MilesP

Just wanted to note that the fuel economy is not the only reason I want to change. I want to down size to a four cylinder because they are a little cheaper for me to maintain myself and are also easier to work on with the tools/time that I have. A 318is would be perfect. So if anyone wants to buy my 323i for $4500 then please do so I can buy the 318is I have found

Yeah I did see that. I get around 12l/100km city/country and around 9l/100km country. I found a really nice NZ new 318is, Manual here in Christchurch that I would love to buy for $4500 but I would need to sell the 323i to pay for it.

I would like people to voice their opinions here and say what they think would be a fair deal trade wise between the following two cars. My 323i found here >>> http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....showtopic=42396 For this 318i >>> http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=529855583

Hello Bimmersport I am looking to swap my 96' BMW E36 323i in Calypso Red with 170,000kms on the clock for a 318ti or 318is. I am looking for a smaller engine BMW as I am mostly doing city driving these days. This car is one of the best examples of the E36 you will find. Under the car there are no wet spots, there are no leaks from rocker covers and no leaky differential or gearbox seals. The interior is faultless. There are no rips or cracks, no fading or stains, everything right down to the seat belt covers is there. On the exterior the car is almost perfect, there are however two small dints around the size of a 10c coin on the doors, these dints are not near any creases so they would be easy to remove however I simply have not had the time. They are the result of car parks. There is also one scratch around 15cm on the boot lid which is barley noticeable but for a prospective buyer is worth mentioning. The car has a Panasonic CD/AUX/USB headunit with the standard front speakers. In the rear I have imported some E36 speaker adapters which take the standard 4" speakers to a 6" x 9" speaker which dramatically improves the sound quality while looking standard and tidy. The rear speakers are Rockford Fosgate R1693 and depending on the trade I may include them however the car will come with the adapters. I also still have the original BMW speakers for the rear which will be included. One other alteration to the interior that is worth mentioning is the check control unit. This has been removed and has been replaced by the backlit analogue clock. I choose to do this as I think the analogue clock looks much nicer. The car is however fully wired to accept the 11 button check control and it would simply be a matter of plug and play. The car is registered on the road until 2013 and the W.O.F till Feb next year. The car has recently had a full service. This included new spark plugs, fully synthetic 5w-40 oil and ryco filter, new air filter, new fuel filter, new coolant level sensor and a new brake light switch. As well as this the car has just had a full and professional cut and polish which took around 2 hours. Please feel free to contact me 0273444477. EDIT: I forgot to add in that the car comes with all original keys from BMW including the plastic key that is used to replicate and create spares. As well as this the car comes with the original owners manual and I will also include a copy of the Bentley service manual for the E36

This was just sold on here and a lower price???

Yeah, you see I upgraded my speakers because my car had the bottom of the line stereo system. The upgrade for me made a huge difference. But for you, unless you have good 6"x9" speakers that you are installing you will downgrade. Ok. Could you suggest a more tidy and cost effective way to upgrade the rear speakers? I would love to hear it

Oh ok. That's an interesting response. What is your head-unit and your chosen rear speakers?

I don't find that the rears are twice as loud but they certainly balance the audio more then what was there. The standard speakers were probably the worst I have even had in my car. Also yeah +1 on JBL I have heard good things.

I researched the hell out of the speakers that I bought and I honestly couldn't be happier with the choice I made. I bought my speakers from Team Auto Sound and Security. I managed to pick up my speakers for $119 brand new when they normally retail for $190 From the research that I did I can tell you a few things about 6" x 9"s - Firstly do not every pay attention to anything rated in watts that does not say RMS after it. RMS is the power that the speaker can continuously deliver. - Two-way is generally better than three way HOWEVER brands such as Sony, Pioneer and Fusion have prices on their two-way speakers which are around the same as the Alpine, Rockford Fosgate speakers that are three-way. In this case the three way speakers by Alpine and Rockford Fosgate will be better because the brands are better. - An external cross-over is a box which takes the audio signal, splits it between high and low frequencies and then sends the appropriate frequency to the appropriate speaker resulting in a clearer sound. Also here you should note that the internal crossover system on the better brands will be ALOT better than the external system of the cheaper brands and quite often you will find that an expensive speaker with internal crossover will outperform the cheaper with the external crossover. - Brand wise and from my personal experience I have found Pioneer and Sony to be near the bottom of the barrel, Fusion is around the middle and brands such as Alpine and Rockford Fosgate are near the top in terms of sound and build quality. DO NOT even touch the cheap imported brands from Trademe. - Do not just buy the highest rated speakers. I tested around 4 other types of speakers that were rated from 90w RMS to 150w RMS and the end choice I made was my R1693 which are rated at 60w RMS - They way speakers sound on the shelf in the demo setup is nothing like it will sound in your car at all. - It is important to consider if, at any stage in the future you would be wanting to put an amp into the car to run a sub or the rear 6" x 9"s as different 6" x 9's will be needed. Generally ones that can handle more power. In the end any new speakers will sound better than your current Nokia speakers Nick G: What sort of head unit do you have? If I may recommend some speakers for you: http://www.qualitycaraudio.co.nz/index.php...;product_id=483 http://www.qualitycaraudio.co.nz/index.php...;product_id=486 http://www.paulsaudio.co.nz/products?prodid=183 http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/pr...x?itemid=112913

Yup mine were the 4" Nokia type as well.

If I am correct it was a factory option. Some (and I am talking about the late late models) even had 6" x 9" from factory. I say I think it was a factory option as my car is the facelift E36.

The stereo system sounds completely different. There is now more bass, clarity and ALOT more volume. I used Rockford Fosgate R1693 speakers. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to upgrade their E36 sound on a budget. I would say its cheap but I wouldn't call it nasty. The car looks stock and the mounts look tidy

Ah ok my mistake. I haven't had to pay for labor in quite a while so its easy to forget its expensive. He actually approached me when I was at galaxy records and gave me his card. He was a nice guy.

I gave him a call but he was quoting around $200. I have heard as well that he is good but $200 seemed a little much for just a belt and a hose clip.

Hi all. I am after a good mechanic in Christchurch to either give me with and hand or to replace for me the belt on my E36 that drives the power steering pump as I went to get a warranty today but it needs a new belt and there is a very small leak on the hose which will also need to be addressed. PM me or post up here and let me know. Thanks

This guide is to show people how I upgraded the rear speakers in my 1996 E36 323i. The idea for the guide came about because there is very little information showing people how the E36 rear shelf is setup and how it works. This guide will not work with the BMW systems that have the AMP. You will need the following... Speaker adapters: The standard BMW has 4" speakers in the rear shelf. The problem with changing these speakers out for new 4" speakers is that they are not mounted into the chassis through a 4" cut out and 4 screw holes. This is good news for the person wanting to upgrade to larger speakers. The BMW system allowed them to plug and play different speakers in the factory depending on how the car had been specified. In order to maintain the standard appearance of your E36 and not cut into the car at all you will need to buy some adapters which will mimic the adapter design and at the same time allow larger speakers to be fitted. I bought mine from Ebay and they cost me 19 pounds shipped to New Zealand. Speakers: You will need 6" x 9" speakers in order to fit the mounts. These are one of the most common size of speakers you will find in New Zealand, they provide large amounts of bass and clarity due to their size and when compared to the standard speakers they are a massive upgrade. I used some Rockford Fosgate R1693 because they suited my head unit in therms of their quality and their rated performance. I would recommend talking to a car audio professional as to the speakers you will need. Tools: Large Flathead screw driver 10mm socket and small wrench Small Philips screw driver Wire strippers and wire joiners Needle nose pliers Zenith 14g x 22mm Hex Head Screw Step 1: You will first need to remove the rear speakers. Take your flat head screw driver and pry up the rear speaker cover, remove this from the car as shown. Step 2: Unplug the wires that run from the car to the speaker. I did this with a pair of needle nose pliers. Make sure that you do not damage the plug as if you ever want to put the old speakers back in this is required. The plug pictured here has blue wires, however the left hand side will be yellow wires. Step 3: You will now need to remove the speaker from the car. First off remove the two Philips head screws that hold the speakers in place. Now you will need to push the metal retaining clip inwards to the speaker which will release it and allow the speaker to fall into the boot. The clip can be seen in the red circle. Step 4: Take your adapters and your 14g screws and create a thread in the plastic holes where the adapter will be mounted. I had to do this as the adapters came with stupid little bolts instead of screws like the OEM system. This meant that you would need to install the adapter into the car and then install the speaker after which would be difficult. To thread the plastic I left the adapters in the sun for about 30 mins to soften the plastic and then just screwed the 14g screws into the plastic which created the thread needed. Step 5: Install your speakers onto the adapters. Step 6: Insert the speakers and adapter into the original space where the older speakers were. You should do this in the reverse of how the old speakers came out. Once you have the speakers in they will be very loose. At this stage you want to line up the mounting holes and thread your Hex screws into the adapter which will secure the speaker in place. It is important here to make sure that before you place the speaker in the car that you run its wire up through the hole in the rear deck first in order to wire it up. Step 7: Join the wires of the speakers and the cars wiring. The BMW wiring system uses a gray stripe as the positive. Step 8: Replace the covers of the speakers and enjoy your upgraded sound system.

PLEASE PLEASE take care of that car. Don't put a big bore on it, don't put a pod filter on it. PLEASE

Hello Bimmersport For sale depending on the price is my 96' BMW E36 323i in Calypso Red with 166,000kms on the clock. This car is one of the best examples of the E36 you will find for the price. Under the car there are no wet spots, there are no leaks from rocker covers and no leaky differential or gearbox seals. The interior is faultless. There are no rips or cracks, no fading or stains, everything right down to the seat belt covers is there. On the exterior the car is almost perfect, there are however two small dints around the size of a 10c coin on the doors, these dints are not near any creases so they would be easy to remove however I simply have not had the time. They are the result of car parks. There is also one scratch around 15cm on the boot lid which is barley noticeable but for a prospective buyer is worth mentioning. The car has a Panasonic CD/AUX/USB headunit with the standard front speakers. In the rear I have imported some E36 speaker adapters which take the standard 4" speakers to a 6" x 9" speaker which dramatically improves the sound quality while looking standard and tidy. The rear speakers are Rockford Fosgate R1693 and depending on the price that the car sells for I may include them however the car will come with the adapters regardless of price. I also still have the original BMW speakers for the rear which will be included. One other alteration to the interior that is worth mentioning is the check control unit. This has been removed and has been replaced by the backlit analogue clock. I choose to do this as I think the analogue clock looks much nicer. The car is however fully wired to accept the 11 button check control and it would simply be a matter of plug and play. The car is registered on the road until 2013 and the W.O.F will be updated this month. The car has recently had a full service. This included new spark plugs, fully synthetic 5w-40 oil and ryco filter, new air filter, new fuel filter, new coolant level sensor and a new brake light switch. As well as this the car has just had a full and professional cut and polish which took around 2 hours. I am looking for $4500. The car is located in Christchurch. Please feel free to contact me. EDIT: I forgot to add in that the car comes with all original keys from BMW including the plastic key that is used to replicate and create spares. As well as this the car comes with the original owners manual and I will also include a copy of the Bentley service manual for the E36 http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=551260251

I'll trade you a mint condition E36 323i

Hello all. First off the following is what I have. 1996 e36 BMW 323i. Head unit: Panasonic CQ-RX320W http://www.panasoniccaraudio.co.nz/cq-rx320.html Speakers: Standard BMW speakers. I have the system with speakers in the foot well and one mid range speaker in the door. My rear speakers are the standard 4" speakers. I have purchased an adapter from here http://www.ebay.com/itm/170872080267?ssPag...984.m1439.l2649 and it will soon be on its way. I am planning on upgrading to some 6"x9" speakers but I am so unsure where to start. I have read a lot around the internet but I am wanting some solid recommendations from people that have had first hand experience as to their quality and their sound. My budget is around $80-$140. My friend has a second hand pair of Vibe SR69 speakers that he is wanting to sell to me for $100. http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Vibe-SR69-3-Way-6-...eaker-/69736629 I have had no experience with this brand so any insight here would be great. Failing that I would be looking at some thing like this http://www.parallelimported.co.nz/car-audi...9-speakers.html What I am after is not top of the range performance just good quality reasonable sound. I just want a smooth strong bass note. The front speakers are absolutely fine but the system just lacks bass for deep notes. I don't listen to drum and base or anything like that. My taste in music consists of Kings of Leon, The Horrors, Led Zeppelin, Cold Play, The Strokes etc. Keen to see what people think! Thanks in advance

God this is a good looking car. GL with the sale.

Any chance that you have more than one lot? I could be keen as well.

Hello all. I have some light surface scratches on my boot from some one putting a grocery box on the boot then shifting it around. There is one deep scratch but I realise this won't be easy to get out. Also at some stage some body has tried to cut and polish a small area on the roof and they haven't done a great job so you should be able to buff this as well. My question is does anyone know a good panel/paint business here in Christchurch. Preferably one that is not greatly expensive as I am a student

I think he is meaning where can he buy one for the price.

Ah ok. Didn't realise they were worth so little. Here in Christchurch the only place I can seem to find the bits I need charged me $45 for the E36 analogue clock I am happy to go for $50 if anyone is interested in that case. As I said its perfect condition.