Talk about your buying experience

[Bunta]

Im going to get my M42 on saturday.
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/car/276944797.html
This will be my families 5th e30 and my 3rd. I cant wait i've wanted one of these since I was 8 yrs old(when my mom got her first 318is).
Hopefully it wont take to much to get her up to snuff.


Hunter

[nomad]

I saw my 318is pop uo pn Craigslist after searching for a few weeks. I'd looked at another 318is but didn't feel right about it so I didn't pull the trigger.
When I saw this one, I knew I had to be the first to see it.
Called the morning after it was listed in the evening and was told he had a 6:30 showing, if I could make it down before that it'd be first come first served.
I was stuck at work, crazy busy, and resigned myself to just forget the whole thing. I called to tell him I couldn't make it down. He said that he'd hold it for me since the first guy hadn't called back again so I made plans to see it.

I went down late, drove 40min and paid $5 in tolls. Saw the car, and bought it. The only thing I would have done differntley is take the time to haggle on price. The car has 153K, clean interior, crack and tear free. Everything is stock as the day it rolled off the line. There is a small dent in the front fender and a crease on the lower part of the door panel but other than that (hello Ding King) the paint is in great condition and shiny. I detailed the whole car and it buffed up to a great looking ride. Shiny paint, immaculate interior, even all the stains came out of the carpets and they look relatively new again.
Now I'll fix the A/C, new brake system, struts/springs, hoses and belts, new fluids, new thermostat (just to be on the safe side), and new wheels.

At $2900 I may not have gotten the best deal, but I think I did fine.

[Bunta]

*Update*
Ive been busy working on the car and searching for/buying parts I've barely been on the forum. The Car was just as expected, ruff, a little rusty, a terrible paint job but it runs and drives like a dream and had a pretty fresh interior. Drove it over 3 hours home without a hitch. mostly highway these have more guts than I remember on the highway.
Got home pulled the interior apart and steamed cleaned it.  its going to be my beater while im working on my m52 swap in my 325i.
Im definetly having a blast with this little thing.




Hunter

[lcgtrplr]

brand new member and brand new owner of a 1991 318is m42. Having owned a 535is 87 and a 735i in the past, i have been chomping at the bits to own a another bimmer.

 I started looking at the 325is and had been watching craigslist and ebay heavy for about 3 weeks and refreshing on the newly listed bmw's.

this little 318is popped up 2 nites ago as a buy it now and after a quick email to the seller i bought it very quickly for 2500.00
It has 186k
completely rebuilt top end
timing chain
new belts
new suspension
new exhaust
new fuel pump and filter
all new front end parts
this was listed on the auction.

after i bought it he told me that the wheels and tires were also new (aftermarket wheels) and it has a new battery.

The car was painted about 2 years ago a corvette yellow.  Will keep you posted when i pick it up.

[lcgtrplr]

The bimmer is at my house.  I happen to be out of town but my car was driven in today from houton tx to MO. 600 miles of trouble free driving. I cant wait to get home and see the car.

[e30s4evr]

Found mine on craigslist! I bought it from the original owner -a 60 year old woman who had had the car for 14 years and 135K miles! The car appeared pristine if a little behind on the maintenance, and so when she didn't budge I gave here her asking price of $3800. The car buying process was more like an interview and at the end she wanted her picture taken next to the car handing the keys over to me!

BTW, I'm a new member who just joined a week or so ago in search of a support group (sorry , as most forums seem to cater to the nose-heavy E30 crowd! The 318is is my track car and my DD. Since I purchased it I've done the following

a) UUC EVO SSK with cartridge bearing -stolen from my e30 m3 which seems to appreciate the Z3 1.9 shifter more for some strange reason!
b) E21 320i tranny mounts -this was the end of missed shifts!!!
c) Team Dynamics 15X7 rims with T1-R 225/50/15s
d) Mark D chip that he detuned for me as my car pinged with the 91 octane chip. It still pings, but only in 3rd and 4th past 5000rpm. Not a problem on the street but I'm forced to at least run 50% 100 octane on the track.
e) Ate power discs and Hawk HP Plus -works just fine on the street!
f) IE 25mm FR and 22mm R sway bars. Works great, but rubs on control arms.
g) H&R OEM sports w/ Bilstein sports.
h) IE 1.25 degrees fixed camber plates.
i) offset control arm bushings.

  I'm in the process of replacing the Bilsteins with Konis to improve the ride. Although I suspect the IE bars may have to share the blame here. Other mods planned are lightened flywheel, supersprint catback and an LSD -and while I'm at it go to a 4.44 ratio as well.

Narayan

[Matt-B]

sweet nice car, my was on craigslist to

178k 318is for about 2300$

[1988E30M3]

Like most people here, I found mine in Craigslist.

1991 Alpineweiss, no sunroof, with 179,497 in the non-working odometer. The car looked good in the pictures, but the description indicated that the car had overheated and might need a headgasket. Listed price was $1,000.

I contacted the seller and arranged to see the car. I was the first one to contact the seller and first one to see the car. First impression of the car is that it had the dings and scratches you would expect from a car with 179,XXX miles. Checked the fluids, looking for mix of oil and coolant, and found no mix. Attemp to start the car failed due to a discharged battery, but since I was driving my M3 i was able to use the battery to get it started. Once the car started, the engine sounded quiet and revved well. After being idling for 5 or minutes it reached oprating temperature and then started to creep up to the hot side. Shot down the engine and started negotiating with the seller. We settled for $800, in part because I was driving a "similar" car and I would take good care of the car.

Towed the car back home and after reading up on this forum regarding cooling systems issues and doing some tests, I decided to change the thermostat before commiting to replacing the headgasket. Upon removal of the T-stat I see that it was mounted incorrectly by the "mechanic". Replaced it with the new t-stat and voila, now I have a new car. The car had recently replaced starter, alternator, bilstein shocks, clutch, water pump and t-stat. Also, based on how the engine looks, clean and does not leak oil, and the way it feels I don't think it is the original engine, however, I have no paperwork to prove it.

In the 3 or so months that I have owned the car, I have put about 3,000 miles on the car, including a 250 miles each way trip from Dallas to Houston on a 100 degree day, and not a hiccup. The 318 is now my daily driver and I am surely enjoying the gas savings compared to my previous DD a BMW 540 with a V8 engine.

I already see many of the parts that will be replaced from my M3, finding a new home on the 318. Ahhh, the possibilities....

[ron318]

My parents bought my 318is from my cousin for my 16th birthday a few months ago. It had 145k miles. I don't remember how much they settled for. I've only put like 1,500 miles on it. I love this car. It just feels so much cooler driving it than my dad's E46.

I remember my parent didn't really want a car thats was as old as me, but it was in so much better condition than any of the E36s that we saw.

I want to keep this car forever

[ABuseO]

Ok, to be frank, the buying experience was pretty shitty. I was informed the car only had some vaccum problems which were going to be fixed before i bought it. But when i gave the guy the money and started driving it around nothing was wrong. i get 2 miles from the buying location and the engine overheats, wtf right? This is what i get for buying off of ebay, and not only ebay, but kansas. The car had a cracked cylinder head, $300 for a new one + $100 for the appropriate parts, And a new windsheild. Plus the muffler was hanging on by the hangers. wasn't even attached to the connecting pipe from the catalytic converter.
The car itself, its my first car, i love it to death, but soon im parting with it, im no mechanic and this car needs so much T.L.C.
I might get another one later, i am definately buying another e30 for my dad, he loves these little cars. Probably a convertible.
Next time, im going to do more research on the car before i make a 3 hour trip to go drive it back another 3 hours, just to find i have to make another trip to bring it back on a trailer, and then spend a month to fix it.
I learned quite a bit about cars, but im still a newbie.

[strad]

Car is a 1991 318i.  I bought it for what the previous owner had spent having a brand-new steering rack professionally installed -- $750.  Strong M42, but needs everything rubber replaced.  Brakes were completely rebuilt by me following purchase.  New control arms and bushings just installed.  I'm trying to convince my father-in-law (a professional bodyman) to help me fix the valances and paint the car this Christmas -- gotta do a hose kit before the trip though lol.  He also is going to be basically giving me an accessory -- a 1997 328is that has 85k on it and is very nice.   Anyways, also has a very good condition interior (except dash is cracked).  Also has a lifetime of service records (was not advertised to, but I discovered after purchase).  

All in all, it's been good so far.  Gets 24mpg in town and 31 on the highway, and costs us $35/month to insure.  And with the M20 cabrio and the M52 coupe, makes for a nice stable.

[jester0401]

Picked my car up yesterday 1991 318is with 150k on the clock for 2300 with all new breaks and a good running motor. It needs some work like cooling system and cleaning but other wise really clean. Also off of craigslist drove 2 hour there, test drove the car and bought it on the spot and had no problems on the way home except the motor never warmed up cause i think it needs a thermostat but other wise great haven't really driven the car yet but ya I'm loving it!

[Bigmacneb1]

Bought my 91 318is off craigslist in Denver. I had been looking for one for about 4 months. I have previously owned two e30's and sold them when money was tight and regretted it ever since. I was ready to settle for any e30 with decent mileage that was well maintained. I found mine with 130k from a BMW enthusiast with a sick E28 in the garage. The car had some issues, rust in the trunk under the battery box, spot rust in other places. PO replaced the injectors, AFM, entire exhaust including CAT, ICV, chased down the vacuum leaks.
I chose this one after researching extensively on this site and others. One of the PO's had installed the rear fog light mod, so I knew somebody owned it who knew what they were doing to have the desire to effectively complete the mod. All in all the car had new brakes, new tires, Bilstein's, m3 springs, m3 CAB's, perfect interior, less dash crack. I've since replaced the windshield, stereo (blau wasn't playing cd's), radiator as I had a spare and the expansion tank sprung a leak somewhere. I also recharged the AC and did an alignment.
Car is running like a champ, misses on one cylinder at start up for about 5 seconds, and has erratic idle with A/C on, but I've averaged 34 mpg.
Exterior does have some waves and some hail damage, but has been repainted. Wasn't the best paint job/body work but it's still a head turner. Paid $3700 for it.

[John W]

Sounds like a great car. How do you like the ride/handling with the M3 springs and the Bilsteins? How does it compare to the other e30s you owned? Also, do you know if you have Bilstein HDs or Sports? I actually bought some used E30 M3 springs a couple of days ago and am trying to find out peoples' impressions of this set-up.

[Bigmacneb1]

John, you know, I can't really compare. it had that set up when I got it and my previous e30's were saloons. The bilsteins are the HD's. From what I read there isn't a big difference in the M3 springs other than the spring rate. I think I'd go with the Sports with some other shocks when it comes time to change it up for something more aggressive.