m42b32 Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 So I've been looking for a daily driver and after months of considering things that were practical and reasonable... I stumbled upon this! Its a 1999 BMW M3, 5 speed, Alpine white III on a very clean Modena interior. Its got 102k on the clock and I bought it from the second owner! I'll post some pictures of the interior once I get it cleaned up a bit, its pretty dirty in there but overall it is in amazing shape. When I bought it the battery wouldn't hold a charge so I got a new one, but on startup the battery light flickers a little so it might need an alternator as well. I'm planning on doing the cooling system ASAP as well. That and just give it a full service, change all the fluids, etc. Oh...and the check engine light/abs/asc lights are on. Pulled the codes on the check engine light and it looks like the O2 sensors so I will be putting some new ones in before getting it emissions tested. Codes were P0133 (O2 sensor) and P1188 (AFR issue) so they are probably related. If anyone has more info on these that would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 Congrats=) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris3 Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 Nice! This was the one on CL? If so ad looked really tempting and price was good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m42b32 Posted July 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 Nice! This was the one on CL? If so ad looked really tempting and price was good. Yup! For the price I don't think I could've done better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMart Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 Awesome nice pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 Good deal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B C Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 Fine specimen indeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiserRolls Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 God I love alpine white. Nice buy man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsweers89 Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 A day longer and I would have bought it. Was suppose to go look at it on friday. Nice to see a forum member got it. But seems to have more problems then he told me over the phone and the rust scared me. Seeing the rust on the rear quarters and trunk I bet if you pulled off the sidea skirts there would be holes. Shame you paid so much for it. I had him at $3900 offer accepted over the phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasnt m3 Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 Great color combination! Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsbimmer1 Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 Gorgeous car! Sounds like some normal e36 issues, once its sorted that'll be a great car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowleym Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 even liability on one of these things is insane for me or my woman haha. Such a great bang for your buck daily though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m42b32 Posted July 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 A day longer and I would have bought it. Was suppose to go look at it on friday. Nice to see a forum member got it. But seems to have more problems then he told me over the phone and the rust scared me. Seeing the rust on the rear quarters and trunk I bet if you pulled off the sidea skirts there would be holes. Shame you paid so much for it. I had him at $3900 offer accepted over the phone.Not sure what he told you over the phone but its actually in really great shape. The check engine light is an o2 sensor, and the rest of the issues are easy fixes. The rust is nowhere near as much as my old e36 and its actually extremely clean underneath. He really undersold the car when he talked about it. For the price I paid (still super cheap for an m3 given what else is for sale, I paid right about the asking price because he had offers of over that) I'm completely happy. It'll be an awesome year round car and I won't be ruining a mint condition car by driving it year round.Oh yeah, and if it rusts out I've got a great place to put that low mile s52 ] Edit: checked under the side skirts, clean as a whistle! Not a single spot of rust from what I could see DrLeadFoot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m42b32 Posted July 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 Replaced both pre-cat o2 sensors and there is no more rough idle on startup and gas mileage increased from 15 to 22, going to get the codes cleared tomorrow so hopefully it stays off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m42b32 Posted August 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2015 Updates!Had the CEL reset after the new O2 sensors and it has stayed off for about 200 miles of driving. Picked up some super 90's 16x7.5 OZ wheels that clear the brakes for snow tires. And just nabbed a used but apparently good 140A Bosch alternator for cheap to replace my dying valeo 80A unit. AKG was having a sale on RTAB pocket reinforcements so those will get installed eventually as well. The car has been forced into DD duty thanks to Bambi's dad getting in a fight with my e30, so hopefully no new issues pop up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m42b32 Posted August 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Replaced my RSM's with the e46 m3 convertible ones withZ3 reinforcement plates. Drivers side mount was worn but not awful, passenger side had completely failed: Fortunately the sheet metal wasn't cracked/ripped in any way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m42b32 Posted August 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Changed the oil with 10w40 synthetic (they didn't have enough 5w40) and popped in some new spark plugs. Running better than ever! Also, passed emissions this morning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straight6pwr Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 still not sure how bmw f'ed up so bad on those shock towers. glad you caught yours before they failed. my dad's e36 m3 had to have new towers welded in at about 100k miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsbimmer1 Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 still not sure how bmw f'ed up so bad on those shock towers. glad you caught yours before they failed. my dad's e36 m3 had to have new towers welded in at about 100k miles. What blows my mind is they never really fixed it. The e46 had the same problem on the rear shock towers. I'm not sure if any other models suffered the same fate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m42b32 Posted August 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 I think its amazing how easily they fail even when new, and even the upgraded mounts aren't that great. I'm lucky my sheet metal wasn't damaged! It really shows the effects of having computers and simulation software in design work. It allows engineers to easily find the thinnest possible sheet metal and least expensive parts that appease the bean counters and also accomplish the job. I think, in the case of the e36, they went a bit too far in favor of the bean counters in some areas... I repaired my faulty climate control module this morning, following the DIY from Pelican Parts: http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/Borrowed/e36-climate-control-repair.htm I removed and disassembled the climate control module Located, scraped away the varnish, de-soldered, and removed the faulty capacitor (The blue square component) Once the old capacitor was out of the way, I soldered in a 0.47uF tantalum capacitor Got the unit reassembled and it works great now! The AC blows ice cold and the heat is nice and hot. DrLeadFoot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m42b32 Posted September 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Got some good work done on the car over the holiday weekend. Rebuilt the cooling system and did the fan delete mod while I was there. Put in a new radiator, water pump, 80C thermostat, aluminum thermostat housing, lower temp fan switch, hoses, expansion tank, and flushed the coolant. I've put 300 miles on it since Saturday and temps have been great even in the heat and sitting in traffic. I will eventually put an electric fan in after winter. I also upgraded my failing Valeo 80A alternator to a Bosch 140A unit. I probably don't need the extra power, but I got a deal on a junk 140A to use as a core and get the proper pulley, so now I'll have all the power I'll ever need for better lights/stereo/etc. I also replaced the faded M sticker and it makes whole back end look way better Before: After: I got the sticker from http://www.donewhenimdead.com/garage/e36-m3-emblem-stripe-replacement, which is way better than buying a whole new badge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsbimmer1 Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Nice job man! I put the 140a in my e36 when I had it because it was required. The reason for the two options is if you have the ability to have a car phone. Look in the trunk and if you have the phone symbol somewhere on the left (if I remember correctly. The guy I bought my e36 from had just replaced the alternator but put in the 80a in stead of the 140a and it didn't make it very far. m42b32 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i_love_cars Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 awesome. Love the sticker overlay for the badge. That way you don't have to worry about putting a new badge on and not having it line up properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasnt m3 Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 I did the same on my e36. Wish they made them for the oddly sized M badges on my M Roadster, ended up having to buy 3 new emblems to correct the fading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 uh...http://www.donewhenimdead.com/garage/copy-of-z3-m-couperoadster-doorsill-badges YoungCR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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