I have a lead on a local car. 4 door, 5speed m52. Paint is bad/terrible respray job. Owner replaced HG but didn't buy new head bolts..... :(
Has a ton of codes (misfires, o2 codes, cam position sensor). Sometimes idles and pulls cleanly, other time it misfires and sounds as if its cammed. It uses coolant although the compression is good in all cylinders. Interior isn't terrible but isnt great either.
Worth 1200$ and some time to get it right?
How "right" do you want it? Right enough to drive reliably, or right enough to drive enjoyably?
Problem is you can get a nice E36 325i/328i for $4K-$5K, while it could easily cost $4K in parts plus many weekends of your life to take car of this car's issues. Just sorting out the suspension and cooling system on an E36 can run you a couple grand real quick, and if the car is as neglected as it sounds, you're almost definitely going to be sorting out the suspension and cooling system on top of getting the car to run right...
I spent $6K taking my old E34 535i from "pretty solid" to "really nice" over about a year. My current E36 M3 was in rough shape when the previous owner bought it, and he also spent about $6K over a year or two fixing relatively little things and doing a head gasket...
IMO, a rough E36 is good for parts or a track rat, but if my goal were a clean daily driver I wouldn't bother.
Worth $500. Bad interior, bad engine (hg), bad electrical, bad exterior, etc.
I base this on my shopping for lemons engine donors.
Thank you. No matter what gandolf says.... I will pass.
^This^ I've looked at more than a few e36 M3s that friends were considering. I've never seen one that's cheap that doesn't need it's selling price in freshening.
The down side once it's done is you've got a mechanically perfect 16 year old car that's worth more than you can sell it for unless you find a "grownup" who gets it.
Buy a good one. I bought an E36 that needed a couple of things, and other items broke too. Now, I'm spending a small fortune getting it all fixed and running.
Found, looked at, bought a 850 turbo today. Same coin the guy wanted for the 328 but in 2000% better condition. Obviously not the same car, but for a daily hauler I think I'm going to end out in front.
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