What To Buy

[akewlguy]

Hey ladies and gents.

Curious what you all think about this buying opportunity.

Would anyone buy a 95 or 98 BMW 318it with 60k? Not built like a LEXUS, but the wife likes. LS is toooo big for her and the ES may be an option, but the BMW is nicer style.

Any input greatly appreciated or any direction on a site with BMW info and expectations is greatly appreciated.

Also the LS is now at 109,000 and it looks better then ever. Might get it detailed next week.

[indiasfinest]

yea we have a bimmer, and it works great...we have had it for a year and we have had no problems at all...its really up to your wife, w/e makes her happy...does she not like the IS?

[nc211]

we use to have the 318ti "the little hatchback right?"

It was a fun little car. it was VERY buzzy on the road though, not a good highway car. but for around town and zippy roads, it was very fun. had zero problems with it, but it did rattle a bit. not very powerful at all!

[corndog]

When I was recently shopping for a car, I looked at a '93 318i(dont know what the "t" is) and all I can say is, what a pile. There was no reason to buy that 318i over a Civic. It was small, underpowered, and had no options worth mentioning. It was VERY clean with under 100k miles, but I just couldnt do it.

India has made a point that the purchase should be based upon however, "w/e makes her happy..."

[MarioC]

BMW's dont really get show their teutonic mastery till the 5series IMHO. The 3series is a decent well built car but for the money there are much better values out there, they tend to hold value ok but parts are even more expensive than Lexus parts. Now the car my brother got for his wife for safety reasons was the 4 wheel drive BMW 5 series, good deals can be had on a 3-4 year old one and I must say that car is amazing.

The IS is really a trick little car have her drive one and see what she says. This may get me in trouble with my wife if she reads this but while its important to get what makes her happy, sometimes they dont know whats really gonna make her happy, especially when it comes to cars. Sure BMW's are "Cute" but when my wife drove one-3 series-she hated the ride and complained the seat was too stiff so even tho the toyota avalon 2003 was bigger than she wanted she loved the ride and comfort and with the low deck height and shorted rear end on the avalon compared to the LS we have, she thought it was a smaller car.

3 cents

MarioC

BTW if I remember correctly the 318 we drove had TONS of cheapo plastic in the interior.

[akewlguy]

Honestly I am looking for a good car for local travel for 5 to $6000. So a 96 BMW 318ti is not a bad option. Other cars include 98 Maxima and Toyota Camery/Corolla's. The car she is looking for is a bit sporty, dependable and also mid size. The LS400 is to big for her.

Also I am trying to get limited miles around 70k or less. So anyone have any options?

[93LSOwner]

For $6k and 70K miles, I'll say you should look into camries.

What do you define as a "big car?"

[SW03ES]

I gotta agree, the 318 is really a small, cheap, miserly little car (hence why they stopped making it). I wouldn't.

BMW's dont really get show their teutonic mastery till the 5series IMHO. The 3series is a decent well built car but for the money there are much better values out there

I totally don't agree with this. The 3 series has long been heralded as the worlds most perfectly balanced sport sedan, the 318ti however is NOT a normal 3 series.

[nc211]

I agree with SWO about the 3 series. They are really nice cars with that 2.5 6 cylinder. I don't care for German 4 bangers at all. But the 6 makes it. The ti is definetly not the traditional bmw, that's for sure. It's like BMW was trying to compete for the Civic Si market, with a little MG spirit in there. Fun little car, but I would be hard pressed to buy one, especially with all the other alternatives out there that offer more power, less repairs and way less rattles. Our 318ti was one hell of a rattle bucket, and yes, it is loaded with plastic everywhere! In the winter, that car would sound like it was going to fall apart around you. We had the automatic, which also just killed the power. That thing was down right scary when trying to merge into highway traffic. You really had to hammer down on the engine and put it up against redline to get moving. Also felt like if you pushed it a little too hard, you were going for a non-recoverable spin. Lost control of it once in a lite rain and wasn't even driving hard, just spun out on me for no real reason. Ended up in some lady's front yard. Had to replace about half a dozen sprinkler heads.

I found, and do this everytime I own a different car, if you take the car to an empty lot and really push it, you'll learn it's limits. I definetly suggest this for the 318ti, even if it's going to be a grocery getter. You might need to know that stuff in an emergency.

I did this with my LS a couple years ago and came to the conclusion that the tires would just roll off the rims before it really lost control. So I drive with that in the back of my mind. The 318ti will slide sideways and with no real trunk overhang "weight", the rear wheels had a tough time gaining grip to recover from the slide.

Oh, almost forgot, you might as well forget about driving it in the snow. It...won't....go. Don't care how much weight you put in the back, it won't go. We had the car when we lived in Kansas. Had about 4 inches of snow, and it was stuck at the enterance to the neighborhood. Had good tires on it too. With no trunk, the weight you put in the back just weights down the car in general.

[akewlguy]

NC211 so you say go with the Accord or a 98 Maxima.

We want something that is safe with good mileage. Something with a bit of style. The thing that stinks about the Camery is that there are 20 in every parking lot.

Thanks for the good review on the BMWti. They state it is some what reliable, but after that review I am concerned.

[bartkat]

"He who would sacrifice reliability for a little style may deserve neither".

-- Ben Franklin

[nc211]

NC211 so you say go with the Accord or a 98 Maxima.

We want something that is safe with good mileage. Something with a bit of style. The thing that stinks about the Camery is that there are 20 in every parking lot.

Thanks for the good review on the BMWti. They state it is some what reliable, but after that review I am concerned.

There is a reason why there are so many Camry's out there. But I agree with you about them being just a bit too common to buy. In my opinion, I would take the Nissan over the Honda. I have never liked how the Hondas ride when they age. To me, they seem loud, harsh and have a bad automatic transmission that slams into gear. Nissan really hit their stride in the mid to late 90's, and that 3.0 liter V6 they have is pretty much bullet proof. It's smooth, fast, quiet and dependible. I doubt you would have too many problems with the Nissan, if any at all. But like you said originally, it's what she wants. She may insist on the bmw, which means it's your call on what would iritate you more: Fixing a BMW for a happy wife, or not fixing for an unhappy wife.

We never had any mechanical problems with the 318ti, and I think we got rid of it with around 60k on the clock. It was a fun car, don't get me wrong. And they do come with traction control, but the rear end is sooo light, the traction control is pretty much useless. For a second car, one to tinker with and for those twisty roads in the summer, a 5 speed manual 318ti would probably be a lot of fun. But for a daily driver, I don't know. Then again, I'm a guy, who likes big cars with V8's. So my opinion is bias. My wife likes the PT Cruisers.

Like I said, we never had a single problem with the BMW 318ti. We also had a 91 325 Convertible which was a !Removed! for a torque wrench and electrical scanner. That car sucked. BMW started to make stride with reliability in the late 90's, and I believe our 318ti was a 97.

You will have to fix the 318ti more often though than your other two choices, that's just a given. BMW flex couplings on the ends of the driveshafts are notorious for failing. They have weird electrical bugs in them too. Like your power window switch will break, which will lead to your cruise control quiting, which will somehow short out the fuel pump, that will set off the horn which will lower all the windows, which will turn on the ABS warning, which will blow all fuses for lights, which will all cost you $700 for some $25 plastic relay switch buried down in the dashboard. THAT IS A BMW. They drive like no other, they stop faster than a head on collision, but they can drive you insane with electrical tweaks.

But then again, I own what JD Power says is the best car built for 12 years running, and look at my signature.... So it just depends on research before you buy. If you do decide on the 318ti....DON'T buy it off a used car lot. Spend the time to find the one that is sitting in someone's personal garage, so you can see how it's lived and whos' been driving it.

I bet if you put some snow tires on it, and really load it down with sandbags in the winter, it might be ok. I mean, it is a car, not a 4x4, and where you live, a snow event is either full on, or full off.

[Toysrme]

I'm as unbiased as they come. Spending 5-6 grand on an ES, Camry XLE, or Maxima is going to make your wife horny.

The <eh> BMW will take a big backseat to the three of those.

You should also ask yourself a question... Why would your wife want a cheap BMW?

[lexuus]

i dont know the exact price but i know the absolute base model mini coopers are pretty cheap. theyre either 12k starting price or 16k. its possible you could get a good deal on a used base model mini.

[branshew]

You should also ask yourself a question... Why would your wife want a cheap BMW?

There's no such thing as a cheap BMW. Buy one cheap and you'll be spending it on repairs to get the car back to par or spend more and get one that has been well maintained - not cheap either way.

I have driven a 318i and a 318ti. While I prefer the looks of the "i" over the "ti", they're basically the same car in terms of drive and handling with the "ti" reaping the benefits of being a little lighter. The ti just looks so half-assed for BMW - the 3 isn't that big to begin with, why did they need to shave 12 inches off the car? You'd have to get a manual tranny in either "i" or "ti" to make the most of the 4 cyl engine.

That being said, BMWs are nice cars, but I would look for a 6 cyl. model (323, 325, etc.) German 4 bangers were notoriously underpowered and better designed for the European market until the late 1990's when VW/Audi and MB used forced air in some of their 4 cyl engines to bring up the HP & torque while still being thrifty.

You also said she wants a mid-sized car and that rules out the "ti" for certain. If you can find a well maintained B5 VW Passat (MY'98-'00), that will give you a German feel, styling, and safety for @ $7K. Spend a little more and you can get one w/ AWD which is noce in the winters up there. Relaibility may be on the down side with German cars, but there is something to be said about their construction and aesthetics that just keeps drawing me to them. While I love My LS, It feels so out of touch with the road when compared to my A4.

Toysrme - I don't know where you live, but I never met any women around here that got horny over a Camry or Maxima. (If they did - I may not want to meet them anyway.)

[akewlguy]

SW is right!

[SW03ES]

The VW is going to be as costly to maintain as the BMW unfortunately...

Honestly, I'd be looking at some japanese cars myself. What about a somewhat older Lincoln LS? They're pretty dependable and cheap to maintain.

"He who would sacrifice reliability for a little style may deserve neither".

-- Ben Franklin

He/she doesn't matter, the wisdom is sound ;)

[akewlguy]

Yes, SW is so smart. I am getting a 93 Ford Taurus.

$2000 midsize, power and V6. Also I can take a two month vacation to Puerto Rico with the $15000 saved instead of a new car! Cheers

[SW03ES]

I've met so many men who just care about style, doesn't mean its any less foolish.

If you think that negates the wisdom of the quote, you don't understand the point ;)

[akewlguy]

SW knows all. God bless us for his vast knowledge!

[SW03ES]

I am just saying women in general are about style. If the car is a piece of crap they don't care, but you will never see them in anything old and out of style. Even college girls need something new from daddy. Maybe this is just an American thing.

Thats a totally crass and unfounded generalization. I see plenty of women driving old, out of style cars every day and in fact I can't think of one woman I know who cares at all what kind of car she drives. As a matter of fact, I know several very status concious and stylish women who aren't narcissistic about their cars the way men are.

I do however know many men who drive cars only because they're stylish and flashy, as a matter of fact you seem to go on a lot about your Lexus, how it makes you feel, etc. I'm sure thats becuase its so reliable right? There's definately no lack of narcissism there. Your wife drives a 91 Taurus, I wonder who that style symbol really is for. My guess is she probably doesn't care either.

I think you need to get out and meet some different kinds of women if thats what you think "they're all about".

[bartkat]

[SW03ES]

The pinnacle of style and grace to be sure!

[akewlguy]

Okay dude your right.

Have a nice day and thanks for information.

Actually I drive the Ford.

[bartkat]

The pinnacle of style and grace to be sure!

Beyond any doubt. The wife of every guy that regularly wears a tux should be driving one. :D