I searched ! found not what i was looking for!

I am curious on the costs of a few things for 1999 e36 M3

1. Rear suspension overhaul (RSM among other things)
2. Cooling system (radiator, hoses, water pump, etc)
3. transmission (rebuilt or new)
4. Power steering (Whatever it is that commonly goes wrong)

and any other of those common BMW issues. I think that this would be a good thread for cost referances on common problems, so if you can think of other problems and their cost of repairs, than please, list them here.

Well, since you posted in the Maintenance forum, I'll assume you plan on doing these as DIY projects. Otherwise, you're going to have to factor in the labor cost of these jobs.

1. Rear suspension overhaul
RSMs range from $30 to $100. The repair shop RSMs from JTD are supposed to be very durable but cost effective.

Z3 reinforcement plates fit on the interior of the car (in the trunk) and can provide extra protection from the shock mount from tearing.

Rear trailing arm bushings (RTABs) cost around $35 a pair. That's about it for common failure items. You'll need a RTAB tool or rig something together to install the bushing into the trailing arm.

You can replace the rear shocks at this time, but you'd probably refresh all four suspension dampers at the same time (2 shocks, 2 struts)

2. Cooling system (radiator, hoses, water pump, etc)
A radiator runs around $150 to $200, depending on brand

Upper and lower radiator hoses are right around $20 for the pair

A Geniune BMW waterpump is $70 or thereabouts

An aluminum thermostat housing is $20

3. transmission (rebuilt or new)
By this I assume you mean an automatic, because the manual rarely fails unless the synchronizers are really worn. I have little experience with this, so I'll leave this to others to answer.

4. Power steering (Whatever it is that commonly goes wrong)
There are many failure points.

The first, easiest, and cheapest thing to check are the hoses. You should replace the crappy clamps with regular stainless steel clamps.

If the steering gets progressively harder when it is cold, you probably have a bad rack. Also if there is ATF leaking from the rack boots, you have a bad rack. Racks range from $200 to $500 depending on who remanufactured the rack.

The reservoir may be clogged after years of use. This happens especially if the fluid has not been changed regularly. A new reservoir is around $35. The filter inside the reservoir is not replaceable, so you have to replace the whole thing. Although, I have heard forcing ATF backwards into the reservoir with an air compressor can dislodge some of the particles, if you really don't want to spring for a new one. The steering will have an uneven feel to it if the filter is clogged.

If the steering feels like it is binding only in a specific area on each revolution of the steering wheel, you'll need to replace the universal joint. This IIRC is around $75. I may be wrong on the price though. You can test this theory by lubing the U joint. If the difficulty in steering stops, then the u-joint is bad and will have to be replaced.

The PS pump occasionally goes out. This will cost $275 for a new pump. You will likely hear a groaning sound when the pump is worked its hardest (i.e. at the extremes of rack travel). However, try to work through all of the other problems first.

May get more responses from the m3 forum