Hi there,

so I'm looking to purchase a E36 in the next couple of weeks. would love to just have a bit of advice on what to look for and roughly the price I should be looking at paying giving the condition and the age of the car. looking at a 323i and preferably one that has been not modified. also other silly little bits like servicing with BMW parts and running costs . 

Thanks 

The running costs are pretty decent for any BMW, I can log into the BMW owners site (anyone with any BMW can) and get coupons for very reasonably priced routine maintenance, such as oil changes and brakes.  The coupons on the BMW site brings the service costs down to about what a good independent garage would charge, like $200 for a one axle brake job for example.  My BMW is 15 years old and they still give deals for it, I’m guessing they’ll still give the same deals for an E36 too. 
 

The BMW dealer here will push you to take a loaner car for almost any service, it’s just a trick to get you to want to buy that brand new 330i when you come back to pick up your car. It is fun to drive a brand new luxury car for a day for almost no cash though.  
 

Cars with traction control will eat the rear brakes, especially if you like spirited driving.