Let's make a deal!?

[DraKhen99]

OK, so here's the setup: I currently have a 1997 Chevy K/1500 pickup, reg. cab, long bed as my daily driver. I bought it for $1,600, put another $2,000 in it to get it ship-shape, and have been driving it for 6,000 miles without any major problems (A/C doesn't work, catalytic converter is blown, and I had a small oil leak ($100 to fix)) The truck has 180,000 miles on it, and runs really well, other than the aforementioned problems.

My mechanic's shop has a guy that works there who has a 1995 BMW 318ti. Not sure of which model it is, but it's a 5-speed, and it's got 243,000 miles on it. On a side-note, this shop works on lots of BMWs, and I work part-time there, so they'd be seeing the car on a VERY regular basis. The body work is in good shape, better than my truck.


He wants a straight-up trade. If I plan on going through with the trade, I'm going to have HIM pay for it to be inspected and see what she needs. I just don't really know anything about BMWs, and am looking for some advice from the guys (and gals) who drive them!

What do you all think?

-John

[DocDuvi]

sounds like a good deal to me lot better gas milage! and the ti is really not that expensive to fix!(maybe more than the chevy though)

[DraKhen99]

I checked the KBB values of both vehicles, and believe it or not, the truck is worth about $500 more!

I have about $3,400 in the truck, in the original purchase price and repairs I did to get it through inspection, and the small oil leak I had fixed. I've only had it since September of 2007, so not too long. I'm just worried about having to dump a ton of money into it after I get it, and it not even being worth what the truck would be worth if something went wrong with it. I was bitten hard when I bought the truck, cause I bought it "as-is" for $1,600 and had to put about $1,800 into it to get it through inspection. Granted, now I have a really solid truck that I've only put $3,400 into.

On the flipside, the guy who owns this truck works on BMWs all the time and has done all the maintenance on this car. The only thing on it that's non-functional is the a/c compressor, which he says is $125, plus whatever it takes to install it. Maybe I'll work a deal with him to do the work if I buy the compressor?

Still not sure. I really like my truck (and have all the "chevy truck" paraphernalia).

What an agonizing decision to make - I've wanted a 3-series for a long time, especially a stick, but I've had my truck long enough to really like it. Are there some solid reasons to trade? What are 318ti's going for these days, with that kind of mileage?

Thanks,

-John

[elchicano]

Man go with the Ti. When my Ti was in the shop i had to use my dads 1998 k/1500 long bed as well. Damn i hated driving that truck around and i was sure happy to get my Ti back. Ti FTW!

[Bluebimma]

Granted its been taken care of and such, id pay no more than 2k for it.

[DraKhen99]

Originally Posted by Bluebimma

Granted its been taken care of and such, id pay no more than 2k for it.

Yeah, I wouldn't actually be paying for it ... it'd be a straight-up trade (at least, that's what he has proposed). All I'd have to cover would be the registration, and perhaps some sort of tax, lol.

Don't get me wrong, I'm highly tempted to take his offer, but am wary about being bit again like I was with the truck. Nobody wants to have to dump unknown sums of money into a vehicle they JUST got, you know?

-John

[Bluebimma]

Trust me, i know how you feel and what you mean, been there done that. . Possible maintenances that shouldve been kept up is the cooling system, ball joints, suspension, rubber bushings for the rear subframe/trailing arms, strut/shock towers/mounts, and a few other tidbits. Most everything else will be cosmetic or small/incignificant such as sagging headliners, window regulator switches, brake light failure switches. Overall, most maintenance on the car is easy, some things more of a pain than others, but nothing a home mechanic cant do. There are many upgradable parts that you can install as well as engine swap options if yours goes out.

[DraKhen99]

Yeah, pretty much the only thing I require of my daily driver is that it be reliable. I've got a 2004 Mustang GT Convertible (stick, naturally) that I drive when it's nice enough to drop the top.

Other than driving, I use my dd as a test-bed for car audio stuff ... like my truck, which has a 10" sub, door speakers, amplifier, nice head unit, that sort of thing. I like doing the installs, they can be fun, and since it's my dd, I don't really care that the wiring shows or that it isn't the *nicest* equipment.

-John

[Bluebimma]

I have the 10-speaker factory setup plus 2 subs and a 300 watt in the hatch and it all seems to work together very well, as far as sound goes. I must say though, the stock setup, with no subs, is very lacking in the bass department and would advise some kind of upgrade as far as speakers and possible headunit goes.

[DraKhen99]

Yeah, I'm just wondering how much of a PITA the stereo install is going to be. Right now the truck is running a pair of Pioneer speakers in the doors (I forget the model #), a Pioneer 6000ub Head unit (2008 model), Alpine MRP-f250 amplifier (40x4 RMS), and a JL Audio 10w1v2 in a box behind the bench seat. The amp is powering the door speakers and the rear channels are bridged to power the sub.

I would set up the BMW in the same manner - no need for rear fill, although I could easily set up a dual amp system, since I have amps and subs and speakers and whatnot just sitting around. I would just need a distribution block and 4 new speakers, lol. That, and a weekend and a case of beer.

-John

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by DraKhen99

I'm highly tempted to take his offer, but am wary about being bit again like I was with the truck. Nobody wants to have to dump unknown sums of money into a vehicle they JUST got, you know?

-John

When you spend 1600 bucks on a vehicle, you gotta expect things to need replaced. The Ti, just as other import compacts of it's generation is just another 5000 dollar car. It's a heck of a lot funner to drive and looks way nicer than anything else in it's class, but it's still a 13 year old compact. They age and break just like anything else, so if you get one for cheap, great! If it breaks and you need to drop a few bucks here and there, just remember how much you paid for it. If you don't want to deal with occasional replacement of normal high mileage wearing parts, drop 30 grand on a new one.

[Bluebimma]

Took me about 3 hours to install a new headunit and run wiring from the front of the car to the rear of the car, wire of the subs, bolt everything down, as far as the box goes, and clean up for a seemless install. I even did a custom bass controller knob that looks stock in the center console.

[Bluebimma]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

When you spend 1600 bucks on a vehicle, you gotta expect things to need replaced. The Ti, just as other import compacts of it's generation is just another 5000 dollar car. It's a heck of a lot funner to drive and looks way nicer than anything else in it's class, but it's still a 13 year old compact. They age and break just like anything else, so if you get one for cheap, great! If it breaks and you need to drop a few bucks here and there, just remember how much you paid for it. If you don't want to deal with occasional replacement of normal high mileage wearing parts, drop 30 grand on a new one.

Giggidy goo i agree

[DraKhen99]

Haha, no way would I buy a new one - I've bought new cars that needed too much work after just 20-25,000 miles! I realize things will break, and I expect it ... I just don't want to have to fork over big bucks to get this one to be as reliable as my truck.

I did the following in the truck:

Replaced:
Passenger side upper & lower ball joints
Pitman arm
Front Rotors
Radiator
Thermostat
Fuel Pump
Fuel Pump Relay
Windshield
Tag Light assemblies and bulbs

Fixed:
Small oil leak ($11 seal, 1 hour labor, $100 total)

I would hate to have to go through it all again, know what I mean?

-John

[Bluebimma]

Originally Posted by DraKhen99

Haha, no way would I buy a new one - I've bought new cars that needed too much work after just 20-25,000 miles! I realize things will break, and I expect it ... I just don't want to have to fork over big bucks to get this one to be as reliable as my truck.

I did the following in the truck:

Replaced:
Passenger side upper & lower ball joints
Pitman arm
Front Rotors
Radiator
Thermostat
Fuel Pump
Fuel Pump Relay
Windshield
Tag Light assemblies and bulbs

Fixed:
Small oil leak ($11 seal, 1 hour labor, $100 total)

I would hate to have to go through it all again, know what I mean?

-John

For a ti -
Passenger side upper & lower ball joints - 200$ both sides, 2 hours work max
Pitman arm - Goes with the above, so two birds in one stone
Front Rotors - 120$, 15 mins per side
Radiator - 110$, 30-hour tops for draining, replace, filling, and bleeding
Thermostat - 50$, 45-hour depending on if all the parts are still in place *plastic pieces and such*
Fuel Pump - 150-350$, 15 min tops
Fuel Pump Relay - 5$-20$, 1 min
Windshield - Youre on your own
Tag Light assemblies and bulbs - Tag light???