Car is currently located in Ft Worth, Texas. I am in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 1995 BMW 318ti Automatic transmission
16x,xxx miles
First, the bad: Rebuilt title (
Long story, read below)
Needs new battery
Engine/Trans or possibly differential needs repair, here are the symptoms:
The engine is hard to start, requires some footwork. (pretty sure the spark plugs/wires are old/bad)
The engine runs but will stall if allowed to idle.
The RPMs surge constantly at idle before shutting off.
There is a grating noise coming from underneath the car towards the rear, unclear whether it is the trans or differential. The noise increases with RPM speed.
The vehicle will drive, but the trans slips, and it requires a heavy foot to get it moving from a stop.
Needs electrical/lighting work
Cheap Maaco bright orange paint job (sandpaper/primer will fix that) so there is chipping around seams and some cracks.
Loud ricer exhaust/spoiler
Lots of little cosmetic chips and dings
Most exterior plastic accents (i.e. door guards) need to be replaced due to age/sun damage.
Aftermarket chrome wheels are ugly and baked on dirty
Interior needs a thorough cleaning and front seats could be replaced.
Some interior cosmetic pieces missing
A/C works but is not very cold
Front bumper cracked from curb damage.
Rear bumper rub damage, needs new molding.
Hood is incorrect and has small gaps on each side, meant for 4 door.
This was my college car and has not been driven since I was in college, over a year ago. It hasn't moved from the garage since. So all inspections/registration are out of date.
Now, the good: This car served me very well from the time it was purchased for me in 1999 until I bought my first car in 2006. Until this engine/trans problem there have been NO major issues, despite my carelessness when it came to maintenance. I have driven between Texas and Arizona many times (this is where most of the miles come from) with absolutely no problems. If and when this engine/trans problem is fixed, I have no doubts it will be a decent A to B car. The majority of the issues now are simply because of poor maintenance and can be fixed with some TLC.
Its cheap! The car is just sitting there. Being a hunk of metal instead of doing what it was meant to do. I need it gone because soon I won't have a garage to store it in. If I don't sell it as-is I'm going to repair it and keep it. But I'd rather just sell cheap.
Make me an offer, you may be surprised what I'll take! Rebuilt title story: This car was purchased for $11,500 from a used dealership in Fort Worth, Texas with a clean title in 1999. It was clear that there had been some damage that had been repaired, but the car was not totaled. The drivers side door didn't (and still doesn't) line up exactly right, the drivers side window was scratched, and the roof looked as if it had been repaired. Overall it was extremely clean, the repair work was only noticeable in the paint reflections.
I had the car checked out at a BMW dealership and they said there was a fault that said the airbag had once been used. The BMW dealership couldn't determine whether the current airbag would properly deploy or not in case of an accident. (later I found out it would not).
The used dealership explained that they didn't know much, but that something had landed on top of the car. Okay.. well it was still a good deal, and the only newer BMW I'd be able to afford so my dad bought it for me for High School graduation.
Long story short, the car ran great and I had no problems with it through High School, College, and beyond. I was in a low-speed fender bender with an Oldsmobile that crinkled the hood (hence the replacement). The air bag didn't deploy, and I doubt it will without repair.
So, a little over a year ago I get a letter from State Farm, who had just been found guilty in a class-action law suit for not totaling cars that should have been. My car was on that list. My clean title suddenly turned into a rebuilt title. Then I started having these engine/trans problems. Then Subaru cut me a deal on a new car. Since then I haven't touched the bimmer, but I feel I've received my moneys worth.
PICS:
(taken after fresh paint/repair.. refer to list above for more accurate idea of car)