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.
When did you buy the car? If recently, what do you expect for a over 20 year old car, and it is their cheap model anyway?
Handling could be bad because of worn out suspension parts.
Where did you go to get your parts? Any car parts are expensive at retail prices. They are not the most expensive parts. Volvo is worse. The BMW club is a source to find parts companies that are more reasonable.
How much can one expect from a 25 year old bmw that may not have been maintaind correctly and obviously had far in excess of 100k and that you paid 300.00 for? You get what you pay for.
Well, the 318i was never a very fast car. I should know because I drive a 1994 318i every day. I do not feel that mine is SLOW, but it is merely adequate. As far as everything else goes, I love the car, and it does return about 28 MPG average. BMW puts a lot of features on their cars that continue to work perfectly long after they would have failed on other cars. Also, parts for my BMW are WAY cheaper than they were for my late-model Mercury Cougar that the BMW replaced. The reason that yours did not handle well was probably due to worn-out shocks and other suspension components. My advice is to try a newer BMW with a six-cylinder engine and less problems.
It's a 26-27 year old car, what do you expect. Many cars bhp drops quite quickly when they get old, so performance isn't going to be great. If you buy an old car you've got to expect quite a few problems.
In 1980 it may have been an 'Ultimate Driving Machine', but you can't expect it to be when compared to modern cars nearly 3 decades later.
What do you expect from a 27 year old German coupe? The suspension bushings all need replacement (which you didn't do) and the seats wearing out is part of natural wear and tear!
...tip for next time you buy a car : the older it is, the more reapirs it will need due to the natural process of aging.
Time is not kind to a car. This car is 27 years old. It has what at the time was an advanced European design, which costs more money to maintain anyway. Buying an old BMW at that price is very risky and if you take that risk you need to have a second car to use as primary transportation. The price alone is revealing. I love these cars, but also know what to expect from a low-priced one.
Good honest report on a car you owned - thanks.
Was funny to se all the "Pro-BMW" people comment.
They are overrated, overpriced and gutless.
A friend of mine bought a new BMW, she said it would not pull the skin off a rice pudding!!
BMW = big money waster.
'Was funny to se all the "Pro-BMW" people comment.'
Actually, I wrote the first comment, and I'm very anti-BMW. Mostly due to the fact that none of them seem to have indicators!
Anyway I commented, because I find it hard to understand people complaining about their second-hand or old cars when they're the ones that bought them, often without a test drive.
My BMW is hands-down the best car that I have EVER had. It is so much fun to drive and I never worry about it stranding me anywhere, even though it is over ten years old. Also, when something has needed repair, I found that the parts were much cheaper than the ones for my previous cars, which were domestics. My BMW is also much easier to work on than those cars were. For instance: something as simple as changing a headlight bulb was a 15-minute ordeal on my Ford, whereas it is about a 20-second job on the BMW. BMWs are not over-rated in the slightest. They do cost quite a bit more, but they are the best along with Toyota, Honda, and Nissan.
I believe I actually spoke to this young kid in person because the story sure sounds familiar, and I told him as much as I'm going to say here:
A decent car today costs several thousand dollars, to get anything that's in halfway good condition one should plan on spending 4 or 5 thousand dollars and it helps if that amount is in cash.
Because pro or anti BMW doesn't really matter, when one pays three hundred lousy bucks for a 20-some year old car I say someone got what they paid for.
About the only irksome part is this fellow still expects it to drive, when a 300 dollar car is good for parts, you will not and cannot find a good, running automobile for that kind of money on a consistent basis.
Definitely not a BMW.
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