what do you guys think?
 

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...ice=&cardist=5

I'm looking into buying a 318ti as a daily driver/2nd car.. what do everyone think about this one? The only thing I don't like is the fact that it's an automatic but I guess I can deal with it. Opinions?

Not bad. I wonder why it has the pre-facelift front end on it though. It should look like this....The color of the car is moreagrun-metallic, which is green, not blue as stated in the description of the car. If they have most of the maintenance history of the car, i dont think it would be a bad buy. I bought mine with 170k on it for 3700$ with rims, exhaust, and a few other things, unfortunately no maintenance history.

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does this car have the california roof? that opening looks too big to just be a regular sunroof.

I agree with Bluebimma about inquiring on the older style front nose panel and grilles. The Cali top is a nice feature, and the mileage isn't that bad, but the slushbox tranny is a negative feature. Tranny swaps are an expensive and painful process, and IMO aren't worth it. If you want a manual, keep looking until you find one. Settling for an automatic will haunt you for the entire time that you own the car. All in all, it's a nice looking car for a fair price. You might want to have them fix the SRS system before you buy it though.

Edit; yes that's a cali top.

I've been looking at some other '98s and they all have the same front and with the exception of the sport models. Am I missing something?

The kidneys (grills) are squared instead of the newer face-lifted kidneys which are slanted like in the picture of my front end.

oh! I see it now...I didn't catch on to that...thanks

Yes, very nice color combo and the cali roof too! :biggrin:

ok, so yesterday I checked out the car in person and it looks pretty good. A major concern is that the car is a rebuilt title. Thanks to dahamler, I was able to get the carfax on the car. If I remember correctly, the car was crashed in 2005. Overall, I still like it but i've lost some interest and i'm also concerned about the value. How much is this worth? and should I buy it? Any opinions are really appreciated. Thanks.

Since it has been crashed, I would not give them more than $3K. I doubt that they give it to you for that price, have you done a test drive? Make sure that it drives good and that it feels solid.

Technically its a open air roof and not a cali roof since its not a 96. The open roof was an option after 96 but you could only buy the cali package in 96. It looks like a great buy and a really clean car. I really would stay away from an auto but thats just me. I regret buying my auto ti every day.

EDIT: just saw that it has a rebuilt title. Run away, run away now!

I've decided not to waste any of my money on a rebuilt car. Therefore, I would rather put my 5k as a down payment on a brand new 128i coupe. I still have about 8-9 months to change my mind...but i've been considering a 1-series for a while now...

Lol, Im pretty sure if you would have posted that idea before people would have told you to do that in the first place. The ti is great and a really fun car but you cant beat a brand new car with a warrenty and no secrets to hide. But I would start saving for a 135i because you will regret it everyday if you dont.

That car also appears to have the early style side markers on it. I'd guess they put the front clip from another car on it after the wreck instead of ordering new panels.