Buying a 97 318ti but i have a question or 2! please help!

[Sahar67]

this site is amazing! i want to buy a 97 318ti with 68k mileage for $7,500...good deal? of course everyone knows maintenance for a bmw is expensive...but is it really that bad?? i may resell this car in about a year so therefore is anyone able to PLEASE give me an estimate on maintenance for the next year or so...besides oil changed and what not..what about tune ups?? someone told me i need it about every 15k..is that true?? and what about the timing belt-->when do bmw's need to have their timing belt changed? thanks so much for any help, it's greatly appreciated! =D

[jflip2002]

$7500 is fair, especially depending on where you live. Maintanence isnt too bad, assuming you dont get a lemon. I believe timing belts are to be replaced every 20,000 miles... Though Im not 100% sure. Tune-ups arent too bad, about $3 per NGK spark plug, $40 for a set of bosch wires, Assuming youre not going to go hi performance anything

[L84THSKY]

There is no timing belt, and the wires don't get replaced on a regular basis. The mileage is relatively low, that's a good thing. Just change the oil when needed, the rest is minor details.

this site is amazing! i want to buy a 97 318ti with 68k mileage for $7,500...good deal? of course everyone knows maintenance for a bmw is expensive...but is it really that bad?? i may resell this car in about a year so therefore is anyone able to PLEASE give me an estimate on maintenance for the next year or so...besides oil changed and what not..what about tune ups?? someone told me i need it about every 15k..is that true?? and what about the timing belt-->when do bmw's need to have their timing belt changed? thanks so much for any help, it's greatly appreciated! =D

[jflip2002]

No timing belt? That's interesting, I never knew that. I thought I always just neglected to change the one on my e30. Good to know! Lol

[weezer]

Correction about timing belts; there is one, but "Chain-Driven", technically it will last the life of the car. Since the OBD computer regulates spark, timing, etc. only spark plugs need to be replaced at 10k intervals (depending on plugs). Otherwise, everything else is your typical run of the mill maintenace (oil change, air filter, oil filter, fuel filter, etc.). $7500 is a very good deal, I got my '97 with 69K for $7000 when delaers were advertising $8-9K for the same model and year. I would replace the fuel filter, spark wires, radiator flush, transmission flush and have it checked for compression on each cylinders. If these are done and checked out.......you have a nice car. Enjoy and good luck

[robcarync]

yeah, it is a timing chain...the should last a while, but the shop told me id be needing to replace mine in the future...but they did say that is should be the last major repair i have to do...

[twentysixknots]

So, if the timing chain should last the life of the vehicle - how long should the vehicle live? I'm serious here - I am picking up my 98ti (for $7200) tomorrow evening. I'm interested in keeping this car forever - but how long is that?
I am expecting over 250K easy - as long as I keep up with the maintenance.. Heck my brother in law is past that with his Pathfinder.


What's the highest mileage 318ti out there?

[jflip2002]

I went up to about 200k Id imagine with my 1984 318i. The odometer broke, and I didnt feel like buying a new one, so thats a guess. And the only reason why I got a new timing chain, was because I ran the car without oil, and blew a rod lol. $1400 later to rebuild the whole thing, it ran great again.

My 96 TI is at about 146k, and its working fine. If anything gives, it probably wont be the timing chain. Id worry about the tranny more than anything. But Im very paranoid about buying anything automatic. I know Ive ruined a couple automatic transmissions at work in my company car lol. So I will stick to my manual, where I havent messed up a tranny or clutch yet.

Just make sure when you actually do maintenance on your car, you dont go cheap. Dont get cheap $1.00 quarts of oil, cheap $2 oil and fuel filters, or cheap $1.50 autolite or champion spark plugs. If youre going for OEM performance, make sure you get a high quality oil and fuel filter. If you go to jiffy lube or wherever, bring your own filter! It should take $5 or so off your bill anyhow. The filters they use there are incredibly cheap. Also use bosch wires, and NGK plugs, theyre high quality OEM parts. IF youre going high performance....... dont ask me lol.

Our cars are more expensive than most, but you get what you pay for! Hope you enjoy the BMW

[cali-ti]

208k and going strong. keep up with routine maintenance and you'll be fine. i'm doing a lot of "catch up" maintenance right now (pre-emptive strike on the cooling system and belts/pulleys/tensioners). i figure i'll make 400k ... maybe even on my stock clutch.

[twentysixknots]

My 96 TI is at about 146k, and its working fine. If anything gives, it probably wont be the timing chain. Id worry about the tranny more than anything. But Im very paranoid about buying anything automatic. I know Ive ruined a couple automatic transmissions at work in my company car lol. So I will stick to my manual, where I havent messed up a tranny or clutch yet.

Just make sure when you actually do maintenance on your car, you dont go cheap.....

Our cars are more expensive than most, but you get what you pay for! Hope you enjoy the BMW

I'm right with you on the Auto/Std issue - there is more to go wrong there that is dependant on driving habits. I never liked Automatics anyway - I've only bought 5 Speeds since 1991 - I like to feel connected to the drivetrain rather than have a mushy torque converter between my foot and the wheels.

Also, agree on the parts - there is no substitute for quality, I figure if I'm spending my time to do the job then I'm putting in the best parts I can.

Thanks for the info!

[Sahar67]

thanks u guys have been great....but one more thing...do you think the odometor may have been set back? i mean its a 97 with 68k mileage and it was a trade in at a dealership from some 50 yr old woman..what do u think? carfax is clean...i hope im not getting a lemon

[jflip2002]

If carfax is clean, thats a good indication its clean, though not guaranteed. Plenty of people here have said they bought a 95-97 TI with 60-80k miles on it. I dont think thats by any means out of the realm of possibility. Id be more hard up to believe that a 50 year old lady owned it. I think every car that you see on a used car lot was "owned by an old lady" lol. Spend a little bit of cash, and have a mechanic you trust inspect it if youre worried.

[robcarync]

its possible...i got a 95 TI with 65k on it...i did buy it about two years ago though...but it belonged to this couple...it was the guys wifes car...she couldnt stand it because....


when she rolled her windows down, the wind messed up her hair....

so her hubby went out and got her a 2002 bmw convertable...

spoiled anyone?

not like i care...because i got a killer car out of the whole deal!

[twentysixknots]

If carfax is clean, thats a good indication its clean, though not guaranteed. Plenty of people here have said they bought a 95-97 TI with 60-80k miles on it. I dont think thats by any means out of the realm of possibility. Id be more hard up to believe that a 50 year old lady owned it. I think every car that you see on a used car lot was "owned by an old lady" lol. Spend a little bit of cash, and have a mechanic you trust inspect it if youre worried.

The mileage seems totally reasonable - but that's coming from a 35 year old "old man..." 50 ain't that far from me, and I hope I'm driving something as nice as my 98 ti when I'm 50, 60 etc...

At the very least, take a few for a test drive so you know how a good one feels.

-C

[battleship_potemkin]

Sole owner of a '95 ti (M42). Got 112K miles on it and it's still going strong. Due to mostly luck and a little preventive maintanance, costs over these ten years has been minimal.

Personally, I think the whole "high maint. cost" thing is a myth. When people hear that phrase they think $500.00 Ferrari oil changes, not the $5.00 extra you pay for quality oil and oil filters for your BMW.

The only thing I'd worry about is the automatic transmission. The nicely accomodating, free-reving four-banger under the hood deserves the tight five-speed the fine folks at BMW saw fit to make standard equipment on it.

[bbbmw]

I have 108k on mine, and have done very little to it - coolant and brake fluid changes every 2 yrs, and new plugs fuel filter, trans and differential oil change every 40k (who said every 15k?). front brakes about 55k, rears about 80k. Oil change every 3-4k. Don't forget the cabin filters (in the air conditioning ducting) - every year is best.

[usnidc]

Personally, I think the whole "high maint. cost" thing is a myth. When people hear that phrase they think $500.00 Ferrari oil changes, not the $5.00 extra you pay for quality oil and oil filters for your BMW.


Unless you go to the dealer...

If you can change your own oil and and filters and a few other minor preventive maintenance items, they really aren't much worse than other cars, but then I always beleived you get what you pay for in regards to oil, spark plugs, etc... so the cost didn't seem much different to me.