BMW E36 Forum

Hey guys,

I recently purchased a BMW 318 for myself after graduating university.

Funny thing is, after seeing my Bimmer, my younger cousin fell in love with it and also wants one.

He is 18 and just recently received his license.

Now I don't want you to think he is one of those guys who just want to buy a fast car and race around town, he's a smart kid who got accepted into a respectable university (University of British Columbia)
and he is just looking for his first car for his daily 1 hour commute to and from school.

Now neither him or I know very much about BMW's or cars in general haha, so we were just wondering whether an E36 318/320/325 would be a good first car?

He does not care about speed and just wants a reliable, economical car that won't hurt his wallet too much.

So the question is:

Should he get an e36 or go for japanese?

Keep in mind he is paying for everything; car/gas/insurance/maintenance/etc.

Thanks!

If he's just commuting everyday there is no problem with a 318. That being said, even for people who drive nicely it's still nice to have a bit extra acceleration when you need it. I think it's better if you find him a car he's happy with and don't pay too much attention to the engine size.

I'm in Australia but I can't imagine the following answers will be too different.
BMW or Japanese ey?
Japanese cars always seem to be cheaper to fix. I have a supra 9 years older than my Bimmer and the parts are like half the price.
With there will be an extra cost because of the BMW badge on it... even though they are old cars now. I think it has to do with higher risk of theft and such.
Compared to newer cars the E36's have rather average fuel consumption.

Don't take this too seriously but a corolla is cheap, reliable and economical... so there has to be some reason he want's a BMW.

E36's are great cars and if he's fallen in love with them thats a good start.
I bought my e36 328i as my first car and don't regret it for a minute.

i am getting a 2 door and selling my 316 evary things been done on it some pics on here its on evelbay at the moment blatant plug

Haha...my cousin hates corollas.
He's basically looking for something reliable/economical and classy at the same time.

How much is the difference between the 318/325/328 in terms of fuel consumption?
I assume parts and maintenance costs are the same?

Thanks!

Hey i got a bmw 97 318i for sale with 112,000 miles black on black if interested i can send you pictures and info on it.

Hi, that depends on your location. Are you anywhere near Vancouver, B.C., Canada?

And the car has to be an automatic. Cousin's parents aren't letting him drive a manual for a first car

Thanks

Its auto but not located in vancouver Canada tho im in NY area although their is shipping if you have anyone near to look at the car for you

I'm curious as to what positives his parents see in making him get a auto?

Not sure I'd be calling E36's reliable either. I have had good luck with mine but many others haven't.

As far as fuel economy I don't think the larger engines drink that much more. That being said I have no proof just what I have seen of mine and others cars.

Yep, maintenance costs are pretty much the same... it'll cost ya an arm and both legs
Depends on your/his school of though. Some go the "BMW way" and only ever let BMW service it, others use normal mechanics or go DIY which are both a bit cheaper.

@SyL3nTFoRcE:
No thanks, cousin only wants local ones, doesn't want to deal with importing it.

@VMZ:
His parents don't want him driving manual for a first car because they're paranoid a manual transmission will make him want to race

As for maintenance, is it possible for my cousin & I (assuming he goes through on his BMW purchase) , who both know completely nothing about maintaining cars, to be able to DIY or should it be best left for the mechanics?

Thanks!

He'll still end up wanting to race an auto

As long as both of you have a reasonable head on your shoulder and you're willing to learn I don't see why not. There is lots of DIY articles on the net for the common problems that occur in our cars and if you get a copy of the Bentley 3 series service manual it will walk you through most fixes.
It will still probably need to be taken to a mechanic occasionally for things that you can't work out or are complicated to the point you two don't feel comfortable doing it yourselves.