![( |-| |2 ][ $](/styles/overclockers/avatars/4.png){kind=avatar}
Associate
Out of the ten C5's sold 9.9 of them drink the fuel of Satan.
Ideas for a new car on a low budget
- Thread starter semi-pro waster
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Out of the ten C5's sold 9.9 of them drink the fuel of Satan.
Caporegime
( |-| |2 ][ $;16107545 said:
You're thinking of C6's. C5's are common as heck, thousands of the things, granted most are still diseasle, but it's the C6 that Citroen only sold 12 of.
Caporegime
I think it comes down to knowing your way around a socket set or familiarising yourself with it if you aren't already (what I am doing). Or know a good reliable local garage that you can trust to keep it ticking over nicely for a reasonable cost.
Most parts for BMW's aren't that expensive to be fair, and the E36 isn't particularly complex either.
If you buy carefully and stay on top of a preventative maintenance regime, there is no reason for it to be hugely unreliable or expensive.
Most parts for BMW's aren't that expensive to be fair, and the E36 isn't particularly complex either.
If you buy carefully and stay on top of a preventative maintenance regime, there is no reason for it to be hugely unreliable or expensive.
If you want a RWD car for driving dynamic then yes E36 is best car you can buy, but if that isnt the main criteria, then I'd look at a W202 C class (late 90's model) they are rock solid apart from coil packs IME.
Ive never really liked the ordinary E36's they never looked nice to me, the sport ones looked nice tho, whereas the facelift C class looked pretty smart in the right colour.
If you are handy with a spanner and are a sado masochist, get a 1500 quid E46
Ive never really liked the ordinary E36's they never looked nice to me, the sport ones looked nice tho, whereas the facelift C class looked pretty smart in the right colour.
If you are handy with a spanner and are a sado masochist, get a 1500 quid E46
Associate
Unless you start to obsess about tapping sounds coming from under the bonet, right?
Caporegime
( |-| |2 ][ $;16107762 said:
Pre-facelift e36 won't have that issue, no VANOS.
Associate
It was supposed to be a little joke for Moeks rather than info for the OP but yes perhaps it's best you cleared it up.
( |-| |2 ][ $;16107762 said:
Hehe yea well ... I'm not on a very tight budget though, I would rather not spend more than I have to but I've not got a set budget as such, I will spend what I must within reason. My goal was to buy a decent 540i Sport, on the assumption that the suspension, brakes and probably one or two other bits would need sorting out and doing that and then having a lovely 540i Sport to play with
(you try and find a perfect one, they don't seem to exist at any money)I don't get the impression that the op is buying an cheap older car for quite the same reasons. More like because that's what fits his requirements and budget.
I'm not obsessing anyway (well perhaps a bit) I just know that something isn't right and it bothers me, especially on something as important as the engine.
Man of Honour
I can't think of many RWD cars for that price that would suit him any better tbh.
So is there anything helpful that SPW could be looking (mechanically etc...) at when doing his car searches?
So is there anything helpful that SPW could be looking (mechanically etc...) at when doing his car searches?
A year as just passed since I bought my £2k e36 328 sport. Its cost just over £1000 getting it upto standard and adding a m50 manifold + fan delete. Biggest cost was bushes as I think people become completly unaware that the car they are driving handles like a dead duck and the clonks are just part of the fun.
A £1500 e36 could go either way, its all down to how the previous owner has taken car of it. Im all for preventive maintanace, if something looks odd or even starts makes a odd noise, Bamn its replaced. Sadly 90% of my friends dont do anything untill the part in question is completely dead or the car is imobile. This attitude might bode well with a old hatch or something, but completely ruins feel of an e36 and is just a timebomb for a big bill.
Sorry for the long winded.
A £1500 e36 could go either way, its all down to how the previous owner has taken car of it. Im all for preventive maintanace, if something looks odd or even starts makes a odd noise, Bamn its replaced. Sadly 90% of my friends dont do anything untill the part in question is completely dead or the car is imobile. This attitude might bode well with a old hatch or something, but completely ruins feel of an e36 and is just a timebomb for a big bill.
Sorry for the long winded.
Caporegime
Semi-pro, how do the numbers work out if you don't buy a car and simply hire one when you need it, as you mentioned above? How much are we talking about when you take into account insurance, MOT, repair bills, risks of a surprise etc? Have you considered the train for the longer journeys and the Tube for the smaller ones? London is a pretty easy city to navigate without owning a car.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Fun in the snow ?
Soldato
I had an E36 325i Auto and that cost me precisely nothing to run (not even an MOT as just as it was due someone kindly used it to relieve some local businesses of their unwanted cash with the use of a sawn-off shotgun before deciding on an impromptu BBQ).
The autobox was on its way out though! You dont really need to look for anything other than the usual, rust can be an issue especially around the rear diff mounts (you'll feel the diff moving about if they have rusted through).
Buy based on condition above everything else and you wont go far wrong!
The autobox was on its way out though! You dont really need to look for anything other than the usual, rust can be an issue especially around the rear diff mounts (you'll feel the diff moving about if they have rusted through).
Buy based on condition above everything else and you wont go far wrong!
Caporegime
Yes there is!
If he is (and appears to be) looking for a 6-pot, then check, double check, and triple check the rear subframe, specifically the rear mounting points under the boot carpet, they had a tendency to rip off the chassis on earlier cars.
Check the cooling system (and therefore the cabin heating), make sure you get to start the car from cold and check what kind of emissions are coming from the exhaust (white smoke = bad). The cooling systems are built by what can only be the German equivalent to Mr Magoo, with the aid of his mentally challenged sidekick, and as a result fail, lots. When the cooling system does fail, it only takes a few minutes of not noticing the temp needle rocketing to do head damage.
If there is a sunroof, check that it opens and closes properly, and that it is water tight, the seals tend to rot away and become porous. Damp headlining is a giveaway, or if it's dried out, it should feel softer than it's surrounding lining that never got damp.
If it's got one of the more feature rich OBCs, then check that all it's functions work, specifically RANGE and CONSUM1/CONSUM2. If part of the OBC appears dim, it's only a small bulb, not usually an LCD failure, so that's ok.
Listen out for clunking from the suspension, droplinks and trailing arm bushes are common failure points, in fact unless you can prove that it's had a suspension refresh, I'd be factoring in the fact that it'll be needing a full set of bushes all round at a bear minimum (probably needing shock absorbers also).
I'm also yet to come across an early e36 that doesn't have "quirks" with it's RCL/alarm. Mine had the great habit of only unlocking 3 of the doors, but happily locking all 4. It also liked to sound the alarm quite frequently, so I unplugged it. Muffin's also does this and was unplugged by the previous owner.
Other than that just check everything you'd check on any other car, electrics, dodgy noises from the engine bay, knocks, rattles, etc etc.
Mk3 Toyota Supra? Should get an ok/good one for £1500, engines are high maintenance [Head gaskets mainly], and they rust like nobodies business. Seems to fit the bill, while being equally temperamental as a £1500 BMW
Thanks, I'd thought of a Supra and then dismissed it as unlikely to be in decent shape for my budget but I'll keep an eye out for them nearer the time just in case.
I'd prefer something that is a bit 'fun' to drive and it sounds like they may not be quite as much fun as an E36 but I'll bear the W202 in mind as well. It doesn't absolutely have to be en E36 but I suspect that I'll have more choice of cars there than with a C Class or a Supra.
[FnG]magnolia;16109349 said:
Without any sort of deals a quick search for a car hire of about a week appears to cost me somewhere in the region of £200+ for a vaguely similar size of car, that's not including getting to the pick up point or back and having to match their times. I'd probably be thinking of heading back up to Scotland 3-4 times a year although not necessarily all for that length of time and visiting other friends around the country for shorter periods as well as the other little trips in and around London.
I haven't worked it out exactly (and I'm not sure it would be possible even if I wanted to) but realistically it's probably going to cost me a bit more to own a car than to go by train/hire a car/use other public transport as and when but I've got very few commitments for my money and I'm willing to pay a bit more for the convenience factor apart from anything else. This purchase of a car isn't driven by a necessity, I don't need a car, sure it's handy but I could get by without one - however I do want a car and since it's not got to meet any particular criteria other than what I set I figure I might as well go for something I want.
[TW]Fox;16109404 said:
Because it's a choice I'm making to get the car, I could have FWD or 4WD if I really wanted but I'd like to try a RWD car. So I thought rather than saying "here's a budget, what can I get" then dismissing options out of hand because they didn't match an internal set of criteria which no one knew but me if I say straight up "I'd like a RWD car and matching XX criteria" that I'd be saving a lot of peoples time. Whatever you may think of my reasons for wanting what I'd like, I don't think I've been particularly unclear about my requirements.
Thank you very much for the list, that's very helpful. And thanks to everyone else for their contributions.
Caporegime
Oh, ok.
I really want you to buy the Supra but the BMW is the better, more sensible car
I really want you to buy the Supra but the BMW is the better, more sensible car
Caporegime
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