I've been looking for an E36 coupe to replace my A4 and found what I thought was a really good example. It's a 1998 318IS and had a full bare metal respray in Technoviolet last year.

I did a HPI check on it today and it's come back as a Cat C on a previous plate (now has a private reg on). It was repaired and had a VIC check in 2008. This was before the current owner bought the car in 2009 so he may not be aware. I'm going to give him a call this evening to have a chat about it.

The guy was asking £2k for it which seemed a little high for a 318is but justifiable with all the work it's had done. What do people think? Of course it's not worth 2k now but if it's been back on the road for 4-5 years after the accident and had all the relevant documentation done, is it worth a punt? Bearing in mind it would have to be cheap enough price that I could break it without losing much when I want something else.

The car is for sale on e36coupe.com and you need to be logged in to view the ad so I've pasted it here:

http://pastebin.com/nTrDtCfc

Here's the pictures from the respray last year:

It of course all depends on what the damage was and if the works been done to a high enough standard and you feel its worth a go at I cant see why not.

But 2k will buy you a lot of other things newer and if you want more power too.

I've had a couple of E36 318IS coupes and both of them combined cost me less than £2k.

You can find a good looking half decent example for around £1k if you look around.

I have also broken a 318is and it only made around £500 plus I took a few bits off it for my own car at the time.

If you are looking at spending £2k on a BMW may I suggest looking at one of the many 6-pot E36's or even an E30 318is.

2k is a very high price, I'm currently looking at the E36 tourings so I've seen the prices of these

if the seller is unaware of teh cat C try around 1400 - 1600 as that seems to be about the avarage price :)

Well he knew it had been damaged in the past (front n/s wing and suspension damage), but didn't know it was a cat C. I've offered £1500 so we'll see how we go. I'm not paying any more than that mind, I need to tax it as well! He's offered to get it up on the ramps at the place it was sprayed so I can have a good look around underneath.

I sold my old m44 318is for £500 to a friend

Just sayin

I sold my old m44 318is for £500 to a friend

Just sayin

Why are you not my friend :(

If the wheel, and subsequently the multi-link rear suspension, took a big enough hit then there's no knowing how it's affected the chassis.

Before their release, rumour was these cars were gonna be pillarless and called the 4-series. Had that been the case, getting a good one cheap today might be a bit of a challenge.

But it's not. There are enough out there to be choosy.

why are u going for an is tez? personally i wouldnt bother, theyr slower, dont sound as good and dony even save you much fuel compared to the equivelent 6-pot. thats just my 2p tho, as they are just as comfy and pimp

Mine did 40mpg and was pretty quick once in the power band... Great cars but loads out there

If you have 2k I'm sure a friend of mine would sell his (not my old one) m3 rep on staggered throwing stars - has had loads of refreshment work done to it in the past 2 yrs

We came to an agreement on price and I'm on the train down there now. I'm gonna have a good look at it and only buy it if I'm 100% happy. If it's a dog then I might be in touch Doug. In any case, I don't think I'd have an issue breaking it for more than I'm paying :)

The plan was to go for an IS for now as a daily to get some rwd experience in before I get a TVR next summer

Tow Vehicle Required TVR

Damn, maybe I should have kept my Audi TDi then

Just got back home from picking the beemer up. I had a good look over it and it looks spot on. Drove it back 220 miles and it drives well and didn't miss a beat. Hopefully it'll turn out to be a good purchase!

Lets hope it's a good one!!

Greg

why are u going for an is tez? personally i wouldnt bother, theyr slower, dont sound as good and dony even save you much fuel compared to the equivelent 6-pot. thats just my 2p tho, as they are just as comfy and pimp

Have you ever driven an is whether it be the M42 or M44?

The M42 if it's not revved can seem like a slow car as they are low on torque and all the power is on the red line.

The M44 has much more torque and is much more driveable on lower revs but all the power is still on the red line.

My last M44 was RR'd at 149BHP which is just shy of what the 320i 6-pot produces, but with 2 less cylinders to lug about.

As a result I believe in a challenge with a 320i the M44 would be quicker and more economical.

If you want to compare the M44 to any of the other 6-pots it's kind of unfair as the next one up is a 2.5 and of course being a BMW and having an extra 600cc of displacement will make a fair bit of difference.

Anyway back on topic, tezmc, I hope you got good deal on the car, but what ever you paid if you enjoy driving then I believe a BMW is one of the best cars you can buy no matter what is under the bonnet.

4-cyl are reputed to be more efficient than the 6-cyl engine because the latter needs more revs and suffers more mechanical drag. The early '90s BTCC 320i was a bit of a naughty exercise by BMW because the road going versions were 6-cyl but the race cars were 4-cyl. I don't quite know how they got away with that.

why are u going for an is tez? personally i wouldnt bother, theyr slower, dont sound as good and dony even save you much fuel compared to the equivelent 6-pot. thats just my 2p tho, as they are just as comfy and pimp

Have you ever driven an is whether it be the M42 or M44?

The M42 if it's not revved can seem like a slow car as they are low on torque and all the power is on the red line.

The M44 has much more torque and is much more driveable on lower revs but all the power is still on the red line.

My last M44 was RR'd at 149BHP which is just shy of what the 320i 6-pot produces, but with 2 less cylinders to lug about.

As a result I believe in a challenge with a 320i the M44 would be quicker and more economical.

If you want to compare the M44 to any of the other 6-pots it's kind of unfair as the next one up is a 2.5 and of course being a BMW and having an extra 600cc of displacement will make a fair bit of difference.

Anyway back on topic, tezmc, I hope you got good deal on the car, but what ever you paid if you enjoy driving then I believe a BMW is one of the best cars you can buy no matter what is under the bonnet.

x2 on that , I've owned every engine option in the e36 and to be fair I wouldn't entertain a 320 , without a doubt a iS would monster a 6cyl through a twisty road (exception of the m3's and 328 sport) , 6cyl far too nose heavy but once the iS is wound up there (3k +) they fly. Also pretty sure there was a journal on this car at e36coupe.com