Re: 318ti

[Todd Kenyon <esbarr@xxxxxxx>]

Howard-

I formerly owned a '95 318ti club sport. I wouldn't worry about the hatchback image thing or "real BMW"
thing if you like the car. The ti, especially in sport trim (95 club sport or 96 and later sport) is one of
the best handling, fun to drive BMWs ever, and shares most of its parts with other E36s. And you can get
some excellent performance out the engine above 4000RPM. I really enjoyed the car, sold it to a track racer
because we had a baby and getting him in and out of the back was too much of a pain. And it is actually a
very practical little car, you can stuff quite a lot of cargo in the back with seats folded down.

If you can determine that car has been maintained properly (records, and pre-purchase inspection) then the
warranty sounds pricey. It shouldn't cost you $2000 in 2 years as long as it hasn't been abused. Parts very
plentiful. The only potential issue I can remember is profile gasket failure, which I'm not entirely sure
affected the 95 ti, but was a known (and costly) problem on at least some 1.8 engines - someone else on the
list or the archives would be able to shed more light on this. One small issue - the rear speakers are a
unique type, only replacement/upgrade speakers are very $$$, in case that matters.

Todd Kenyon
88 M5 75K



>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2000 19:44:34 -0600
> From: "Howard and Pat Warren" <warrenwood@domain.elided>
> Subject: Looking to buy BWM, dumb question time
>
> Hello, everybody.  I'm a long-time Alfa Romeo owner, looking to start my
> first steps into BMW ownership.  I have found a 1995, 49k 318ti (E36.)  The
> price is right, the condition is almost right.

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