So an mx5 came up for sale locally, which I just couldn't resist. This means I need to sell a car to keep the wife off my back! So I am going to list a couple and see which one sells first. My e46 compact is too new, so will be advertised elsewhere and my red mx5 is out of mot, so I'm weighing up my options on that, as it has some nice bits on it, so would no doubt break for more than it would sell for as a complete car. So that leaves my e36 325. I love this car, but in all honesty it doesn't get as much use as it deserves. I managed 2000 miles in it last year and have covered 3500 since owning it. It has always been a pleasure to drive, if a little thirsty if driven in a spirited fashion. So anyway, here it is.
BMW E36 325i, 5 speed manual
Metallic cashmere beige (very rare color)
89K on the clock, most of which have been covered by an older gent during his 17 year ownership, so it hasn't had a hard life.
3 owners (including myself) from new.
Lots of service history, almost full
Long MOT, 10 months from memory
Lets start with the engine. It is fitted with the m50b25 6 cylinder twin cam, non-vanos lump, and delivers around 190 bhp. It is arguably one of the most reliable engines BMW made, due to it not having the fragile vanos system and running a cam chain rather than belt.
The M50b25 was only fitted in the very early E36 cars for a period of one year, before vanos was introduced.
I average around 29 mpg with it, which isn't bad considering my newer BMW compact 318 only manages 33 mpg on average.
Just had an oil and filter change and also a new cam cover gasket fitted due to a slight oil leak from the old gasket.
Clutch still feels good, has plenty of life left in it. Gearbox feels fresh as a daisy.
Suspension/hubs: All original as far as I am aware,so room for improvement here. A couple of Steering rod end bushes were noted on the mot as having slight play. Also one rear wheel bearing will need replacement soon, as it is starting to get noisy. All minor things, the car still drives very nicely, just isn't as sharp as my stiffer sprung E46 318.
Bodywork: Very clean for it's age. Drivers side has nothing worth noting. Passenger side has a couple of defects. The front wing has rusted at the bottom (caused by leaves etc getting trapped between the arch liner and the wing, the joys of being the side of the car which is closed the the grot on the side of our Great British roads). Second issue is a small amount of rust on the passenger rear arch, where it has at some time been scraped, the original paint damaged and not repaired. I have treated the rust and painted over with some paint of a similar colour to stop this becoming worse, but in an ideal world it needs sorting properly.
Underside: The underside was is very clean. I had a small amount of welding done behind where the front wing had rotted, but other than that there is no other metal which isn't original. The floorpan has been fully undersealed with waxoyl.
Interior: Very good, one or two bits of trim wich have worked loose over the years (drivers door card and trim under steering wheel), but no damage to the seats. Colours are still pretty un-faded.
Stereo sadly isn't original, but is at least an in-offensive blaupunkt cd/mp3 player and doesn't look too out of place and sounds nice too.
£999
The car is standard and unmodified. It has lasted nearly a quarter of a century without being ruined, I'd like to see that maintained. Hopefully I have priced people after a cheap runner out, so hopefully it will go to a genuine enthusiast.
located in hook norton, north oxfordshire
07841 481156
BMW E36 325i, 5 speed manual
Metallic cashmere beige (very rare color)
89K on the clock, most of which have been covered by an older gent during his 17 year ownership, so it hasn't had a hard life.
3 owners (including myself) from new.
Lots of service history, almost full
Long MOT, 10 months from memory
Lets start with the engine. It is fitted with the m50b25 6 cylinder twin cam, non-vanos lump, and delivers around 190 bhp. It is arguably one of the most reliable engines BMW made, due to it not having the fragile vanos system and running a cam chain rather than belt.
The M50b25 was only fitted in the very early E36 cars for a period of one year, before vanos was introduced.
I average around 29 mpg with it, which isn't bad considering my newer BMW compact 318 only manages 33 mpg on average.
Just had an oil and filter change and also a new cam cover gasket fitted due to a slight oil leak from the old gasket.
Clutch still feels good, has plenty of life left in it. Gearbox feels fresh as a daisy.
Suspension/hubs: All original as far as I am aware,so room for improvement here. A couple of Steering rod end bushes were noted on the mot as having slight play. Also one rear wheel bearing will need replacement soon, as it is starting to get noisy. All minor things, the car still drives very nicely, just isn't as sharp as my stiffer sprung E46 318.
Bodywork: Very clean for it's age. Drivers side has nothing worth noting. Passenger side has a couple of defects. The front wing has rusted at the bottom (caused by leaves etc getting trapped between the arch liner and the wing, the joys of being the side of the car which is closed the the grot on the side of our Great British roads). Second issue is a small amount of rust on the passenger rear arch, where it has at some time been scraped, the original paint damaged and not repaired. I have treated the rust and painted over with some paint of a similar colour to stop this becoming worse, but in an ideal world it needs sorting properly.
Underside: The underside was is very clean. I had a small amount of welding done behind where the front wing had rotted, but other than that there is no other metal which isn't original. The floorpan has been fully undersealed with waxoyl.
Interior: Very good, one or two bits of trim wich have worked loose over the years (drivers door card and trim under steering wheel), but no damage to the seats. Colours are still pretty un-faded.
Stereo sadly isn't original, but is at least an in-offensive blaupunkt cd/mp3 player and doesn't look too out of place and sounds nice too.
£999
The car is standard and unmodified. It has lasted nearly a quarter of a century without being ruined, I'd like to see that maintained. Hopefully I have priced people after a cheap runner out, so hopefully it will go to a genuine enthusiast.
located in hook norton, north oxfordshire
07841 481156
