Would you buy an automatic?

[AE86]

I need a car this weekend and I hope it will be a ti. i have a choice between a salvage 1995 318ti (with low miles.. though it is SALVAGE) or an automatic 96' with 120k on it. sure its got tiptronic but its automatic, and most importantly, has a new engine (with 50-70k on it). the previous owner blew the engine at 100,000 miles. should i buy from this guy? how do you blow an engine like that .. and with an automatic. did he downshift the tiptronic too low a gear?

anyways whats the better [risky] buy? salvage 95 or 2nd-engine, automatic, 96.

how big a deal is it to do a 5-speed conversion...

and how big a deal is the difference between "reliable" 95 and "crappy" 96-99 (m42 vs m44).

thanks a lot for feedback

[kirbykirbykirby3]

Lucky you, 2 ti's and this weekend,

a conversion is going to be no picnic, you're going to need to dig into the car's inner sides and nearly take apart everything at the front and replace it, transmission, wiring, lots more.

I would suggest the running one, as it is running so it can be used when you get it, also what's wrong with the salvage? if it's something finicky that can be fixed asap and the price is in the low I would try it (only if you have experience tho).

And tha'ts my .02$

[AE86]

thanks for the feedback.. ya i figured it would be better just to sell the automatic later on when i found a nice 5-speed one.

as for the "running one" .. sorry i forgot to mention that a new motor was swapped in. but the fact remains the owner blew the engine at 100,000 miles. does that happen often on these cars?

do you guys think its better to get a ti with say.. 160k miles but extremely well kept (serviced meticulously like a lot of them are), or a much lower miles ti but with a lazy owner that treats his bimmer like a toyota..

[kirbykirbykirby3]

Well, it takes alot to kill a engine, so there could've been some abuse on it, and I mean alot.

Well, I have personally seen some E36s go over 300K and perform beautifully, so it really does matter how the owner treats and babies it, the 160k would be the best one if you know it has been serviced like a BMW should be, and since it has higher mileage, you can play the "higher mileage" card and take some off the price =P

Any abused BMW will definitely be trouble ahead, especially if it was in the hands of a ricer, lol.

[Storz]

No way in hell

Automatics are boring, especially on a 130hp car

[roadrash]

You need to find out why that engine blew. It could have been from contant abuse, or something as simple as the engine overheating and the driver not noticing until the engine had been damaged. That can happen in mere minutes.

Generally speaking though, I'd buy a well-kept, documented car before one with a quesionable maintenance history.

[AE86]

okay so i bought one

I dont understand why this car even came in automatic X_X the stick is so easy to drive.. just effortless.. and gives you something to do while you wait for it to FINALLY get up to freeway speed