Thursday, May 22, 2014

2k: Minty Project? 1995 BMW M3 E36

The E36 generation M3 offers a great bang/buck ratio in today's market of $40k E30 M3s and the bottom just keeps dropping.  It isn't the best news for current owners, but it is great for people who want a late model and excellent handling sport sedan and don't want to break the bank.  Today's E36 M3 example has low miles and looks cosmetically nice...but...it is a slushbox and has several significant issues. It is bidding for peanuts.  Is the juice worth the squeeze on this one?  Find this 1995 BMW M3 E36 currently bidding for $3,250 on ebay with 5 days to go, located in Long Beach, CA.


At first glance this looks like a smoking deal for an E36 M3, even a 1995 OBD I example with the 3.0 liter inline-6 rated at 240 horsepower (1996-19969 examples had a 3.2 liter inline-6 with the same rated power, but a few more torques).  In all fairness, when you get into the details, this car starts to look less desirable.


The automatic transmission is not the first choice for a lithe sports sedan and this example has something wrong with the trans computer...perfect for a manual swap?  The seller says the car has not been driven for the past 18 months as he debugged the trans issue and it needs a new wheel bearing, so budget for a few hidden surprises on this one.  Still, with the prices of a well sorted manual trans E36 M3 with similar miles in the $10-12k range (??), I can imagine this one could be converted to 5spd and fixed for much less.  What is your time worth?


See a better manual swap candidate for less? tips@dailyturismo.com


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7 comments:

  1. ReneMay 22, 2014 at 5:30 AM

    LSx project, ohhh yeah!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 22, 2014 at 7:39 AM

    Need a 5-speed? Got $400? Get ye to Milwaukee!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 22, 2014 at 12:47 PM

    Previous owner might have been rich but current treated it like a bastard stepchild. Part that pup out. Too much kung pow beach.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RyanMMay 22, 2014 at 3:39 PM

    Be careful getting it home - the fuel is listed as plutonium. You never know when a VW Bus-load of angry Libyans from 1985 will come blasting into you parking lot looking for it. And with all of the tranny and electrical issues, you might not be able to hit 88mph and escape back to 1955.

    Also watch out for the expired tags (in the picture) and yes, though '96-'96 were OBDII, so too were the '98 and '99.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DailyTurismoMay 22, 2014 at 3:50 PM

      Whoops. My keyboard was upside down, that last 9 looked like a 6. Fixed.

      Delete
    2. CFloMay 22, 2014 at 4:05 PM

      I don't know how, but they found me. Run for it Marty!!

      Delete
    3. RyanMMay 22, 2014 at 4:14 PM

      Wow in a post nit-picking about a typo, I forgot the r in your. I should probably lay off the lunchtime g&t's. My apologies, gents.

      Delete

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