E36 Cabriolet-Opinions

rhett325

New member
Gents I am looking to replace my E36 328i with a 328 or 325 cabriolet, do you think for R60 000 i will be able to find a neatish one? Im not shy of mileage and am happy with auto for a drop top.

I will be selling the 328 shortly (this month), is there anyone that is considering selling their cabrio.

All colours except red and green.

Also are the roofs very troublesome?
 

DROP IT - ZN

Active member
rhett325 said:
Gents I am looking to replace my E36 328i with a 328 or 325 cabriolet, do you think for R60 000 i will be able to find a neatish one? Im not shy of mileage and am happy with auto for a drop top.

I will be selling the 328 shortly (this month), is there anyone that is considering selling their cabrio.

All colours except red and green.

Also are the roofs very troublesome?

For 60k you can pick up a decent manual (theres no fun in an auto)

As for the roof, the most common fault is the module either shot or been stolen...roof can open or close manually with ease if the electrics dont work
 

Yuvan

Active member
I have an E36 328i cabriolet manual, its a fun car, beautiful ride and lots of power, having the top down while cruising is absolutely awesome!

Its not really a family car even though it has 4 seats, the boot aint that big and even though having the top down is cool, the ppl in the back might not enjoy it that much...too much wind at the back, unless you get a wind deflector, having that will make it hard for them to get in and out though.

When buying one, apart from the usuall checks to be done, i suggest if the owner doesnt mind, hose the roof at all angles harshly to check if it has any leaks inside, once that is done lift the roof bin LID to see if water has collected in the roof bin, the seals might be gone, this is not too serious but can become annoying on rainy days and can cause rust issues!

Check that the front seats move front else it make it impossible for you to get passengers in the back. Cherries with short skirts dont appreciate that...LOL!!

Good Luck!
 

///MALCOLM325

///Member
Yep R60K is the kind of money verts go for, although I have seen fine examples sell for +/-R80K. The roof is quite strong on these cars if they have been maintained. There are some small items that wear over time and is really cheap to fix. With the help of the internet I replaced most of the nuts/bolts/clips/cables by myself over a weekend (on my ex vert).

+1 on checking the seals, I had issues on the door. Also check when you close the door the window should go up a few millimetres automatically!

For that money I think its alot of car for your money, and there isn't much that compares to it WRT age/value/fun E36 Vert :thumbs:
 

ver328i

Well-known member
Verts are great - Mine is manual. Roofs are generally operational. When i bought mine (Stole mine) the owner told me the roof motor is shot(worked in favor of my negotiations). After about a week of manual operation i found someone had pulled the lever under the back seat and disengaged the motors. simply re-engaged and the rest is history...BTW whats wrong with good 'ol boston green:fencelook:
 

DROP IT - ZN

Active member
Vert328i said:
Verts are great - Mine is manual. Roofs are generally operational. When i bought mine (Stole mine) the owner told me the roof motor is shot(worked in favor of my negotiations). After about a week of manual operation i found someone had pulled the lever under the back seat and disengaged the motors. simply re-engaged and the rest is history...BTW whats wrong with good 'ol boston green:fencelook:

I wish i was that lucky
 

rhett325

New member
Vert328i said:
Verts are great - Mine is manual. Roofs are generally operational. When i bought mine (Stole mine) the owner told me the roof motor is shot(worked in favor of my negotiations). After about a week of manual operation i found someone had pulled the lever under the back seat and disengaged the motors. simply re-engaged and the rest is history...BTW whats wrong with good 'ol boston green:fencelook:

Ah dude i am MASSIVELY supersititious and bar a long story my family believes green cars to be bad luck.

So keen now! Went on gumtree, saw a few, some up into the 100k bracket and other rougher examples around 55k wich is spot on!
 

DROP IT - ZN

Active member
///MALCOLM325 said:
Yep R60K is the kind of money verts go for, although I have seen fine examples sell for +/-R80K. The roof is quite strong on these cars if they have been maintained. There are some small items that wear over time and is really cheap to fix. With the help of the internet I replaced most of the nuts/bolts/clips/cables by myself over a weekend (on my ex vert).

+1 on checking the seals, I had issues on the door. Also check when you close the door the window should go up a few millimetres automatically!

For that money I think its alot of car for your money, and there isn't much that compares to it WRT age/value/fun E36 Vert :thumbs:

+100000000
 

DROP IT - ZN

Active member
Yuvan said:
DROP IT - ZN said:

I wish i was that lucky

What issues have u experienced DROP IT ZN?

I bought my car as a lemon, a really sour one too so basically alot had to be done to get it back in shape....
I was quoted 17k to have a new roof done so for now manual operation works fine
 

///MALCOLM325

///Member
@Drop it - That sounds like a dealer quote, a diagnostic should be able to tell you where the fault is? There are alot of mini switches that control each function and sometimes they fail.
 

DROP IT - ZN

Active member
///MALCOLM325 said:
@Drop it - That sounds like a dealer quote, a diagnostic should be able to tell you where the fault is? There are alot of mini switches that control each function and sometimes they fail.

Its actually from Cabriolet Auto Trimmers they specialise in cabrio tops...
Alot of the components was "stolen" off the car before i got it so theres no module,micro switches etc on the car itself
 

Yuvan

Active member
DROP IT - ZN said:
///MALCOLM325 said:
@Drop it - That sounds like a dealer quote, a diagnostic should be able to tell you where the fault is? There are alot of mini switches that control each function and sometimes they fail.

Its actually from Cabriolet Auto Trimmers they specialise in cabrio tops...
Alot of the components was "stolen" off the car before i got it so theres no module,micro switches etc on the car itself

Eish sorry bru!!! Yeah you about right i was quoted 15K from Wynburg Auto Trimmers, nothing wrong with my roof, i just wanted to know what the damage would be if something went wrong!
 

///MALCOLM325

///Member
Damn thieves :nonono:

Then I guess manual roof works too, if you have already spent on the car perhaps savings towards this roof may be the solution good luck.

Sorry for the for minor thread jack there rhett325.
 

DROP IT - ZN

Active member
///MALCOLM325 said:
Damn thieves :nonono:

Then I guess manual roof works too, if you have already spent on the car perhaps savings towards this roof may be the solution good luck.

Sorry for the for minor thread jack there rhett325.

Lol i have put in way too much on the car already so yeah a new roof is on the cards,sadly in the not so near future...on the same note i might be getting a hard top soon
 
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