Sold 02/15/2014.
--Introduction--
Up for sale is a 1996 BMW 318ti 5-speed (manual transmission) with 166,000 miles. My boss purchased this car last spring and it has mostly sat at our work (she drives a company truck), I have taken it home quite a few weekends and used it for many errands. Cold a/c, warm heat; has an aftermarket stereo in it (Pioneer) CD player. I am listing and selling for my boss, but have 24/7 access to the car, my work is 5 minutes from my house which is where it is located. I have listed and sold other cars for her, meet me, drive it, make me a reasonable offer and she will sign over the title.
--The Good--
This is a local car that, from what I can tell, was purchased at Roadshow BMW and well loved by the previous owners. There are really old Roadshow BMW business cards in the owners manual case, original owners manual is in the glovebox. The windshield is Pilkington Brand (they make BMW windshields) and looks brand new (no cracks or chips). The tires are new (9/2013) matching nice Michelin's with nitrogen in them. Battery was replaced last February, previous owners had supposedly just replaced the clutch before my boss purchased the car.
--The Bad--
I think there is a short in the passenger door, the power window on that side will not roll down, but the motor will try to roll up. Might just be a bad switch on the center console. Sometimes the speakers work in that door, sometimes they do not, I think whomever put in the stereo might not have connected the speaker wires behind the dash very well. When the speakers stop working, if I push on the right side of the radio, sometimes they come on. The power mirror on that side (both sides) works, The power lock does not work on that side. Both the power window and lock work fine on the drivers-door. The power lock works on the trunk as well. The only key we have is a "valet" key, the glovebox does not have a lock so this only effects the trunk. You have to unlock the trunk by unlocking the doors first, either with the button inside or with the key on the outside. Sometimes you hear a clicking when making a hard turn (in a parking lot for example) from the front. Almost as if it were a front wheel drive car with a bad CV boot. This is a rear wheel drive car, however, so I am not sure what that noise might be, perhaps a worn sway bar end link or a tie-rod end. Car tracks fine on the interstate though. The drivers door doesn't shut easily, it doesn't have to be slammed, but needs a little more force than the passenger door. Door seals are known to go bad on BMW's, they all need to be changed on my personal BMW.
--The Ugly--
The headliner fabric is loose and is sagging down. I am 5'11" tall and although and it doesn't bother me. The headlights are oxidized, I waxed them about 3 months ago to a nice clear finish, but they are slowly returning to their oxidized state. The car never had fog lights, but where they would go if the car had them, the covers are missing. The plastic trim around the bottom of the car is a gray'ish color, it looks as if it is old brittle plastic, but I believe the car was supposed to look like that. The clear coat on the rear bumper is failing.
--Conclusion--
Car runs and drives strong, its not perfect cosmetically inside or out, but it will get you where you need to go. It was built in February of 1996, so next month it will be 18 years old, for its age it is in great condition mechanically and cosmetically in my opinion. I am a BMW enthusiast and owner myself and if I had the money, I would buy the car for myself. Price is obo (or best offer).
$3900 obo see CL add for pictures.
http://memphis.craigslist.org/cto/4282839252.html