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Originally Posted by Airric13  I also want to note for this forum that I only have 2 years left in school and drive les than 8000 miles per year, so relaistically i will at MOST be putting another 16000 miles on this car before getting a different one. I just think the resale value on this car would be better than my Honda because the Honda appeals to a more specific consumer market than the BMW. |
Statistically, the 318ti has held it's value more than any other 3 series Bimmer of it's era. That being said, they typically sell for more than KBB. The one that you're looking at is a '98 and the mileage is not that high, so you should be able to get a decent amount for it when the time comes. Provided you take good care of it and don't velcro a bunch of ebay garbage on it.
One thing I will disagree with you on though is the comment you made about the Honda being more appealing to a specific consumer market. I beg to differ. Most BMW enthusiast don't give the 318ti the same respect as the average e36 coupe, sedan or vert. For a long time, the 318ti was looked down upon by the typical BMW elitists as being an "entry level" economy car. It wasn't until recently that people have opened up to them and have finally taken a liking to them now that they know how scarce they are in comparison.
For every hundred e36 coupe, sedans and verts you see, you'll be lucky to spot one Ti. The chances of it being a sport(meaning it has the Mtechnik or "///
M" package) is about 50%. The chances of it being a manual, 50%. The chances of it being a sport with a manual even slimmer.
True 318ti enthusiasts search far and wide for the right one. I guess you could say that the 318ti has developed a "cult car" reputation like the BMW e30's and VW Corrado's. The things that set the 318ti apart from the Honda, Toyota and VW compact crowd are it's timeless European styling, superior German engineering designed with the driver in mind, RWD, performance/handling, and the fact that it's a Bimmer.
I've owned 3 of them. I've went as far as Michigan to pick up my baby and now that I've made it the way I want it, I wouldn't trade it for anything. As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, it sucks that the one you're looking at is an automatic. I bet once you take it out on the road and possibly do a few mods to it, you'll fall in love with it and either do a manual conversion or trade it for one with a manual
