1993 BMW 3 Series 318iS from UK and Ireland - Comments

The rear brake cables have corroded - noted at the last service (78000 miles) - but cheap to sort out.

Oh, and at the assembly plant, they fitted cardboard Blaupunkt speakers - what were they thinking?

For starters, this car looks the absolute business. EVERYONE comments on the styling of the E36 coupe. In my humble opinion it's the best looking BMW ever.

My last car was a Ford Fiesta and so I've not got much to compare it to, but the BMW is THE most comfortable car I've ever had the good fortune to drive. No more back pain for me, and I regularly drive from Edinburgh to Sheffield, which is around 4 hours. It could take 24 hours for all I care when I'm in the Beemer.

As for actually driving the thing, it's amazing. The acceleration is by no means record-breaking, but easily quick enough to embarrass most of the boy-racers I come up against. It cruises with ease on the motorway, with more than enough oomph to get past all those caravans and tractors one finds on the A-roads in the north of England. On the more winding roads it is a joy - the BMW goes exactly where you point it. Oversteer is possible if you push it hard, but let off the accelerator and the car rights itself whilst making you feel like a Rally pro. To be honest, it's like playing Gran Turismo (drive safely and observe speed limits please kids!)

The fuel economy has been a pleasant surprise. At the moment, it costs around £45 to fill up from empty, and I get around 400 miles from it.

The only real downside of this car is the stereo. I don't know about you, but if I were buying one of these brand new back in the day, I would have been pretty miffed with the standard set-up. On top of that, after-market upgrades are made an absolute nightmare because of the speaker placements. You either need to cut through metal bodywork to get anthing decent in the rear, or go for some adapter speaker pods. These are expensive for what they are (I paid £29.99) and are fiddlier than a fiddler fiddling with a fiddle to get fitted right. Not really much of a gripe though. It depends on how much you like your music.

All in all, if you're looking for a new car, and you've got around £2000-£3000 to spend, get a 318iS. You will not be disappointed. Think twice about a white one though, because they are a nightmare to keep clean!

I had a 1993 BMW 320iSE, and although I find myself agreeing with your comments regarding driving satisfaction and comfort, the build quality on my car was appalling. Lots of creaks and groans from the interior plastics, and it looked very tired inside when I sold the car at 80,000 miles. It was an Approved Used car with verified mileage.

Not really what I would expect from BMW.

I also had a 1993 318is & some of the plasic in the interior would rattle, also at motorway speed I would get a lot of tyre roar, but apart from that I thought it was engineered very well, she was a strong old girl & took a fair bit of abuse, almost felt invincible, not the fastest, but very poky. she loved being driven hard into the red & cornered like a dream.

I had an incident involving a very wet roundabout & a crash barrier (they say the 3 series inspires confidence... maybe a bit too much!) but after this I found out how logically & thoughtfully it had been put together. I had a v6 vectra that I couldn't even manage to change the spark plugs & now am the proud owner of a 2001 laguna that is an engineering disaster, but on the beamer I managed to refit pretty much the whole front end of the cars body with ease, other minor repairs were very easy too.

I've driven one of these, they are very sluggish for a 140 bhp car 0-60 takes over 10 seconds, boy racers leave them standing in there saxo's etc.

Unless you're driving an automatic pulling a trailer, these cars are hardly sluggish. Yeah, they aren't pocket rockets, but they are fast.

I just purchased a 1993 BMW 318IS about a month ago. I travel back and forth from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and I must say, it's an adventure every time I get behind the wheel. The handling is dynamic. I haven't pushed it to the red as of yet, but, for all those that are saying that car sucks in speed are wrong. For a 1.8L engine, that car has more pickup then any other in its class. To say the car is 14 yrs old, all of the electronics work with the exception of the outside temperature. Kudos to BMW!!!

I also have a bmw 318is and I personally think the car is very slow in first and 2nd gears, it just doesn't have enough pull the car doesn't feel like 140bhp.

I disagree with the comments on performance. and boyracers leaving you behind in Saxos.

You must have had a real bad apple of a bimmer if a Saxo is leaving you behind. I had a E36 318i for 4 years, and before that I was a boyracer and owned a Saxo VTR, Escorts, Pug 106, 306, and then I had a Pug 406 GTXI.

And when I got into my bimmer, I couldn't believe how good it was to drive. And the acceleration is more than needed. And once you get it past 3000rpm, it throws you back in your seat. Not once did I ever touch the floor. And I did race the streets in her, Saturday nights when all the boyracers are about, you know the good old fashioned car park cruise.

A good mate of mine has a Toyota MR2 2.0, and we went on a road trip and, we ended up speeding along and he said he couldn't get over how fast it is for a 1.8. He also said he was struggling to keep up with it. 0 to 60 is around 9 seconds, and compared to its rivals. eg Audi aA4. and Merc C Class, it is still the fastest and most economical, best to drive.

I gave my bimmer to my wife now, and she loves it, I upgraded to a e39 530i SE. Now that is a fast car, and nobody wants to race you when they pull up alongside.

But as a whole the 318i is a very good all round car, OK she is a bit underpowered for a BMW, but put it up against any thing else in the same class with the same size engine, it will leave it behind. eg VW Beetle with a 2.0 engine only has 120 hp. and the BMW 1.8 has 140 hp.

But when it comes down to it, our 318i is a 1993 and has covered 375000 miles, and she still performs and handles like when she was new, body is still fantastic, no rust.

Engine still sounds so smooth and quiet, and to my surprise, doesn't burn any oil like I thought it would by now. There is no other car that will keep going like a BMW, and she is part of our family now.

I expect one day something will go wrong with her and repairing her won't be cost effective. But until that day comes we are just going to keep her.