Selling our ’97 ti Active with auto trans. It has 224,000 (
count ‘em) miles. It runs strong, burns no oil, little if any leakage, and has seen a ton of maintenance in it’s life.
Of course, the car shows some nicks and dings, and is developing some rust. However, it has just been detailed and still shines like a new penny.
But, to be frank, due to it’s age and mileage, the car is no longer practical for us to use as primary transportation. However, an entry-level enthusiast willing to put in the necessary restorative work could have a great special interest car on a small budget.
According to my research, we have the car fairly priced at $1500. Car is located at IL/WI border, between Chicago and Milwaukee.
I copied this buyer’s checklist posted by cooljess76 (thank you) and will use it to lay out the car’s history. It’s nothing if not thorough.
- Are you the original owner? >Yes
-If not, how many owners has it had and how many of the miles have you personally put on the car? We bought the car 6/98 as a retired courtesy car with 16000 miles.
- Has the vehicle ever been in an accident? >No.
- Was the catalytic converter replaced under BMW's recall? >Cat has been replaced at our expense. >TRUTH IN ADVERTISING: A universal cat was installed. Being that it’s a tempormental BMW, this caused a CEL. Since I was quoted $1500 for an OEM cat, I instead took the tuner approach and removed the downstream O2 sensor from the exhaust stream, but left it connected. No CEL, no apparent performance issues, passed Illinois emissions testing.
- Was the HVAC cable addressed under BMW's recall? >Unfamiliar with issue.
- What does "adult driven" really mean? Are you saying that it's never been over 65mph or 4000 rpm ? >The car has been my wife’s suburban commuter car since we bought it. She’s a “grammaw” with it.
- Has the vehicle ever been smoked in? If I were to look inside of the cigarette lighter, is it brand new? >No, and yes.
- Have all of the cooling system components been replaced? Thermostat? Water pump? Radiator? Plastic coolant fitting on the driver's side of the engine block? Plastic coolant fitting on the back of the cylinder head? Radiator hoses? BMW coolant? >Yes, all of the above
- Does the oil filter housing or spark plug seals leak? Spark plug holes are completely dry and free of oil? No oil on the lower front of the engine block? >Filter housing seals were replaced. Plug and front main seals are good.
- Does the headliner sag over the back seat and cargo area? >No, but are wrinkled on the A-pillars.
- Are the headlight lenses foggy, hazy, pitted or yellow? >They are beginning to look filmy around the edges, like there is moisture inside. Haven’t had a chance to investigate further.
- Do the mini bulbs located behind the headlight and foglight switches still light up? >N/A
- Is the factory toolkit complete? >Yes.
- Has the spare tire been replaced and maintained? >Original spare, used once for about 50 miles.
- What condition are the tires and brakes in? >Tires are very good. I expect the brakes are due for replacement, as they have been in service for several years.
- Does the parking brake hold firm halfway through the lever's stroke? >Yes.
- Have the windows ever fallen off track or regulator arms ever popped out of the plastic sliders? >Yes. The driver’s side regulator was replaced, sliding blocks iin both doors were replaced and lubricated with synthetic grease.
- Have the interior door panels ever been removed for any reason and if so, are all of the retaining clips intact and affixed to the backside of the panel? >Yes, for window regulator service. Unfortunately, a couple clips are broken.
- Do the mirrors have any bronzing around the edges? >Yes.
- Does the factory airbox still have the sound deadening foam inside of it? >Yes, and yes it is drying out after 14 years.
- Has the differential oil ever been changed? >Unknown.
- Have the brake and power steering fluids ever been flushed? >Yes.
- Oxygen sensors replaced? >Yes.
- Have the rear subframe bushings, rear trailing arm bushings, differential bushing, front control arm bushings, rear shock mounts, front strut bearings, ball joints and tie rods, cv boots ever been replaced? >Outer left ball joint was just replaced. The remainder of the suspension is original, and as you may guess, is tired.
- Original clutch? N/A
- Does the shifter have any slop in it? >No.
- A/C blow cold air? >Yes.
- Heater blow hot air? >Yes.
- Is the climate knob stiff or difficult to turn? >No.
- Do the hatch struts hold when it's cold outside? >Hatch struts are a year old. Hood needs replacement.
- Is the driver's lower seat bolster worn? >Some fabric wear is starting on lower left of seat back. Upholstery is otherwise clean and undamaged. Seats still have good support.
- Has the check engine light or SRS(airbag) light ever came on? >CEL - See above. No SRS. Brake wear indicator lit due to broken wire on RR sensor.
- Has the temperature gauge ever went above 12 o'clock? Ever, even for a few seconds? >Yes, when the bleeder plug blew out of the radiator… in +1* weather. The rear-of-block fitting blew, about ¼ mile from home. The driver’s side fitting blew, idling in the garage. My wife, who was driving each time, is adept enough to pull over and shut down. The needle never hit the red. These incidents occurred about 50,000 miles ago; no heat-related problems have occurred. Still has the original head, head gasket, and cam. No cross contamination of oil and coolant. No apparent compression issues. Engine is quiet. No transmission issues, either.
- Was the factory radio harness cut to install the aftermarket radio or was an adapter harness used? >Unknown.
- Do you still have the factory radio? >No.
- Are the plastic windshield cowl trim pieces grey, dry or cracking? >No. Rubber windshield apron is weathered, consistent with it’s age.
- How about the outside weather stripping at the base of the side windows, specifically above the door handles? >Showing some weathering consistent with it’s age.
- Antenna grommet dry or cracked? >No.
- Do the windshield washer nozzles and mirrors heat up? >N/A
- Does the rear windshied washer nozzle spray? >Yes.
- Is the rear parcel shelf faded or purple? >No.
- Are all 4 of the rubber jack pads still in place underneath the car? >Missing RF pad.
- Is the the plastic underpanel and brake ducts still in place and intact attached to the front bumper? >RF ductwork is RIP (parking curb)
- Does the front bumper still have the "luxury" slats and if so are they cracked or damaged in any way? >Luxury slats? Front facia is in sound condition.
- Foglights cracked? >N/A
- Do you have pets? >Yes. And we have always used seat covers.
- What do YOU consider a "Genuine BMW Enthusiast"? BMWCCA member? How many BMW's have you owned? >This is the only one we’ve had.
We’re not so much “BMW enthusiasts” (OK, my wife is
) as maintenance enthusiasts. That said, we would prefer to see this car go to someone who would show it some love as opposed to making it a “beater with a heater”. That’s why we’re advertising on this forum first, hoping we won’t have to sell it on Craig’s List.
'97 318ti F/S 
Threaded Mode