Buying a BMW 318

stev0690, Jul 29, 11:20pm
I am looking at purchasing a 1998 318 as a second car for around town running, does anyone have any suggestions of what to check for or what could go wrong with these cars! thanks
mugenb20b, Jul 30, 1:43am
Make sure it hasn't been played with (ie. stock suspension and wheels) and make sure everything works, like windows, heater, A/C, etc.

What can go wrong with them is anything electric but realistically speaking, anything could fail at any time, depending on its history.
buyme3, Jul 30, 1:45am
Watch out for worn tyres. Very common on these. Especially is been driven a lot on tarseal
stev0690, Jul 30, 2:45am
tru haha
mugenb20b, Jul 30, 2:49am
Check the mileage too, if it's done any walk away.
edangus, Jul 30, 3:25am
go for a 320 or a 325, might be a bit more in gas, but worth it
mitsiboy69, Jul 30, 3:58am
Try to get one that isn't a singapore or japanese import as they use a weaker transmission that often fails and the singapore imports get eletrical issues due to the high humidity. Also a 320 or 325 is a much better car, and is very similar on fuel consumption. But most importantly get a e46 (1998 and after) much better car than the e36
gunhand, Jul 30, 4:03am
Why would BMW put a weaker trans in a car just cause its going to Singapore!Do they think it would just sit in traffic jams all day not going anywhere therefore not wear out!
Just askin.
mitsiboy69, Jul 30, 4:09am
It was because the regulations in Japan meant that the car had to be a certain % made from Japanese parts so they used a Nissan gearbox or something. And they actually wore out faster because of stop-start traffic jams. This is what I was told by a genuine BMW mechanic. And I had a 1998 japanese import 318 and if you parked on a hill it would almost get stuck in Park and it made a horrible noise when you clunked it into drive,
toshibanz, Jul 30, 5:36am
I had one for quite a few years. It was a jap import. Never really too much went wrong with it except for the motor. Single cam. It was forever blowing head gaskets, and water pumps !
doug207, Jul 30, 5:48am
Avoid the 318i. The 320, 323, 325 and 328i all perform better, are reliable and better on gas.

As for the Jap gearbox, the 318i never had a Nissan box (you're thinking of the Jatco that was behind the 6 cylinder Jap cars) You will however find that they will probably have a GM box in them, a horrible, vomit inducing 4 speed pile of junk.
The 318 will also blow a headgasket and you'll hate BMWs forever, like every 318 owner. Then you'll have to tar BMWs as unreliable junk, because their 4 cylinder motors are disgusting.

Also, go for the newer shape (E46) as it's been said already, better car
franc123, Jul 30, 5:51am
Yes I seem to recall that a Jatco trans was used in some Asian spec ones instead of the ZF, its not nearly as good, they developed a horrible hard first-second gearchange that gave you whiplash when they were cold. Most of them were dead by 90k, well an indicated 90k on singaporean ones lol. I think they also assembled some 3 series in Thailand.
horsepower7, Jul 30, 6:07am
horrible cars! altho we still manage to sell a few at work haha!
doug207, Jul 30, 6:09am
To my knowledge the Jatco boxes were not fitted to the 4 cyl.
Have to agree though, they had chronic valve body issues which made them flare between shifts (usually the 3-4th shift) and the hard shift when cold from 1st to 2nd, just chuck it in snow mode when cold, starts off in 2nd.
There were some interesting issues with converters not locking up at times, or slipping when they were meant to lock up. Then there was the oil starvation at hard right hand cornering.
franc123, Jul 30, 6:25am
Yep they were crap. You could well be right, it may have been the 6cyl 320i's that had that trans, it was definitely one of the smaller engine options. Still something any 3 series buyer needs to be aware of.
doug207, Jul 30, 7:04am
All the JDM 6 cyl E36s had the Jatco, hilariously short life span behind a 328i
kazbanz, Jul 30, 7:09pm
Issues I have encountered. split top radiator tank,abs sensor wires breaking,the discussed gearbox issues, trim inside falling aaway. The main fault though is a stupid $40 plastic elbow that falls to bits.{it takes water to the heater from the back???of the head }-pretty quickly followed by pop goes the headgasket if you dont notice the needle. If you are serious about owning one I would strongly suggest replacing that part no matter how good it seems-its a cheap fix that can save hundreds even into thousands
gupta, Jul 30, 7:32pm
Always apply hand brake before putting trans into park especially on hills so that the brake is taking the load rather than the trans.
mitsiboy69, Jul 30, 10:17pm
Yea, that did help. But there was something seriously wrong with that gearbox, most auto's won't have any issue with taking the load on a hill.
haventrader, Jul 31, 1:32am
Just to throw a cat amongst the pigeons. Had an E36 320i 6 cylinder and it was a brilliant car- not a day's issue (Jap import). Also had a 316i in the UK many years ago- good runaround (was cheap) and again no issues. Do all the checks before buying, but if you can, go for the bigger engine model, and yes E46 is refined. 330i is fun!
vtecintegra, Jul 31, 1:46am
Isn't the same unit found in a bunch of Japanese model cars too! Weird how you only hear about issues in BMWs
princessnaaz, Jul 31, 3:08am
Thanks mmm may look at something bit more reliable.
zephyrheaven, Jul 31, 3:10am
Two pan gearbox = run away!
stev0690, Jul 31, 4:03am
Think i will run