1984 BMW 3 Series 318i from North America - Comments

What hasn't gone wrong?

Speedometer hasn't worked since I purchased the car, and I don't have the days required to re-trace the wiring.

The dashboard lights are flaky, and sometimes go out.

Factory stereo didn't work since I purchased the car.

Seats are badly worn, but are comfortable.

The trunk power lock is broken, and sometimes it takes me several minutes to work the key in the lock to open it (so I keep it unlocked)

The gas tank leaks.

Brake lines corroded and blew.

I've replaced the fuel injectors.

The electric fan at the front stopped working, and now the car overheats regularly. (I use the heater to relieve the engine heat, but that's pretty nasty in the summer months)

I replaced the thermostat.

I've gone through two idle control valves, and I need another one.

The car runs rough.

I'm pretty disappointed with this car. I thought that when I purchased it I was going to get a really reliable car for driving back and forth to work, but the only thing reliable about it is that it always runs like crap.

If I sell it now, I might just get away before the whole thing blows up.

The handling is great.

In winter or slippery conditions, this car isn't all that swell. I find that the rear wheel drive easily spins out, but that could be a factor of me having the engine revving high because of the idle control valve.

Parts are extremely expensive. The idle control valve is something that is only a four inch long cylinder, and they want $600 for it at the dealership. (no parts suppliers have it)

If I'd had a parts car to go with it, I would've been better off.

Maybe this could be someone else's parts car.

You bought a 20-year-old worn-out high-mileage neglected car and because you didn't get it inspected by an expert you're moaning because it needs some repairs!

This has nothing to do with it being a European car.

You obviously know nothing about cars.

Your expectations are unreasonable.

Such a car is essentially, scrap.

Don't tell us you paid money for it.

Unfortunately no matter how well the car was originally built it is a 20 year old vehicle, so is bound to be unreliable and require considerable investment in parts and labour. Most 20 year old BMWs would be scrapped by now.

This comedian is implying that if he had bought a 20-year-old, neglected, untested American-made car it would have been better.

Very droll.

Where do these people come from???

I'm speaking about the reviewers that complain about the poor reliability of their cars. The ones that go on to bash the manufacturers, stating that they build "lemons".

Totally lost to them is the fact that they bought a ten or in this case twenty-one year old vehicle with extremely high mileage.

Do they really expect new-car reliability from these vehicles that probably should have been parked in the salvage yard years ago?

This review not only takes the cake, it takes the entire bakery!!!

I'm glad that people are taking time to comment on my post. I agree that a 20yr old car doesn't have very much life left in it. This being said, I did purchase a car with a mechanics certification (performed the month before), as well as an e-test (required in Ontario) performed less than a year previous (I now doubt that either of these were actually performed). This car I've driven for over a year, and I've definitely got my money out of it. 264K is low mileage for a) a European car, b) something 20 years old. at 20K per year it would have been closer to 400K by now. So the mileage isn't much of a concern. Like I said, the body is okay, and when I purchased the vehicle, I was told that it had recently had a newer engine put in. (lesson learned) In the review I described what went wrong with the car, not what I should have expected. I whole-heartedly admit that I know very little about purchasing cars, but aside from stating what went wrong with the vehicle, I did nowhere slam the make or the model, so I'm a little curious about some of the comments. The intent of the report left by me is to illustrate to another user interested in purchasing a like vehicle, what they're getting themselves into, so that they don't underestimate the commitment required, as I did.

Again, thanks for the comments, I enjoyed reading them.

Cheers.

I bought a 84 318i a year ago with very high mileage was also smashed in the front for five hundred bucks and it is one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned, I love the car.

The 'Factory Stereo' in your 1984 318i may need a security code to be entered. I phoned the local dealer here about mine, gave him the VIN number (chassis number) and he gave me the code. Great.

If you buy a older BMW, you better be a mechanic and able to fix it. They are fun to work on and well built and fun to drive. Do some reading and fix it, don`t condemn it.