» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | | | | | | 07-13-2010, 01:34 AM | #1 | Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wichita, Ks Posts: 16 | Looking for opinions (Yes, I know they're worth what you pay for them) Hello all. I belonged to this group eleven years ago when I first bought my ti Sport. After ten years of faithful service, with 163,000 miles, I think it’s time to move on. The car has developed some issues that I’m not willing to deal with: Mechanical: Starter doesn’t always engage the flywheel on the first try. $400 Blower motor showing signs of brush wear. $700 Muffler leaking at pipe entrance and exit $600 ABS Valve inop $? Wet rear shocks $? Cosmetic: Headliner is dropping $300 Left front fender dent $? KBB value = $1400. It still runs as strong as it ever did. I don’t think there are any problems with the engine, tranny (five spd), or diff. Faithfully changed oil at 3K intervals. Syntec blend at 50K, full synthetic at 100K. All service records. No major door dings, a fresh wax will usually quell my notion of selling it. Chinese red interior, leather bolster sport seats. My question is: sell it or try to part it out? I saw seats similar to mine being offered for $800. That’s half of what I’d probably get trying to sell it here (Kansas). I really don’t have space to store it or tools to pull engine/tranny to part out. Thoughts? | | | 07-13-2010, 02:06 AM | #2 | That's not Millpoint Blue Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: BNA Posts: 3,161 | Quote: Originally Posted by bushi-te Chinese red interior, leather bolster sport seats. | You had to know that was coming. LOL Seriously though... I've never heard of "Chinese Red" and would definitely like to see a photo of it. __________________ Real men know how to SEARCH! THIS IS A MILLPOINT BLUE INTERIOR Mods 'n' stuff: Star Spoke 43 wheels - X-Brace - Mason Engineering front strut brace - CF gauge overlay - ZHP shifter knob - Racing Dynamics cat-back - Doubled brake lights - M-tech rear spoiler From Page 68 of the 1997 Owners Manual: "Vehicles equipped with ASC+T remain subject to the laws of physics." | | | 07-13-2010, 03:46 AM | #3 | Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wichita, Ks Posts: 16 | Yeah, yeah, I know. But the car is dirty and I didn't have any recent pics. I added a couple of shots in my gallery. I'll try to get some decent ones to post. | | | 07-13-2010, 03:52 AM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 9,356 | Maybe that is cheesy red seats? __________________ ...steven BMW CCA #146825 1996 BMW 328ti • 2003 MINI Cooper S • 2016 M235i www.bmwcca.org | | | 07-13-2010, 03:59 AM | #5 | Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wichita, Ks Posts: 16 | The first time I saw the car my thought was "They'll never sell that thing! Look at the interior!" Of course I was looking to replace a Toyota truck with 235,000 on it. Then I drove it. It was the closest thing to my old MG Midget I'd driven, and I was hooked. Probably the only reason I haven't looked to replace it sooner was that I hadn't heard of anything that would handle like it that I could afford. | | | 07-13-2010, 04:14 AM | #6 | That's not Millpoint Blue Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: BNA Posts: 3,161 | Oh, so that's the actual BMW name for that color scheme. I've seen that Red/Red sport interior a few times recently. Looks like yours are in pretty good condition and just need a good steam-cleaning. Hmmm... surely you can find a cat-back for less than $600. Have you looked around this site for one? I feel your pain on the headliner, mine is sagging too, and the cheapest estimate I found was $295. That's just more than I want to spend on something like that, so I'll probably do it myself using info from this site. You might consider that option too. __________________ Real men know how to SEARCH! THIS IS A MILLPOINT BLUE INTERIOR Mods 'n' stuff: Star Spoke 43 wheels - X-Brace - Mason Engineering front strut brace - CF gauge overlay - ZHP shifter knob - Racing Dynamics cat-back - Doubled brake lights - M-tech rear spoiler From Page 68 of the 1997 Owners Manual: "Vehicles equipped with ASC+T remain subject to the laws of physics." | | | 07-13-2010, 04:30 AM | #7 | Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wichita, Ks Posts: 16 | Honestly I don't know the official name for the interior. That's just my name for red that has a little orange in it. I had Ducati Passo that was almost identical. I'm sure the work could be accomplished reasonably if one chose to do the work themselves. I just don't have the time or the inclination. The older I get, the less interested in sweating in the Kansas summer in/under a car. It really needs an 18 year old willing to work for the gem burried within. | | | 07-13-2010, 02:05 PM | #8 | Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 252 | pics? __________________ 1996 318ti base: m44, 5 spd, lsd - 18x8 bremmer kraft wheels w/sumitumo tires 225/40R18 & bmw locking lug studs, 10mm spacers in rear, halo headlights, cold air intake, koni str.t struts and shocks w/mounts, h&r sport springs, serp belts, control arm & tie rod kits, front sway bar links, JVC kd-x50bt headunit w/ipod hook up in the glove box, alpine sps-500(front and rear), jl audio 10" powerwedge max, jl audio 250.1 amp, motor mounts, fuel filter, passenger side window motor, drivers lower window run, muffler hanger kit, various interior bulbs, left door striker/ajar switch, lower hood latches, changed from gray vinal to black leather shift and parking brake boots, m3 weighted shift knob, ngk-r spark plugs, magnecor spark plug wires(blue),new cabin micro-filters,new headliner & a-pillar mouldings, 5w20 synth-blend oil and filter, BG Ultra Guard syn. rear end fluid & ls additive, BG Syncro Shift II syn. manual trans fluids, stainless steel braided brake lines and dot 4 fluid, extra brake light mod, new p/s reservoir and rubber hoses need to do - fix door panels, paint job, MORE MONEY!! | | | 07-13-2010, 02:23 PM | #9 | Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 1,895 | Parting a car out is a pretty big hassle and you are not going to get rich doing it. This car sounds like it would be easy to auction on ebay. __________________ ... ʎɐqǝ uo pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ ʎnq ı ǝɯıʇ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ | | | 07-13-2010, 03:43 PM | #10 | Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bouncing off the rev limiter in CT! Posts: 3,156 | If you do decide to keep it (and I suggest you do, or you'll regret it!), I have a very good used starter available that will save you a lot of coin... PM me if interested! | | | 07-13-2010, 06:26 PM | #11 | Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Burlington, NJ Posts: 560 | I had to replace the blower motor in mine as well.. I did it myself and saved a lot of $$ __________________ 1996 318ti - 2000 Z3 2.3 - 2012 MINI Cooper Hatchback | | | 07-14-2010, 05:01 AM | #12 | Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wichita, Ks Posts: 16 | Oh I know I'll throw myself around after I sell it, but the wife is nagging (wait, was that my outside voice?) to have me get a "road car". For her, and her bad back, my car is sort of like the description someone wrote about getting into my MG Midget. " Aim your butt at the seat and do a one and a half gainer". She just can't ride in those seats for very long. I'm finding my bi-annual three hour trip to KC is starting to cause problems with my back also. So I need something with a little more ground clearance and padding. Again, there are three pics in my gallery. As soon as I can knock the mud off of it, I'll post more. | | | 07-14-2010, 05:28 AM | #13 | That's not Millpoint Blue Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: BNA Posts: 3,161 | Quote: Originally Posted by bushi-te " Aim your butt at the seat and do a one and a half gainer" | You probably already know this, but... the sport seats can be adjusted vertically. That won't make them any softer, but it'll at least position the cushion higher so you don't have to "plop" down into it. __________________ Real men know how to SEARCH! THIS IS A MILLPOINT BLUE INTERIOR Mods 'n' stuff: Star Spoke 43 wheels - X-Brace - Mason Engineering front strut brace - CF gauge overlay - ZHP shifter knob - Racing Dynamics cat-back - Doubled brake lights - M-tech rear spoiler From Page 68 of the 1997 Owners Manual: "Vehicles equipped with ASC+T remain subject to the laws of physics." | | | 07-23-2010, 05:27 AM | #14 | Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wichita, Ks Posts: 16 | OK, the most expensive part is finally on it's last legs. I have an appointment to have the blower motor replaced Tuesday. That means I'll be keeping her for a little while. So I need to know if anyone has any ideas for cheap/easy power boost. I'm NOT putting a blower under the hood. So are there any intake/chip/exhaust(since it's bad too) mods that anyone has experience with? Something that produces a noticable boost in power? | | | 07-23-2010, 05:34 AM | #15 | Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wichita, Ks Posts: 16 | Amancuso, how long did the blower swap take you? I have thoughts about trying to pull it Sunday morning. If I can accomplish it and it's straight forward, I can call Bavauto Monday and overnight a blower. | | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | 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 | | | Similar Threads | Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post | Opinions? | Coop540iT | Maintenance | 2 | 06-24-2009 10:28 PM | Need some opinions | ATF | I'm thinking about buying a ti. | 19 | 05-21-2007 04:24 AM | Opinions.... | Tyler | General Chit Chat | 5 | 05-02-2007 03:59 PM | Opinions Please | colin26 | Lounge | 5 | 03-14-2006 10:06 AM | Opinions on this one | ignasi | I'm thinking about buying a ti. | 7 | 12-02-2004 12:09 AM | |