chatoyer

Hi everyone

I'm new here - great forum. Have actually spent the last few hours snooping around other forums as well.

Looking to by an E36. Saw a '95 318i Saloon today with 92000km on it (mileage tends to be lower here in NZ).

What is general feeling of the 95 318i's? I'm assuming the gasket problem isn't an issue with the 95 models?

Would appreciate any and all comments or suggestions on what to look for.

Cheers

David
Dunedin, NZ

chatoyer

Well, I've joined the ranks of BMW owners. Picked up the car mentioned above. Have wanted one for nearly 13 years.

Drives a treat, and am looking forward to getting it out on the roads here in New Zealand.

David

318ti

Correctamundo on the gasket problem - it was corrected by 1993.

As a new member of the four-banger group around here, congrats and willkommen!

From all I have read, you are in luck as far as obtaining an E36 with few or little Gremlin activities to concern yourself with. The 318's never had the water pump problems or VANOS failures that the inline 6's have (sporadically) had, and are about as tried and true as BMW has been known for in the reliability department. One thing you may watch, though are your rear suspension bushings, as BMW beefed up the bushings on all multi-link rear suspensions in 1997, I believe, to compensate for an early wear problem which occured in all E36's, save for the 318ti's, which retained the semi-trailing arm rear suspension from the E30 days.

Other than that, happy motoring!

chatoyer

right-o - thanks for that. Will watch out for those bushings. The cost of insurance here in NZ is embarassingly low (US$19 a month for full comp cover, including collision), so the time was right to buy a car like this. Handles like a dream.

What I don't like:

1) it's an auto, because my wife doesn't like to drive stick in hilly environments like the ones we live in (this actually turned out to be a good point though because we assumed the guy before us didn't drive it into the ground)
2) the stereo is lousy. The stereo on our 92 Integra was incredible compared to this, but I do like listening to road and engine noise, especially in a BMW
3) 1.8 engine (as above - meant it was probably not driven like a sports car because the power isn't necessarily there)

What I do like about (after having it for a day):

1) lack of bells and whistles - fewer things to go wrong in my opinion.
2) colour (burgundy metallic)
3) the ride (what else?)

I think what I will do over the next few months is:

1) tranny oil change
2) replace fuel filter
3) replace air filter

Largely because I'm not 100% certain when these were last done.

I'm confused about something I read in the manual, however. It says never to let the engine warm up at idle speed. Why is that? On a cold morning, am I meant to turn the car on, wait maybe 20 sec or so, then drive away (albeit slowly)?

David