Manic couple of weeks! House move had to be rushed through as the one we were due to purchase was about to be repossessed.
Thankfully we were able to speed things up, as was our buyer, so we didn't miss out. My good lady has been using the E30 so I was left with all of a day to frantically source a set of wheels for my 60 mile round trip commute to work.
I spotted a tidy looking E36 318ti with just 2 owners and 100K on the clock on autotrader but the problem was it was 90 odd miles away. We set out early last Wednesday and arrived there just after 09:00. Well and truly tucked up in the corner like the unwanted part-exchange it was (the owner traded it in against an X3), the initial inspection was quite promising. A few scrapes and battle wounds as you'd expect of a 20 year old car but generally ok. The rear arches both have a little rust but nothing too unsightly. The front driver's side wing was the worst offender, dented after a bump and a bit crusty but this is a commuting hack, not for showing at Pebble Beach. Underneath was clean, no oil leaks and 4 tyres with plenty of tread. Interior was pretty much immaculate barring minor wear on the driver's seat bolster.
Key in the ignition and it started first time and settled into a decent idle. Manuals present in the glovebox, windows worked fine and still shut from holding the key in the lock position, full tool kit in the boot and a rusty spare wheel under the car.
Retired to the traditional car dealer portacabin and was presented with the most comprehensive history I've ever seen for a car. Everything, and I mean everything, the car has ever had was documented. Every invoice including the original order and bill of sale (£200 for an upgraded Sony Cassette player!), every MOT, every tax disc and a very comprehensive handwritten log of all maintenance (including wiper blade changes!). It was clear that it had never wanted for anything mechanically so I set off on the test drive in hope that this would be a good'un. And it was. A lovely tight drive, no overheating, revvy though torque-less 4 pot and a nice chuckable little car built before NCAP took all the fun away.
£600 exchanged hands, car taxed and insured and a quick walk to Greggs for a can of coke and slice of Pizza whilst waiting for the insurance to kick in at 12:00. Quarter of a tank of petrol was a nice bonus, radio tuned to Radio 2 (I haven't used a cassette since about 1994) and we set off back home to Norfolk hoping I wouldn't be needing the RAC services. An accident on the M11 (a very pranged E60) delayed proceedings but I managed to make it home in 3 hours with the 'pact not missing a beat.
Straight into commuting service and I've managed to eek 450 miles out of the tank before I gave up playing chicken with the fuel light and filled up with Shell's finest.
As a cheap commuting hack its ideal. Reasonably refined, comfy, quite fun, enough power to get out of its own way, 40mpg and not a turbo or diesel pump in sight. Even managed to get a washing machine in the back of it yesterday. The few cosmetic issues mean I don't mind where I park it. Bangernomics at its best.
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and buggered rear wiper motors.