. Like many of us here said, buy urself a lemon and u'll be stuck with high monthly maintenance. However, if u get urself a fairly well maintained car, then the normal wear and tear + normal maintenance is just a common thing.

Not lemon problem la macha, human problem. Small creak somewhere, change this, that, this & that. 10 creaks a week, go figure la

Another problem with newbies is priority, which item to change 1st. Need to be really careful la

 

[armandd]

My mind says stay away from UDM, but my heart says just get the E36 d*mn it! Haiihhhhh....:help:

 

[climenta]

My mind says stay away from UDM, but my heart says just get the E36 d*mn it! Haiihhhhh....:help:

Rileks my friend, the heart & the mind was not created on the same production line. Why do you think some flers get married when they don't really want to?

Most importantly, take your time to scout for good cars. Come join us for the activities & lepak. Easier to scout for cars once your have your network established. Good luck in your search man:wink:

 

[datsunnismo]

Rileks my friend, the heart & the mind was not created on the same production line. Why do you think some flers get married when they don't really want to?

i like u

 

[fabianyee]

Not scaring u but to prepare u for 'possible' surprises... Better tell u now then to have u run into surprises later on.