Mile markers on the 318ti?

[GrantWarden]

Hey guys! I'll take a moment to introduce myself as it's my first thread here. I'm Grant, I'm 16 years old, I live in San Diego CA and I'm looking for a 318ti. It'll be my first car and I can't wait till I find one. I have a few questions left I couldn't answer with the searchbar:
1: At how many miles would you say I should walk away? I was talking to a guy who had 191k miles and he wanted 3800 bucks. Just a limit as to when the cars are just not worth it.
2: What is the best way to find these cars? I've been able to find a few, but they're either out of my price range (6k plus) or they have 170k+ miles.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[JDantuono]

Be patient. You can find a clean one that's been well maintained by an enthusiast for <$4g
Mileage doesn't necessarily mean "bad. Just get a PPI or go over it really well - read up on what to look out for. Also, do a compression test when you go to see the car to give you an idea of the engine's health.

[zoner]

^^^ What he said.

Also- these cars, when taken care of, have plenty of life left in them beyond 190k miles, you just need to know what has and has not been replaced in that 190k miles. I'd rather buy a 200k mile car that was well taken care of and regularly serviced than a 100k mile car that was beat to hell.

Speaking of 100k mile cars, I found this one in your area. It does, however, seem a little suspect that a '99 ti (one of the rarest) in "perfect condition" with under 100k on the clock is still for sale a week later for $3500. Something doesn't sound right about that...

[JDantuono]

Nice find Zoner,

It's probably an auto trans & the blurry pics already give me a bad impression about the owner... But it might be worth checking out, Op.

[GrantWarden]

Thanks so much you guys! I'm going to check out a 96 318ti in black/tan 5spd manual and 130k miles. I'm doing a compression test and looking through it really closely. I called the lady with the link one of you posted but it sold really fast. Thanks again!