Apologies for asking.. I wanna know about a beemer

Hi,
Things to know about the e36 328 in particular;
1) Nickasail issue
BMW fitted nickel alloy liners to the 328 between mid to late 1990s, if low sulpher fuels were used extensively when new this led to a breakdown of the aforementioned liners, and loss of compression, oil excessive oil use etc etc.

Ways to be fairly sure of your block;
1) slight hunting at tick over
2) Look along top of drivers door at tickover, if it is vibrating the car has issues, the 238 in particular should be silk smooth throughout the rev range, lumpyness at tick over is a good indicator of the nic issue.
3) Oil use, unless the car has covered over 200k or been ragged sensless then the oil use should be next to nothing, I covered 9k without using a drop. Look around the exhaust for clues, heavy polishing swirls = evidence removed.
4) Has the car had a replacement engine? If so it should have been a BMW dealer job, and warrenteed safe etc
5) Have BMW do a compression test, they will know what you are looking for when you ask and are very helpful.
6) If all else fails call BMW with the reg no, tell them you have purchased the car, and ask them to check its history, if the service stamps are false this will become quite evedent, all the main dealers are linked via the net, this gives you some peace of mind.

2) Front tie bar bushes give up every 30-40k
2) Rear suspension has been known to give trouble, sit in the back as the car is driven, any clonks = money to spend.

Other than that they are a lovely car, should bring a grin factor to the drive again!

Just expect to be shunned by the rest of the road users, and treated like a lepper by Audi drivers! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/goofy.gif (only kidding!)