1995 318ti. Buy?

[bananajack]

Hey all. I'm new to this forum, but not new to 318ti's. I had to part with my previous TI when I left Germany, and am now back in the States, where they are unfortunately much harder to find. I don't currently have a vehicle, so I'd like to find a TI soon... otherwise I'm probably going to end up losing money on a used vehicle purchased for temporary transportation (and resold after finding a good ti). I'm also a bit picky. I want a black/black... or a silver/black, and am not interested in automatics. Now, after that long intro, I've found one close by that meets my criteria: a black/black 95 manual. I believe it's an active... it has fog lights. From what I can tell, it appears to be in very good condition, both mechanically and cosmetically. It has 170K miles on it. I've been unable to talk the owner down... he's pretty firm on his asking price of 4K USD, which I realize is well over KBB value. Buy a car for temporary use and keep waiting? What do you think? What's the average life on an M42? I've seen several advertised with over 200K miles... are these the exceptions? Or the norm? Thanks...

[pdxmotorhead]

KBB is total BS for most low volume cars. 4K sounds right on target to me, heck I paid almost twice that about 2 years ago for my 95 TI.

Engine life is all relative to treatment. I prefer to buy from someone who drives fairly hard than someone who lugged the car all over.

Upside is the engines aren't that hard to find and they aren't the most expensive horse in the barn either.

I see enough advertised with 200+ that I think its pretty normal.

Dave

[3DGE]

I payed 5 for my 95ti, 103XXX miles. What part of the states are you from?

[bananajack]

Thanks PDX.

I'm in Phoenix, AZ. Guess I should update my profile...

-B

[mohaughn]

Originally Posted by bananajack

Hey all. I'm new to this forum, but not new to 318ti's. I had to part with my previous TI when I left Germany, and am now back in the States, where they are unfortunately much harder to find. I don't currently have a vehicle, so I'd like to find a TI soon... otherwise I'm probably going to end up losing money on a used vehicle purchased for temporary transportation (and resold after finding a good ti). I'm also a bit picky. I want a black/black... or a silver/black, and am not interested in automatics. Now, after that long intro, I've found one close by that meets my criteria: a black/black 95 manual. I believe it's an active... it has fog lights. From what I can tell, it appears to be in very good condition, both mechanically and cosmetically. It has 170K miles on it. I've been unable to talk the owner down... he's pretty firm on his asking price of 4K USD, which I realize is well over KBB value. Buy a car for temporary use and keep waiting? What do you think? What's the average life on an M42? I've seen several advertised with over 200K miles... are these the exceptions? Or the norm? Thanks...

$4,000 is getting to be the most that I would spend on a 95. At that price it should have excellent service records and be in really good shape for 170k.

[jkilla71]

Originally Posted by bananajack

What's the average life on an M42? I've seen several advertised with over 200K miles... are these the exceptions? Or the norm? Thanks...

My M42 has over 160k and ever since my sister gave me the car 4 or 5 years ago with 50k, I redline it every chance I get. It runs so smooth and sounds great. However I have always been dedicated to the 3000 mile oil change and 80% of the miles on my car have been logged on the highway. The car never had a leak and I never babied it; even when driving to the store. I think the M42 is the best non-turbo four-cylinder I ever drove and differently the most dependable I have ever experienced.

[pnosker]

My dad's old 318i from 1991 had over 350k on it before it went. M42 power!