1980 BMW 3 Series 318 review from North America

The start and finish mileage is the same because the odometer was not working when I got the car and I never fixed it.

The only reason I tried this one out was because I got it for $300 as it needed a master cylinder and a bit of TLC.

I replaced the very worn front seats, the brake master cylinder, the brake booster, and the rear wheel cylinders. That was pretty much it. The clutch was replaced before I bought the car. The AC compressor was dead. I only kept it for a year, but it was fairly reliable.

I thought that these things were supposed to be "the ultimate driving machine"?

I only kept the car for a year because it was not what I expected. The interior was pretty worn, mostly aged, the performance was not fantastic (0-60 in about 10.5 seconds and top speed only about 95mph), and parts were expensive (the master cylinder was $150).

Also, this thing did not handle as well as I thought it should, it was never confidence inspiring in the turns. It felt like it was going tip over if you cornered too hard.

In the end, the cost to keep it going was too high when compared performance received. Add to that, it was painful to take this car on long trips. It got good gas mileage, but the seats wore me out. We had to get out of the car every two hours or suffer major discomfort.