Help Buying 318iS

[TiTimmah]

Hey,

I've been looking for a cheap, well maintained 318 over the past week or two and came across a 1995 318iS. I am slightly skeptical of the salesman since the place the car is located is out of a small private dealer who owns no more than 30 cars. The cars interior seems to be spotless with nice leather seats, automatic moonroof, power windows, heated seats and sports package. The only thing that has me somewhat troubled is that on the drivers side floor there is an accumulation of a white substance perhaps mold, salt or calcification, i am not sure exactly at this point. Also, the track which the drivers seat moves on is rusted and i am not sure if the car has had water damage tho the interior seems to be in good condition, also the salesman said that is hasnt been (can't trust him though can I). He said that the car was used in the city for driving and was owned by one person. The car has several scratches none deep, with only the paint being chipped off. There are several scratches, the largest consisting of a one the size of an apple, strange comparison but it works. I figure i can use touch up paint to make it less noticeable i guess. The car is being sold for 7,000$ with 76,000 miles on it. The engine seems to be in good shape for the mostpart but it is an automatic and i am worried if the transmission will not last for a long time. My questions are: is it a good buy? would the city driving for 76,000 miles be too much stress for the car? are the scratches too much of a concern along with the substance/rust? is the transmission in jeopardy with high mileage? also how many more miles can i expect to get out of the car?
Thanks,
TiTimmah

[TiTimmah]

I got the carfax back, i guess the car was originally used as a company car for a bank or something then was bought by the small dealer. I asked him how long he had had the car and he said about two weeks, which is a lie, the carfax said that he has owned the car for over and year and a half. Can i trust buying from somebody who has already lied about a simple question? The car has some serious scratches though from parking in the city, if i were to buy hellrot paint from BMW and use it to touch up the scratches would it be horribly noticeably and look bad? I would appreciate it if anyone were to give their two cents on the situation and car in question.
Thanks

[1996 328ti]

I wouldn't be so concerned about scratches or mileage but rust inside the car would have be worried. In fact, any rust would have me worried. I don't think I would want it.

You can probably find a good 318ti for less if you like hatchbacks.

[TiTimmah]

Would the rust mean almost definate water damage? It is located in a strange spot, in the track that the chair moves on. Is it just that this is made of iron and is more likely to rust? So 7,000 is too much for the condition and mileage of the car?

[1996 328ti]

I don't know. I would have someone look at it. The track is also greased.
I have 180K miles on my ti and it does not have any rust anywhere.

[TiTimmah]

Also the car is an automatic since i, only being 17, have yet to learn stick. I've heard the 1.9L 138bhp engine with automatic transmission can be sluggesh and i am worried about the automatic transmission wearing out since stick is manual is known for being much more reliable. At 76,000 miles i am curious to what mileage i could expect out of it being my first car.

[Jeff Spooner]

These cars are so light(even the IS) and power is so little that the tranny has very little stress on it. The rust on the seat tracks is not to uncommon. mostly it comes from a window left down in the rain and then the car is shut up on a hot day. The inside will get extemely wet all over the inside of the windows and interior. we see this in the south a lot.