Regular Car Reviews: 1995 BMW E36 M3

Why has a conservative German GT car become the darling of "Stance Culture?" The E36 was meant to refine the tail-happy E30.
Big thanks to designer Ted Stoltz from www.tedstoltz.com for helping out with photography and videography.
But new safety standards and uncooperative US import laws turned the North American M3 into a big lump. Here's what an E36 is used for today (2014): Roll up to a bar after the kitchen is closed, get out of your E36, pick up the car and stuff in in the front of your pants and visually lie to all the 19 year old girls with fake ID's. STANCE NAAAAAATIONNNNN! Bimmer Bro! Bro Bimmer! I scrape my splitter on Second Street. It makes a the ladies want my un-cut meat!

[@brandondannys-menary3678]

"bro bro, my car is so low you can't use it" lol

[@bradleyf2914]

Almost died when I heard that

[@rodneybuckland4140]

+Bradley Fong for me it was bottom out over a poptart

[@sigmaoctantis_nz]

Except these cars are actually surprisingly driveable when low, mine never scrapes.

[@pvtcmyers87]

I fucking died when I heard that!

[@ObeseChess]

I can't believe people are still doing this shit to their cars, it's been like over a decade

[@metaljew4456]

Stancing is for people who didn't pay attention in geometry class.

[@MGR99]

Or... stancing is for people who want to compete in something to do with cars but lack any skill to do so.

[@youtubersoutofcontext309]

Philip Rosenthale I'm offended

[@jamesflores9456]

physics imo

[@Nocturnal_Deity]

Ben W did any of the cars in that show have camber?

[@jessedietrich3365]

SPN 1 yes

[@alexscott8736]

I remember watching this video around 6 years ago when it was released, and thinking this was the first car I liked the look of. I wasn’t into cars yet, wasn’t even driving. Here I am years later with an e36 and an e38 because of you. Thanks rcr

[@Diax1324]

"BOTTOM OUT OVER A POPTART" made me chortle. Heartily.

[@LazerLord10]

"Bottom out over a poptart" is my new reddit flair for the RCR subreddit, because my car has almost the same clearance as a McClaren.

[@AndrewDRoyappa]

McClaren

[@SgtSnazzerino]

Ok.

[@viktorhardindyrvold4234]

Ground clearance of a production car? Weaaak.

[@9a21x]

Okay, they're intakes now, wow that is like the most hilarious thing I've ever seen.

[@bmos02]

Best handling car of the 90's... until you stance it.

[@sigmaoctantis_nz]

It's not exactly stanced.. They handle very well lowered on the right suspension.

[@bmos02]

Sigma Octantis​ Definitely not slammed but much too low for handling. Lowering more than like a 1/4" requires much modification to accommodate the excessively low roll center. The suspension of the e36 has such a good roll center from the factory that lowering more than that will make getting any weight transfer from the chassis very difficult. The best option for any car that sees surfaces rougher than glass and curvier than a straightedge is far better off with a set of adjustable koni struts, square stance tires, and a good set of roll bars.

[@sigmaoctantis_nz]

William Thieme All I know is my E36 is lowered about an inch and it's Koni yellows give me a lot of confidence around corners. I found it easy to control oversteer as well, which happened a lot with my old worn tyres in the wet.

[@bmos02]

Sigma Octantis yeah but how many tens of thousands of miles did your old struts have on them? Experts say that struts tend to lose effectiveness from only 30k miles which means it's an unfair comparison.

[@sigmaoctantis_nz]

William Thieme Not sure, I had a lot of body roll though - too much for my liking.

[@McDylanNuggets]

The fog lights were designed to fall out after a fee years to create intakes and make up for the lost power in the agreed engine. Hahaha

[@twentysided]

i die a little inside every time i see stanced car.

[@dcrypter87]

i get a heart attack every time i see them bottoming out and making sparks... =D

[@MunsterVR]

Nikorasu i jizz a little

[@BigRedtheGinger]

I should stance my 96 Grand Cherokee 4x4. Hellaflush, yo

[@emperorbobarino]

***** Do it! You'd be a god.

[@cammendoza3009]

killing you softly with my stance brings me joy :]

[@irregularrex4004]

I love this review but this things just lowered a bit, far from stanced.

[@WaterLines333]

+Joe Spano And it doesn't look horrible like stanced cars. It just looks lowered.

[@haiiyouu]

+Plymouth Harrison +Joe Spano parody pls

[@MapleLeafAce]

Yeah a true stance is when the tires are bowed outward to get maximum lowering and only one edge of the tire is actually making contact with the ground. And it's bloody stupid.

[@izhlayukio5863]

+MapleLeafAce well, that's extreme camber

[@TDPEquinox]

the rear wheels have some serious camber too.

[@ChargedTTq]

Whatever you do, don't stop doing the weird lines.

[@OldManShoutsAtClouds]

It's 5 years later, you didn't need to worry, it only got more weird. Lol

[@InitiateDee]

@@OldManShoutsAtClouds And then over the next 2 years it's kinda calmed down, but he hasn't given up on the weirdness

[@OldManShoutsAtClouds]

@@InitiateDee Calmed down?! Did you miss the episode where he said "hot dicks" over and over for like 2 minutes? Lol

[@InitiateDee]

@@OldManShoutsAtClouds Well I meant in the recent year mostly it has been tame, the supra video is now 2 years old

[@scarabmex116]

"yo bro my car's so LOW I can't USE IT"

[@danielbaumgartner572]

this really didn't feel like a review of a 1995 m3 e36, more like sombody ranting about stancing for 5 minutes.

[@kruleworld]

+Daniel Baumgartner Yeah, i came here for a review on the E36 and only got 5 and a half minutes of bitching about stanced cars.

[@Nabbehh]

He talked about that for like a minute and addressed the common practice of standing M3s

[@homeofthemad3044]

Good, stancing needs to stop.

[@artistwithouttalent]

You must be new here.

[@Justa318i]

There's going to be a lot of fanboy rage over this video, but as someone who has driven (and is still driving) a 95 M3, this is completely correct Almost frighteningly so.

[@250gtskyline5]

yeah yeah yeah~ stance nation~ yeah bro, bro my car is so low that I can't use it

[@SergeKulyk]

I laughed, but then I remembered I can only go over speed bumps diagonally.

[@250gtskyline5]

i didnt camber my car but still, going over speed bumpers i go through it diagonally

[@SmileyLegoGuy]

Chern Timothy I bought an M3 and I can't get into my driveway with it... It's barely lowered... I feel your pain

[@mini_frank]

my car is so low i can't use it, I used i intentionally

[@heilong79]

Thats not stanced much at all. I was waiting for him to show us a low car with big wheels not realizing he was talking about the M3 in the video which looks like a regular car to me.

[@RR101001]

Chris McEvoy if the wheel rubs when 2 people sit in the back thats stanced

[@behzadrouhani3616]

Chris McEvoy Yeah bro?

[@d0minat0r5411]

Dacrazy-can its slammed, not stanced

[@RR101001]

Dominic Pro potatoe potato

[@d0minat0r5411]

Dacrazy-can there is actually a big difference between lowering a car, and turning the wheels out and ruining the tires

[@ATCRyderX]

Despite that horrendous steering wheel and the even more terrible "stance" - I absolutely love the styling of the E36s!

[@ATCRyderX]

This vid came up on my "Watch It Again" KZbin recommendations w/e it is section. Interestingly enough, I bought a 95 E36 randomly about 2 weeks ago. And Now I'm talking to myself. TTYL, Self.

[@frankyleandri3592]

Aye turn up

[@chripspoe]

Bottom out over a pop tart! lol

[@250gtskyline5]

Report e t

[@vader540is]

is it me; or the car in the video is not even "stanced" the ride height is just a Lil lower then stock... heck then tires are not even stretchd over the rim like " stanced" cars are...idk

[@boheyo]

Oh god you just unwittingly summoned a Stanceomancer who will elaborate at length about the precise differences between stanced, flush, hellaflush, slammed and several other made-up words.

[@EvoSvex]

yes its you

[@phillycheesetake]

That would make everything worse, don't even begin to try and say it wouldn't.

[@PennStylez]

If you can fit your hand in the wheel well, the vehicle is NOT stanced...poor suspension for track use maybe, but NOT stanced!

[@lumitrac]

***** trollin hard, eh fuckstick?

[@gerfall]

That car is nowhere near stanced.

[@DemGamingVideos]

As an M3 though it's still ruined.

[@gerfall]

DemGamingVideos It's really not. The owner still autocrosses without issues.

[@DemGamingVideos]

Gerfall You saw how fucked the steering rack was. Not to mention his tyres wear at an increased rate for no real reason. There is literally no justifiable reason for stance.

[@gerfall]

DemGamingVideos The owner is a redditor and has stated the steering rack has been fixed and the fenders have been rolled. He has owned it fromm 142k-182k miles.

[@DemGamingVideos]

Gerfall I think you're missing the point.

[@dafrank5774]

For some strange reason I love the E36 M3 maybe because its not as shouty as the other M3's it doesn't have huge fenders that draw attention, it's relatively light at just under 3,200 pounds so it handles extremely well, it's steering makes you feel connected to the road you have a good sense of what the car is doing and finally it's underdog of the M3's and even though it is almost 20 years old the slower U.S spec M3 Is still competitive with modern sports cars which I find fucking awesome!

[@carlshneebly7136]

Its my favorite m3 too. I drive an e30, but if I ever have 10,000 to 15.000 grand to blow on a car it would be an e36 m3.

[@jeanmonteiro]

owner of an e36m3 from 98 and i will never sold it :) "not stanced"

[@justmechanicthings]

Jean Monteiro but...stanced is enhanced!

[@tarkitarker0815]

@@carlshneebly7136 import a european version if you do. they are just better in material quality etc.

[@Adeerinheadlights]

Lowered is not stanced. Slammed and slammed with outrages negative camber is stanced. AKA- dat "hella flush lyfe" Maybe that's just my opinion, idk.

[@JKuhnss]

I completely lost it on "BOTTOM OUT ON A POPTART." Almost spit out my drink I laughed so hard

[@oxOsicknessOxo]

Wrong the US E36 M3 had a S50B30US engine producing 240bhp, early euro had S50B30 producing 282bhp and later one (95 and up) had S50B32 producing 321bhp.

[@roybush3339]

He is not kidding about the fog lights falling out. Those things seem to be missing from every e36 I have seen.

[@innout3x3]

One of my fog lights on my 95 was falling out. I velcroed that $hit back on and it's been solid for 5 years.

[@Crushercurtis702]

Is this about the e36 or stanced cars?

[@captainclayman]

Ugh the owner of this car should be ashamed. I feel like I just watched a review of the car owner instead of the car, i don't know a lot about bmw's but i think this would have been a much more positive review if the car hadn't been ruined with stancing and shitty stickers.

[@OddisProductions]

"The engine is wrong!! The engine is wrong!! The engine is wrong!!" Hahahahaha!!...I laughed so hard because this is SO true to the discussion!

[@F_r_a_n_y]

Stance bro! Because I like breaking my back over every bump when driving my civic.

[@BayAreaMike99]

Stance is going to die out like the body kit neon big wing and crazy decals fad of the late 90s and early 2000s

[@peterrollins881]

sadly........."stance lyf" is resurrecting the hidious "predator" body kit and neon fad......seriously........go watch some stance videos. its hilarious.

[@TeChN0JUNKY]

+Peter Rollins Jesus Christ you're right.

[@BayAreaMike99]

+Peter Rollins Why is this a thing and who made it popular

[@Xaxu0]

You can blame it on rocket bunny craze.

[@brockwalls1413]

"Fuck anybody who customizes their car in a way I don't like."

[@petar4onachev]

I drive one of those... its simply addicting. Pure driving pleasure the automatic is definatly something that ruins it!

[@LT1]

I've never heard a negative m3 review before...

[@thenovangelus1]

"Frotting with an N64 controller" That line, sir, just made my day

[@adrian5b]

That's one gorgeous e36 M3.

[@Galf506]

...parked.

[@clayton8or]

still not parked.

[@e36_smr]

not even a real M haha

[@ANDREWSAMY562]

You mean "that's the biggest yellow lemon I've ever seen"

[@texasBMXer]

"Bottom out over a Pop-Tart." Hah! I love it!

[@c0nsci0usness]

bottom out over a poptart rofl

[@CarsnStuff]

haha i stance guys have no logic when it comes to a proper car. Its exactly what he said in the intro " my cars so low i can't use it " this is the perfect simple explanation of stance guys.

[@SmileyLegoGuy]

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS

[@burnzy3210]

are you the owner of the car or something?

[@SmileyLegoGuy]

burnzy3210 No, I am looking to buy one though.

[@burnzy3210]

SmileyLegoGuy why not E46?

[@SmileyLegoGuy]

burnzy3210 Out of my budget. Just bought a '97 M3 sedan yesterday! $5k, 127k miles. Now to get the hang of driving a manual!

[@Suhhhhhhhhhhhhduuuuuuude]

SmileyLegoGuy you can get pre face lift E46's for less than $5k all day. Hell if you just want to get into a BMW you can get a auto sedan for next to nothing. My buddy has bought and sold 2 E46 330Ci both 5 speed. He picked them both up for less than $5k. Buuuuut E36 M3 sedans are super rad, I have an E30 sedan myself and wouldn't have it any other way! And learn to drive stick on a honda or something... ;)

[@slowgan325]

I'm not too big on stance. I like my e36 to be drivable.

[@asianextinction]

u didn't actually drive this car on any roads did you? looks like you just did laps around the parking lot of a park or something

[@Stephen-re4oy]

doesn't matter anyway he drives like a pussy. he's the type of guy to short shift an S2000 and say it makes no power

[@strifelife4003]

this by far is one of their best reviews "bottom out over a pop-tart" XDDDDD

[@cj92akl]

I learned to drive stick on a '94 E36 (325i). I freaking LOVED the clutch in that thing!

[@SuperMisulko]

most of eurocars suck? :D 1.6, 4 cyl golf in 80s had more horsepower than 7,2 liter V8 buick, even today, in 2015 you are not able to make good cars, dont make me laugh.

[@Strongholle]

+Michal Bittner As if an 80's golf had something to do with a 70's 7 liter landyatch. It's like complaining because a tractor doesn't rev to 9000rpm and has solid axles and outdated suspension for corner carving. The 70's landyatchs had a purpose, hauling a hell of a lot of weight smoothly and silently for long distances. Let me tell you, if mileage is not an issue you'd very much rather be travelling in the Buick than in an old golf. A true car guy enjoys a car for what it is or maybe what it's supposed to be but it dosen't make sense to want every car to be a small, nimble sports car.

[@mannymmv]

O.K. Listen up rookies...If your going to lower your car and have wide ass tires...You need to do 2 things. You're going to have to roll your fenders all around and get a PROPER 4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT...And that should take care of most of your drivability problems. Its not Rocket Science Dweebs...Its just common car sense.

[@MullaneyRC]

"Common sense" and "stancing" do not go together.

[@margolo]

If your suspension is right you wont be eating tires with a lowered car. When you lower a car you change the suspension geometry. Slam a car, get camber plates and an alignment. No more tires being eaten. If you rub with passengers in the back, you need to get progressive springs or coilovers. Roll the inside lip of the fender, it isn't hard. A heat gun and a rental roller from harbor freight is quite cheap, and it only takes an hour or two.

[@C0D3A22A22IN]

Hahaha the fog lights falling out randomly for no reason and the computer always telling you something is wrong with the engine are possibly the truest things ever said about this car

[@linglingjr]

Something tells me you had some great Monday nights at TGI Friday's with your literature professor.

[@hellcatdave1]

Stancing is normally done with suspension kits not tires and shit.

[@Jiuwrong]

Unless its a honda.

[@stitch2k1]

The steering rack sounds about right. My parents had a 96 M3 and the rack was amazing, till it shat out. And it was never the same.

[@afrikan1641]

Proper stance is the whole package, not jut massive camber, but engine, proper fitment and cleanliness. That m3 is clean omgurrrrder

[@hectorae86]

The E36 is just such a dull design. The E30 was so much better, it had a freakin soul.

[@MrMagnificentMedia]

:O

[@Jake199343]

hectorae86 E46 beats both.

[@MingusDynastyy]

hectorae86 e39 is still best bmw though

[@trentmeister6001]

e30s are weak and slow. e36 was and still is champ.

[@Ax_the_nomad]

I prefer function over form. And i don't think e36 is made to get lowered.

[@lumitrac]

it has holes in the rockers so you can use a jack at literally any height. it is made to be lowered.

[@hax0r117]

lumitrac Not sure if serious...

[@tubefed420]

MMALifee You must live down south.

[@lumitrac]

tubefed420 I live up in idaho. I do just fine.

[@MMALifee]

New York actually. Rochester. But nice try.

[@SirRiconious]

When people say "modified", I only hear "ruined". Hey bro, check out my ruined 07 WRX.

[@clintlyon]

“Bottom out over a pop-tart” 😂😂💀

[@krocialblack]

Stancing/hellaflushing. A ricers idea of suspension tuning.

[@ihatesigningupforsht]

As an owner of a ''stanced" e36 m3 I enjoyed this video quite a bit. Spot on.

[@ForDemacia83]

"Bottom out over a pop tart" I laughed uncomfortably loud in a half full firestone waiting room

[@leightonhornack5376]

The abusive relationship with your life thing really hits hard 🤣🤣🤣 this mans writing degree done him well

[@MichaelGeishauser]

Hahaha love the PennDOT pothole reference.

[@Themayseffect]

lol Tyler the Creator of the car world lol

[@AsifLicious]

This is one of the nicest E36 I've seen

[@Sunpresso]

"YAY YAY YA! STANCE NATION!!" Fucking died 😂

[@koleasert]

This car wasnt even properly stanced xd

[@Dcc357]

Review a modern Jeep Cherokee lol. Very wacky looking Jeep with a defective 9 speed transmission.

[@horatiohuffnagel7978]

The skinny headlights look so stupid.

[@clayton8or]

ASIAN MODE ACTIVATED

[@fredlachy]

Yeah I get these videos are supposed to be funny...I fell in love with the E36 M3 after going for a highway drive as a passenger in the 286 bhp 3.0L car couldn't believe how smooth and responsive the engine was and the handling! Even the 240bhp US one would be epic as long as you replaced suspension components to keep the handling fresh. Despite what these clowns say a well sorted 20 year old M3 is an epic car.

[@quacktac]

I had never really acknowledged how good looking this car was.

[@andrewm8389]

This car is NOT stanced. I have M3 suspension on my 328i e36. The stock suspension already has the back tires tucking and a small gap in the front. This is barely lowered from stock.

[@AsifLicious]

This is one of the nicest E36 M3s I've ever seen

[@Petrospect]

You've been seeing the wrong M3s.

[@Tony-112]

I agree 100%

[@Froggiethatguy]

Too bad it's stanced

[@KABOBkabob]

except for the stancing bullshit

[@TheNinjabunnyfufu]

oof

[@donttak3]

I remember this is the first RCR video i watched, back then i just bought my first car, it was e36 and a week later saw that video. Funny how 8 years later I still watch RCR. Greetings from Bulgaria.

[@MUSTASCH1O]

I like how the comuter is always telling you you're doing something wrong with the car as if it has a cynically German personality.

[@nolangaudreau]

I owned an E36 M3 and this was hilarious

[@benjamingazdik]

BUT if you're not a moron who likes to "Stance" things, then this is an amazing, fast car that connects driver and car to the road. Great track cars too.

[@nickrustyson8124]

Into it's breaks, which it will.

[@aaronelsen5287]

Stancing isn't so it looks like the concept, it's so it looks more like the race version of the car or what it would look like if there was a race version

[@hax0r117]

I'm a huge E36 fanboi, but this video was pretty funny, especially the part about how the computer always says everything is broken, all the time.

[@Maattttheww]

My e36 has the same steering issue, but it hasn't been modified...

[@Tillhony]

I don't own a e36 but I heard many times that people replace the steering rack with another BMW because you have to turn the wheel too much. Also this is why you see people in the track with e36 going crazy with their wheel when cornering.

[@Maattttheww]

It's not that, I think the steering rack ratio is pretty good. But at 4:30 you can see he takes his hands off the wheel and it doesn't move at all. Also the wheel has become way heavier than it used to be. Something is worn out I figure.

[@Tillhony]

Maattttheww You are right

[@dcrasta]

So you reviewed a worn out M3 and decided all M3's are like that?

[@TheSaltrok]

Hugh Briggs Are you a little special? Can you give me a time in the video were he says "All M3's have broken steering and get stanced"?

[@yusyzygy3512]

Hugh Briggs He never said anything about all M3's. But you know as well as I that alot of e36's are stanced and thus this review is fitting for most of them.

[@dcrasta]

Well, not in my area but I'm not gonna argue about an obviously biased video. Come to SummitPoint you will see a lot of not-stanced M3s . But hey have fun.

[@TheSaltrok]

Hugh Briggs What? You've said this video is biased but you are yet to explain how you came to this conclusion. This isn't a review of an M3, this a review of an M3 that someone painstakingly took the time and money to fuck up. Can you please go be a pilock elsewhere

[@dcrasta]

Well my opinion is just as 'valid' as the person who made this terrible video, and to insult one of my favorite cars to have owned I will voice my opinion, no matter if you agree or disagree. Anyone taking this POS car as an example of an M3 need's their head checked. Go drive a honda or toyota. I guess they had to go find a 'stanced' car to clown, and a 'stanced M3' to clown. Might as well clown the entire 'stanced' community. Seems this video producer is biased against 'stancing' ..

[@asdf12347109]

PLEASE find an E36 M3 that hasn't been ruined and review it. Better yet, S52 M Roadster

[@nycLPplayer]

Loved this one....so true about PA crack

[@foxrower]

I've been amused by your reviews, but you were a little off with this one. That isn't a stanced M3. Suspension has been lowered by an inch yes, but far from stanced. I would know, I own a E36 M3. You're on the money with stancing, but get a stanced car to review when you do it.

[@fmxinsane]

Damn I loved your Miata review,and subscribed you. than I come here.... and.... shitty review

[@ohemgee4419]

he whinin more about how he dislikes stancing rather than n actual review

[@stefanklisarov4053]

how is this review shitty? The guy has class and style. I dig his sarcasm and all those metaphors and absolutely love his "function over form" philosophy. The stance scene is for kids who can not drive.The m3 is a proper driver's car. Loved the video

[@fmxinsane]

Nvm ur too dumb for me to try to explain you. but i leave you with a question, is this car "stanced"?

[@twentysided]

not as much as most ricer cars but yes it is stanced.

[@fmxinsane]

Then you def have no ideia of what stance means. but hey ur on youtube, look it up ;)

[@powersurge001]

The "in addition" bit killed me. Well done.

[@Scarl3t03]

"my car it's so low that i cant use it" You made me fucking laugh.

[@feasttree]

This was perfect.

[@zacharris6299]

You should do the original Taurus SHO.

[@alexmaccity]

I like the rebooting to an earlier version when it didn't have registry errors

[@bahasad]

"scraped my splitter on the second street, makes all the ladies want my uncut meat" ...omg I just died lol.

[@deadflyer1]

i thought stancing required excessive camber also

[@boedhiman]

Since when did lowering a car became equivalent to stancing a car.

[@dmoneydmo]

Lmfao exactly

[@gravitybass]

The difference between "stance guys" and "performance guys" is that the stance guys don't trash the performance guys, and respect their cars just the same. Its about modifying cars, not about how you modify them.

[@gourmetrce]

my man how in the world do you know so many things about so many cars, it just blows me

[@Sekushiwolf]

Stancing is for people who have no true confidence in themselves.

[@gabratte9858]

Sekushiwolf I have no confidence and never would I even consider stancing an e36...

[@khosrow]

German here. If we knew you would do this we would never have exported them to your place. Please understand that this cars are part of our culture and heritage. We don't have a problem with you driving them or even customization to a degree but please show some respect!

[@areitu]

Stancing started with VW fans in Germany, by the way.

[@olbear303]

khosrow lolz

[@blisfizasmr7434]

lol, like its up to you where they export them, all they care about is making money

[@lumitrac]

khosrow you germans love fitment, so thank you for inspiring us americans to slam our cars.

[@MrCwatson3]

khosrow So basically VW is the Honda of the german world?

[@Apomonomenos]

somehow you managed to express the joy of driving manual in a way that sounds so pessimistic

[@sopropplegowo]

"Bottom out over a poptart!" is probably my most used phrase of all time.

[@dh4831]

I'll pick European and Japanese over Americans car all day

[@goclunker]

My 99 e36 m3 is 100% stock minus my uuc corsa exhaust. Stance is stupid

[@irwinhansen3023]

I own a 1995 M3 that I bought in May 1994. It has been everybody's favorite drive for 21 years. It has been largely trouble free and still drives like it was new. It is stock. I have not changed the wheels or otherwise ravaged it. It has abut 130K miles. It was once repainted under factory warranty. It is not too bad on tires as long as I don't pressure it in the cloverleaves. My foglights have not fallen out. I have had trouble with the lower windscreen.and other parts will fly off above certain speeds, say 120 mph. So I say it was well built and is still hanging together. I don't know where you found yours but anyone can ruin a good car through carelessness and neglect.

[@E36Bimmer27]

I believe the U.S. Spec S50B30tu engine actually puts out 240 Hp and 236 ft/ibs torque. I used to own an E36 325i for 3.5 years. Learned quite a bit. Fun cars. 282Hp like you said is the regular Euro version I believe. The M3 Evo with the 6spd gearbox also has 320 hp, but are not in America either. Super rare cars.