Time has nearly come to hand back my company car and taking an allowance in it's place at another firm
I'm looking to spend as little as possible on a runaround that will largely be used for the odd trip to see relatives and to transport the bikes around etc.
I've always been interested in what i can pick up for £1000 – £1500 and there seems to be plenty of older (1996-98) 3 series out there with decentish mileage.
Would i generally be buying a bag of spanners at this age or a cheap reliable future classic or should i be sticking with my Jap car search?

I relieved my friend of his 95 E36 328i tourer for £200 when he was moving house and couldn't be bothered advertising it.

Has been totally reliable, done over 190k miles now, have fitted some new suspension bushes last year before the MOT and this year it needed a new bit of brake pipe.

Can't really fault it, even if I'd paid 7 times the price. Not the best on fuel, but it is one of the biggest engines, so to be expected, having said that 30mpg driving relatively carefully isn't bad.

Cheers, Rich

Good solid cars, stick with full BMW dealership or specialist service history. Check the rear axle carrier bushes, easily replaced, but when they go, they make the back end feel very mobile. Also make sure the bonnet catches are lubed and working correctly, seen a couple lately where they havent been maintained and the bonnet has been on the windscreen at motorway speeds.
25tds is powerful, torquey, 40+mpg if driven right and pretty damn reliable. 20tds is rare as rocking horse. the 1.9 (badged 316/8) is a bit unrefined and struggles with the weight. 318is with the 1.9 16v engine is much better, but not massive torque. Got to give it some revs to make it move. 2.0 6cyl is nicer to drive as it has more torque, but a lot thirstier. Good noise though. 2.5/2.8 petrol are the nicest drives without being an M3, but are thirsty. In fact best E36 I drove was a late 328i coupe with the M Sport suspension. Worth getting that suspension if you can find one, takes the wobbles and body roll out without completely destroying the ride.

2 years ago I sold my 1999 E46 BMW 323 for 1200 quid. I never had any problems with it. You'll get a good E46 for your money. Mine had 130000 miles and still ran like a dream. Go for the E46

Pete,

Thanks for the advice, I think the 318is would be the way to go for me.

Would you think there is any merit in going for an earlier car with lower mileage or a later car with higher mileage or would you take more notice of history?

Hold on. E46s are getting that cheap?

'Kin hell. As soon as I've got some cash, I'll be out the door to get one. Hopefully there'll be a 12-18 month sweet spot before they're all driven by drug dealers and town centre pugilists.

Edit: Which ones come with an LSD? And do the back seats drop in any of them?

Double edit: It seems only the ones with comedy engines are cheap. 🙁

Get a 6 cylinder or get something else.

+1 for a 328. I'd go for a 328. Just the right blend/balance between mpg and some power IMO 🙂

It seems that none of the E46s (with the exception of M cars) came with an LSD. What the hell is wrong with people?

As an example, drive an old 6 cylinder Jag with an LSD, and it's a real laugh. Drive the V8, which has about 50 more horses, but an open diff, and the car's terrible in comparison. Much the same chassis and floorpan on both cars…

Plenty of £1000 car ideas here…
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328i is fairly quick and almost bombproof. B

philsimm – Member
Pete,

Thanks for the advice, I think the 318is would be the way to go for me.

Would you think there is any merit in going for an earlier car with lower mileage or a later car with higher mileage or would you take more notice of history?
Ideally as late with as much history and as little miles as possible 😆 Depends on how much mileage, during my time working in a BMW specialist I saw 2 735i with odometers well in excess of 250k and still as sweet as ever. It really was an everyday occurance for customers to say they feel the engine only really loosened up after 100k. So long as the mileage isn't intergalactic and the history is all there to match I wouldn't worry too much.
I'm not sure on current values, but seen as the E36 as always been considered the poor relation 3 series, you should be able to get pretty much whatever you want, unless its a diesel,cabrio, tourer or an M. Standard saloons and coupes really are peanuts.