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ajs_in_Mn · 01-22-2009, 11:41 PM

Billabong, all of this is only my opinion. I've been driving Bimmers for about fifteen years, though.

My ti is the first Bimmer that I bought with fewer than 150k on it, and it had 116k. Maintained, a BMW goes a very long time. The keyword is 'maintained'. My mom is still driving my '86, with about 250k on it. Buying a car with detailed repair records is usually a safer bet. If the seller is a member of the BMW Car Club of America, that is often a help.

BMW automatics are famous for early failure. Part of this is due to the way that the maintenance schedule changed/was gutted when scheduled maintenance became bundled in the purchase price, so the automatics rarely saw fluid changes. And tended to die at around ~120k.
Because of that, and the fact that the auto saps power, you want a manual anyway. And it's more fun. My opinion, only reason to drive an automatic would be a missing or non-working left leg.
The ti is part of the E36 platform, which is famous for a crappy cooling system. Look especially closely for coolant leaks.

Beginning in MY '96, the engine switched from the M42 to the M44. One of the disadvantages of that is that the M44, being an OBD2 compliant motor, is allegedly harder to diagnose. On the M44 motors, a very common failure is the secondary air pump, which is often (though by no means always) the source of a Check Engine light on a used car.

If you look around on this site, you'll find a wealth of information about the cars. In a nutshell, they came in 3 trim lines. Base, Active, and Sport. The easy way to spot a Sport is leather and fabric upholstery (as opposed to all cloth or all leather/vinyl) and foglights. The Club Sports, mentioned above, have two-tone cloth/leather with contrasting stitching. The easy way to spot an Active is cruise control and a more sophisticated clock known as an onboard computer, which has a control switch integrated into the turn signal lever. That lever'll have the inscription 'BC', and an arrow pointing towards the column, and one of the buttons on the OBC will be marked S/R.
A Base will have none of these things, steel wheels, and frequently, cloth upholstery that would look more at home in a prisoner transport. All '99s are Sports, and have a distinctive 3 spoke steering wheel. You may also run into something called the California edition, which has a nearly full-length fabric sunroof. Anything like that on a Bimmer will give you fits, sooner or later. But I'll bet they're fun.

As tiFreak said, this guy somehow doesn't know what he's talking about. Club Sports were only imported in '95 (though there were very few, ~350, I think). The M-Tech package (aka Sport) was available in '98. I know that because I own one. While they aren't rare, per se, Sports tend to be harder to find than Bases or Actives.

While you may get lucky, especially in California, you probably won't. It took me ten months to find a '98 Sport that hadn't been practically beaten to death. And it still needed work.

Absolutely you should have a professional inspection by a BMW mechanic before you plunk down the money. Dealers can be variable-one of my dealers missed a failing cooling system and a broken spring on my prepurchase inspection. Only dealers, and very good independent shops, have the computer equipment to speak accurately to these cars.

Unless your car has impeccable records, expect to immediately change ALL fluids. If you don't know anything about the car's history, I think that this is one of the single best things that you can do to assure longevity. Especially given the cooling system in these cars. If the car has its original stereo, be sure to get the unlock code for it, which should be (but may not be) in the owner's portfolio. Without that, the radio will become useless should it lose power. You'll need to go to the dealer to get the code and restore the radio.

That's more than enough out of me, and I have only scratched the surface. This is a pretty good site, and the denizens tend towards the knowledgeable and friendly; so I encourage you to dig around and learn more, if you are serious about this. Barring a miracle, you'll be looking for a while but I'll tell you this-my BMWs are the only cars I've owned that come to me in my dreams. It's the damnedest thing.

Good Hunting!

01-22-2009, 11:41 PM	#8
ajs_in_Mn Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: minnesota Posts: 18 iTrader: (0) Photo Gallery	Billabong, all of this is only my opinion. I've been driving Bimmers for about fifteen years, though. My ti is the first Bimmer that I bought with fewer than 150k on it, and it had 116k. Maintained, a BMW goes a very long time. The keyword is 'maintained'. My mom is still driving my '86, with about 250k on it. Buying a car with detailed repair records is usually a safer bet. If the seller is a member of the BMW Car Club of America, that is often a help. BMW automatics are famous for early failure. Part of this is due to the way that the maintenance schedule changed/was gutted when scheduled maintenance became bundled in the purchase price, so the automatics rarely saw fluid changes. And tended to die at around ~120k. Because of that, and the fact that the auto saps power, you want a manual anyway. And it's more fun. My opinion, only reason to drive an automatic would be a missing or non-working left leg. The ti is part of the E36 platform, which is famous for a crappy cooling system. Look especially closely for coolant leaks. Beginning in MY '96, the engine switched from the M42 to the M44. One of the disadvantages of that is that the M44, being an OBD2 compliant motor, is allegedly harder to diagnose. On the M44 motors, a very common failure is the secondary air pump, which is often (though by no means always) the source of a Check Engine light on a used car. If you look around on this site, you'll find a wealth of information about the cars. In a nutshell, they came in 3 trim lines. Base, Active, and Sport. The easy way to spot a Sport is leather and fabric upholstery (as opposed to all cloth or all leather/vinyl) and foglights. The Club Sports, mentioned above, have two-tone cloth/leather with contrasting stitching. The easy way to spot an Active is cruise control and a more sophisticated clock known as an onboard computer, which has a control switch integrated into the turn signal lever. That lever'll have the inscription 'BC', and an arrow pointing towards the column, and one of the buttons on the OBC will be marked S/R. A Base will have none of these things, steel wheels, and frequently, cloth upholstery that would look more at home in a prisoner transport. All '99s are Sports, and have a distinctive 3 spoke steering wheel. You may also run into something called the California edition, which has a nearly full-length fabric sunroof. Anything like that on a Bimmer will give you fits, sooner or later. But I'll bet they're fun. As tiFreak said, this guy somehow doesn't know what he's talking about. Club Sports were only imported in '95 (though there were very few, ~350, I think). The M-Tech package (aka Sport) was available in '98. I know that because I own one. While they aren't rare, per se, Sports tend to be harder to find than Bases or Actives. While you may get lucky, especially in California, you probably won't. It took me ten months to find a '98 Sport that hadn't been practically beaten to death. And it still needed work. Absolutely you should have a professional inspection by a BMW mechanic before you plunk down the money. Dealers can be variable-one of my dealers missed a failing cooling system and a broken spring on my prepurchase inspection. Only dealers, and very good independent shops, have the computer equipment to speak accurately to these cars. Unless your car has impeccable records, expect to immediately change ALL fluids. If you don't know anything about the car's history, I think that this is one of the single best things that you can do to assure longevity. Especially given the cooling system in these cars. If the car has its original stereo, be sure to get the unlock code for it, which should be (but may not be) in the owner's portfolio. Without that, the radio will become useless should it lose power. You'll need to go to the dealer to get the code and restore the radio. That's more than enough out of me, and I have only scratched the surface. This is a pretty good site, and the denizens tend towards the knowledgeable and friendly; so I encourage you to dig around and learn more, if you are serious about this. Barring a miracle, you'll be looking for a while but I'll tell you this-my BMWs are the only cars I've owned that come to me in my dreams. It's the damnedest thing. Good Hunting!