96 318I 1.9 automatic longevity question

[jsgold]

My son owns a 96 318i, 1.9L wuth 140K miles on it. He has had for three years and we use Mobil 1 oil in it, changed avg.5K miles. Have not done anything to tranny as of yet. He is wondering if he should get a newer car as he is getting married soon, but I think he should hang onto it for a daily driver as it gets great fuel mileage and I would think it should easily go 200K. My old 91 Corsica had 221K on it when we finally sold it so I would think this car has a lot of life left in it. What IS the normal life of engne and tranny on these cars? I want him to get the tranny fluid changed out soon and a new filter. Other than the a/c is a bit quirky it is a nice liiitle car, and it is paid for.

[Wil C]

I have seen a lot of those vehicles.. yes they are pretty sturdy. but when stuff needs to be replace it will hurt.

in my personal opinion.. if i were in your son's shoes.. i would sell it because if the car wasn't kept very well(like VERY well..) the car isn't that great to drive. unless you're willing to pay a lot to make it feel new. which also means you love the car and will never let it go.

and plus you can probaly find a better fuel efficient car in the new cars and not worry about repairs. i don't know what your son's requirements in a vehicle is but i would suggest for a family car the corolla is truly one of the best vehicles i've seen.. with almost nothing to fix.

Or the TSX 2008 and below models are great.. i have a friend who takes really good care of his TSX.. and he has 250,000km on it and hasn't changed any major components.

dunno if that helps.. thats just my view on it. For me as someone who fixes their own vehicles prefer the 1996-2000 civics.. because you can easily find cheap parts for it and is easy to fix.

[joe.inom]

Well thats so good for the engine of you and your sons car to have that mileage , but are you sure you had really sold a car of a mileage with 221k ?
I mean like i wanted to know by how much have you sold it , i rejected a car for 87K mileage, well anyways , about your sons car - he is owning a great vehicle , he aint need to change it , and yes afcourse before marrige , he can just have his engine output and transmission checked or changed.

[OKCSuburban]

There are many of these cars out there with over 200k miles. It is all in how you take care of them. Run the numbers and put back a little each month for repairs. How much are car payments for the newer cars? 200-600 a month and you will still have maintenance cost too.... If he has a good mechanic for support he might be better off keeping the BMW. I have found the BMW's have a really nice drive and you can normally find a local BMW CCA chapter with many knowledgeable members who can also help out....