Hi, would like to seek some advice from the sifus here.

Anyone have experience owning a E36 318i? I’m looking to get an estimate on maintenance costs, as well as some one-off repairs as the car I’m looking at hasn’t been driven in 3 years. Any advice/knowledge that you can share is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

This post has been edited by v1n0d: May 15 2021, 01:59 PM

Parts for e36 are consider cheap. Wear and tear stuffs are cheap like myvi parts. While body parts and interior aere consider expensive as youre paying for halfcut/used stuffs.

For wear and tear parts, ill suggest get from Stuttgart at taman megah. Can google them.

I own an e36 325i and there is where i source my parts.

Hi, thanks for this. Will check out Stuttgart.

E36 is one of the outlier for conti maintenance cost. It is low cost and simple to work on.

Thank you. I still have some homework to do, particularly with finding a reputable mechanic that won’t rip me off.

M40 timing belt or m43 timing chain engine ?
Can’t comment on the m40. If it’s m43,
Check for perished ( on top of the usual things to check)
- Pcv valve rubber hose
- pcv valve
- plastic coolant flange on the rear of the block
- plastic coolant pipe under intake manifold

Check for operation
- disa valve if equipped

Ecu and tcu housing prone to water ingress. Make sure it’s dry and ecu’s have no corrosion

Parts for this engine is cheap. But it is a pretty rudimentary engine. 8v single cam. Quite a hardy little unit but makes sfa power. Not very difficult to work on.

Thanks. Not sure if it’s M40/43, need to check. Fuel pump was replaced 3 years ago, but unsure if it’s still in decent condition now given the car was left sitting out by the roadside for so long.

Had a e36 318i back then, m43 engine. I paid almost 1.5k everything for a
1. long shaft (half cut)
2. Valve cover gasket
3. VC skru rubber
4. Tie rod
5. Ball joint (new)
6. long shft center bearing (new, damn it was ex this one)
7. petrol hose due to hose corroded

Bought 2nd hand from friend of mine, used 1 year sold it to another friend. Reason being i have 2 cars ald, can't really take care of both cars at the same time. This m43 is overall reliable but power is weak though, e36 is already damn heavy with 1.8. Get at least 325i.

Here is all my experiences owning e36 318i. Hope it helps

The most under powered BMW is the 318i. Really a torture to drive! It is like driving a 1.3 Wira. The body is damn heavy but the engine is only 1.8L.

Didnt you noticed that most of the E36 on sale are the 318i model? These sellers cant tahan the weak engine anymore. You have to buy at least the 325i model. Dont make the same big mistake all these 318i sellers made when they bought the most under powered BMW!

Maybe you have no idea how heavy a E36 body is.

Agree.
Let me share with the rest how incredibly "fast" is a 318i.



Apparently that's not the most underpowered E36, there is a 1.6L version.

This post has been edited by SleeplessEyes: May 18 2021, 04:31 PM

And there are still some people who wanna buy this weak car?

Thanks all. Have decided not to go ahead with the purchase due to the amount of repair work required. Mechanic also recommended against taking the car after he had a look at it.