About to buy yet another mid-90's car...

[foaxaca]

This is my first post to this forum and it's because I'm looking at a 1996 318ti with 88,500 miles. Low miles for the age and it looks like it has been very well taken care of. Can anyone help me identify which model it is (pics attached)? It looks like a very basic model - the "wheels" are actually wheel covers on a standard rim.

From all I have read in this forum, these cars are reliable and last forever if maintained properly. As a sucker for cars from this era, this one looks like a good one to add to my collection except for the fact that I am purchasing it for my oldest daughter who is at school about 300 miles away. It would be a daily driver but mostly about 4 or 5 miles each way to school and about a mile or two to work. It would also include occasional trips home on weekends (5 or 600 hundred miles round trip).

As a regular visitor to forums focusing on my other vehicles, I can say that this group measures up with the best. I look forward to learning and posting.

Current Obsessions...

1994 Mazda RX-7 Twin turbo - HKS cold air intake, HKS catback exhaust, Petit Racing High Flow Cat, Petit Racing Aluminum AST, HKS Turbo Timer, boost and water temp gauges in center dash speaker mount, JDM center console arm rest
Forum Member - rx7club.org

1993 Mercedes Benz 190E 2.6 Sportline LE (1 of 700 manufactured for US market), smoked tail lights, smoked corners, avant garde grille, LED's all around, Alpine head unit, Rockford-Fosgate 4" in front, 5-1/4" in the back, 10" subwoofer, Crunch 2-channel amp and Audiobahn 4-channel amp
Forum Member - 190revolution.net

[cooljess76]

Hello and welcome to the forum. The car that you're looking at is in fact a base model, but a very nice example to say the least. The mileage is great and it looks really clean. The only downside is that it's an automatic, but if it's for your daughter then it's alright.

The weak point of these cars is the cooling systems, they have a lot of plastic parts that tend to fall apart at about 130k. The good thing is that they're cheap to replace and the entire cooling system can be purchased for less than 300 bucks.

I would highly recommend swapping out the cooling system(water pump, thermostat, radiator and plastic coolant lines) as soon as you get the car to prevent catastrophic overheating. If the car overheats for even a minute, it runs a great risk of blowing the headgasket and cracking or warping the head.

Besides that, the original bushings could probably be worn, so you might want to look at that and replace as needed. They're great little solid cars and tons of fun to toss around. Anyway, best of luck on your purchase and again, welcome to 318ti.org!

[foaxaca]

Thanks for the advice. I will be looking closely at what may have already been done to the cooling system. The current owner says he has all of the maintenance records - a good sign if true.

[96cali]

Yours is an early '96 base model (grey skirts). Other early 96's have the '95 M42 oil filter housing IIRC which sometimes leads to confusion when replacing.

Can anyone chime in here and confirm?

[robcarync]

it is a base model...are you sure it is a 96? i thought only 95 models had the grey skirts.

if it is a 96, it is very very early 96...i would have alook at the engine and determine if its a m42 (95) or m44 (96+) or check a vin decode and see what it says. the entrance of the m44 engine marks the start of the 96 model year correct ? im not sure, i honestly get confused by all this stuff as well...

i know when i got my car it was advertised online as a 96 but after further investigation it was really a 95

then there is always confusion and grey areas in regard to manufactured year and model year

as for oil filter housings, i know some 95 tis have the different oil filter housings...not sure if that happened with 96 tis as well...

so basically i didnt confirm anything at all...this ish is confusing...

[dave45056]

Go to realoem.com and type in the last 7 digits of your Vin and end the suspense for us all. That web site is very useful. But for this discussion, it will tell you the production month and engine. Let us know what you find.
By the way, as far as the oil filter is concerned... some late 95 model m42 engines use m44 oil filters, not the other way around.

[96cali]

Originally Posted by dave45056

...as far as the oil filter is concerned... some late 95 model m42 engines use m44 oil filters, not the other way around.

Ah. ok. Thanks for clearing that up. Almost positive some '96s had the gray skirts.