OEM non-sport suspension

[318now]

Is the rear suspension on a non-sport OEM 318ti normally "bouncy", or does my suspension just need replacement?

[cali-ti]

i don't remember mine being "bouncy" when i first got it in 1996. sounds like your shocks are probably due to be replaced. how many miles on it?

[aceyx]

Try this:

Place your palms on a rear corner of the car. Give it a nice push downward, and let go. It should rebound (raise back up) quickly, without bobbing or bouncing.

Repeat this on the other corner. If it bounces around, your struts probably need replacing.

[318now]

When I push down in the rear driver's side, the car does bounce up and down 2-3 times, whereas the passenger rear side after a push, rebounds up once, no bobbing. Would you all agree the left side is somewhat defective and should be replaced?

[aceyx]

If there's that much of a difference between the two, I would say that it needs replaced. However, struts should be replaced in pairs.

[John W]

As an interesting side note, the previous owners of my car, who are good friends of mine, purchased it when it was a year old and had 16k miles. The car always bounced around a lot in the back. They took it to the dealership repeatedly and they always told them there was nothing wrong. They finally decided to pull the rear shocks and found that one was totally blown. It was probably just defective, maybe even from new.

[318now]

What do you guys recommend for a strut repacement?