# Sad day - E36 gone



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

After three and a bit years the E36 has gone to pastures new

Enquiry yesterday, viewing and sale today

Gone to a really nice bloke from Ipswich - actually stuck £100 more down than the asking price which I of course refused to accept

Just happy it's gone to someone who will hopefully take it to the next level


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## James Bagguley (Jul 13, 2013)

Its understandable being attached to a cherished car, i know the feeling well.
Im sure you will find something to fill that space on the drive bud :thumb:


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## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

That's a shame but onwards abd upwards. 
Is he on any of the forums?


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Very generous and bizarre to pay more than asking. 

What's next?


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Kerr said:


> Very generous and bizarre to pay more than asking.
> 
> What's next?


Think he was genuinely impressed with the car - it would have been totally wrong to take more Han the asking price

In terms of what's next, wife is saying she wants a convertible but not really sure what, considering a few options:

Audi A4
E46
TT
Crossfire

Only stipulation from oh is that it needs to be at least a 6 pot and 3.0 litre or above - happy to agree to that one

Could spend more than budget but not going over 5.5k

High mileage does not bother me, I always buy on history and condition


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Just having a little glance at Autotrader and spotted this.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201310059133857

A lot of car for that money.


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## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

You must be getting close to a decent Z4 at that budget.......?


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## carl robson (Nov 16, 2011)

A nice e46 330 is what you want like the e36 only slightly better and most of its faults ironed out love my e36 had it 5 yrs now part of the family now


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

Worst thing I ever did, getting rid of my e36 straight six.

E46 FTW, the A4 will bore the pants off you. Crossfire...no man should be seen in a drop top one.

TT would be good, the 3.2 sounds great but they lack space compared to an e46.


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## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

350z is a lovely car they sound good too


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Good shout on the 350Z, neighbour used to have one and had very few issues with it

An E46 is odds on at the moment purely and simply because it ticks so many boxes and there is plenty to choose from

TT V6 convertibles are pretty scarce, would appeal to me but finding one could be difficult


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## msb (Dec 20, 2009)

carl robson said:


> A nice e46 330 is what you want like the e36 only slightly better and most of its faults ironed out love my e36 had it 5 yrs now part of the family now


Hmm possibly but E46's are suffering from tin worm quite badly so not all issues have been cured


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

The only three I have not had the e36 , I was sorry to see my e30 go and I still hanker after another, have a look at the concept GT86 Cabrio in pearlescent white absolutely stunning


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## carl robson (Nov 16, 2011)

msb said:


> Hmm possibly but E46's are suffering from tin worm quite badly so not all issues have been cured


I'll give you that but the first thing I'd do is get the arch liners out clean them off give the arches a good clean then a damn good coating of waxoil only the coupes seem to be the worst effected though :-(


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## davo3587 (May 9, 2012)

Im in the same boat now, its time for me to get rid of my e36, going to miss the lpg also. If i could keep it i would.

You will kick yourself in a few years.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Looking at early Boxsters, I know the weak spots and insurance is stupidly cheap, can get a 3.2S fully comp for less than £300 a year


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

andy665 said:


> Looking at early Boxsters, I know the weak spots and insurance is stupidly cheap, can get a 3.2S fully comp for less than £300 a year


If you aren't scared of potential bills, the Boxter would be my choice.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Kerr said:


> If you aren't scared of potential bills, the Boxter would be my choice.


Fortunately I know the weaknesses, would certainly avoid the 2.5 and if the history is good then they are probably no more of a risk than anything else - certainly I know parts are more expensive - the risk is minimised because OH does no more than 3k a year


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## cbr6fs (Aug 15, 2011)

Tough call finding a cabrio with a entertaining drive.
Boxster ticks all the boxes but as has been said they can prove expensive.
TT is a barge, the V6 is even worse
Crossfire is a shockingly bad car, think of a bad old SLK but with worse build quality and interior
E46 M3 cabrio is shuttle shake city, noticeably duller and more flexy to drive than the coupe, plus there are the known rear sub frame and Vanos problems
350z cabrio is a good call, but again i found it really disappointing after driving the coupe

If it was me i'd buy a E46 M3 coupe and put a bit of money aside for a turbo'd MX5
Tat way you'd have a nice sporty drive daily, with the mx5 for sunny day drives, anything around 240bhp is the sweet spot on a mx5 the extra horses really transform the car.


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## 3dom (Oct 30, 2012)

S2000?
5.5k on an M3 will be a compromise in my experience, so a 330 would be a safer bet. SO many cars to choose from.

Good luck with the search.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

3dom said:


> S2000?
> 5.5k on an M3 will be a compromise in my experience, so a 330 would be a safer bet. SO many cars to choose from.
> 
> Good luck with the search.


Good shout in the S2000.

It doesn't have the displacement and relaxing drive of a big torquey, smooth engine though.


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## 3dom (Oct 30, 2012)

You're right; no torque at all but sharp steering and very pointy which I like and similar in a surprising number of ways to an E36 M3 (I have experience with both cars)

For me the immediacy of the S2000 in terms of the way that it reacts to steering and throttle inputs makes it quite unlike most other cars at this price point. Factor in the reliability and ease of day to day stuff and they make a compelling case.......no torque but they do rev a bit 

To each their own.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

3dom said:


> You're right; no torque at all but sharp steering and very pointy which I like and similar in a surprising number of ways to an E36 M3 (I have experience with both cars)
> 
> For me the immediacy of the S2000 in terms of the way that it reacts to steering and throttle inputs makes it quite unlike most other cars at this price point. Factor in the reliability and ease of day to day stuff and they make a compelling case.......no torque but they do rev a bit
> 
> To each their own.


Yup 100%.

It is a 10/10ths car.

Rag the nuts off it and it rewards you. Being a Honda it will embarrass every other car with reliability.

It just lacks the smoothness and class of a German counterpart.


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## cbr6fs (Aug 15, 2011)

Maybe we're just unlucky but most of my mates who have owned S2k's have had nothing but problems with them.

High oil consumption, jumping out of gears, wheel bearings even a blown engine.

But then another mate has had his for years uses it daily and has had no problems at all.

Horrible cars to drive daily though, the MKI's have snappy oversteer that keeps you on edge as you really need to be on the ball to catch it (MKII's were better)
Worst bit is that bloody motor though, reving the knackers off is great fun, for 5 mins, after that it just gets tiring and frustrating to have to keep the revs up to make any progress.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Top notch dynamics not really the top priority.

Smoothness, bit of torque, decent kit, at least reasonable build quality, ability to tinker with it is always a nice to have

Currently 330 Ci and Boxster 2.7 / 3.2 are favoured options, Boxster is half the price to insure as well


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Fingers crossed a replacement will be secured tomorrow morning


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## gibee (Jul 5, 2013)

Been luckily to have owned a S2000, 350z and Boxster S, alas now have to be a boring family man. I have to say the best all round car was the Boxster S. You can have a lot of fun on it's limits and put a lot more power down pre-apex. The balance was superb 

Having said that, the post 2002 geometry S2000 gave a really rewarding drive. Vtec to Vtec changes are fantastic fun. Still was a bit snappy on the limits. Rear tyres only last 8,000 mile with gentle driving, a track day will take that down to 4,000 miles as those bridgestone S02 get bloody soft when hot. Later ones are probably better as they have the harder bridgestones on. Did though have a gearbox on warranty (1st to 2nd crunched) and set of alloys (corrosion). Oh an they aquaplane on the motorway where most cars wouldn't.

The only downsides of the Boxster was never being let out of junctions and always being told it wasn't a 911 (weird as i wouldn't want a 911 convertible or targa, i'd have the coupe!). 350z is a nice car but not up there with the Honda and Porsche IMHO. The plastic dash, wooden brembo brakes and heavy feel bugged me... all a bit american (no offence meant).

Good luck on your new purchase


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Still looking, 200 mile round trip to see an apparently mint 330 cab - it was ok but needed paintwork and the car was top money.

Narrowed it down to either a 330Ci (head choice) or Boxster S (heart) and upped the budget a bit

Only left field choice is a rather nice Merc CLK 500 that I have stumbled across, definitely a cruiser but a 5.0 V8 appeals


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Boxster or merc, possibly the Boxster being something easier to sell in a few years.


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

andy665 said:


> Still looking, 200 mile round trip to see an apparently mint 330 cab - it was ok but needed paintwork and the car was top money.
> 
> Narrowed it down to either a 330Ci (head choice) or Boxster S (heart) and upped the budget a bit
> 
> Only left field choice is a rather nice Merc CLK 500 that I have stumbled across, definitely a cruiser but a 5.0 V8 appeals


I just don't get the point of the 500s, why would you not get the 55?

Then again, I don't see the purpose of the clks anyways when they're lower powered than the rest of the amgs.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

RisingPower said:


> I just don't get the point of the 500s, why would you not get the 55?
> 
> Then again, I don't see the purpose of the clks anyways when they're lower powered than the rest of the amgs.


Try finding a 55 for 6.5k - not an AMG I'm looking at anyway, just a standard 500, subtle cruiser with a nice noise a bit of go when required


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## RisingPower (Sep 21, 2007)

andy665 said:


> Try finding a 55 for 6.5k - not an AMG I'm looking at anyway, just a standard 500, subtle cruiser with a nice noise a bit of go when required


The running costs, will eclipse any difference in price.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Success - viewed a number of cars this week, E46 330's and M3's but picking this up on Saturday - one drive was it all it took


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Nice colour, 3.2 s with factory sports exhaust I assume ?


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Nice little toy. Enjoy


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

SteveTDCi said:


> Nice colour, 3.2 s with factory sports exhaust I assume ?


Indeed, the sports exhaust was a nice to have as are the factory 18" split rims, needs virtually nothing doing to it - after travelling nearly 1000 miles this week looking at cars I found this 30 miles from my front door - looking forward to collecting on Saturday

Little 'un is wandering round in a daze - "you're tricking me daddy, we haven't got enough pennies for a Porsche" - can't wait to see his face on Saturday morning


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

It's Sod's law you find one on the doorstep, who's more excited and collection, you or the little un


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

SteveTDCi said:


> It's Sod's law you find one on the doorstep, who's more excited and collection, you or the little un


Possibly me, I always look forward to collecting a new to me car but then usually don't enjoy the drive home - start to hear noises, clunks and think of the imminent financial disaster you have just bought


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Lol, I know the feeling


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## gibee (Jul 5, 2013)

Very nice mate, have you taken the engine cover off yet?

Oh welcome to the art of the 'boxster chop' hehe

Btw those rims are much nicer than the stock 's' 17"


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

Good choice, looks more than 5.5-6k has any right to.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

robertdon777 said:


> Good choice, looks more than 5.5-6k has any right to.


It was more than that - increased the budget but I'm more than happy with what I have got


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Do you feel you've made the right decision and are you happy with the car ?


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

andy665 said:


> It was more than that - increased the budget but I'm more than happy with what I have got


Bet its worth it though, they make a great noise when worked.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

robertdon777 said:


> Bet its worth it though, they make a great noise when worked.


Not quite as good as the Alfa but very nice all the same


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