i daily'd my first E36, a 328i sedan, for two years, 100 mile commute 5 days out of the week and it never left me stranded. Recently got into a E36 M3 coupe and I am convinced that E36's are the best cars I've owned so far.
I just got one myself, it has reasonable miles but has rust... The car has an extensive maintenance history and is bullet proof. Just trying to tie up the loose ends.
I too have an old rusty, 8 owner, 173,000 mile 328i and it has never left me stranded either. Just gotta watch and listen for issues. All the maintenance ive done on it has been pretty easy, despite rust; Its basically a lego car. Wouldn't trade it for the world.
I've had my 99' M3 as a daily for about 6 years now. It has only left me stranded twice, once was a battery the other was the radiator. The cooling system is the achilles heel of these cars, I upgraded to an over the top cooling system. Never selling this car, it rules the mountain roads.
Battery is understandable, happens to every car haha. Cooling system like you say is a weak point. It's one of the major things I talk about in the first video I suggested watching about reliability in this video. 👍 Good to hear you've had a positive ownership experience!
I daily an E36 M3 in the mountains of NC. Kirkey racing seats, back half roll bar and all. Only car I own. Does everything I need it to do. Late model cars are numb and boring. E36 M3 is... not. 😜
Nitrous LTX 6Gen Generally speaking, yes. Mine has relatively low mileage. So drivetrain has been solid. Drivetrain needs occasional TLC as miles get up there. But with regular oil changes and stuff they can go to 200,000+ miles without a whole of trouble. Other things need attention sooner than that because of age, but overall, they are as reliable (or more) than anything else that’s 20+ years old. Also depends on what you do with it. I also track and autocross mine so I have to keep an eye on it a little more than if it were just being street driven.
I don't know why people talk about bmw and vw being unreliable. They have small problems that you need to take care of, but they will literally outlive you if you do those little cheap stuff. They're the kinda cars that will give you small problems once in a while (still less often than a lot of other brands, really don't know why people hate on german car's reliability when they're more reliable than 80% of other cars) but you will never have a real engine failure. And I'd rather have that than a car that won't give you problems but that will have really worn out bearings and piston rings and low compression at 170k miles.
@BBD Design You might've had luck with Toyota, but personnaly I've never seen a Toyota newer than the late 90's be reliable. To me Toyota was reliable, it isn't anymore. But I'm in Europe, our cars might be different than us spec ones. I don't really know much about the gti, but I've had experience with the 1.9tdi, the 1.8t and the 1.4 and they're bulletproof. (except for the o2 sensor that breaks after 2 weeks and that throws a check engine light lol) To me they're still really reliable compared to most other brands, for example, in the past couple years with a bunch of other brands, we spent minimum 2-3k a year on repairs, with the Bmw we spent less than 1k...(timing chain, and it was because we are unlucky and picked one of the only engine that has known issues with it) And both the bmws we had never left us stranded. Which I can't say about any other cars we owned. I'm not trying to say Vw and Bmw are the most reliable brands because they totally aren't, they sure do have their issues, just like every other car, but in the end they're still more reliable than most cars and surely aren't unreliable enough for it to become a meme.
@BBD Design Tbh a lot of new toyotas are a bunch of pos. But in general yeah, toyota is more reliable, can't deny it. Edit: But while toyota just keep getting worse and worse (let's be honest the reliable toyotas you're refering to are all at least 15 yo), bmw doesn't change. So that says something.
@@imnota volkswagens and bmws have great longevity they will keep going as long as you keep them going. I had a 280000 mile vr6 but they are more expesive to run and not reliable by any means
It has problems, but you'll seriously fall in love with it, all you really need to do is take care of the body, refresh cooling, and suspension, change the oil every 3,000 miles and you'll be good.
I daily drive my e36 m3, and it works for me! It has all of the creature comforts that I'd ever need, and it makes every commute a blast! It sure wakes me up in the morning before work haha
I also daily my e36 M3 coupe. Only points I want to add are, you can get a bluetooth tape adapter so you can stream music from your phone wirelessly. The back seats fold down so I can get a whole set of wheels with tires in the car. Getting your windows tinted helps a LOT with keeping the heat down in the summer and not being blinded at night by all those damn SUVs. One negative though, the cupholders are absolute garbage! Still, very liveable as a DD, and way more fun than almost any other practical car. Never left me stranded yet either!
Fujikawa42 Yeah that was always a pain for me, but thankfully you can replace that whole plastic piece with the crappy cup holders with a new molded piece that has cup holders that actually work. I can't remember what mine is called, but it's definitely something to look into if you frequent your cup holders
Same 328i coupe fits my needs perfectly, I drive alone 100% on the time, almost never carry anything more than 1 shopping bag. I even can fit inside my xl size 29er mtb, because I removed all the seats and everything www.bmwpower.lv/files/member_galleries/6262/8884/500/1532948172_1766.jpg
yes!! when i was 18 my 2nd car was a E36 318 sedan 5 speed and i loved it. Now at 37 years old i bought another E36 sedan manual. great car to learn on driving and working on them
Been using my e36 m3 as a daily now for the last 6 months with around 230k on the clock. Not once did I ever get left stranded or have to perform anything other than regular maintenance. Of course from person to person it varies but, for the most part these cars are just tanks. It’s taken all the abuse and begged for more. But watch out, these cars are really really hard to put down when you get rolling with them.
Same bro, I'm on my 3rd e36 after losing my licence a couple of times, mines a 328 mora metallic (jeanie) she's gorgeous on repainted 2 piece 328 bbs's with a lil stretch and 40mil spacers back and 25 front pretty cambered lol sorry just feels nice to hear someone daily drives there vert and loves it. I totally feel you man :D
You guys in the U.S got lucky with the M52 engine E36's, everyone else got the aluminium block M52 aka the butterblock... I'd strongly suggest you look at 325i E36's over the 328i if you're outside the U.S and Manual over Auto. and don't touch a 4 cylinder one for the love of god if you want reliability... My current 1991 325i Manual E36 Sedan (U.S missed out on 1991 models) is awesome to drive and a super reliable daily and my previous 1993 325i Manual Coupe was also awesome but didn't quite handle corners as well as my current 4 door sedan does. Also worth noting I live in Australia so the usual E36 wear and tear on trim pieces can be a nuisance because it happens twice as fast here. Mechanically they are awesome and incredibly easy to work on, cosmetically they can be a bit iffy especially if they see the sun a lot but regardless they are a great car and extremely fun. If you get a proper one with a 141kw+ 6 cylinder it will be easily comparable to the Toyota GT86. In fact my 1991 325i is quicker with stock engine parts and handles better with the coilovers I have installed than an 86 with a catback and stock suspension, for the price of the E36 325i and coilovers you get more car and more performance in comparison to the GT86 in my opinion haha
i just got my 95 M3 with a 98 m3 engine swap for a steal. It's an auto but looking forward to your 6 speed manual swap videos so i can get an idea of how much it will cost and how much time i would need to do the same on mine. Love the videos!
I daily a 318ti (the compact), they draw the right type of crowd. Plus, it’s juuuust big enough to fit my skis, a 12in subwoofer, with 3 seats still available. Doesn’t hurt that it gets 32mpg either
Nice i have a 328i touring, its has some mods like coilovers m50 intake manifold. But imo the compact is more fun to drive, the back is lighter and more lively
So originally I was supposed to get a Miata, but my parents said it wasn’t safe and it doesn’t have back seats. I ended up with an 09 Accord. As reliable as it may be, I want something more fun and enjoyable, not some family car at 17. Would this be a good car in replacement for the Accord?
All used cars have their unique problems. As long as you know what to look for when buying a specific are, and you replace those parts as need you should be ok. The E36 has great bones and worth investing in. IMO
i have a 328i convertible with m suspension shocks, as my only car : - ride is too stiff - gas consumption is high - poor sound insulation - some stupid electronical failures to fixes (cheap tho) - some plastic noises in the cabin, doors - u feel the inperfections of any little pebble on the road -> if you don't ride it like it's meant to be (fast and in the high revs) it's not worth it nor comfortable and not a pleasure just for driving in commute / bad roads i've had a 318i e46, 1998 (just like my e36) very slow but damn that was way more confortable, and with good shocks you can have a good chassis (but didn't lacked power lol) with 0 noises in the doors or stuff like that
@@kentrelldesean2849 Still amazing. There's been a couple things I've had to replace but that would be the case with any 27 year old car nearing 300,000km. I've had fun with some basic mods at this point and continue to add to it as funds become available. From going to work to long road trips it hasn't let me down. 100% recommend as a daily. (If you're willing to get your hands dirty and fix the occasional part)
A great daily driver plus you get questions and compliments all the time when you are pumping gas. An e36 M3 still gets respect for what is, an honest car that is a blast to drive. Every turbo ricer wants to race you on the interstate but there are no takers on the twisty back roads where the stock 240 hp is more than enough. I've embarrassed plenty late models from every maker on my morning commute in a 22 year old car with 227K+ when we get to the curves!
I'm in South Africa, I own a 95 m3, this is the "euro spec" Is it a good daily driver, well it depends what you compare it to. It's a very mechanical car and that's what makes a good "driver's car". Comparing it to something newer, the clutch is a bit hard, gearshifts are notchy, etc. It's a great car to drive fast but not so great for sitting in traffic, plus the fuel comsumption sucks. Car is pretty reliable, the only major issue was front subframe that I reinforced as mine was torn on both sides where the engine mounts go onto.
I daily drive my e36 M3, summer, winter, autocross, runs to the ski slope, long highway trips, it works great for everything! Only had it towed once due to a dead alternator. I am not afraid to drive it anywhere, put 20k miles a year on it. I highly recommend as a daily. Mine has been way more reliable than the 2013 Mini R56 and 2002 BMW M5 that proceeded it in my garage. It's also less expensive to maintain from a parts cost standpoint.
Ive bought an 95 325is & ive been daily driving since August .. not one issue. Ive reinforced my whole rear end & put a new clutch & thats all ive done for her to run good
you are correct. My 318 puts a smile on my face every time i drive it.. just regular drive and i like it. And i like your videos, like the toning or video profile you are using
like every car, these need maintenance, in this case, quite a lot more than most cars. I would say the maintenance is 100% worth it, just make sure its always kept up
I bought a BMW e36 320i 1994, and I was in love with it, had no problem with the gearbox, motor or anything, but when u get under it, you will see alot of rust.. :/ Hopefully one day I get to fix it and take care of it like you should with a E36 :D Love your videoes btw, keep going! (Sorry bad english)
My first and still is a 318ti, 13 years strong! In that time ive purchased a 328ic, m3ic, 328sedan(sold) and two rare super cheap 318ti project cars. Its a full house.
Hey Gavin, great video as always. - Question - Did your M3 come with that computer? and how can I find one? Mine has fewer buttons and I'd like to upgrade it. Cheers
As far as I know you can get 2 different types of OBC's: the 11 button or the 18 button. I'm assuming you have the 11. Mine came with the 18. People have done the swap. Search "18 button OBC swap" and you should find what you need. 👍
@@Tom-Bartlett the 318i? Or 335i ,if is the e36 318i yes, definitely, is not a fast car by any means, but is reliable and solid,now the n54 335i,is really fast,but if you are not into cars,make sure you get the car under warranty, however my experience with VW wasn't that good,I use to own w8 b5.5 passat and was really unreliable ,miss a lot my slow 318is
@@DailyImport thanks for the advice appreciate it mate I’m looking at a clean 318i but wanted something with a little more power but hey driving a slow car fast is better than driving a fast car slow!
Great video once again, for me my e36 m3 was a huge mistake! Let me tell you, Always been a bmw fan my whole life. Finally it was time to get my first car. My mother had a e34 525i she bought since new a kept it (the car was a 93 so it’s 4 years older than me) so the car wasn’t running . Few months after I turned 18 and finally saved up enough by myself (luckily) to buy the car . I always called the m3 my dream car (mainly because an m3 seemed so far out of reach as a kid growing up) so I bought a aesthetically beautiful arctic silver one with 160,000 miles. Luckily before we got rid of the e34 I knew to take out the m50 mani :). Being 18 with my first car it felt great and I loved driving it. Sadly my fun lasted 3 and a half weeks. Turns out my motor blew from “oil starvation” the inlet cam was scored it’s been uphill from there. I’ve spent $1,500 before the mechanic decided to tell me the head was done. So now it sits in my driveway. It’s been 3 years since. I got a B5 2.8 to daily hoping it’s be reliable. Wrong. I’m 22 now , Soon I’ll hopefully find an affordable S52 to put in there so I can resume posting the content our chassis deserves! Could never part ways with it!
I had e36 Touring with M52b28 swap, fully track ready I was dailying it But I sold it because rust and too much thing needed to be replaced for years inspection and I needed to get something more daily capeable so now I own 98' BMW e46 sedan Great video and fun
Hey man! I know this vid is old, but thought a bit feedback will help. Don’t be so stiff with the wheel! Let go of it and then grab when necessary. I’m no expert, but if you practice without being so stiff on the wheel, your drifts will be so much more enjoyable to execute!!!
Love my 1998 328i 5spd sedan 263k miles and counting love that beast. Fixing her up little by little. Btw does anyone know how to fix the right turn signal out mine got water in it and idk what to do replaces the bulb!
I agree with Gavin 101% here! Only one thing that i think should have been told is - Don't buy e36 as your first car, ever. Because 1) them 36's are fast as hell, trust me. For example my 320i with 328's camshafts and a mod or two besides that was wrapping 100km/h on 8 seconds. Todays 330 (325 stroked) rounds it at 5,8 - 6sec. now 2) metal construction is not very good on e36s, actually it's pretty bad. It bends like paper. So for any new driver - be extremely careful. These cars are fast af but keep in your head you have almost no protection without suficient rollbar inside. and my favourite 3) once you get into the BMW e36 community, there's no backing up! When you just find all the mods and possibilities, oh my... if you're like me or Gavin for instance, you'll spend at least 70% of your free time either looking on DIYs or buying car parts 😅 oh and maybe as thing number 4) you have to know at least thing or two about mechanics if you wanna own e36. As Gavin said, there will be parts that need changing. And if you don't know some basics, shops will usually rip you off and you miss half the fun. e36 is enthusiast's car on main level. It can serve really good as daily but keep in mind that even if it's sedan, it's still mostly sport car. As for reliability and durability - my slightly powered 320i had 334,000 when i took the engine out. Broke on me just once - bad alternator. Once! And I took the engine out just to put stronger one, it still runs as new. Now in regards to comfort - honestly it's not the best car, seats are old, no (seat) heating and all that crap. So you can't really compare it to M2 or M4 or these sick plastic things on four wheels you can buy nowadays, but nonetheless enjoyment you get out of this car is through the roof and more than make up for that. Only downside is fuel economy, if you live in Europe (and you can even register it because of Euro2 tier)... You have to ready your wallet for the fuel. It's expensive here but hey you live only once right! Top quality video Gavin, and i'm so happy to see you actually having some fun with mister M on the streets 🤗catching them curves ey 🤩 Cheers!
After many years of owning my M3 I would still say it is a great daily driver, every time I get out of the car I still pat the steering wheel and quietly whisper "Thanks babe, what a car!". Not many cars leave you feeling that way after 13 years of ownership. However, nothing in life is free and she's getting old now. Some parts are getting harder to find, so that's a consideration. It is expensive to run, not very fuel efficient, but here in the UK, cheap to insure using classic car insurance. I budget on one properly expensive thing going wrong each year, plus more than £1500 a year in regular servicing and consumable parts. Suspension seems to need a rebuild every 5 years or so, but maybe I have been unlucky. The worst thing I can to say about it is that the heating system is not that great compared to modern cars, especially in the winter. The aircon makes a noticeable drag on the engine. Also, it isn't easy to fit decent speakers without cutting into the metal, which I prefer not to do. To get some extra bass, I fitted a subwoofer that fires through the ski hatch, but that's boxed in and costs me some rear boot space. It's a trade-off I'm happy with, the boot is pretty big anyway. All in all, I have never loved a car more. It is everything I think a car should be, everything feels just right.
I daily drove my E36 M cabrio last summer when I was inbetween daily drivers. Most fun car Ive ever owned, but not the best daily since the back seats and trunk are small. Biggest problem for me was leaving in parking lots and at the airport as I was afraid someone was going to scratch or ding it.
I don't know why but I recently started to love E36 sedans whit fern green and tan interior. Still loving the estroil blue coupes with white interior though.
I bought an 03 330i with 150k miles for 3k that had a ding and scrape on the body with interior sagging and transmission replaced, so far that and the engine are the only thing I haven’t replaced, definitely spent over 10k on parts and labor so far but also added performance parts.
People can talk shit about bmw saying they are unreliable.(it’s usually from people who don’t wanna do maintenance themselves and get fucked over with mechanic bills) but I think we can all agree bmws reliability is 100x better then a fucking fiat
as much as i love these cars and want one, i do emergency towing in a metro area and they are my most picked up car! always on my flatbed. but dammit i still want one!
Great video I love having my e36 m3 as my daily driver. But it sucks I haven't got to drive her for more than 30mins in the past 4 months. But the motor is almost done being rebuilt and I'll be driving her again.
@@roland9637 Its the best e36 if you plan on racing. The interior is more like a e30 and the rear end is the same as the z3, which is also similar to the e30. Engine swap it and you have the lightest and most nimble e36.
@@3DGEM3 Compact has the same wheelbase, I would only recommend it for non competitive drifting, because of Z3/E30 rear end, it will always have traction problems, compared to regular e36
We live only once so why try to keep those mileage low for someone who not going to think about it.. just enjoy your car and drive it as much as you want
I got my 325i for $700 and have drove it 7k miles, and it sat in my buddies drive way for 2 years, didnt have problems until recently, doing to kany burnouts and fried the oem clutch, and im think the crank sensor has it starmded rn
What's up the only one u can make it daily drive if its 318i 4 cylinder that's fine I have 2 e36 one 325i 1995 with 109k an the second is 318i 1993 with 200k an still running fine I love these car ...
