Possible Bmw Shopping - BMW Forum

offabroadway · 08-31-2005, 10:13 AM

Well, the 325e is likely getting written off, thanks to the efforts of the man in the one ton truck. So I've begun looking at other vehicles. I've found an '84 318i, two door five speed silver, from Victoria with about 200,000kms on it, for $2900 CDN. With regards to performance, fuel economy, and ease of servicing, what can you guys tell me about this car compared with a 325e equipped with an auto?

DJProfessor · 08-31-2005, 11:15 AM

far far less........the four bangers are chain driven, so forget about doing that timing belt every 50k or so.....and the manual trannys.....the manuals are dead sexy. i have 240k on the one in my car and it is still going strong. way better than the autos that usually only net you like 100k or so before needing repair/rebuild/serious maintence (and this is just on average before you go posting up that you have over 100k on yours and it's still going strong. i worked at a BMW dealer and just sharing what i saw first hand). your performance will probaby be a bit better as manuals are almost always faster than the dogamatics (not to mention more fun to drive). so you may notice a bit more pep even though you are downgrading motors.......

side bar, a tech had one of those before he gave it to his dad.....asides from normal wear and tear items the powertrain has 400k on it and is still rocking, no timing chain or headgasket was done on the motor ever. stout to say the least.

ducatipaso · 09-01-2005, 06:40 PM

try to get your hands on a '91 or even a '92 E30 if you want a 318 the engine is a DOHC 16V that's much much stronger and more reliable (go ahead and flame me you early 318 owners) than the earlier cars.

just my $.02USD here...

ps: oh, and don't get an automatic if you can avoid it...

nukeduster · 09-01-2005, 08:59 PM

the zf 4hp22 is a very stout tranny. they are used in land rovers w/ v8s direct from land rover and last quite a bit longer then more modern bmw trannies. i frequently see them last 200+k miles.

e39 and later 5's and e38 and later 7's were the really problematic autos from my experience.

Dentz · 09-02-2005, 02:37 AM

*Edit* Nevermind