1995 318ti/72,600mi./MT/$6900=worth it?

[EveryDayGetaway]

I am definatly going to buy a 318ti soon, I have been looking for a long time, that's why I joined the forum. I don't see ti's around here very often so when I find them for sale I leap on it, but this time I actually have the money to buy it... however, I wanted an opinion on wheather I should go for this one or wait.

Now, I'm aware that 72,600mi. is pretty low for a ti., especially a '95. Which is the main reason I am finding this one so tempting. The problem is, I'm unsure of how well it was taken care of. The car's paint is begining to peel and wear on the hood, not really in any other areas, but pretty bad in one spot on the hood. There is only one dent on the entire car and it is only about the size of a quarter, but the interior isn't in what you'd call "prime" condition. The leather on the seats is cracked in places and torn in others, not badly, but enough to notice. The shift boot is stained a little bit, and the door panel on the drivers side was not on, the dealer told me they have the pannel and would have it installed before selling, and the power window did still work.

My main concern about the car is the engine, trans., drivetrain, etc... the interior/exterior don't really worry me all that much as long as she runs strong. That being said, try not to judge your opinion too much on those problems. The only mechanical problem that I could really see was that there was some rust on the muffler and downpipe, could'nt see any anywhere else, but I got a pic of it. The other thing I noticed(and after reading some threads it seems that this is a common problem) is that the car poped out of first gear once or twice when I drove it, other than that it seems to drive perfectly.
The dealer said that it passed emmisions and that they were going to replace the PIS belt, 2 rotors, and the brake pads. I've already been able to talk them down to $6500, With all this information, do you guys think that this car is worth it, should I try to go down further, or should I grab hold of my self and wait for another ti?

Also, I was originaly hoping for a newer one, with the M44 engine, but some people seem to say that the M42 is actually better, and I drive a lot, so I need the one that is the most dependable/affordable to maintain. Any help is greatly appreciated.
One more thing... can anyone tell me what trim level this is from the pics?

[Sergey]

It looks like an Active. Edmunds gives $3.5K retail for a '95 w/72K in 'average' condition. And I'm being generous giving it an 'average'.
With the problems the car has, the dealer should be giving it to you for free. Don't take it even then. If you want proof of what I'm saying, take it to your local BMW indy and a bodyshop and subtract what they say the car needs from $3.5K.
If it's really tough to find a ti locally, consider travelling to get one.
Did I say pass?

Just MHO,
Sergey.

[zboot]

If it had 100 miles. . .maybe $6900. Otherwise, for a '95, even with that low mileage, $6900 is ridiculous. KBB gives lower prices than edmunds. If you want that one, I'd pay no more than $1800 based on the work that it needs and condition you described. I'd lower that if there is more work needed that only a mechanics inspection will reveal.

[mohaughn]

I have a 95 active with 135k miles on it. My interior is cloth and had some stains on the seats, everything works, and there is some slight fading of the clear coat on one side of the car. If I had to guess it looks like the original owner of my car had the door painted. Sounds like they are in comparable condition.

About 1 or 1.5 years ago I would not have valued my car at any more than $2,000 maybe $2,500. My car has had all of what I consider to be the 10year/100k mile service work performed. Showing a car without a door panel on it and thinking they can charge double the cost is a joke. I've seen Clubsports is good condition sell for what they are asking.

Even though it only has 72k miles on it it is still coming up on being a 12 year old car. Any hoses, the radiator, and quit a number of other things will need to be replaced if they have not already done it. You didn't mention the service records.

[318iS]

72,000 miles smells a bit for that condition ? ? ?

[96cali]

I will be selling a comparitively pristine 82k mile 1996 Ti with California roof in the next month or so. Expert maintained, adult driven, loved. PM or email me for details.

Regardless, there are many more ti's out there in good shape. Pass on this one.

[Mallard]

agree with everythig above ^^

wait until the right one comes along, but by all means get out there and see what there is to see. it´ll pay dividends when you have the knowledge of what a bad example looks like compared to a good one

dont loose heart fella, there are really good examples out there and you´ll be glad to give the money for a great car rather than one with a mile long "to do" list

welcome to the site btw

[EveryDayGetaway]

Thank you guys so much for all your help. I'm gonna offer them $2k up front and if they say no than, as much as it pains me, I'll wait. I'm so eager to own one of these bad boys, I've been eye-balling them ever since I got my licence... probably before that even. It doesn't help that I'm currently driving a Ford Escort with no AC, P-hucked brakes, and no radio...

[themightyquinn]

I'm down in Annapolis too, and I ran up there to check out the TI today...I have to agree with everyone here...I would in no way pay anything close to the asking price. Its unfortunate that the exterior paint is messed, and the leather inside was ripped too. Radio display didn't work, sunroof was kind of broken..wasn't feeling the door-panel-off thing too much. The car drove really well though, shifted smoothly, didn't shimmy on the highway, alignment seemed good.

Im gonna go with Getaway on this one...I'd really like it, and it drives great, but for the exterior and interior I could probably wait and find something nicer. Hey let us know what they say about your 2K offer...

[EveryDayGetaway]

Huh, thats pretty cool, didn't expect anyone on here to actually go check it out. Yea, the fact that it drives so nicely is why I was so interested, because the miles are so low and at some point I was considering a supercharger. I'm going to go check it out again tomorrow with a friend and then I'll make my offer, I'll let you all know what happens, soon I may have a GREAT reason to be a member of this forum...

[Stoph]

Offer $2000 if you really want it. If they don't take it, come back the next day offering $1900.

No one else will want to touch it when they see the $6500 sticker. (or is it more, you talked them down to $6500?)

[brucetodd]

There are so many Ti's in your area it's retarded. Here is a link.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...=&keywordsfyc=

[EveryDayGetaway]

They're also a bunch of automatics. I'm definatly not going to get an automatic, and all the ones with manual trans. are a good hike to go check out. Thanks for looking though.

[themightyquinn]

Yeah, when I saw that one I was hoping it would be in better condition. It's true though...it drives so nicely! I'm just gonna wait and see if anything else comes up around here...I've caught the 318ti bug

Good luck with the offer bro

[tastade]

I imagine the dealer has almost nothing invested in that car. Dealers like to have those cars around to sucker younger people into buying an "affordable" BMW at a "low" price. It is priced such that people feel good when they get it for $1000 or $2000 less. A BMW is generally easy to find in excellent condition. I paid about $7,500 for my '95 club sport in 2003, which was on the high side, but it was in much better shape than the one you have pictured, and that was 4 years ago.

Cosmetic condition is usually much more important to a cars value than mechanical. People like original paint (that hood has probably been repainted, which is why it is peeling), good condition interiors, straight bodies, etc. The reason is, body work is much more expensive than mechanical, and rework on the body might be hiding extensive damage. I drove a Z3 from a dealer like that, and I could tell the thing had been trashed in a wreck. It no longer drove good, felt like crap actually.

Never buy a car based on miles alone. A car with 72k miles might have only been driven in town about 7000 miles a year, stop and go, and infrequent oil changes and no maintenance. It could easily be in worse shape than a car with twice as many miles. Go primarily by condition instead.

Is this by chance one of those car dealers that offers financing to everyone, regardless of credit? Those guys like to talk cash, and you can get much better deals on the cars with it. They over price stuff for people with bad credit, so the car is payed as far as they are concerned with only a couple of payments. I know someone who bought an old Honda accord that way, paid what would have been about $4000 for a car worth $1000 or less.