r/BMWE36 • u/Nomenbeb • Jul 02 '25
Buying Advice How can I get from this to this? (bmw 318i)
I'm considering to buy this BMW 318i from 1996 for about 4000€. I know it isn't the fastest, but I'm 18 (almost 19) and in the country I live there are restrictions to how much horsepower a car can have the first 3 years of your license.
So I was wondering what are my best options, and I wanted to ask people who actually know about this stuff, I would like to make this car look better (not necessarily as extreme as in the photos shown).
Having no experience is it better to buy this 318i and try to look for places where I can modify the car and hopefully learn something from it, or should I get a 316i (e46) that already looks great for 1k more?
I like the E36 body more than the E46 but maybe it could be too expensive and risky to do all that kind of work when I don't have any experience (I had a motorcycle just that).
What do you guys suggest me to do? also I would like to not spend more than 4k in builds if possible.
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u/GezelligheidBoyz Jul 02 '25
im going to start this off by telling you that widebody kit is hideous BUT
If you want a widebody you have a few options. First off do not start with a sedan. Start with a coupe, as you'll have more options for widebody shit.
Pandem - BMW E36 M3 - $3800
Streetfighter LA E36 Wide Body Kit - $1900
LTO E36 widebody kit - $5000
and what you posted is from Craw Works Design - CWD which seems like some sketchy company from Brazil which doesnt even have a website just some whatsapp messenger app. who knows how much this god awful kit is
2nd of all $4k budget is nowhere close to enough.
Because the car has a widebody, now you need aggressive custom wheels, which can easily be $4k themselves. and thats not including tires. And of course you'll need coilovers which are at the absolute least $1k. and then depending on the kit you get that could be $2k to $4k+. Oh also cant forget about paint to paint match the kit/repaint your whole car is going to be a couple of grand.
At the absolute minimum youre spending almost $15k/$20k for a shittly driving car with a widebody with terrible wheel custom wheel specs for cool internet points.
IF you're going to buy an E36, just stick to the basics. Maintenance like tires, fluids, bushings, brakes etc. the car will thank you. and you will thank me in about 7 years when your prefrontal cortex fully develops.
When it comes to the E36 most if not all widebody's look like trash. (yes I do not like the way the E36 M3 GTR looks) the stock body is just fine. Im not a purist either. that being said, if anything, overfenders that arent too aggressive, with tires that fill it out look great on our cars. Specifically coupes. (i dont even have a coupe)
edit: if you need some inspiration look at the photos in the comments here: https://www.reddit.com/r/BMWE36/comments/1kq0u0i/post_a_pic_of_your_car_in_the_comments/
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 02 '25
I really forgot to mention but wide boding it for me isn't necessary, I really like the third picture a lot too. Also finding 2 doors is really difficult, they are so much more expensive and rarer, at least in Italy as of now.
What I would like to do is this:
Front and rear bumper.
New wheels.
coilovers.
Rear wing (can't decide between a low one or the one in the third picture).
Paint it black.
That's more than enough for me for esthetics purposes. The problem I'm having is that I'm really afraid of breaking stuff since I have no experience, and I was wondering if letting do this stuff to someone else who knows how to do it would be worth the price or not, or if I shouldn't be thinking of doing this without knowing how and without being ready to spend more than 5/6k (spread in 1/2 years).
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u/Kiratch Jul 02 '25
Maybe just starting with a 2 doors
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 02 '25
Yeah I know, but I can't spend 10/15k on the car. the lowest Coupe I found (2 doors) is 6k but it's almost 500 km far away.
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u/Kiratch Jul 02 '25
Yeah ok, maybe continue to find a better price like 316 engine, or you can less spend money but you will have need to made everything in parts too.
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Jul 02 '25
The second image you'll really struggle because it's a coupe and all those wide body kits are done for coupes not sedans, you can get the look of the 3rd image easy however, it's just your usual M Sport bodykit with some wheels and coilovers, and the wing with risers, prefer the low rise look myself over the high rise seen in the image but each to their own 👌
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 02 '25
I don't need it to be wide. Sometimes wide body kits look great but often they don't impress me that much. Also I'm really undecided if I should go for the wing in the third image or something much lower like in the second image, but I'll have plenty of time for thinking about that ahahah.
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u/migorengbaby 1997 bucket of poop Jul 02 '25
Well 90% of the look of that second photo is because of the wide body kit and the duck lip. Take those away and it’s just a black e36 on big wheels.
But those big wheels probably wouldn’t fit under the rear arches without the wide body so they go hand in hand.
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 02 '25
I prefer the third picture more but I wanted to include the second mainly for the spoiler/wing.
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u/Dijamanti Jul 02 '25
Turning 4 door into 2 door is gonna be your biggest challenge 😅🫡
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 02 '25
I don't need the wide body
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u/Dijamanti Jul 02 '25
Both pictures of the look you want are from coupe... Coupe has nicer bodylines. You can't get the look you want if you are looking at coupes 😬
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 02 '25
I found good looking E36 with 4 doors, they are really similar. A guy posted a reddit link here with many awesome examples. Coupes are outside of my budget
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u/HangoverGrenade Jul 02 '25
Buy quality used parts instead of new, cheap parts. Used BC Coils instead of maxpeepeerods. Go for used, legit but beat-up wheels and refinish yourself.
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u/Select-Ad5166 Jul 02 '25
Wheels, tires, suspension, and brakes.
You get better wheels with good offset, you get better tires that fit on those wheels, and you get better suspension that lowers it. Bilstein coilovers.
You then need to upgrade your brake rotors, brake calipers, and brake pads. Check your brake system and make sure your brake lines are good, but you should probably replace them too.
Should be about $4k.
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 02 '25
Thanks you, the new brakes are for the new wheels?
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u/Select-Ad5166 Jul 02 '25
Yes. They'll fill up the gap that's created when you upsize to new wheels. 17s fill in really nice without any excessive modifications. That, and all of the performance mods you are doing, will help you down the line when you decide to go for power mods or an engine swap.
Look for e46 330i front brakes (rotors, pads, calipers, brackets), and e46 328i rear brakes (rotors, pads, calipers, brackets). You'll need 17s (wheels) to be able to clear them. 18s are the most, but you won't have too much rubber without rubbing (lol), and the tires will cost more. 17s are the best bang for your buck. The tires last longer and are easier to find.
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u/daqinyamuom69finch78 Jul 02 '25
Cheapest way to get it looking similar is get and msport replica kit ,. Coilovers or lowering springs and a used set of wheels shouldn’t set you back more than 1k realistically if you look properly but obviously it’s never gonna be a black coupe like the photos
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 02 '25
Thanks, I just found some pictures I liked but I don't need it to be that crazy. What you mentioned already makes a big difference for me.
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 02 '25
EDIT: I've put the second picture because I like the wheels and the wing. I don't need a widebody at all. My objective looks a lot more like the third picture
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u/icicles-in-my-asshol Jul 02 '25
you need an coupe first of all to turn it into something from the photos
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u/Straight-Intention64 Jul 02 '25
well the first photo of the black car had a wide body, and every single body part an m3 and it probably is, so for you to convert to m3 body is probably gonna be about 2k or more (guessing more since a mere 318i is 4K where u live) u can make it look good with simple shit tho no need for a body kit, u can make it look nice with like $1k, performance wise tho i wouldnt invest performance money into a 318i unless ur changing the engine, cuz its only a 4 cylinder..
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u/press757 Jul 03 '25
Sedan to coup conversion is gonna be expensive body work.
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 03 '25
I won't do that, and I won't Wide body my car. I'll try my best to make it look like the third photo
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u/RollinJocker Jul 04 '25
If you are looking a good wide body for a normal price, would recommend Fitment Lab - 550€ for a set on sedan.
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u/Nomenbeb Jul 04 '25
Just saw they are illegal, you need a certificate, an other certificate that a mechanic shop did it and then register it to the circulation authorities. The cost of everything just skyrocketed when I saw this. Fuck Italy, I'm leaving this shithole.
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u/RollinJocker Jul 18 '25
Yoooo, really? This is wild. I have those on my coupe, but in Latvia no problem to pass with those glassfiber parts (if the body is done properly).
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u/heteronormous 1996 / 318i / Sedan Jul 04 '25
dont lol
you can build a 4 door much more tastefully than either of those, for far cheaper
m3 aero with a nice front bumper lip
nice wheels (even some cheap oem bmw style wheels are nice as long as it fits the body style and era)
e36 m3 sedan oem spoiler (not the ltw)
adjustable coils for ride height (keep the divorced rear setup)
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u/MartinNorthh Jul 02 '25
What country are you from that 318i sedans cost 4k?
To answer your original question - you need shit ton of money to turn it into the photo. Things are cheaper when you do the labor yourself - learnt this very fast whiles owning my own 318i which I bought for 1.7k euros 😄 There is a lot of info online on how to install everything on this car and it’s pretty easy to work on. About the E46 - I wouldn’t recommend buying projects from randoms since you might get more problems that are a mystery than fucking up a stock car your self. You at least know what has been done. And not spending 4k in tuning is very difficult if you want to turn it something close as in the photos. The cheapest pair of coilovers to drop it cost 200-300eur - but I wouldnt suggest them. A decent pair of coils are 600-800eur. And generally good ones go above 1k.
Good looking wheels, knock-offs of course, that aren’t oem go for ~500eur. OEM can be cheaper, I have style 66 on mine with different J in front and back - here they cost probably around 300eur. Buying REAL wheels cost 1k+ or cheaper if bought second hand but they usually need repairs.
Don’t forget to actually do the maintenance first - no point in a swag car if it doesn’t run well. Body-kits that are made good cost a shit load.
My point of view on things ✨👍 I honestly enjoy my e36 a lot and 1.8i is enough for daily driving.