My E36 Experience

[anxious]

My 2008 Costs

I have truly enjoyed my ride in 2008 wherein I have done over 16000km.

My service costs has been as follows:-

i) April- I changed most of my door panel clips which set me back RM116.75

ii) July- Service my car as follows:-

Mobil 1 (Carrefour) RM139.90x2 RM279.80
Anti Freeze (AB) 1.5l RM51.44
Oil Filter RM30
Spark Plug RM90
ATF 4l RM76
Automatic Filter RM58
Auto Gasket(B) RM45
Auto Gasket(S) RM40
Aluminium Washer RM2
PowerSteeringCapO ring RM8
Labour RM158
Stax RM7.90
Total RM846.14

iii)Oct- Changed Fuel Float & Hose RM326.25

iv)Dec- Serviced my car as follows:-

Mobil 1 (Carrefour) RM149 x2= RM298
Anti Freeze (AB) 1.5l RM51.44
Oil Filter RM30
Air Filter RM58
Power Steering O-ring RM10A
Automatic shift damper RM30
Labour RM58
Stax RM1.90
Total RM517.34

TOTAL SERVICING COST RM1806.48

Mods to my car:-

i) July- Upgraded to 16" rims and tyres
Rims 16in( taken off a 2004 325i) RM1000
Transport( from KL) RM80
Respray rim( Hyper Silver) RM360
Total Rim Cost RM1440


Michelin PP2 RM1776
less Tyre& Rim (trade in) RM360
Total Tyre Cost RM1416

Grand Total RM2856

ii)July- Reverse Sensor RM250

iii)Dec- Dashboard Chrome Rings( incd Installation) RM250

iv)Dec- 3M FX50 Tint RM1100

TOTAL MODS COST RM4186

Grand Total RM5992, not bad compared to RM22k in 2007.

2009 poses to be a year of restraint, I guess I keep the "mods"to a minimum and just concentrate on enjoying my car and servicing it when necessary.

Happy Motoring in 2009 to everyone...........CHEEERS!!!

 

[Russie]

Bro, happy new year. Perhaps the 1st thing u wanna change for year 2009 is the kidney grille? Change to the face-lift type, looks nicer.

Cheers

 

[megatniza]

Bro, happy new year. Perhaps the 1st thing u wanna change for year 2009 is the kidney grille? Change to the face-lift type, looks nicer.

Cheers

agrees ! i did mine . you dont have to change the apron .
there is a taiwanese aftermarket ( ~ RM250 ) that will
fits exactly the pre face lift apron .
it you cant find it in penang , will pm you my ipoh contact .

 

[anxious]

That looks great. I'll keep it in mind. Thks.

 

[anxious]

I would have had my car for 2 years in April in which I have learnt so much about E36s and most of which I have shared here in this forum.

I now plan to keep my car for another 2-3 years before probably upgrading to a E46.

So far this year I have:-

In January, Changed my wiper blades(RM50) and left fog lights(RM135).
Changed my brake pads(O.E), brake pad sensor, valve cover gasket(total cost RM988)

In February, I changed the rear brake discs(ATE) (RM240 icd installation)and did balancing and allignment on my car (RM65).

Update with photos of the crome dashboard rings I got in December and the new Fog lights soon.

 

[anxious]

My car with 3M Tint (RE70 Front & RE50 Doors & Rear @ RM1100 Neuton Auto,Pg):-

 

[anxious]

Fog Lamp(R) RM135 @ Ban Huat Chan BW:-



Chrome Dashboard Rings :-

 

[Russie]

nice looking car Anxious. Plain stock standard but very nice :top:

 

[megatniza]

nicely done , bro . after all the sweat & tears , are you sure you want to trade it in for an E46 ? he he he ...

 

[anxious]

nicely done , bro . after all the sweat & tears , are you sure you want to trade it in for an E46 ? he he he ...

My friend who has owned a 1995 325i for the past 8 years and which has over 300k km on it says that I can easily keep my car for another 10 years. I dont know if I can tahan that long. Had a mini TT with some of my BMW friends yesterday and got to test out a E46 325i with B12 suspension kit.....really nice. However any second hand car I get would probably mean dumping in more money and I am not prepared to do that now. So I guess this thread will still be around for some time.

Cheers!

 

[RCBL]

Anxious, just an idea, keep the E36-325I as your daily ride. Source for an E46-330ci as your 2nd ride - Prices has slide!!

 

[megatniza]

My friend who has owned a 1995 325i for the past 8 years and which has over 300k km on it says that I can easily keep my car for another 10 years. I dont know if I can tahan that long. Had a mini TT with some of my BMW friends yesterday and got to test out a E46 325i with B12 suspension kit.....really nice. However any second hand car I get would probably mean dumping in more money and I am not prepared to do that now. So I guess this thread will still be around for some time.

Cheers!

yeah , having the same dilemma here or should i say , HAD that dilemma ...
finish paying the E36 last year , toyed with the idea of upgrading but managed
to resist ....kinda of glad now with current economic situation ! :wink:

 

[anxious]

My 2008 Maintenance Costs

Hi guys. Happy New Year. Title should read:-

My 2009 Maintenance Costs

In 2009 my car ran over 16000km.

My service costs has been as follows:-

i) Jan- I changed my brake pads & sensors (F/R) and ATE Disk (R) & Valve Cover Gasket which with parts and labour costed me RM1228, Wiper Blade-RM40, Fog Lamp(R)-RM135

Total RM1403

ii) Feb- Wheel Alignment- RM45

iii)April-Selector Shaft Seal+ Labour - RM122

iv) May- Battery Din 66(MF)- RM342

v) June- F/R Body Seal- RM275

vi)July- Service my car as follows:-

Mobil 1 (Carrefour) RM149- RM298
Anti Freeze (AB) 1.5l -RM51.44
Oil Filter(RM30)+ Labour(RM38)

Total RM417

vii)Aug- Steering Bellow+ Thermostat Oring+Flange Gasket+Thermostat Flang+ Labour- RM250

viii)Dec- Service
Mobil 1 (Carrefour) RM149x2- RM298
Anti Freeze (AB) 1.5l -RM51.44
Oil Filter(RM20)
Lamda/O2 Sensor(BORCSH) RM360
Labour(RM70)
Total RM800

2009 was quite a decent year with expenses @ RM3650 as I have changed most parts in my previous 2 years of ownership. No mods in 2009.


2010 has started with a bang.
Jan- Alignment & Balancing- RM60
Water Pump OE, Bearing, Pulley, Tensioner, Air Con & Drive Belts and Labour- RM940
Total so far RM1000.

I would have owned my E36 for 3 years in April. In those 3 years I have spent about RM33000 on repair/maintenance/upgrade of which 2/3 was spent in my 1st year of ownership.( A bit unlucky there as per my postings above)

However I must say that I am now very satisfied with my E36. If you really want to enjoy the car, you should set aside RM10000 for repairs when you buy the car. RM3000-5000 per year for maintenance and have standby RM5000 for emergencies.

E36 sold b/w 1992-1998 and therefore you are looking at a 12- 18 year old car now. So pls ensure that you get one with a service record to ensure that the previous owners have taken care of it and be ready with some cash/credit card to sort out the repairs after u purchase the car.

Once you have done all of that u will only be singing praises for what I consider the best performance bargain for below RM40k.

My car will be 15 years old this year but I think it can easily run for another 10 years provided it finds a good home in a couple of years when I "upgrade" to hopefully a E90 325i.

Happy Motoring!

 

[ideoteque85]

Welcome to the sometimes rewarding, often frustrating, financially damaging, relationship straining, pleasures and pain of e36 ownership.

Mr. Lee,

I would like to express my appreciation to you for helping me summarizing what I am enduring everyday with this spoiled brat thats starring at me right now at the porch as I am browsing this forum. It is love and hate business. Thank you.

 

[cheeft]

wow you guys are making me think twice for getting a E36!!!

 

[kgb]

i guess having 2jz as BMW heart not so bad afterall...

 

[initialM]

i guess having 2jz as BMW heart not so bad afterall...

But it spoils the feel of real Ultimate Driving Machine feeling:smokin:

 

[awyeah]

Having owned my 318i manual for a week, I have anxiously driven it almost 1K km during that time. Sure the mileage is pretty high, however, being the 2nd owner still, does feel great.

Since I got the car last week I haven't had any troubles with it so far. Today while stuck in a traffic jam on the highway, I suddenly noticed the temperature needle at the starting of the "red" indication, around about 85-90%. The air-con was running and traffic was moving very slowly (was driving in the 1st gear).

After I saw the temperature rise, I shut off the aircon and quickly pulled to a shell station which was just adjacent to us luckily. I let the engine run, and poured a few bottles of water on the radiator. I noticed the temperature went down to 75%. Then letting the engine run and pouring more water on the radiator the temperature was around 60-65%. Since, I have bought the car I haven't seen it go more than 50-55% even on a hot day with aircon running so far. I believe 50-60% is normal. Anything more than 65-70% shows indication of overheating.

After the temperature was around 60-65%, I turned off the engine, waited a few minutes and opened the radiator slowly. Water was very hot and very less, so I put water and inspected, checking for radiator leaks, however all seemed to be well.

I put water in the radiator and started the engine, the water in the radiator finished slowly. I poured more and the water continued to finish slowly. Now I am not sure, if it is the radiator or the water pump causing the problem. Nonetheless, will send it to the mechanic first thing tomorrow to diagnose and rectify the problem.

 

[anxious]

Awyeah, You probably need to look at your cooling system. Radiator, hoses, water pump, termostat etc. to identify whats wrong. Overheating is the most serious and real danger ur engine may face. Older cars may need a cooling system overhaul.

Check out http://www.bmw330ci.net/maintenance/completecoolant.php

http://edgemotorworks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=55

 

[awyeah]

anxious: Thanks bro. Took the car to the mechanic. The water pump, thermostat and hoses pipes were all fine. The air-con fan was not working (I didn't see that, since it is difficult to see it from the engine bay).

So, my mechanic had to remove the front headlights, front bumper etc in order to fix the air-con fan. Also the air-con fan motor wiring was loose which the mechanic fixed. The air-con works like a charm now, and is damn cooler with the fan blowing much faster. The temperature of the car remains around 50-55% now.