1998 TI, What do you guys think?

[pnosker]

Hey,

I'm new here but have been browsing for a few weeks. My dad had a '91 318i and has a '98 M Roadster now and loves both.

I've been looking at a ti for about a month now and my car just crapped out on me (connecting rod bearing).

Here's what I've found:

Local (good) 1998 318ti with 92K miles on it.

Comes with 10-speaker sound system with cassette
aftermarket catback exhaust
vinyl interior
cruise control
powered sunroof
slightly tinted windows (rear)
Manual 5 speed

The side skirts look like they're from the sport model, but as of right now, I'm not entirely sure what the differences are between them.

Everything appeared to be in good shape, the engine compartment was clean and the oil and brake fluid looked to be recently changed. No error lights on or anything of that sort.

Tires have around 45% thread left I think and it is very clean.

The dealer wants $6,500. The car drove very nicely during the test drive and I was impressed. It handled perfectly, probably as good or better than my dad's M Roadster.

What do you guys think? It had a sticker price of $25k in '98 according to the sticker I saw from the original sale. Didn't ask for maintenance records, but my dad was formerly a mechanic and now a PhD'd engineer and he thought it looked good.

Should I take it? I need a car pretty soon and it seems like something I should jump on. The CarFax was clean, 4 owners, no accidents or bodywork.

Also, do you guys recommend me get software/chip to improve performance?

[DustenT]

Vinyl interior? It would be either leather or cloth.

Don't worry about chips or performance parts now, learn to drive the car as is first.

Sounds like a good deal.

[I_Speculate]

Hey pnosker, im in NJ as well. Which 98 is this? Where did you find it? The year and miles sound familiar but I dont recall seeing one for $6500. Ive been looking daily for these and that sounds like a good deal. If you decide to pass it up, let me know, I may take a look.

[pnosker]

Originally Posted by I_Speculate

Hey pnosker, im in NJ as well. Which 98 is this? Where did you find it? The year and miles sound familiar but I dont recall seeing one for $6500. Ive been looking daily for these and that sounds like a good deal. If you decide to pass it up, let me know, I may take a look.

It's listed at a higher price but I got them to go down to $6500 (not supposed to tell... shh!) in Edison, NJ.

I'll let you know if it falls through.


As for the Vinyl, it definately has what's on the Sticker price as "Vinyl" so I'm not sure what to say. Looks like leather, shifter is leather, but apparently it's Vinyl.

Anyone know which version this is (Sport, Active, etc?)

[adempster1]

The price for the specs sounds good to me.

I got my 98Ti back in November when I returned from my Iraq deployment. I found it in the autoshopper.com site. It was listed for $6,900. It had BMW hubcaps, 179,000 miles, interior was near perfect not a stain and the body was near perfect as well. My wife talked the sales man down to $3,700 I could had not done it my self. Well she now has 206K plus miles and has been running fine other than the normal wear and tear.

I forgot to mention, having staked cash on hands can help you get them to lower the price. It worked for the wife.

[Philly]

sounds like a wicked deal to me

i just picked up a 98' base, MINT MINT 157xxx KM's... no cruise, no sunroof, no rims and paid $11k CAD taxes in (9800 before tax), i know it was a little steep but i talked them down $1200.. but they are rare down this way, 5 for sale in all of canada in the autotrader when i was looking around. Id say you have a wicked deal here and if your in the market for a TI, then go for it!

[I_Speculate]

Originally Posted by pnosker

It's listed at a higher price but I got them to go down to $6500 (not supposed to tell... shh!) in Edison, NJ.

I'll let you know if it falls through.


As for the Vinyl, it definately has what's on the Sticker price as "Vinyl" so I'm not sure what to say. Looks like leather, shifter is leather, but apparently it's Vinyl.

Anyone know which version this is (Sport, Active, etc?)

Oh ok, thats the one at European Motorworks right? They have a lot of nice cars there, did you check out anything else? I know they had a couple of 318i's and a 944....

[pnosker]

Originally Posted by I_Speculate

Oh ok, thats the one at European Motorworks right? They have a lot of nice cars there, did you check out anything else? I know they had a couple of 318i's and a 944....

Yeah that's it... well the 318ti's the only in my price range.


The 318i's nice, but not justifiably priced vs the ti. The 944 looks neat, but is an automatic and is probably annoying to work on, and limited in parts availability. The 1989 M3 looks cool too!

Alright guys, the only one to convince now is my mom.

She's concerned that there will be significant reliability problems in the near future (92k miles) of the car which I told her were unfounded. She complained that my last car (1987 Dodge Aries with 74k) needed work all the time and my dad's old 1991 318i's timing belt broke catastrophically ruining the motor.

Can you guys refute this absurd claim? Any specifics and work you guys had done to your 318ti between 90k and 150k that was very expensive or difficult to do? Or unscheduled?

[adempster1]

Mine 98ti had 179K miles when I got her, she now has 206K miles. What has broke on her?
• Cam shaft sensor went at around 181K miles, cost to repair was $375 with part. Now that I learned how to fix things my self I do all my work.
• New clutch, it did not need it but just for peace of mind I put in a new one, clutch kit was $279 at the dealer.
• M thermo went bad and I ran it hot and cracked my radiator. I got a used one for $75.00 with 35K miles and a new thermo from the dealer for $54 and install was so easy for both parts.
• The speedometer goes on and off at times so I think I have more like 215K plus miles and not the 206K it reads.
• I think I have the common cat converter problem; witch produces a rattle but is not bad at this time. A mechanic friend of mine heard it and he thinks is truly a broken internal part in the muffler it self.

This are the only major mechanical work I had to do on her and she runs and feels like she only had 60K miles and not the 206K plus miles she truly has. I hope to get 60K more miles out of her.

I guess is all about how well the car is or was cared for and some good luck.

[myblueTI]

Anybody still looking?? I have a 98 Ti avus blue active package 17 wheels and tires . Tires have one summer on them. Just hit 57k miles only bad thing its an auto.. Good for the Enthuisiast with a wife Car is in Mn

[pnosker]

Ok well.. it seems that here's exactly what I need to argue against:

Mom would rather me get a car with lower mileage (vs 92k) because of worries about reliability (dad's M roadster's back subframe was tearing because of defect, read about it here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=402183), misc problems with other cars, former 1987 Dodge Aries needed work every week it seemed.

She wants me to get a new Hyundai or something like that.

So basically, I need your help convincing her that this BMW will last for years with minimum maintenence (couple of times a year + basic tune ups, oil, brakes, tires, etc.) and is practical for someone about to enter college for a good price of $6.5k.

Can you guys help me out here? Thanks in advance!

[adempster1]

My last 2 cents on this,,, Do what you feel is right for you. You can ask people on how their Ti’s have treated them and you will get different responses. The thing to remember is that a car is a machine and machines may brake on you either new or used. If mom is paying the bill on this deal, you may not have much of a choice. Do what’s best for your situation, all we can do is give you our own personal experience with our Ti.

Best wishes

[madfronter]

Well I bought my 97 ti in 2000 with 48,000 miles on it and it now has 212,000 mile on it. I haven't really had any major problems with my car besides the having to replace parts that need to be replaced after time due to normal wear and tear. For example, over the 6 years of owning my car I replace the clutch, cat, muffler, suspension, wheel bearings front and rear, valve cover gasket, coil pack, spark plugs a couple times, ignition wires, cam position sensor, o2 sensors, thermostat and fuel filter.

[mohaughn]

Originally Posted by pnosker

.

So basically, I need your help convincing her that this BMW will last for years with minimum maintenence (couple of times a year + basic tune ups, oil, brakes, tires, etc.) and is practical for someone about to enter college for a good price of $6.5k.

Can you guys help me out here? Thanks in advance!

Well I think you are overlooking the fact that a lot of things are going to need to be replaced as normal wear and tear in the next few years with a car that has 97k miles on it. These items include-

Radiator, water pump, thermostat
window regulators if they have not already failed.
O2 sensor, prone to fail somewhere around 100k miles
Catalytic converter, starts to rattle and may not pass NOx inspection
If the rear differential has not been serviced, which is usually the case you could have issues with it
clutch
control arms/ball joints
shocks, shock mounts

Not to mention weird eletrical gremlins that will pop up.

I've also had to replace the rear differential gasket and a head gasket on mine. I have 135k miles on my 95.

Also keep in mind that you will need atleast a service 1 if the car has not had one recently which is about 300-400$ and within about 20k miles you will need a service 2, and that is like 400-550$.

It will cost more to maintain than a hyundai. BMW dealers tend to rape people for service, so if you already know a good independent mechanic it will be cheaper but some of the parts listed above are just expensive for OEM.

If you can get complete service records showing some of those items have already been replaced in the recent past it may be a good deal for a college student. Otherwise expect somewhere between 1000-2000$ a year in maintenance costs.

[sublimeti]

dude, just get the ti.....who the heck wants to driva around in a Hyundai?? Take care of the car and learn how to do the simple maintenance\...u mentioned ur dad was a mechanic or engineer? I have driven my ti for about 70k and it has aver 127k on it...i have replaced the clutch, the driveshaft, and one headlight. I change the oil and filter myself...and thats pretty much it. You will end up spending more money on the hyundai if u think about it because u will always want the ti or something nicer than the hyundai in the near near future.....but if u buy the ti...u will stick with it for a longer time.