One more time. Which one? 3 series

[wannab20hatch]

well the deal fell through on the e39 i was looking at. Carfax wasnt nice at all. it had a couple wrecks on it and a wrong odometer reading. and the 7 series ive heard are very expensive to keep up and maintain. So ive decided to look for a e36 but i cant deicde which body style. here are some pics to help.

[speedminded]

What do you want? What's your intentions for the car? What plans for mods? What's your budget for car and mods?

Personally, the e36 sedans look the best even though your example doesn't depict it. BMW BBS Style 5's don't look that great on e36's.

You can put stock M3 cams and valve train in a 328i and be halfway to making the additional 40hp of an M3. The 328i also takes boost better than an M3.

You can build a '94-'95 325i with bilsteins, lowering springs, m3 wheels, and a decent turbo setup for around the price of an M3.

Stock the e36 M3 sedan looks the best!

[Frög]

How can anyone have a hard time to decide..

318TI = GAY
Convertible = SUPER GAY
Coupe = SUPER COOL
Sedan = COOL

Only question you should ask yourself is: Do I want a 2 door or a 4 door?

Unless you are gay, and in that case: Am I gay or SUPER gay?

[wannab20hatch]

What do you want? What's your intentions for the car? What plans for mods? What's your budget for car and mods?

Personally, the e36 sedans look the best even though your example doesn't depict it. BMW BBS Style 5's don't look that great on e36's.

You can put stock M3 cams and valve train in a 328i and be halfway to making the additional 40hp of an M3. The 328i also takes boost better than an M3.

You can build a '94-'95 325i with bilsteins, lowering springs, m3 wheels, and a decent turbo setup for around the price of an M3.

Stock the e36 M3 sedan looks the best!

i really just want a nice,clean,relatively fast DD. mods just i/h/e chip. no turbo on this new endeavor. budget is around 8k. i want an M3 but dont know about sedans. im torn.

[wannab20hatch]

How can anyone have a hard time to decide..

318TI = GAY
Convertible = SUPER GAY
Coupe = SUPER COOL
Sedan = COOL

Only question you should ask yourself is: Do I want a 2 door or a 4 door?

Unless you are gay, and in that case: Am I gay or SUPER gay?

the wife says to get a coupe since we dont have kids and dont plan on having any for a while.

[JDMJAYDC2]

m3 coupe for me the ti is gay imo tho but i did see one at a meet with a m3 swap in it id imagine it was pretty fast and light

[speedminded]

the wife says to get a coupe since we dont have kids and dont plan on having any for a while.First thing is check insurance comparing all of them.

For $8k you can get an M3 seriously in need of maintenance or an extremely nice 328i with all preventive maintenance and mods done and a few grand left over.

I can just about guarantee you whatever e36 you get it will need maintenance, especially rear trailing arm bushings. BMW uses all natural rubber bushings which deteriorates infinitely faster than urethane or polyurethane. Replacing them all will make it a completely different car.

[wannab20hatch]

yeah ive been reading up on E36's over on bimmerfest and talked to bobby at strictly german. Before i even started to mod i was gonna do all bushings including the shifter and replace the entire cooling system.

as far as insurance i dont know why but the lady said the M3 coupe is cheaper than a 325 4 door. no clue why but she said it is.

[speedminded]

yeah ive been reading up on E36's over on bimmerfest and talked to bobby at strictly german. Before i even started to mod i was gonna do all bushings including the shifter and replace the entire cooling system.

as far as insurance i dont know why but the lady said the M3 coupe is cheaper than a 325 4 door. no clue why but she said it is.Value, MSRP anyways, has very little to do with insurance cost...it goes by the number of claims more than anything.

[my97lude]

well the verts are heavy and cost more to maintain due to the power motor and replacing the top. so if i were you i'd get either a sedan or a coupe. in my opinion coupes are for posers (jk). but you do see a lot more coupes around town then the sedans especially in the m3's. also, the sedan handles better and are just as quick as a coupe.

[wannab20hatch]

i like the sedan also but insurance is higher on them than the coupes.

[DinanM3atl]

Ok everyone says the coupe is the coolest until you own one for a little while. I love my M3 coupe but everyday I wish it was an M3 Sedan. I could have easily bought an M3 sedan for the same price and it would be super cool now :)

Also... e36 vert done up right. Not gay.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3443/3279969390_496ed28ecb_b.jpg

[wannab20hatch]

i saw those the other day and i really like the vert. cant wait to see the new wheels and drop

[okra1981]

I have a coworker with a M3 vert with a hardtop, that thing looks great. It went from Frog's classification of Super Gay, back around to awesome all over again (like when a dog is so ugly that it's cute again).
I think he wants somewhere in the teens for his.

[1sickZ]

I would suggest E36 coupe all day, I have had nothing but coupes on all of my projects so I am a little biased...LOL

Josh

[Sammich]

BAN

[matthewAPM]

328is :ninja:

[DinanM3atl]

Still vert...

[matthewAPM]

S52 318ti

[EJ25RUN]

You can make any of those look good. Even the 318ti has potential.

This looks great. I been a fan of them since i used to read Max Power in their boobie days.

http://www.importatlanta.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=179783&stc=1

[DinanM3atl]

Still Vert :)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3358/3437185052_a8d1bb991d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3351/3436375209_a42dd5db30_b.jpg

[TOPbmw]

deff like the red E36 conv

[chuck]

i love my dirty ass coupe...back seats hardly see use but they are easy to get to.
i've NEVER been a big fan of the ti's...guess its a lot of personal preference and price tags speak loud to me too
if you are wanting any decent 'fun power(hp)' i'd stay away from the 318's...unless you want to buy mine!!! but the 6's will be your best bet for dependable power.

[tnomud]

I'd vote to skip the M3 route and go with a 325. Most of the E36 M's on the market have had 150K miles of beatings by now. Dealers arent stocking shit for older cars anymore, they are running JIT. The E36 cars are at the point around here where all the plastic and rubbery parts on the motors are beginning to crack and fall apart creating tons of spinoff problems. The M3 cars are less common, and harder to get parts for now.

[matthewAPM]

^lol

[tnomud]

^lol

and I say this as an OE supplier to BMW. ;)

Once the last one rolls off the assembly line, we are no longer obligated to make squat for the car. No supplier is.

[thegreatfnr]

S52 318ti
:goodjob:

I miss my old ti.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y175/thegreatfnr/318ti1.jpg

[sam.car]

I would keep looking for an E39...

[bdydrpdmazda]

The vert or the coupe...