From: Shehryar_H_Burney_at_trilogy.com
        Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 15:45:10 -0500
        Subject: 97 M3 Splashguard experience

I recently had the Splashguard on my M3 fall off. The Splashguard is the plastic
thing under the engine, behind the front air dam. Anyway, the dealer refused to consider warranty repair, and said that they had never had an instance
where the splashguard was covered by warranty. They charged me around $180 for it.

This is an example of one of the known problem areas with the E36 M3 that the dealers and BMWNA
have grown tired of covering. Generally speaking my impression is that most warranty-related
problems are covered very well and to the complete satisfaction of customers, sometimes
amazingly so. For example, a friend of mine had his transmission replaced under warranty by the
dealer because he felt it "didn't shift right". The few warranty claims that I have had have
been handled very professionally.

However, readers should be aware that there are certain problems that have been so common and
troublesome that it's sometimes hard to get satisfaction. Two examples:

The under body panel behind the front spoiler that is referred to above. It's not a
"splashguard"; it's part of the ducting for the radiator and is a necessary part. It is
attached by four cheesy little screws that barely hold it in place, and it can be broken off
with minimal provocation. In 94 when the E36 M3 was being tested by the car mags, I remember
that Car&Driver noted that they lost two of these panels during their test of the car.

Blowing up the engine by missing a downshift. This happens a lot and it happens to very good
drivers (like John Buffum during One Lap of America a few years ago). There is some problem
with the drivetrain that causes people to miss shifts under certain conditions, mostly on
racetracks. I don't think that any of these are being covered any more. On my car, I took the
following precautionary measures:

Replace the motor mounts and transmission mounts with the motorsport DTM racing type
mounts, which are much firmer. These can be purchased though the motor mounts are very
expensive.

Replace the shifter with a "short shifter" with much less free play in it. This seems to
increase the precision of the shifting action.