1998 M3 sedan Questions.

[SRS]

Hey guys, Ive kind of been lurking around this site, looking for good cars; and also looking at pictures. Anyway to get on with the questions.

For a while now i have been looking on auto trader, Philly cars.com etc. I finally found two really nice BMW e36 M3's. The first is a 1995 "widebody" M3.

The second car is a 1998 E36 M3 sedan. With dinan Two suspension. Now my main questions is what is the difference between the years and the sedan/coupe other than the four door?

Is there any Major Engine Hp differences, safety features, apperence features?(between the years and the Couple/sedan) If someone could please help me out with this. The M3 coupe is a little bit out of my price range, but i could work with it.

Thank you,
Stefan

[kevinwilly]

I have a sedan... so you'll see which way i'll lean.

The 95 is a little different than the later cars. It has the 3.0 engine with OBDI, as opposed to the 3.2L with OBDII. The 3.2 makes more torque, from what i hear.

There IS the notion that the 3.0 is a better motor to mod, blah, blah, blah... but i don't buy it.

Now- coupe vs. sedan? On the e36 body style, i've always loved the sedan. It just looks RIGHT. The e46, i prefer the coupe.

But a sedan is a TOTAL sleeper. It's really cool. PLUS- i can fit some friends in there without a problem. It's a pretty practical car.

There is no power difference between a coupe and sedan. The curb weight is the same to the kilogram.

BUT- the way the weight falls with the sedan, i believe the car is slightly better balanced. I'll let one of these die-hard guys confirm this, however.

And the dinan suspension? That would be nice. One of these cars with aftermarket suspension? A DREAM! (i like mine. :) )

[montybm3]

You are going to read a long debate on the car each person has, however not much difference other then looks. I like my car because you can’t find too many 5 speed M3 family cars anymore with 4 doors. (Dads Toy)

[Yasir]

The intentions were to just make the ///M3 in sedans but BMW ran out of doors so ended up making the coupes instead :) I personally prefer sedans and just bought one,my second,with extremely low mileage.......LOVE the car.........will not trade for any other car,period.........

[SRS]

I figure a four door will also be better, Me being a teenager. Not having to get out of the car to let people in.

Plus i snowboarding. Btw do the back seats fold down?

[hootie]

Thats what I thought, but just dont let people sit in the back :D

plus sedans were only made in 97 and 98....maybe that was for a reason...

[bmwf106]

There are no differences really between the coupe and sedan. Get what you think looks better. If you need the extra doors then problem solved. They do weigh the same. My favorate thing about the 4 door is the rear wheel arches come down further than they do on the coupe. The arches stop on the black molding on the coupes. On 4dr's the black molding stops before it reaches the end of the fender thus the arch is a few inches longer. Most people wouldnt notice it but I do like that about it. I prefer the coupe but is all opinion.

[m3jones]

Thats what I thought, but just dont let people sit in the back :D

plus sedans were only made in 97 and 98....maybe that was for a reason...

Sedans were only sent to the U.S. in 97 and 98. Euro spec sedans were made 95 through 98.

Stefan - You may want to check insurance rates on both first. Also, the rear seats fold on most of them, but not all.

[hc1001]

they made sedan M3s? :nuts

[SRS]

Thank you everyone for all of your help, And HC1001 your car is soo nice looking.

The sedan pictures are really bad:
Coupe:
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?&default_sort=priceDESC&dealer_id=58917993&end_year=1999&address=19301&make2=&start_year=1990&fuel=&certified=&keywordsrep=&car_id=212670349&search_type=both&max_mileage=&day_phone_number=&body_code=0&drive=&min_price=&distance=25&engine=&transmission=&link_type=details&make=BMW&keywordsfyc=&sort_type=priceDESC&num_records=&message_type=dlremail&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=24&max_price=&advanced=&model=M3&color=&color=
Sedan:
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=217252783&dealer_id=59517105&car_year=1998&model=M3&num_records=25&make2=&start_year=1981&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&search_type=both&distance=25&make=BMW&color=&min_price=&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=19301&advanced=&end_year=2007&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=18


Btw here are both cars:

[kevinwilly]

Yeah, on some of them the rear seats fold down. It was an option. People say that the folding rear seats make the chassis less stiff.

I'll tell you- mine feels fine. I'm not using it at the track, so I could care less. I defy you to find a more fun car that is this practical.

NOT gonna happen!
:)

[iateyourcheese]

Wow. Two very different cars you got there. The coupe with the widebody screams, "look at me" while the sedan looks like a complete sleeper.

Oh, and my sedan lacks fold down seats, so they're def. out there.

[L3000C]

My favorate thing about the 4 door is the rear wheel arches come down further than they do on the coupe. The arches stop on the black molding on the coupes. On 4dr's the black molding stops before it reaches the end of the fender thus the arch is a few inches longer. Most people wouldnt notice it but I do like that about it. I prefer the coupe but is all opinion.

O shit i just noticed that...... dam and thats after almost 2 years of being obsessed with the e36 m3 lol!

[L3000C]

honestly bro, the coupe m3 is a much better looking car.. most coupes do look better... and the back seats are very tight on it, so its almost pointless to get a sedan...seriously its very tight, im 6', 180lbs, and i barley fit in there, no way can u fit 3 of me there, 2 maybe..but not for a long trip..

[Eddie916]

My favorate thing about the 4 door is the rear wheel arches come down further than they do on the coupe. The arches stop on the black molding on the coupes. On 4dr's the black molding stops before it reaches the end of the fender thus the arch is a few inches longer.
Are you talking about how on the rear "Fender" area, it kinda has a widebody effect looking thing?

Anyways, I have a few questions to add as well:

Are there any room differences between the 2 and 4 door variations?

Are they truly the exact same weight?

And the seats, the Sedan seats aren't the full Vader seats that come with the coupes, right? These don't have the head/shoulder piece, and it's just the headpiece instead? Do they feel any different?

Finally, are there any more problems on one as opposed to the other?
Thanks also!
Don't mean to threadjack, so I'm sorry if it's what you think, to the poster.