How is it owning a BMW 318ti ? Hi folks .. BMW Newbie here .... So I am looking to buy a used BMW 318ti in the spring ...only produced for North America from 95 to 98 ....what is the best year to purchase ? Any major issues or quirks I should be aware of when owning one ? Any and all info is much appreciated .... Thanks 🙏 |
Welcome! The biggest issue is always cooling system. If you're able to find a 95 model, it will most likely have the M42 OBD1 motor. This motor was designed without a plastic cooling pipe that is failure prone on the M44 cars. Also, M42 motors have forged internals vs cast, so there's that. 99s are rare and were all sport models, so that's something to consider. I have a california roof model which can be fun sometimes but also has its own problems. These cars are easy to work on and fun to drive, you'll have a good time either way. |
Remember, its a 25 year old car. Any year have issues just as any other E36. Headliner, window regulator, anything plastic is cracked. Anything made from rubber, will crack. Personally I like OBD-II over OBD-I. Still, a fun car to own if you are willing to do some of the repairs on your own. |
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Im not afraid to do repairs on my own ....:wink: |
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Interesting ......Did a little research and came up with this ...Rare indeed ...only 656 1999 318ti's made it to the USA https://oppositelock.kinja.com/1999-...iew-1692222252 |
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Of my three one is a 99 and has the 3 spoke M wheel. Not much change from my 96 or 97 though. |
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in re: "....Did a little research and came up with this ...Rare indeed ...only 656 1999 318ti's made it to the USA https://oppositelock.kinja.com/1999-...iew-1692222252" here's a quote from that article: "Most people didn't seem to like the idea of a cheap BMW and a lot of others thought it tarnished the image of BMW." The 318 was an example in my marketing class as a blunder because the concept of a performance economy car doesn't really have a market. In addition to the statement above, people in the market for performance are willing to sacrifice economy while people in the market for economy are willing to sacrifice performance. You couldn't develop more of an oxymoron if you tried. |
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I owned a Civic at one point and a used Suzuki Samuari ..THAT was a Dog ...LOL ...but i had some good ones in there ...i loved my 1985 Mazda RX7 GSL-SE .... |
in re: " I drove a Civic and a Golf, and nothing came close. For me, it was the perfect vehicle." -paul somlo likewise, man... i had a rabbit in highschool, a gti in college and envied the kids whose parents got them new ti's while i was eating ramen. To drive a 4cyl hatchback with twice the hp of my rabbit that gets 30mpg and is same color makes me feel whole. *grin* "I wanted a hatchback without much compromise" is the perfect way to describe how I felt when I decided to get my first ti. I had to trailer it home and it took a couple months of acquiring parts all over the world to rebuild the intake. The last owner got impatient chasing vacuum leaks and literally broke off the lower intake mounting bracket. I had to commit to figuring it all out because the car was and is exactly what I wanted. A white 5sp first gen obd is like a unicorn. They're usually green or purple, newer and almost always automatic out here it seems. Driving it makes me giddy. I can't say that about any of the other 30 cars i've owned. It's a go-kart that can transport outdoor gear like mini truck. how cool is that. cmon. |
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