Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

[KOSMIK]

Tips and Advice for 92' 318iS manual


Hi guys..I'm not really new here and has been browsing this great forum for a few months. I need all the tips and advise i get from all of u here regarding the 318iS as i confirm wanna buy it even tho i tink the price a bit too steep for $36k with a mileage of 333kplus. Hope to hear from all of u. Thanx

 

[sszone]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

Tips and Advice for 92' 318iS manual


Hi guys..I'm not really new here and has been browsing this great forum for a few months. I need all the tips and advise i get from all of u here regarding the 318iS as i confirm wanna buy it even tho i tink the price a bit too steep for $36k with a mileage of 333kplus. Hope to hear from all of u. Thanx

thats very high mileage...which dealer u getting from? dun hurry, take your time to look around. dun let the salesmen psycho u. its not all abt the price and mileage. how's the car condition, internal and external. what are the probs that u found it and whether the dealer will do up for u. then still got the loan, admin fee, football money those dealers want to charge u.

there's only 4 players doing the resale of these old beemers so the price would kinda be shored up. u would be better off getting it from those lone dealers, who have a beemer like this once in a while to sell. i saved at least 5k buying from my dealer compared to the beemers i tried at this few dealers.

 

[gwumpkus]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

wah lau eh... so high mileage and still so expensive.. hahh.... well..its ur call.. i'll be patient if i were u... iS is an M44 engine, 1.9L..140bhp.. but at *that* price..hahhah..i could use the difference and STILL get it to those specs.....hahhah.. okok..thats just *me*.... and the iS *is* a nice car to drive..

 

[Mockngbrd]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

maybe the agent see u very gian to buy so he jack up the price

 

[gadaffi]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

ya lah bro, u shld take ur tyme. Theres still more out there, the mileage really scary....

 

[Snail_Mobile]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

iS is an M44 engine, 1.9L..140bhp..

I thot the 92's 318iS shld be 1.8l 130bhp. The M44 1.9l 140bhp unit only came in ard end 94/mid 95.(well, i cld be wrong thou)

 

[gwumpkus]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

hmm...i stand corrected then.... 1.8L is prob the M42 then?..i never thought they used that in euro spec cars?..only US cars?.... ah well..still its a great engine, twin cam and all..... now if only i can find one of them engines.. hehhe..

 

[Snail_Mobile]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

Yup it is still a great engine, hm... shld check wif our fellow forumer 5, he drove a 92 318iS 3yrs ago.

 

[__iceman__]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

at 333k km, I would have concerns not only on engine, but the rest of the mechanicals for sheer wear and tear. Almost everything would need looking at.

I ever bought a 170k km japanese coupe that drove beautifully and passed inspection at my mechanic... one owner from new, its by a old man who never drove it hard and was gentle. But the question is... its a matter of time.

Within 1 yr ownership out of sheer wear and tear, I changed gearbox, alternator, distributor, bushings, suspension, drive shaft, wheel bearing, fuel pump, water pump, alternator - you name it.

Sold it after one year because I found out that there were still other items I needed to do. Simply not worth it - unless you take it as a project car to really restore it and keep it for very long.

 

[opvaulet]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

Price is high. But mileage depends on many things. My 91 e34 has done 320k and purrs like new.

 

[minilexus]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

thats very high mileage...which dealer u getting from? dun hurry, take your time to look around. dun let the salesmen psycho u. its not all abt the price and mileage. how's the car condition, internal and external. what are the probs that u found it and whether the dealer will do up for u. then still got the loan, admin fee, football money those dealers want to charge u.

there's only 4 players doing the resale of these old beemers so the price would kinda be shored up. u would be better off getting it from those lone dealers, who have a beemer like this once in a while to sell. i saved at least 5k buying from my dealer compared to the beemers i tried at this few dealers.

You mentioned there are 4 players doing the re-sales of these old beemers .... who are they ... can PM if not convience to write here as i am also hunting around for a 92 318iS .... so what u driving is the maintenance high? And this lone dealers you mentioned i guess they are all over i guessed?

 

[minilexus]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

at 333k km, I would have concerns not only on engine, but the rest of the mechanicals for sheer wear and tear. Almost everything would need looking at.

I ever bought a 170k km japanese coupe that drove beautifully and passed inspection at my mechanic... one owner from new, its by a old man who never drove it hard and was gentle. But the question is... its a matter of time.

Within 1 yr ownership out of sheer wear and tear, I changed gearbox, alternator, distributor, bushings, suspension, drive shaft, wheel bearing, fuel pump, water pump, alternator - you name it.

Sold it after one year because I found out that there were still other items I needed to do. Simply not worth it - unless you take it as a project car to really restore it and keep it for very long.

Woh that is alot of stuff that u changed ... is the maintenance realli that high?? Are u still driving it?

 

[sszone]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

nah, i dun think those fellas got 318is to sell. dun think they dare to makan the car cos its not that easy to find buyers for that. they mostly take in the saloon bmws like your normal 318s, 320s. all sweet talking....but price still too high for my liking and they are not willing to do up the probs u highlight to them or give u warranty after u manage to bargain a slightly lower price for them. any interested coe bmw buyers will find that he can't find much on the mkt besides from those 4 dealers. reason is they try to buy up whatever is in the mkt. for me, i chanced on my car on the newspaper, it was a repo and it looked like crap. my fren condemned it but somehow i knew i found a gem. i paid 500 bucks more than what they offered to my dealer so u can guess the margin. my dealer did up the car, new leather, change suspension, bmw badges (used to be ac schneizers), etc without extra charge. the 5k or more i saved buying from him could be put to better use. most salesman will play on your gian-ness ask u to put deposit, dun put any unless u are really confirmed abt it.

 

[sszone]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

Woh that is alot of stuff that u changed ... is the maintenance realli that high?? Are u still driving it?

maintenance is not really that high. i used to think so this way before i bought mine. so far i continued with the workshop that my dealer intro, tried a few small jobs to test them out. price quite reasonable. for stuff like light bulbs, side protectors, i go to the shops or bmw parts agent to buy and install it myself, save money and its kinda fun.

 

[minilexus]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

nah, i dun think those fellas got 318is to sell. dun think they dare to makan the car cos its not that easy to find buyers for that. they mostly take in the saloon bmws like your normal 318s, 320s. all sweet talking....but price still too high for my liking and they are not willing to do up the probs u highlight to them or give u warranty after u manage to bargain a slightly lower price for them. any interested coe bmw buyers will find that he can't find much on the mkt besides from those 4 dealers. reason is they try to buy up whatever is in the mkt. for me, i chanced on my car on the newspaper, it was a repo and it looked like crap. my fren condemned it but somehow i knew i found a gem. i paid 500 bucks more than what they offered to my dealer so u can guess the margin. my dealer did up the car, new leather, change suspension, bmw badges (used to be ac schneizers), etc without extra charge. the 5k or more i saved buying from him could be put to better use. most salesman will play on your gian-ness ask u to put deposit, dun put any unless u are really confirmed abt it.

Sorry I m quite confused ... so who did u buy from ? the owner or the dealer? where is the 5K from?
ACtually who are these 4 dealers??

 

[5]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

Hi kosmik, do check the condition of the car first. Everthing from engine to chasis to gearbox. You could request from the dealer to allow you to send it to your workshop (u could try places like BVO, Juzz4cars or M&Q). This was the step which I skipped and ended up spending like about $20k within a year in repairs. With this amount spent, it was like only half the problems solved, still having to live with a cracked chasis, loose rear diff, crooked front alignment due to previous accidents by previous owners and the list goes on...

Its a great car to drive, but I believe only a few 318iS are really in acceptable condition. Most are trashed real badly, especially the manual coupes. Do take your time to check the condition of the car carefully before making a decision.

 

[KOSMIK]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

Hi '5' ...Thanxs for the advice..i tink i might not be getting the 318iS due to unforseen circumstances. Just my luck i got to lose my 500 dollars deposit. If any of u all here interested in the 318iS can message me. At least the dealer wont 'eat' my 500dollars n maybe u can pay me the 500 dollars i deposit if any of u wanna help me..if not bo pian money burn........hmmm...

 

[emiffy]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

Maybe you didn't loose the $500, but more like you saved $20k... cheer up.

 

[yendor]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

IMHO,

When you are dealing with a car > 7yrs old, you basically need to decide on 2 routes of advancement.

a. Keep the car on low maintainence scheme and repair only the bare essentials to keep it moving. throw away any notion that the car should be sweak free, jerk free and can out run an M3....

b. Keep the car for the next COE and rebuild the bugger. This route is preferred for classic cars or just cars you fell in love with. In this case set aside a some of money to rebuild the engine with new piston rings, seals and bearings. As the same time, decarbonise the head, and change the water pump, thermostat, radiator cap and timing belt. Replace all rubber hoses (coolant, vacuum or air) Strip the gearbox to refresh the syncros for manuals or service the torque converter for autos. If it is a manual, change the clutch too. For the running gear, change the dampers and wheel bearings. To get the new car ride feeling, change all suspension bushings including those for the subframes.

With these done, your car will run trouble free for a good number of years(less battery, alternator or starter problems)

For a 300k+ KM, i suggest that a full rebuild is already past the corner and you clamp the price down by around $7K

Cheers

 

[sszone]

Re: Newbie with a 92' 318iS manual

i sticking with option a with the occasional uprgrades like HU change etc. the other changes are mainly for safety purposes like tyres, brake pads and basic maintenance.
not worth spending too much on it.