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**cooljess76** · 02-25-2009, 07:45 PM

I'd say jump on it if it's been well maintained. The fact that it has a bad cat @ 115k would lead me to believe otherwise though. As I'm sure you've found out, OEM BMW cats are pretty pricey. I will say however, it's the only route to go. Especially on the newer OBD2 models. Aftermarket cats generally don't work and fail prematurely. When I say prematurely, I don't mean 50k miles down the road, I mean within a month or two from what I've seen and heard. I'm sure there's a couple aftermarket brands that might work, but from what I've seen, it's hit and miss. I've seen $300+ cats fail just as quickly as a $75 cheapo. Your best bet is to search the forum classified sections for a used OEM cat since junkyards cannot legally sell used cats. You might also try bimmerforums.com's classified section as well. To make things easier, you could use a cat off of any '96+ 318ti, 318 coupe, sedan, vert or Z3 1.9L. You might also want to read the fault codes as it may be something as simple as an o2 sensor. If it says "catalyst inefficiency", it's more than likely the cat though. Best of luck, the 318ti is a great car!

02-25-2009, 07:45 PM	#2
cooljess76 NOBODY F's with the Jesus Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ventura California Posts: 7,824 iTrader: (6) Photo Gallery	I'd say jump on it if it's been well maintained. The fact that it has a bad cat @ 115k would lead me to believe otherwise though. As I'm sure you've found out, OEM BMW cats are pretty pricey. I will say however, it's the only route to go. Especially on the newer OBD2 models. Aftermarket cats generally don't work and fail prematurely. When I say prematurely, I don't mean 50k miles down the road, I mean within a month or two from what I've seen and heard. I'm sure there's a couple aftermarket brands that might work, but from what I've seen, it's hit and miss. I've seen $300+ cats fail just as quickly as a $75 cheapo. Your best bet is to search the forum classified sections for a used OEM cat since junkyards cannot legally sell used cats. You might also try bimmerforums.com's classified section as well. To make things easier, you could use a cat off of any '96+ 318ti, 318 coupe, sedan, vert or Z3 1.9L. You might also want to read the fault codes as it may be something as simple as an o2 sensor. If it says "catalyst inefficiency", it's more than likely the cat though. Best of luck, the 318ti is a great car!