Assuming you have an early model with the sealed beams, they are a great upgrade. If you are replacing OEM ellipsoids on a later model, there is a drop in quality. Still, they cost 1/3 of the price of new OEMs these days. Those same DEPO headlights are sold by a dozen different resellers so you could probably find them slightly cheaper.
Ive seen people talk about issues with the seals and water getting in them, but I’ve had three sets on different cars and it was never a problem. After a couple years the set I’m using now had an issue with one of the wires going into the bulb socket but it wasn’t hard to rewire it. You do need to use a little care when aiming them because the adjusting mechanism is a bit flimsy, but manageable.
They are the most commonly used replacement headlights for E30s. They aren’t quite OEM quality, but they work just fine. If you have functioning OEM ellipsoids and are looking to upgrade, this is not that. If you have the old sealed beam headlights the difference is night and day.
I got mine about 6 months ago, and I love them.
I strongly recommend resealing them. I didn’t have issues with mine initially, but decided to go ahead and do it, considering how hard they have been to find.
I’ve had plastic OE headlights, ZKWs, DJ Autos, and DEPOs in my E36. My favorite setup is my current headlights. They’re DEPO Gen 4 that I opened up and retrofitted some Morimoto FXR 3.0 projectors in. If you’re handy with DIY work this is well worth it. The light output is incredible. Driving on the freeway at night, I light up the road in front of me considerably better than most 2020 and newer vehicles.
I ordered a Depo drivers side unit. It came yesterday and I installed it today. Quality and fit and very good. The bulb out warning light on the dash eventually went out.
I’ve been running depos for like 1.5 -2 months now. They’ve been holding up great. Love them.
Get something OEM-equivalent, DEPO black housing headlights are a popular option. Most brands should be similar enough if you stick to OEM-style, but DEPO is the only brand I personally have experience with.
I currently have on my car a set of depo/helix smoked angel eye headlights. One of the adjusters on the passenger side light has broke. The headlights themselves are in good shape, i would rate them about 7 out of ten. there are some nics in them from the previous owner being a daily driver, that seems to be the only problem minus the broken adjuster mechanism.
In my experience, get the OE ones (Magneti Marelli) or none at all. I bought a Depo one way back when, it looked the same as these pics but the light output was not as good and the level motors were noisy and cheap sounding.
You throw em in the trash. Cuz no e36 deserves cheap headlights
Main problem with depos, is they aren’t always sealed properly, so the headlights will have moister inside.
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