Thinking of buying a 1997 318Ti

[Asharus]

Hi all. I'm thinking about buying a 1997 318Ti 5spd w/ 176k miles. I believe it's the base model since there is no sunroof.

My mechanic has been servicing this car and the owner dropped it off to him and he checked it out. It needed a tune-up, oil change and front brake pads. The only issue is that the OEM radio LED is out (but still works) and the A Pillar plastic or something is sagging?

My mechanic bought it from the guy for 2550 (the KBB excellent private party value for it), plus he performed the oil change, tune up (plugs filters etc) and front brake pads, and he wants 2815 for it. Does this sound fair if the car is in excellent condition like he described it? He is holding it for me and I will be looking at it this weekend.

[roadrash]

I could be wrong, but the lack of a sunroof doesn't necessarily mean that it's a Base model because the sunroof could be deleted on all 3 packages. Do you have any photos, or a VIN? That'll help clarify what options the car has.

But, yeah, $2815 seems like a fair price, even though the mileage is a little high.

The "A" pillar cover is simple to replace, and info on the headliner can be repair by searching this site. Not sure if you'll have much luck with the radio LED without replacing the radio. My '97 suffers from the same "dead LED" issue, but I've just been living with it.

Good luck with the car, I hope it turns out to be in excellent condition!

[Asharus]

I have the VIN, it's WBACG732XVAS98537. I've asked a local forum buddy to run an Autocheck on it for me which I'm still waiting on. My mechanic told me that it does have hubcaps/steel wheels so I'm still pretty sure that it's a base model, plus it has cloth seats.

I'm looking to replace my 1992 525iA w/ 203k miles with this car as my daily driver. From what I hear, the M44 is a solid motor. Does the Ti suffer from bad RSMs like the rest of the E36s?

I'm planning on replacing the headunit, but from what my mechanic told me, you can still see what the radio says if you look at it in a certain angle. If this is the case I will probably just leave it.

[spidertri]

Yeah, the stock RSMs are the same as the other E36s so they can definitely go bad. It's much easier in the ti to access them than in the sedan/coupe though.

I have an active with no sunroof, but if it has steelies, then it probably is a base. My radio LED is also out.

M44 is a great engine for daily driving, it has enough power for the highway and gets great mileage. The only weakness is the same as other E36s, the cooling system. There are a couple of plastic connectors that can break and will cause it to overheat. Otherwise, they are reliable engines.

[jordanmc]

I am quite liking mine.
I did a 250mile round trip yesterday (traffic court in the high desert)
I used half a tank almost to the dot, which puts me at 36.49mpg
I did drive at like 60-70mph for the entire trip since time was not an issue and the countryside out there is amazing.
I really enjoyed the hybrids driving by me at 80 getting under 20mpg

[tiFreak]

do you have cruise control and a 2-button computer next to the radio? they were only available on the active, you could get an active with cloth seats and steelies, for that price I'd say it's a great deal

[Asharus]

I will check if it's got the OBC or cruise on Saturday. If all goes well I will probably take it home as well. Pics to follow.

[Asharus]

Well I checked it out and I didn't see an OBC or cruise, but honestly I forgot to look, LOL. The LED on the mileage is out too but you can see it, as well as the radio. The pillars and the headliner are sagging a little bit, but from what I understand, it's a common problem on these cars.

The spare tire underneath had no air and the cable for the parking brake needed to be adjusted, which he took care of today. The only other thing is that the hood has a bunch of chips, which is acceptable for an 11 Y.O. car.

I ended up purchasing it. I will be able to register it on Monday so I will be taking it home then. It will be staying in my mechanic's garage for now.

I'll take pics sometime in a coming weeks.

[briansol]

you have email.

[tiFreak]

congrats, hope you like it

[Asharus]

Love the car! Unfortunately I think the thermostat is bad. I will have my mechanic change it out, hopefully free of charge.