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  4. New to 90's BMW's - Advice wanted!

New to 90's BMW's - Advice wanted!

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved BMW Discussion
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  • straight6pwrS
    straight6pwrS
    straight6pwr
    wrote on last edited by
    #2

    check rear strut towers for rusting, it is a common problem for any e36.

    other than that just look for the normal things - maintenance receipts/history, specifically engine and suspension. all the rubber pieces in the suspension will have to be replaced if the PO was cheap and didn't replace them and the car has over 100k miles.

    the m44 in the 318ti is a pretty robust motor. it has no balls, but its not supposed to.

    Dan
    yajsYRL.jpg.e5f350b4dfe961d76ac8b32efce2e1a6.jpg

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    • EarlE
      EarlE
      Earl
      wrote on last edited by
      #3

      My Ti is an m42, due to being OBD1. I enjoy it. It isn't fast at all, has some little balls, but gets great gas mileage if you do a normal tune up (plugs,wires, coolant flush, thermostat, new oil and filter, and air filter) Most of my bushings are dead. My rear strut mounts were absolutely garbage, my struts were all terribly blown, and my rear springs had sheared off a few coils. Just make sure it wasn't beat, as in don't buy it from a young kid=) Do you have a link to this car? Mileage?

      museum sig 2earl.jpg

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      • Ryan...R
        Ryan...R
        Ryan...
        wrote on last edited by
        #4

        Wont applesauce be crushed if you dont get an e30?? :P

        Like Dan/Earl have said, the 318ti is a nice commuter car, not on top of the "sporty" scale. I've seen a couple pop on craigslist too in the past couple months, so finding one shouldn't be tooooo hard.

        Also, if you're up for a driving trip, a member on Bimmerfest has an absolutely beautiful red 318ti, 5 speed, with that kind of funny cloth/hurricane interior. He was asking $4400 I do believe, located in Atlanta Georgia.

        2021 Gladiator Willys -- 6 speed manual, 33" Falken AT, 3/4" level

        2021 Low Rider S -- Stage 2, 117hp/128ft lbs

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        • T
          T
          ten2doyle102
          wrote on last edited by
          #5

          You can put a supercharger them.... them they have what you call.... "balls"! ;)

          E36's are also notorious BIG for the rear subframe failures, right?

          71597960650dd93c370d.jpg

          E30 by ten2doyle102, on Flickr

          2000 Audi S4 2.7TT, 1991 318is 1.8L

          Represntin' da A-Town foo's

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          • EarlE
            EarlE
            Earl
            wrote on last edited by
            #6

            ^Yeah my bushings are so far gone that I'm waiting for something to break=P lol And the same interior as me Ryan?

            museum sig 2earl.jpg

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            • T
              T
              ten2doyle102
              wrote on last edited by
              #7

              Its not the bushings that are the problem, its the whole subframe. I read that it can literally rip the mounting bolts from the sheet metal over time. Maybe I am mistaken but its something to look into.

              71597960650dd93c370d.jpg

              E30 by ten2doyle102, on Flickr

              2000 Audi S4 2.7TT, 1991 318is 1.8L

              Represntin' da A-Town foo's

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              • B
                B
                B C
                wrote on last edited by
                #8

                If you plan on keeping the car for a while and dont plan on driving it in the snow then do your self a huge favor and buy something rust-free from the southwest.

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                • wasnt m3W
                  wasnt m3W
                  wasnt m3
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #9

                  $5k should buy a REALLY nice e36. Take your time looking for the right one if you can. If you want a carfax ran for free let me know.

                  m3sig-1.jpg

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                  • mystere30M
                    mystere30M
                    mystere30
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #10

                    ^^^ win

                    1298453043-picsay.jpg

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                    • EarlE
                      EarlE
                      Earl
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #11

                      Sagaris said:

                      If you plan on keeping the car for a while and dont plan on driving it in the snow then do your self a huge favor and buy something rust-free from the southwest.

                      Mine is absolutely rust free with all undercoating intact and I bought it from up here=P

                      museum sig 2earl.jpg

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                      • camarokC
                        camarokC
                        camarok
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #12

                        Front end Slop in the control arms and associated bushings.... are the oil separators a problem on the i4's?

                        Also, check maintenance for cooling system work.

                        KEVIN

                        BMW CCA # 416146

                        sudo kill -KILL cupholders

                        CDV Free, 545i Shifter and ///M Weighted Shift knob.

                        Member of DSC Module Failure Club $$ :(

                        Bimmerforumsig.jpg

                        deathwarden5 said:

                        Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.

                        Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how far you take the wall with you.

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                        • Bayerische BombeB
                          Bayerische BombeB
                          Bayerische Bombe
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #13

                          lol, I don't think he'd be too disappointed, plus this isn't my absolute car. Just kinda something I came across and was feeling it. My mom always told me that if you're shopping and something catches your eye but you don't know if you should do it, ask yourself if you'll regret passing it by if you don't buy it. Same with cars I feel, if I find myself thinking about it some time after I saw it online, maybe it's something I should look into further. The longer I thought about it the better it sounded. Although now I'm a little bit put off by it since the problems people are saying to look for are pretty much the same things I'm facing/have faced with my Talon. Last fall my dad helped me replace the rear strut towers and shocks. I'm unhappy that it seems my front ones are also now due... putting that off a bit... oil is also leaking in my car at a frightening pace. It had been worse but I switched to a 10W 40 as opposed to the previous 5W 30. Before it had been smoking because some horrible leak is causing it to spray all over everything under my hood. Unfortunately, looking at bimmers, this seems to be still a common issue. I just wanna avoid that whole deal AND have the 5-speed bimmer of my dreams. lol. Dirte or not.

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                          • Ryan...R
                            Ryan...R
                            Ryan...
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #14

                            Either one will be a good choice; e30s are great, and I love the TI. Whichever you get, you obviously know the rules; pics or it did not happen ;)

                            2021 Gladiator Willys -- 6 speed manual, 33" Falken AT, 3/4" level

                            2021 Low Rider S -- Stage 2, 117hp/128ft lbs

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                            • Bayerische BombeB
                              Bayerische BombeB
                              Bayerische Bombe
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #15

                              http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=76085671&listingRecNum=3&criteria=prMx%3D5000%26sf1Dir%3DASC%26prMn%3D0%26mkId%3D20005%26stkTyp%3DU%26rd%3D100%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-pseudoPrice-transTypeId%26zc%3D53219%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-0-0%26stkTypId%3D28881%26sf2Dir%3DDESC%26sf1Nm%3Dmiles%26sf2Nm%3Dprice%26isDealerGrouping%3Dfalse%26transTypeId%3D28112%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=national

                              Here's a link to the one. Thoughts?

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                              • Ryan...R
                                Ryan...R
                                Ryan...
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #16

                                I think it looks nice, fair price too but I'm sure they can be talked down! I like the color, and an M bumper on that would be teh seks..

                                2021 Gladiator Willys -- 6 speed manual, 33" Falken AT, 3/4" level

                                2021 Low Rider S -- Stage 2, 117hp/128ft lbs

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                                • mystere30M
                                  mystere30M
                                  mystere30
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #17

                                  good god it would need new wheels though...lol

                                  1298453043-picsay.jpg

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                                  • EarlE
                                    EarlE
                                    Earl
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #18

                                    Needs low like me=) Not a horrid price. Check the underbody and if you go look at it, remove the carpet over the rear wheel wells and check the towers. I din't know to check, but I got lucky and have a crazy solid car. The reason the price seems high to me though is only because mine had 145,000 miles and i only paid $2,200;) But If you want something more reliable, I'd get an e30=P It seems like they can handle anything you throw at them. E36's seem like they'll take it for a while and then they'll tell you that they don't like it, and they'll start falling apart.

                                    museum sig 2earl.jpg

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                                    • Bayerische BombeB
                                      Bayerische BombeB
                                      Bayerische Bombe
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #19

                                      Ryan... said:

                                      ... and an M bumper on that would be teh seks..

                                      lol sauce was telling me that yesterday. Even if I didn't agree I suppose he'd find a way to make it happen.

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                                      • Bayerische BombeB
                                        Bayerische BombeB
                                        Bayerische Bombe
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #20

                                        mystere30 said:

                                        good god it would need new wheels though...lol

                                        I knew someone would have an issue with that, and I do agree.

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                                        • EarlE
                                          EarlE
                                          Earl
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #21

                                          Ryan... said:

                                          I think it looks nice, fair price too but I'm sure they can be talked down! I like the color, and an M bumper on that would be teh seks..

                                          Or my bumper;) lol

                                          museum sig 2earl.jpg

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