Re: '92 E36 325is?

["John Ward" <jtward@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Hey Bimwads,

>I'm looking at a '92 325is, 5spd, with 90K miles and the seller wants
>$14,500.  Is this a decent offer for a relatively clean car?  What are the
>liabilities with buying a first year E36 car?  Is there anything I should
>look out for with reference to teh first year of the E36 vs the later
years?

>TIA,

>Gen

Gen, I have a '92 325iA (sedan w/automatic). I have 120k on it so I feel
pretty well qualified to tell you about the E36, especially in it's first
year. My car was made 8/91 actually. Many people will tell you on here that
the '92 is not as good because it was a first year and had the M50 engine
(used in the '91 and '92 525i as well) instead of the M50TU (same engine but
with the addition of VANOS which gives the car a bit more low end torque in
93+ cars). Contrary to what many people say, my E36 has been very reliable
except for typical maintenance problems you would expect with this kind of
mileage. I had my car repainted in March since after 116k of highway
mileage, the cars cashmere beige paint had clearcoat coming off and there
were multiple dents/dings in the car from the previous owner. (didn't know
how to park or didn't care) I used that opportunity though to have the cars
lower sills/bumpers painted as well. (they are all grey on early '92 E36's
and half painted on later ones... mine were half painted) I had mudflaps
(front/rear) put on, a dented rim replaced, air bubble put on the sunroof,
new front headlights put in (pitted, typical of all high mileage US E36's...
European ones have glass covered ellipoids which are much nicer but more
expensive) I also had new fog lights installed (old ones were broken). Oh,
and the front kidneys, wheel/hood roundels too. I had the windows tinted 35%
on the sides and back which helped out MAJORLY with the air conditioning.
The interior of my car is in excellent shape, the previous owner was a
salesguy who was one of the only ones that sat in it. When I got the car it
had a few electrical problems which have sense been fixed. Several bulbs
were burnt out (instrument cluster, tail/brake bulbs). One of the contacts
was gone on the brake light socket so I had it replaced and never had
another brake light failure message. The non-OBC setup (with ambient
temperature) had a bad display so that was replaced. Mechanically, my car
was in pretty decent shape but I had a new 02 sensor put in. (I've since put
a K&N air filter in, and replaced the stock chip with a Jim C which helped a
lot for the torque) Since the car you're looking at is a manual it would
probably fare better in that department. The suspension in the rear had to
be replaced (broke strut/mount, needed new rear shocks too) and the rear
brake rotors/pads were replaced too. (along with the parking brake... guess
the previous owner warped the old one by driving down the road with it on
accidently) I think rear end suspension problems in high mileage E36's is
common. Anyway, as you can see there have been no real mechanical problems,
just mileage related issues. My car is basically like new now.... I've had
people ask me if I just bought it!!!! I think the '92 E36 is a relative
bargain.... because it's had such a long model run you'll get lots of
comments about it and people thinking it's newer than it realy is. I am
having the Inspection II done later this week (brake fluid/coolant were
already done about 2 months ago) which runs about $400. I highly recommend
you change all the fluids in the car if this service hasn't been performed.
(90k is one of the intervals) Change the oil every 3-4k and you should have
a very reliable car. BTW, if you want to see my page and my car... go to
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/jtward/ and see for yourself. I am a 19 y/o
college
student so I have not always had the time to work on my page but I try to
keep it up to
date as much as possible. One last word of advice... when going to the
dealer for parts,
make sure to ask questions when getting parts... sometimes they don't know
it all when it
comes to the '92. I bought an alarm after the parts guy said my car was
pre-wired but after
I got the glovebox out found that not to be the case. Other than that, I
don't see a lot of
differences... if you can't have an M3 than the 2.5L is just fine. :) Best
of luck and enjoy
the car should you decide to buy it! 90k is basically average miles for a
'92 now and a 325is (coupe) goes for a bit more than a sedan so $14k is on
target. I recently saw a '92 325iA sedan in the local paper for $8,900
w/135k. I'm sure it was probably on the rough though....maybe a great
restoration project though. ;)

Regards,

John

1990 750iL 54k (working on putting some pictures of it up soon)
1992 325iA 120k
BMW CCA #150800, Buckeye Chapter

------------------------------