 » Site Navigation | | | | » Recent Threads | | | |  |  |  |  06-14-2012, 09:04 PM | #1 | | Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 33 |  Newbie
Hi; thought I'd introduce myself, since I'm new to the Ti world. My daughter -- 24-year-old 2nd-year med student -- just bought a '98 318Ti (with dad's help & advice.) I'm the one who will be dealing with the maintenance on the car, so... Here I am.    It's got a 5-speed (one of my daughter's requirements!) about 190,000 on it, and the only rust is a bit of bubbling around the antenna base. Very clean inside, but I'm not so thrilled with the vinyl seats. I was impressed by the Ti's power and liveliness; great fun to drive! It's a huge step up for my daughter, coming from a '95 Civic DX tin can; she loves driving the BMW! As for plans for the Ti... The car came with no maintenance history, so the first order of business is to refurbish the cooling system; seems to be the thing to do every 100k or so on these cars. I found the DIY thread on the subject already (fantastic resource!) and have parts on order for the job. Another bothersome thing is the absence of cruise control on the car; I've been told that adding cruise after the fact is possible, so have been shopping around to see if I can find some of what I need. I understand the parts are the same for all e36 models, so shouldn't be too difficult. Also, I would love to swap the vinyl seats out for leather; my daughter hasn't complained about it, but the times that I've driven/ridden in the car on hot days, it was less than enjoyable. If finding a set of seats turns out to be too much, I may just get a decent set of covers for the front seats and call it good, but ideally a swap is in order. The holy grail would be to source a black leather interior and swap the whole works, but... It's not my car! I've been around older BMWs for a while; I daily-drive an '88 735i 5-speed, and have an '84 528e project car. The 528 will soon be getting a new heart; engine and electronics from an '89 525i. Looking forward to the power & reliability bump from the newer gear in that car (it's still my favorite!) My eldest son also has a '92 325is. |  |  | | 06-14-2012, 09:34 PM | #2 | | Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 252 |
Hello and welcome! Clean looking car, there is a ton of useful information and diy procedures in the "knowledge base" section of the forum. __________________ 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!!  | | | | | 06-14-2012, 09:46 PM | #3 | | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: South Central, MN Posts: 1,065 |
Greetings! I used to live in Brookings and ventured down that way quite a bit. Very nice Ti! I can keep my eyes peeled for you as far as interior bits go. Hope you and your daughter enjoy it for years to come  __________________  | | | | | 06-14-2012, 11:21 PM | #4 | | Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 33 |
Quote: Originally Posted by Mr.Squeelerz  Greetings! I used to live in Brookings and ventured down that way quite a bit. Very nice Ti! I can keep my eyes peeled for you as far as interior bits go. Hope you and your daughter enjoy it for years to come | Thanks! Would appreciate you (or anyone else in the area) keeping an eye out for interior bits, especially seats. They are plentiful elsewhere, but shipping is a bear. | | | | | 06-15-2012, 12:09 AM | #5 | | Senior Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Philly Posts: 605 |
For nearly 200k miles, that ti looks gorgeous! | | | | | 06-15-2012, 01:47 AM | #6 | | NOBODY F's with the Jesus Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Ventura California Posts: 7,824 |
This forum has a bunch of cool dads, so you should feel right at home here. I recently posted a bunch of info in this member's intro thread: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36423 Congrats to you and your daughter and welcome to the org! | | | | | 06-15-2012, 02:37 AM | #7 | | Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 472 |
Welcome! | | | | | 06-15-2012, 02:51 AM | #8 | | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: SW Florida Posts: 4,275 |
Welcome to the Org. I recently undertook the tan to black interior swap. You will have to be persistent and keep an eye on the new For Sale threads that pop up. Then set the hook as fast as possible...black interior parts go fast! Nice car...lucky daughter.  __________________ 
Sean
1995 Active | | | | | 06-15-2012, 02:56 AM | #9 | | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ft Defiance, AZ Posts: 686 |
+1 for awesome dads. I should know, I've got one.
Nice car and welcome to the org, you might find that the ti will start to become you're toy, at least thats what my case is __________________ 1999 BMW 318ti
2005 MINI Cooper S
 | | | | | 06-15-2012, 04:44 AM | #10 | | Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 33 |
Quote: Originally Posted by teetime4one Welcome to the Org. I recently undertook the tan to black interior swap. You will have to be persistent and keep an eye on the new For Sale threads that pop up. Then set the hook as fast as possible...black interior parts go fast! Nice car...lucky daughter. | An all black interior with leather seats would be the ultimate, but I sure wouldn't turn down a set of tan seats in leather. Pretty sure the Pearl Beige would fit in pretty well with the rest of the interior. Thanks for the compliments on the car; we were really pleased to find one so clean. Pretty amazing considering it came from Minneapolis (although I doubt it lived there very long. ) | | | | | 06-15-2012, 05:32 AM | #11 | | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Chicago Posts: 172 |
Welcome!.....Nice .....Keep posting pics as you progress!!! | | | | |
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