Looked at a ti today.

[tylerwillingham]

I looked at a salvaged 1995 318ti today. Drove an hour there and back just to take a look at it. I wasn't previously aware of the 318s before I saw the craigslist ad for this car but I was curious.

So I made my drive. The exterior of the car is nearly flawless. The paint is in good condition, there were no dents that I could find and the only exterior flaws were a tired BMW badge, a missing panel (is that for a toe hook?) on the back bumper and it needed a bath.

The interior is good until you look at the headliner. The sunroof got stuck open when I messed with it today and wouldn't close until eventually after driving it around for a little while the buttons worked again.

The car drove like butter but at longer idles I noticed it sputtered a little in the RPMs without having the AC on. I had the same problem with my Ford and it turned out that it needed new fuel injectors and I replaced the spark plugs too.

The car has 104k on it but here's the catch its a salvage title. I have the VIN but I haven't ran it just yet. I know it has 16 (or 18 i forgot) records but I'd really like to know why the car was salvaged. The current owner has had the car for he says about 5k miles.

The craigslist ad is asking $3900. I've seen 318ti's go for less but I haven't personally seen a BMW of this year this clean for sale ever.

What do you guys think I should offer for the car in its current condition? Is 3400 fair for both of us?

[tiFreak]

3400 seems like a decent price depending on what totaled the car to begin with

headliners in these cars are always bad, mine just recently starting sagging last year. if the missing panel on the back bumper is the little square piece with a threaded hole visible through it, then yes it's just for the tow hook, covers are cheap enough

I'd definitely find out why the car has a salvage title though, and check out the repair work that was done, just because it looks good doesn't mean that it is good

[tylerwillingham]

I understand. I made the mistake of leaving my jack and jack stands at home. I really should have looked underneath the car some more while I was there. I did get down and peer into it as much as I could. The frame looked to be in good order nowhere looked as if it had been bent and pushed back into place.

I've been browsing these forums for a few days now and I've got to say that I've really grown to love these cars. I have a hard time believing they don't have a larger market.

[tylerwillingham]

He accepted the offer of 3400. I just need to sit on it now.

[SNOWti]

Go look at the body more, oh but wait, that's another hours drive again. Find out exactly the problem was.

I bought a 96 ti from Alfred on here - 8thcivic/M332TI and he told me the front left driver side fender was smashed after being stolen. How he knew this I don't know, but he seemed like he knew what he was talking about, anyway, after the sale, a month later I visit the place doing the brake job, my ti is up real high and I like to inspect the underside carefully when its up like that for anything missing or loose or other issues. I noticed bondo work all the way towards the rear of the driver side.

That means the car was in a more serious accident. I noticed the sun reflecting off the body at an uncommon angle, and I could see the cheap bondo scrape work, but very subtly. The paint job also sucked on that side AND that explains why the door ajar alarm still beeps sometimes even though the door is firmly shut with the keys in the ignition. The door panel also pops up every time a close the door. Look for dumb stuff like that all around, something amiss, pay attention to the details of the issues you find.

If I feel down the road to make this a slight restorative project, I will, I'd have to fix that door issue, repaint the whole darn thing and fix some dumb body work blemishes I found too like half assed smoothing of perforations where they pulled the dents out.

Plus, I think the steering has a bit of an issue, solid but too heavy for turning sometimes. My BMW mechanic says that somethings up with the steering rack.

Salvage is a risk, sometimes okay, but hidden problems can arise. Just sayin'. If the seller seems shifty, or too talkative at the far other side of the spectrum, that's a warning sign. ASK to see all paperwork for the damage and or maintenance.

You're new to BMW of this kind, watch out for those selling to newbies. I'd be patient and keep looking if the seller is a bit dodgy. I came from GM and Toyota's, BMW are a whole other breed of machine.

[tylerwillingham]

The story is that he bought the car from a family friend who lived out in CA as a second car/fun car but mostly as a favor to his friend who was having money issues. Typically I wouldn't trust a story like this but after talking and meeting with the guy hes a very nice sincere person and I trust him. Carfax says hes owned the car for as long as he has and he showed me the recent inspection that ok'd it for driving.

I've had some people try to sell me some shady things but I feel like this guy doesn't know much about this car at all. I can't blame him though for the average person a nice looking and driving beemer is enough. And being that he doesnt know much more about the car other than it has a salvage theres not much left for me to find out. Idk how to find out about the accident itself. It looks like it happened in TX around 2002 but it was originally purchased in VA. The cars been all over. 5 owners. I'd like to make the commute again. It's nice to drive out on those country roads sometimes so hopefully I'll be going back next week and putting it on jack stands and giving it a good look.

[blndweasel]

each body panel will have a VIN sticker. check the last several digits to see if it's original. OEM replacement panels are marked DOT-R, but look for VIN tags that don't match yours, those are from a salvage yard. sometimes the tags are painted over. if you see a sticker that's been painted over, scratch the paint off.

Inspect the rear bumper's backside, sometimes you will see splintered fiberglass from the impact bar, indicating rear end contact.

Look at the seams in between body panels. check hood alignment and panel gaps. check the entire frame for signs of repair (fresh undercoating applied anywhere is a good sign)

ideally, you want to pull the inside fender splash guards out, to inspect the frame where it joins at the firewall.

you can pull a bunch of parts of a car in a salvage yard, and make a wrecked ti look new again, not a difficult task. the key would be to know how well the repairs were made, but really the only way to do that is to watch the work being done, before it's covered up with paint or undercoating.

I would offer him $2500. it's a salvage, afterall.

tbw

[tylerwillingham]

Thanks weasel I'll make sure to keep all of that in mind. I'm going back on Monday to take another look before I make any kind of commitment. This is the first beemer i've driven but I've got to say it's also the most sound manual car I've ever driven.