1985 BMW 3 Series 318i from North America - Comments

Well the glove box lock broke about 4 years ago and again this year. the door locks that lock the door open are broke. I had to repalce the voltage regulator at 600,000 miles. Driver rear wheel cylinder went out lately. both rear cv axles have been gone since I've owned it, it only causes a vibration at low RPM's.

The car runs great at about 3,000 and on the highway it drinks little gas at 70 MPH, but at 90 it has great response in power, but it also drinks gas...

Surely the mileage on this review can't be correct? Then again, if it is correct I don't think you can complain at all about a broken glove box and some handles after doing 700,000 miles!

I have a 318i and the only thing with my glove box is very strange, if you have a CD in the car (i have a stereo in mine not the original) when you open the glove compartment it ejects the cd, but if you only have had those problems and are at 600,000 then wow you're lucky to have found such a great car.

Does anyone have the gas mileage for a 1984 BMW 318???

With pretty much any car this old, you will find a very large difference in gas mileage from car to car. However, my uncle has been reporting about 27-30mpg on the highway from his 1987 318i, and it has not been in the shop very often at all. If the car has been tuned up, specifically, the oil changed, timing checked/adjusted, new spark plugs, new spark plug wires, and new air filter, you should expect to see 25-30mpg-which is outstanding in a car that is so fun to drive, even when compared with new models of all makes. Bad gas mileage (along with blue, black, or white smoke, difficult starting, and uneven or noisy running) may indicate that a tune up is needed, or that something is wrong with the car electronically or mechanically, of which there are too many causes to mention here. If the 318 you are looking at gets much less than 25mpg, you may have problems that need to be investigated. However, you should take it to a trusted mechanic before buying, regardless of how it appears, and that holds true for any older/high mileage car. Even if they charge you a little, what costs more? I'm pretty sure that electrically or vacuum operated mechanism costs way more than that mechanic would have charged to tell you that it was about to go out. Best of luck, when you find a good one, it will be worth the wait.