E36 M3 made the front page of Jalopnik

[blckstrm]

Have You Ever Owned a BMW E36 M3, the 'Worst M3' that Everyone Loves to Hate?

https://jalopnik.com/have-you-ever-o...eve-1827917586

I posted the sentimental story of how I got my car before I noticed it was tagged as "OWNERSHIP HORROR STORIES."

Oh well - almost everyone else who posted about theirs made the same mistake.

[notMpowered]

Jalopnik is diarrhoea.

[KnudsonsM3]

When you grow up dreaming about owning an e36 then buy one at age 18 and drive one for the next 13-14 years, you can't hate it.

It feels like a nice baseball glove and the car communicates everything to the driver when pushing it to its limits. Whats not to love?

[ChuckDizzle]

These things are terrible to own but that doesn't stop us

I wanted one since elementary school and hung a poster of one in my college dorm room with the goal of buying it within a few years of graduation. I turned 25 and bought mine as my gift, its been almost 10 years and no regrets. Several cars have come and gone in between but the e36 stays.

[notMpowered]

These cars aren’t terrible to own at all. They are reliable, fun, easy to work on, cheap and have every DIY under the sun documented. I don’t know what else you could expect from a 15k car.

[SamGrant951]

^ Exactly, every time I goto repair something its documented in a DIY and is usually easier than expected. Pretty simple cars to work on / own apart from shitty plastics / trim - thats about my only complaint. Love the understated looks and how they drive, especially with slicks on them

[TostitoBandito]

Yeah and everyone always gives the E36 M3 crap because of the existence of the Euro engine, which I think is ridiculous. Even with the US powerplant the car was great at the time and is still great now. It is an objectively faster car than most of the E30 M3's which everyone fawns over.

That said, I'm happy to see that the market is rewarding this to some extent and nice US M3's are appreciating substantially in value. As others have said, these are nowhere near the maintenance nightmare people make them out to be, at least if you are moderately handy and able to follow instructions. There's DIY's for everything from oil changes to motor swaps online, and parts are plentiful. It's not at all difficult or expensive to maintain an E36 M3 for street use.

[golgo13]

Honestly, I want the haters to keep on keepin' on.

It helps put downward pressure on the platform, which means it makes them easier to get into the hands of true enthusiasts and it helps to keep the cost for used parts down.

I'm all for it.

Hate away and go buy a "faster" M3, please - by all means.

[cohny]

I made the point in the comments that the supposedly "bad" US motor made 75 Hp/liter when a 993 made 78.9 and a 996 made 83.3 and that's at the bone stock 240 hp level. It's not that our motors are bad its that the euro engines were exceptional way beyond their price point.

[TostitoBandito]

I made the point in the comments that the supposedly "bad" US motor made 75 Hp/liter when a 993 made 78.9 and a 996 made 83.3 and that's at the bone stock 240 hp level. It's not that our motors are bad its that the euro engines were exceptional way beyond their price point.

Yeah, and those Euro motors were never going to be realistic in the US due to emissions/CARB. That's why we got the M50-derived motor which as you point out was still competitive with or superior to most contemporary competitors from the mid-90's. The 993's you mention are a good example, and most of those cars were also at least twice as expensive as an M3 at the time.

[RightYouAreKen]

Don't forget, the US E36 M3 sedan was the fastest sedan sold in America when it was released...until the E39 M5 came out.

[tfolks206]

Don't forget, the US E36 M3 sedan was the fastest sedan sold in America when it was released...until the E39 M5 came out.

Funny you say that. I didn't know that and I can now say I owned the Fastest Sedan and SUV in 1998.

First car was 98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 and now I have a 98 M3 Sedan!

[RightYouAreKen]

Funny you say that. I didn't know that and I can now say I owned the Fastest Sedan and SUV in 1998.

First car was 98 Grand Cherokee 5.9 and now I have a 98 M3 Sedan!

Let's make sure you have proper perspective then





This is the first time I've seen this one:




Also, check out this collection of period review articles I saved to my flickr account:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskz7k675

[bmw328m52]

Yeah, and those Euro motors were never going to be realistic in the US due to emissions/CARB. That's why we got the M50-derived motor which as you point out was still competitive with or superior to most contemporary competitors from the mid-90's. The 993's you mention are a good example, and most of those cars were also at least twice as expensive as an M3 at the time.

Correct. I guess it's also so bad that the m50 derived motors are less expensive to maintain and easier to work on. Being able to spend btw $4-$5k on a 500whp+ quality turbo build without opening bottom end is also horrible...

[propcar]

fake news

[KnudsonsM3]

These cars aren’t terrible to own at all. They are reliable, fun, easy to work on, cheap and have every DIY under the sun documented. I don’t know what else you could expect from a 15k car.

Additionally, it's still competitive with cars made today and it was designed almost 30 years ago.

[RRSperry]

Well actually, not quite twice. When I bought my E36, I cross shopped a 911... A stripper 911 was $56K. I got my factory ordered, loaded E36, otd for $38.8k. But it was close to twice. I think if I'd gotten the painted crests on the wheels that would have put the 911 over the top...lol The options list was silly long and expensive. Still is...

[1000hp]

These cars aren’t terrible to own at all. They are reliable, fun, easy to work on, cheap and have every DIY under the sun documented. I don’t know what else you could expect from a 15k car.

Agreed.
I've had no issues with this car other than stuff that I caused with mods. I've had mine for 7+ years and it has been one of the most reliable cars I've owned (out of around 30), even when producing about double the power it was designed to handle. They are rock solid.

I think the people who say they're hard to live with either A) bought a shitbox, B) have to pay someone to fix every little thing that comes up, or C) have just never owned a car that really was hard to live with.

[Xiphos]

I've owned mine for 11 years now, put over 100k miles on it...and I still love it. I used to travel a lot for work so I was able to drive a lot of different rental cars while not driving mine. I started thinking about selling it because it was older, required more maintenance, and didn't look as new as it once did.

Then I get in the car and drive it. Within a few minutes, I fall back in love with it and I still have a hard time letting go. Sure, the interior sucks and is falling apart, but the feel you can't beat when you're driving it. I've found few cars that I enjoy driving more.

[BMWManiac]

The options list was silly long and expensive. Still is...

Yeah, even building your own is not even an enjoyable experience....there are too many options, and the nickel and dime for each one is also ridiculous. I've had my e36 m3 since 2002 and I still love it. I love the way it handles, looks, ease to work on, availability of parts....but I keep thinking I'm getting too old for it. I keep looking at the e46 M3 as perhaps the next logical choice one day...I had a 2006 z4M coupe that was a blast, but not practical. But nothing like cruising in the fall with all windows down, sunroof open, and hearing my modified exhaust system *cough* *turbo* *cough* help me at least keep up with whats out there