318iS should i buy it ?

[kezza]

I've seen the following motor:

1991 H Reg BMW 318iS 140,000 miles. Metalic blue grey check cloth sports seats pas/abs electrics s/roof colour coded rear spoiler original bbs
alloys with centre caps 5 speed manual good runner rare sport model
1 YRS MOT








I phoned the dealer up and it has no TAX, he goes there's a slight rattle from the engine (could be the tappets). The car's a part exchange, he's not fussed about it and just wants to get rid of it as it's taking up space on his forecourt. We started talking bout prices, we got down to Ԛ£700, then i asked would he take Ԛ£650 for it, he said he wont let a deal slip just for Ԛ£50. So is Ԛ£650 a good deal? I'm gonna go take a look at it this weekend hopefully, just wanted to know after the cost of the car, TAX and maybe a service would it still represent a good deal. My cousin reckon's i should steer clear of old motors as they are gonna need maintenance. But i've caught the E30 bug now! What costs should i expect in the future if i purchase an E30, im only a student so i'm skint!

[320Touring]

hi there! welcome to the zone!

i'm sure the iS boys will be along in a min!

in the meantime lets me see,

the ticking from the engine is fairly common on the m42 (1.8 16v 4 cyl) engine. As long as the tapping dissapears when the car is warm, then thats not really much to worry about.

As for the price, with a year's MOT that sounds like a bit of a steal mate

Ԛ£93 gets you 6 months tax and Ԛ£50 gets it all serviced

voila a fairly rare and unusual, yet entertaining e30 on the road for under Ԛ£800

[kezza]

Hmm Ԛ£50 to get it serviced! Anything that crops will obviously mean more money. I'll take a look, it's been on the forecourt since crimbo, it's been hidden at the back so not many people see it it's looking like a good deal so far. Nice colour also

[paulj]

its a deal its a steal its the sale of the fookin century in fact if you dont have it i may

Where is it?

[kezza]

It's mine i tells ya, all mine

Sorry don't know what came over me ( E30 bug). The car's in grimey old London, i'm gonna view it this week hopefully, if i get time. Got cash waiting at home (under the mattress). Just need to investigate the rattling.

[320Touring]

It's mine i tells ya, all mine

Sorry don't know what came over me ( E30 bug). The car's in grimey old London, i'm gonna view it this week hopefully, if i get time. Got cash waiting at home (under the mattress). Just need to investigate the rattling.

good plan!

when you go to see the car, strt it from cold and let it idle for a few mins-wander round and have a look at the bodywork

front wings rust,

rear wheel arches are mudtraps

Check the footwells for rusted floors (carpet will "give" too much)

Check for leaks from sunroof drain/heater matrix (soggy passenger footwell is the giveaway!)

Check the boot for leaks too (usually found in the sections DIRECTLY behind the rear lights.)

Once car is upto temp then take it for a drive.the rattle should stop if its the common iS one

[dazleeds]

its a deal its a steal its the sale of the fookin century in fact if you dont have it i may

Where is it?

fpmsl

[M5pilot]

if you want good handling and excellent fuel economy buy it.

The 325i's are faster but wont handle aswell.

[dazleeds]

how good is the economy on an is??

[hammoj28]

Also check behind the carpet in the boot on the inside of the rear arches. They normally tend to go here. My is ticks for a little while til it warms up then its sweet as. Looks not bad condition actually.

[M5pilot]

Speak to Demlot, he knows. I know its very good though.

[Geeman]

You saying this is Demlots old motor...?

[kezza]

I think he is referring to the economy of an iS ?

[tim_s]

economy is very good on these. i get 30mpg using it around town and stuff (and thats me!) on a good motorway run at 80ish mph get nearly 40mpg. driving spiritedly around wales the other wkend got about 36/7mpg. so very good really. worst i've ever got out of it is just under 30mpg. i'd worry a little about the rattle, but more in terms of it being something you better fix rather than it costing an arm and a leg. tappets are Ԛ£160+vat from gsf, it could be a timing chain prob, cost Ԛ£200+ in parts and is a pita to do, but those are the worst case scenarios. i had a rattle a few wks ago, sounded awful, and it turned out to be the metal guard under the plug leads and cost about Ԛ£4 off bmw. sounded very rattly though and took me ages to fix.

sounds like a good price, but might not be if its ropey imo. you'll have to have a proper look at it.
the steering wheel is wrong, gearknob looks like its wrong, is missing the front lip spoiler, and not sure about the seats but they're well dirty! check around towing eye for rust too.
just add up what it will cost you to get right and then work out whether thats cheaper than getting one straight in the first place.
Ԛ£650+Ԛ£50 service+Ԛ£100 6 mths tax + fix rattle (+Ԛ£100 optional minimum to replace bits that are missing)
is getting towards Ԛ£1k and you might get a fairly nice example for that. how longs the mot? nice colour though!

[tim_s]

btw big plus points are 15" cross spokes (look like in q good condition) and colour.

[Theo]

Is that in Hillingdon Motors? If it turns out to be a shitter, i know of a mechanically sound 318is down the road for sale.

[kezza]

Yes it's Hillingdon Motors . Where is this mechanically sound 318iS you talk of ? Any pics ? I'm gonna view the Hillingdon one on Sunday hopefully, can't go Saturday coz i wanna watch Liverpool beat The Scum!

[Theo]

Liverpool beat the scum? More like United beat the bindippers!!!! Btw, nice penalty there mate!

[Theo]

Oh yeah, forgot about the car.... The car does have 189k miles, but has FSH with just 2 owners. Its a 1991 H reg, Alpine White, Good interior, 14" bbs, mtech 1 wheel, front lip, full tool kit, first aid box (both fairly uncommon). However it was a Cat C write off, but was repaired (new bonnet radiator and wing). Ive test driven it, but didnt go for it as i was thinking of breaking it for parts or selling it on. Engine is really smooth considering the mileage, and I was impressed how it pulled, despite driving a 325i. Was up for Ԛ£800, but if he still has it, will definately get it cheaper. By the way, are you a student at Brunel by any chance?

[kezza]

No i'm a student at Uni of Greenwich, have a few mates at Brunel though. About the motor, Alpine White just doesn't float my boat, i've never liked white motors, my mum's had 3 of them!

[Theo]

No worries mate, i know what you mean about a white car, not my cup of tea either.

[kezza]

Based on the information that everyone knows about the 318iS im interested in, what would people be prepared to pay for it ? I'm hoping the rattle isn't serious, if it ain't then i could be the owner of the above car by next week!

[dark_sounds]

haha! great minds think alike,

ive been watching this one since my car crash, lol ive put it kinda to one side cos was hoping for a black one,,, though this is the same colour i had before..

it was 995 when i last saw it... and its down now..
agreed with jonb, its missing quite a few things,, putting it compleatly right you wont be saving much,, i might be saying him later this week also, ill be offering him a bit less, if he refuses,,, then its all yours

[Brianmoooore]

Ignore your cousin. He's obviously been brought up on Ford/Vauxhall/French rubbish.
There's old cars and there are BMWs. Not to be confused; they're from different planets.
My E30s are far more reliable than the newish Audi A3, Mitsibushi Evo and Corsa that hang around here.

[Nick45]

I'd be concerned if an iS was described as having a rattle. Tappetts don't rattle but timing chains do, as do sheared off chain guides rattling in the case (had this on mine) - all bad news and mega bucks unless you're a talented DIY mechanic. At least take it out for a good run and get the revs up and see what happens noise wise.
Did iS's come with grey door cards then? Didn't know that.

[hammoj28]

It seems that the IS came with two diferent colours of interiors if Im right? One has light checked seats with grey door cards and the other has dark checked seats with black and grey doorcards. Mine has the dark one.

[kezza]

My cousin used to have an E30 318i, during 1996-2000, then he had 3 company cars, he now has an E46 325i coupe. I think i'll pay the dealer a visit and see if the rattle goes away once the car's warmed up, if it's still there once i'm driving i'll walk away. Shame though, nice colour!

[hammoj28]

Hope the noise goes away because it looks decent.

[CaesarBob]

Got to be worth a look for the price. Like has already been said, quite a few original bits missing ... steering wheel, gearknob, etc. The iS lip was optional but it should still have a straight black lip (which looks like it's missing). The wheels look like 14" x-spokes to me.

The rattle could be the hydraulic tappets from cold. Often find the oil drains out while the car is standing and can take a minute or two to circulate back up. If it is the chain you may be able to get rid with an E36 tensioner but on that kind of mileage it may well be time for a new chain, 150k is often quoted as sensible mileage to change it.

Interior-wise the iS came in 4 different cloth colours (natura, indigo, light grey & dark grey - all with the tartan/check pattern) and 1 leather (black). The light and dark grey cloth came with non-matching door cards, light grey - grey velour and grey vinyl trim and handles; dark grey - grey velour and black vinyl trim and handles. Can't remember which interiors went with body colour for certain but i think it was:

White = dark grey cloth or black leather
Blue = light grey, natura cloth or black leather
Red = light grey, natura cloth or black leather
Silver = light or dark grey, indigo or black leather

also bear in mind that most will have the black headlining although some earlier G plate cars did come with the light grey.

hth

[tim_s]

d'oh, yeah it does look like 14" bbs on there...

[dark_sounds]

hi all

i went to see this car today,,, what a waste of time,,,

basically..:
the rattle is not really a rattle,, its the tappets,, though fuck me are they noisy sounds liek a tractor!

MAIN POINT!!! ::::::::::
push accelerator,,,, OIL SPITS OUT! yes OIL! lol if u do go view check the wall behind the car ;) lots of oil kept on spitting out everytime u rev hard. the noise does go away apparently though i didnt stick around to find out...

intior is below average... dirty, ripped in parts...

inside smells of rotting bacteria... (milk/sick/food rotting..)

body work is otherwise alright,,, missing spoiler... and yes they are 14" alloys...

manual sunroof

oil inspection light comes up and stays up..

not many reciepts,,, looks very dogy tbh, oil looks of poor quality...

central locking does not work,, apparently theres a locking problem as well,, if you lock hard, its very hard to open or something like that...

also dont press too hard,, cos the accelerator cable came apart and got stuck so kept on revving high... had to slot the rubber thing back in line...

missing all the Mtech interior touches,,, wheel gear stick etc..
this is all before i even took it out for a test drive,, which i didnt bother with.. it jsut looks like a thrashed example with little maintainance,, got a few reciepts here and there...

ive got a feeling u wont know wht to expect with this car... the guy is very vrey keen to get rid off.. i had a bad feeling offered him 300 and left it at that. lol im not in that much of a hurry

i hope that has helped

[kezza]

Well looks like my search continues!

[dark_sounds]

likewise dude

[hammoj28]

God! Sounds like a right basket case!

[dark_sounds]

poor is i wish he had sold me it for my offer price,, atleast i would have treated it right and bring it to its former glory. would require the replacement with my old engine, replacement with my old interior, and wheels, and god knows what else..