Advice on buying? Price? High miles,How long lived are these cars? Weak points?

[Nick E.]

Hello there. I'm looking at a 1995 BMW 318ti. 152,000 miles. Good
interior and a few paint chips in the nose from driving, I think it
is the base model. Not sport.

1. What do think it is worth?

2. What are its weak points? What to look for when evaluating it
mechanicly?

3. How long lived are these cars? I come from a Volvo background
(learned to drive in one) where 250,000 + with regular maintance is
the norm. Can I expect 100,000 more miles with out head gaskets,
valve jobs??

Thanks for your in put. I really like the car, just don't know its
pros and cons.

[John W]

I just bought a ti myself a couple of months ago and based upon what I have read here and elsewhere, they are generally reliable and durable cars. A weak point that immediately comes to mind are the power window regulators. Crappy design, it's probably already been fixed and re-fixed several times on both doors in the car you're looking at. Make sure the windows go up and down as they're supposed to. Try them several times in a row to make sure they don't come off track.

Front ball joints and rear upper shock mounts are other high-wear items. Stronger replacement parts can be purchased. A lot people seem to go through front wheel bearings at a moderate rate as well. Steering racks are generally not the problem on E36s that they were on E30s, but I have heard of failures, so check this out carefully. As with any car with 150k miles, suspension bushings and other suspension pieces are probably starting to exhibit some wear and tear.

I would not "expect" any car to go 250k miles between top-end rebuilds. That said, many do. As durable as Volvos are, even not all of those go that long without needing some work. My '80 Volvo GT, for example (which I owned 12 years ago), with a B21 needed a valve job and head gasket at 140k miles despite regular maintenance. By 170k miles, the main seals had to be replaced, which I understand is not uncommon.

The '95 ti should have the M42 engine, which is quite durable. Make sure it has had regular oil and coolant changes. Have a qualified mechanic take a close look. These engines are capable of living long lives with careful attention, but that is no guarantee they won't need some work at some point as the years and the miles go by. You'll likely see wear in the cylinder head before the bottom end. Make sure the water pump and/or radiator are not leaking. One nice thing about this motor, in my opinion, is that it has a timing chain instead of a timing belt.

It's just my opinion, but I wouldn't pay more than $5k. And I wouldn't pay that much unless the car is super clean, has never been in an accident, has all the paper work, has been maintained very carefully, looks and drives like a much newer car, and checks out with no or only a few very minor problems after a mechanic's close inspection.

[robcarync]

i have a 95 ti with 92k on it...and it constantly needs repairs or some sort of maintainance

its annoying...but i love the car...

and my theory is that if the car has already made it to 152,000 miles, you wont have problems, or any possible problematic parts have already been replaced

most tis dont have the amount of problems i have as the car gets older...i just got the unlucky one that breaks all the time

[CirrusSR22]

Yeah, you must just be unlucky. My ti has been almost perfect!

Driving back from the used car dealer my CEL came on. It needed a new cam position sensor. Still ran perfect though. $85 online, installed myself.

Other than that, absolutely nothing has failed :)

[AlaskaBlue]

I have 143,000 miles and I havent hardly had to replace a thing. The only major thing I have replaced from wear and tear is the brake rotors and pads.

[Donspqr]

I have a 1996 ti and hit 100,000 today. Have had absolutely NO PROBLEMS with this car. But at 60,000 I did preventive maintenance- ie replace all belts, hoses, radiator, thermostat, water pump and timing chain (even though dealer said replacement of chain was overkill and not needed). Still rides and looks new.

[BMWDRIFTER]

I have seen 285K on a 93 318ti with no major engine work. Regular oil changes and good quality oil are the key.