Question from potential BMW owner '95 325i

[auto pilot]

Looking to pick up a '95 325i with close to 175,000 on the Odometer.

The owner is letting it go for $3200 US.
Mostly in pretty good shape. White exterior, sand interior. Will need to either spray the pass rear door and rear bumper or replace with better used stuff. Interior isnt too bad, but some wear on the rear seat right side.

I was looking around and saw that this motor might not be the best year to get? What are the specs (HP and torque) compared to other years? What is the big difference motor wise between cars? Are the blocks the same but have different heads (breath better) or a lot more than that?

Should I hold off on getting it and wait for a different motor or will this one be up to par? Looking for some fun, but also fuel economy to a degree.

Also, new to BMWs so will this be OBD1 or 2?

I saw some posts about the rear strut problem. What other things are the most common? Did a search and did not find much to read on. Is there a FAQ about this type of thing?


I know this gets asked a lot but I did not significant answers with search.

Thanks in advance for the help. Really looking forward to owning a E36 someday :D

[E36 Phantom]

Welcome to the 'Fest, surprised a search didn't turn many results, as you're right - this has been covered many times ;)

In 96, they switched to OBDII and the M52 engine, which has .3L more displacement and a few other details. Prior was the M50 engine and OBDI, with 2.5L displacement. Everything after 93 has Vanos, which is the variable valve timing.

The M50 & M52 have 1HP difference, and a bit of torque difference, though not much. The M52 has a much better torque curve, though, so its more driveable and you have more torque available more often.

They are completely different blocks and heads. There is a "sticky" at the top of forum that says "Things About E36's: Funny But True" for common issues.

[kc chief]

Phantom's post has pointed you in all the right directions. If you still feel you're missing something, let us know.

I own a 95 325i and the engine runs great, never a problem. It's the rest of the car you have to be concerned about, all of which is covered in the above reference sticky, and also here:

http://www.unitedbimmer.com/kb-e36-common-faults-faq.php

I would emphasize, you don't buy these cars for the mileage, I get 23mpg. Also, by now you've read this 10X, but here it is again, be prepared to spend on maintenance. My car has 70k, and I spent $4,000 in the last 6 months on radiator(done myself), ball joints, control arms, tie rods, new brakes(rotors, calipers, pads-done myself), valve cover gasket & spark plugs (done myself), and tires(if you are going to drive one of these to its potential, that means sticky tires, which means 30kmiles/set). Point is, if it hasn't been maintained, you'll double your money in it easy. Also, you have to buy parts online (or go get screwed at stealership), so when something breaks, you have extra down time, which is something else to consider on a daily driver.

I have a ongoing love/hate relationship with mine. It's like the slutty girl I dated in college, costs a lot, can be a pain in the butt, but is one awesome ride.

[Xeek]

Probably should note those aren't things that happen every 6 months either hehe. So don't scare him too badly.

[E36 Phantom]

I have a ongoing love/hate relationship with mine. It's like the slutty girl I dated in college, costs a lot, can be a pain in the butt, but is one awesome ride.
:rofl:
:thumbup:
+1!

Probably should note those aren't things that happen every 6 months either hehe. So don't scare him too badly.

You're right.....more like every 3-4......hahahahaha.

[Xeek]

You're joking! Where is he buying radiators jeez hes getting screwed! There is an issue with part of it being plastic, when u replace your radiator make sure you get one that doesn't have that issue :-) Seem like i remember there being a recall on that anyway.

In any case if that stuff happened every 6 months, your either racing the car or replacing with parts your dog dug up in the backyard :rofl:

I shoulda just let it go, would have been more fun hehe

[Haelo]

For reference, almost every car sold in the US switched to OBD-II in 1996. OBD-II was required by the US government starting in 96 and so very few cars had it before then and all of them had it after.

[E36 Phantom]

You're joking! Where is he buying radiators jeez hes getting screwed! There is an issue with part of it being plastic, when u replace your radiator make sure you get one that doesn't have that issue :-) Seem like i remember there being a recall on that anyway.

In any case if that stuff happened every 6 months, your either racing the car or replacing with parts your dog dug up in the backyard :rofl:

I shoulda just let it go, would have been more fun hehe

You suck....:rofl:

Yeah, I'm kidding. Actually my 9 months/14k miles with the car were effectively trouble free. No complaints here! But I did have a 3" binder full of maintenance records. The PO's just took the hit for me, sold it for cheap, I enjoyed it and made enough money on it to nearly cover the cost of my E39!

[Xeek]

You know it's a good car if you have a binder of maintenance records.
Consider that if the car was junk or frustrating to you and not a joy to own. You would forget to maintain it every once in a while, hate having to do it and the binder can just go up someone's bleep. Like all the cars I've owned except for my 89 Toyota Corolla GTS.

[auto pilot]

Welcome to the 'Fest, surprised a search didn't turn many results, as you're right - this has been covered many times ;)

In 96, they switched to OBDII and the M52 engine, which has .3L more displacement and a few other details. Prior was the M50 engine and OBDI, with 2.5L displacement. Everything after 93 has Vanos, which is the variable valve timing.

The M50 & M52 have 1HP difference, and a bit of torque difference, though not much. The M52 has a much better torque curve, though, so its more driveable and you have more torque available more often.

They are completely different blocks and heads. There is a "sticky" at the top of forum that says "Things About E36's: Funny But True" for common issues.

Thanks for the reply. I did read the thread stickied up above, but I was thinking there are distinct problems per year instead of a general problem list (which was still pretty helpful on things to consider)

Does anyone have dyno sheets from the 2.5 compared to the 2.8 on a stock motor? I just wanted to look at the usable torque difference. I havent searched for this, but if I find anything I will update :)

Considering the motors. Are the mounting points the same or different between the two motors? Also, even though the displacement is different, can you mount the heads from the later years on the earlier cars? I came from VWs so just trying to figure out how lego like BMWs are. Anymore information is appreciated. :thumbup:

[Franky goes]

I don't think you will find better handling cars out there. The e36 is now available for ... close to nothing.

Remember the Frame advertising on television 20 years ago ? ''You can pay me now or you can pay me later.'' When you buy this car it's easy on the wallet compared to a 2007 330Xi. This is a case of ''pay me later'' so make friends with the parts guy. Yes, buy on the Internet but beware, don't buy the cheapest stuff you can find. Get ready to get dirty and under the car safely !!! Don’t worry about the engine. You will most likely retire this car with a running engine and a sinking heart. Have a body shop and a mechanic inspect it before you buy. I wish I had done the body shop bit myself. A lot of these cars get damaged ???

Get a Peake tool to read your fault codes. Find the TIS (Technical Information Something) and the ETK (Part numbers for all BMW on the road) software on Ebay. Get a torque wrench and convince you girlfriend that it's cool to bleed brakes :-)

No matter what she threatens to withhold, do not tell her how much you are spending on the car and let her drive it from time to time.

I'm in KM and $CAN but running this car 15 000 miles a year will cost you about 50 cents a mile including all expenses (Depreciation, fuel, maintenance, insurance...) US residents can correct me on the costs in the States, or share their experience with operating costs. This not a Civic and you may have noticed it doesn’t drive like one.

No matter what get the car ! You will never go back to “just kissing” again.

[E36 Phantom]

Hey,
No, the issues apply to all years....lol. Seriously, they didn't bother to go back and fix any of it. In fact, even the somewhat newer cars (E39's & E38's - even to the end of their product cycle) still suffer from many similar issues: most notable the cooling system. Exploding fans, 90k mile radiators, etc etc.

The basic model differences over the years, though:
-1992 M50B25 motor didn't have VANOS.
-1993 and up, all 6 cyl's got VANOS
-1994, E36 convertible available
-1995, E36 M3 available
-1996, minor facelift (painted sideskirts, different grille), OBDII standardized, TILT STEERING GONE. That's a big one to me @ 6'3. Still pretty doable, actually, but certainly not optimal. M50B25 replaced with M52B28 (325 renamed 328). M42B18 replaced with M44B19. M44 has a MAF, M42 only has AFS.
-1997, side airbags optional
-1998, side airbags standard, 323i added to lineup, with M52B25 2.5L motor. 323 is pretty artificially restricted, intentionally to keep it from cannibalizing top of the line 328 sales. The 323 can be made fairly quick pretty easily for cheap because much of the restriction is artificial and not due to a weak motor. E36 M3 discontinued.
-1999, all E36's discontinued *except* convertible, which remained available through 1999.

I would imagine if you go to a site that sells chips for the engines, they'll have stock/modded dyno graphs for both 2.5 and 2.8 motors. Worth a shot. Don't know for sure though.

I don't believe the heads are replaceable. Many people with the M52 (2.8) put the M50 (2.5) intake manifold on. The M50 intake runners are constant diameter, while the M52 runners taper at the end. This allows better flow up top, but the M52 does help with torque down low, since the narrowing creates a Venturi effect and helps a bit more air get in the cylinders at lower speeds when there's not a lot of pressure in the manifold.

On the M50, the cams are swappable with the cams from an S50 (the ///M3 version of the M50). Much hotter cams, and complete drop in.

Other than that, I don't think much in the engine bay is swappable. Or, at least not much that's relevant to performance.

This is a case of ''pay me later'' so make friends with the parts guy. Yes, buy on the Internet but beware, don't buy the cheapest stuff you can find. Get ready to get dirty and under the car safely !!! Don***8217;t worry about the engine. You will most likely retire this car with a running engine and a sinking heart. Have a body shop and a mechanic inspect it before you buy. I wish I had done the body shop bit myself. A lot of these cars get damaged ???

Get a Peake tool to read your fault codes. Find the TIS (Technical Information Something) and the ETK (Part numbers for all BMW on the road) software on Ebay.

I'm in KM and $CAN but running this car 15 000 miles a year will cost you about 50 cents a mile including all expenses (Depreciation, fuel, maintenance, insurance...) US residents can correct me on the costs in the States, or share their experience with operating costs. This not a Civic and you may have noticed it doesn***8217;t drive like one.

No matter what get the car ! You will never go back to ***8220;just kissing***8221; again.

LOL, +1 on the parts guy. One of the guys at a local dealer knows me on a first name basis, I kid you not!
Agreed on getting quality parts. You don't have to buy all BMW, in fact there are many times its better not to, but there are good deals and there are cheap parts that will fall apart. There are good vendors that are commonly used, search around and you'll find the good ones, we've talked abotu them before.
Don't worry about buying ETK software, RealOEM.com has the entire BMW parts catalog online. Its an AMAZING resource.
Running costs, I don't know per mile, but depending on how well maintained it was, they may be cheap or ridiculous.

As for depreciation.....I sold mine for $2200 more than I bought it for.

:angel:

[Chris S]

-1998, side airbags standard, 323i added to lineup,



:angel:

sure about the 323i coming about in 98? cuz my 323i is a 96 model

[E36 Phantom]

sure about the 323i coming about in 98? cuz my 323i is a 96 model

Yes, I am. :)
North America generally get their cars later. We also get watered down versions of what the rest of the world gets, because most people here don't know sh!t about cars.

In North America, the 323i debuted in 1998, helping to get people used to the name before the same name appeared on E46's the next year.

For example, America rarely gets diesels. Also, generally 2 or 3 drivetrain options are available on a BMW in NA, when worldwide they'll have a range of options.