» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | | | | | | | | 04-05-2012, 02:12 AM | #1 | Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Grass Valley Posts: 30 | Unsuspecting new ti owner! Hi guys! First off, this seems like a great site and I'm proud to finally be part of it! I am the new owner of a 1996 318ti M Sport. I say unsuspecting owner because the car fell right into my lap with no warning! I was visiting a friend in Santa Cruz, CA, and we were invited to another friends shop in Palo Alto last Saturday. On our drive I saw a ti and asked my friend what he thought of them. He hates them, and we went back and forth for a bit because I have always loved them and felt like it would be a great practical DD. We arrived at our destination and I was looking around the shop when I noticed a black ti on the lift. It had e34 wheels with oversized tires stuck under it and I started inquiring. It belonged to another friend, who's parents had just bought him a Fiat 500. He was unable to smog the ti, and had an outstanding fix-it ticket. He really just needed the car to be out of his name so the judge could close the case and he could move on. They were in the process of stripping the car to part it out, and long story short, I gave him $350 and he handed over the title! I spent the following day putting the car back together and drove it home over 150 miles! I plan to give him more money for the car when I'm able to, he is not too concerned and just wants the car to be in a good home, and not the wrecking yard. The car runs great, I'm really impressed with the m44. I ordered new front brakes, tie rods, tensioners and pullies, and 2 new tires today. The smog issue is that the computer will not communicate with the smog machine, it passes the sniffer. I'll be looking into that and driving it with a red tag in the meantime. I'll post my progress here, and when I dive in I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions! Here's a pic: Cheers! | | | 04-05-2012, 02:26 AM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ft Defiance, AZ Posts: 686 | wow, great buy! welcome to the org __________________ 1999 BMW 318ti 2005 MINI Cooper S | | | 04-05-2012, 02:43 AM | #3 | Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 1,364 | Ti buy of the century! | | | 04-05-2012, 02:45 AM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ft Defiance, AZ Posts: 686 | before spending any more money on it may i suggest running it in the 24 hours of LeMons, haha __________________ 1999 BMW 318ti 2005 MINI Cooper S | | | 04-05-2012, 02:47 AM | #5 | Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 78 | Nice ti, and what a steal! And I thought I got a deal. Haha | | | 04-05-2012, 03:21 AM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: norcal - 94590 Posts: 3,186 | Lucky Day for you! Congrats on getting an amazing deal! __________________ James 95 active w/leather interior and sport interior conversion, Vaders, full M-Tech exterior conversion. Now m50 swapped* Eibach sway bars, D2 Coilovers, Depo's w/AE's, blacked-out sides and grills, LeatherZ console and door armrests, 1 series starter button mod, and custom finished Style 5's <--- in this color! Named "Roddy": *M50 6 cyl. swap with fan delete, S50 cams and chip, AFE stage 2 intake, M3 clutch and 11.5 lb Fidanza flywheel, 3.15LSD, battery relocated to rear and complete custom exhaust. Sweet! 97 318ti sport, Alaska Blue, Contours, coilovers, Dove Vaders and custom black/grey interior named "Max" 95 318ti Active in Cosmos, S50 swap in progress... named "Pit" SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW! | | | 04-05-2012, 03:36 AM | #7 | Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Grass Valley Posts: 30 | Thanks guys! To be fair, the pic shows the cars good side! It has had some questionable body work on the passenger side, although it's never been in a serious collision. Only parking lot stuff. The front bumper got run over after the previous owner hit some dirt and ripped it off. So it's cherry has been popped lol. As for LeMons, it's tempting but I really need a gas saver at this point in my life! | | | 04-05-2012, 03:40 AM | #8 | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ft Defiance, AZ Posts: 686 | haha i kid, theres no way id run that in LeMons, unless of course i had all sorts of money to throw around __________________ 1999 BMW 318ti 2005 MINI Cooper S | | | 04-05-2012, 03:56 AM | #9 | Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 78 | The paint looks pretty decent as well | | | 04-05-2012, 05:25 AM | #10 | Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Ottawa Posts: 579 | welcome! | | | 04-05-2012, 05:32 AM | #11 | Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 1,464 | Wow, awesome score. Welcome to the org! IMO, cancel that brake order and upgrade to vented front discs. | | | 04-05-2012, 07:40 AM | #12 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Chicago Posts: 172 | Nice......welcome | | | 04-06-2012, 01:31 AM | #13 | Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 1,364 | First thing, change all fluids and filters! | | | 04-06-2012, 04:50 AM | #14 | Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Grass Valley Posts: 30 | Quote: Originally Posted by jca First thing, change all fluids and filters! | I have bled the clutch and refilled the transmission, the car was on a lift being stripped when I bought it; they had drained the trans, disconnected the clutch line and removed the radiator, so I was kinda forced to replace those fluids! Can anyone verify how many wires are attached to the back of the OBDII connector under the dash? I am trying to figure out why this car won't communicate with the smog machine. A friend at a smog shop thought there should be 6 wires, I have 4. My friend also hooked up a scanner which attaches to the round plug in the engine compartment, it won't communicate with that either. Any suggestions? | | | 04-06-2012, 04:52 AM | #15 | Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Grass Valley Posts: 30 | Quote: Originally Posted by zoner Wow, awesome score. Welcome to the org! IMO, cancel that brake order and upgrade to vented front discs. | I like Meyle blanks, cheap and with a nice set of pads they stop pretty good. I have some Akebono's coming in tomorrow. | | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Thread Tools | | Display Modes | Linear Mode | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |