96 white ti 84K, $6600. Buy it?

[Jillsho]

Help I need advice before I blow it!
INCLUDES:
-1.9 liter, 4-cylinder engine
-Cruise control
-10-speaker, 200-watt sound system
-Power steering, power windows, power sunroof
-Dinan Engineering chip for improved performance and HP
-Driver-side airbag and anti-lock breaks
-Keyless entry
-New clutch and new six-disc CD player (replaced within the last four months)
-New oil and filter (replaced on 3/23/07)
-Fans, belts, breaks, fluids all in perfect condition and full
-BMW spare, jack system and roadside tools
-Sports racks with surfboard attachment ($400 value)
-Custom BMW car cover
-Color: interior cool gray, exterior alpine white
-Original instruction manual
It is in great condition as I have been diligent about getting it serviced. I have had no major problems and no accidents except a minor fender-bender; the rear bumper was replaced as a result about 1.5 years ago. With only 84,000 miles, this thing is a steal.

What do you guys think?

[zboot]

I'd max at $6k - actually, that's a lie, if it was me, I wouldn't go over $5300 + market value of speaker system. Just about everything else excepting the dinan chip, sports rack, and car cover - is stock [or supposed to be present when you buy a working car] so why pay a premium for that?

You need to keep reminding yourself that a new clutch means nothing to you on the price - you'd expect to buy the car w/ clutch in good condition and reduce the price if it wasn't. So new stuff doesn't neccessarily add to the price - just maintains it. Same applies to the presence of spare, tools, manual, clean interior, fans etc in good condition, new oil and filter - you get the point.

Also, I made the decision not to buy a car that's been in an accident, no matter how minor. Now, if your plan is to run the car into the ground, then this may not matter to you. But if in your mind, you'll be selling this car in 3-5 years for something else, then the accident should have some imapct on your final price.

[Jillsho]

Thanks so much zboot.
You're right, I should expect all these things and not get excited about the low miles.
I test drove the car yesterday and while it felt tight, I didn't fall in love. There are some quirks like the fog lights don't work and there was some rattling going on. I may offer $5600 and see what he says, but it sounds like he's firm on price.
Back I go to carfax, craigslist and autotrader to find the perfect ti for me. Wish me luck. Hopefully I'll be on here soon bragging about the deal I got (:

[zboot]

Good luck. I stumbled upon the 318ti in mid november 06 and it took me two months of searching - scouring the ti boards, the bimmerforums, autotrader, carfax listings, craigslist, msn auto, and every other one I could find before I found the TWO cars that met my *strict?* criteria. One was in san francisco - I liked this one better (mainly on looks). The other in MA (which I ended up getting) was priced lower and had pretty much complete service records, super clean carfax, and would be cheaper to get it to tallahassee.

I'm sure if you take your time, be patient with what you're looking for, you'll soon be sharing the great news with us!

[pnosker]

I paid $6990 for mine including taxes/tags. 1998 318ti Active with 92k miles on it, manual trans, leather interior, and it came with a sirius satellite radio installed and a K&N filter.

I thought I got a good deal... especially since I got it within two weeks of searching.

[zboot]

I paid $5900 for my 1998 318ti - this one: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12677 - owner returned radio/sound system to stock before sale.

I forgot to add that the owner threw in a 30 minutes driving lesson for me - umm. . pretty much it was my first time driving a manual and I was going to cover about 700 miles that day.