I was originally writing a long post here, but realized it might fit in the car buying experiences section, so this will just serve as the car and driver intro.
The original car I was looking at is still available, but I couldn't wait any longer and found an even better buy, so I picked up my 318is on Friday night. It's silver, was a one-owner car, still has the "is" lip on front and only has 129K miles (fewer than my '99M3!). At $1,800, I think I got a SMOKIN' deal, even with the rather large dent on the rear passenger 1/4 panel and the "bullet" holes in the passenger door. LOL! They appear to be from someone doing a drive-by BB or pellet gun attack. There are some idiots out there, but thanks to them I got a good deal on this fantastic car.
The 500 mile drive home was great and there was some weird hesitation issues an hour into my trip, but I dumped in one of the big bottles of Techron and a full tank of Chevron 91 octane when it got down to empty, and that surprisingly fixed her all up. I love this car!
It was well-maintained as far as the interior and motor, but feels like the dampers are about due for replacement, as well as some bushings here and there based on the inspection we performed. The exterior is in BAD need of wax, which I'm going to do in about an hour, and there are a few small rust spots beyond what can be seen in the third pic. Nothing too bad, and I still think I got a really good deal on this car. Count me in as a new official (and very happy member) of hte M42 club.
It'll probably stay stock for most of it's life, as this is to be my daily driver, but since I'll need to replace dampers anyway... LOL! We'll see. The dent and bullet holes will get fixed to some degree in the near future, but I'm in no rush just yet. I'll be too busy driving.

(this are pics the owner took and sent me before going up to look at it... I'll try to take some new shots today after I get it all waxed. The interior is fantastic, but the formerly-black-but-now-green floor mats do need to be replaced)


