Major Mechanical Problems - BMW 318i E36

[Slyther]

Hi, i was wondering if anyone could help me out here..
I am looking to buy a BMW 318i E36 for my 1st car and have been trying to get something for under AU$10000. I have found a fair few sellers out there , i was just wanting to know if there is any major mechanical problems / faults that occur in this model after a certain amount of kilometers of wear and tear? I have been seeing alot for sale over the 200,000 km mark. Are these cars still in good condition for atleast another 60,000 - 100,000 km ?

[witeshark]

Your best information source for this is the service records of the cars.

[martyyyn]

Early 318 had issues with the profile gasget, which I beleive was resolved late 93, (no offence to earlier model owners) I had an e38 with 145k miles & its was still going strong when I sold it, like whiteshark said Service History is always desirable, I have enclosed a general guide see link below

United Bimmer - BMW Enthusiast Community and Forums : Bimmer Technical Help

cheers Martin

[chapps]

Slyther,

Just for your info 6 weeks ago picked up 1996 Auto E36 318i with 133k on the clock for AUD $8,000. (Sydney) so keep looking.
Would you be intertested in a 92 318i green manual with about the same k for probably less than 8k the mechanic I purchased mine from was selling his personal car have no idea what it is like but would think ok.
I can not give you any comments regards problems with the E36 as only 6 weeks of driving so far. Problems I have had have been minor idle issues with a CCV and spent no money as yet, but their is a wealth of info from nice people on the bmw forums for sure.

Regards,
Marc

[Slyther]

thanks very much everyone for the information regarding my thread

[jmo69]

This isn't the exact thread I was looking for, but there is a lot of good info here, especially the 3rd from the end.
CHECK THIS THREAD BEFORE POSTING: The Ultimate Thread For FAQs - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum

[ncktuley1]

as far as i know the only major problem is the profile gasket that gets eaten out at around 100,000 miles which is umm about 160,000 km.