Which?

[silforty]

Hi, im new to this forum and don't know ANYTHING about bmw's but i drive them all day long(vallet). After seeing the gas prices rise and my car being pretty weak in the audio area's, i decided i need a new car. A friend of mine told me about a 1.8L bmw that i never even knew existed. i thought the lowest one was 2.5 since my friend has a e30 version. well my conclusion so far rest upon a 318is. My question is...e30 or.....a e36? i dont care about performance right now since my turbo car serves me well. i just need somethign reliable. which is more reliable and are the 318is even reliable in the first place? i dont want 325 since it kills too much gas. what are the common problems between the 318is? i need to know what im geting myself into before i buy one. i already did a search and didn't help much

[itsabimmerthing]

Get an E36 318, looks good and gets good economy. I would buy an e46 323 if I had the bills...

[E36kid]

Get the e30 318is if you want something fun to drive; its handling is almost as good as the e30 m3. Everyone you ask will tell you something different, I personally like the styling of teh e30 over the e36. You have to make the final decision, remember you will be the one driving it! Oh, and I don't know if BMW has an e36 318is????


Hope I didn't make it any worse!

[Mark_In_PA]

there is an e36 318is.

[silforty]

any more opinions?

[One 328is]

Pass on the 318, if you want to get a bmw with a 4banger get a Z3.

[E36kid]

The z3 isn't a very practical for a daily driven car, year round… Also a Z3 would be more expensive than any year 318 would be.

[One 328is]

Originally Posted by e30kid

The z3 isn't a very practical for a daily driven car, year round… Also a Z3 would be more expensive than any year 318 would be.

Z3 dose cost a little more. I would disagree on it not being a car you could drive year round. Unless you live in Canada. Or have a few kids you need to tote about town.
The lighter weight of the Z3, gives the 1.8l a bit of a chance to move. The weight of a 3 with a 1.8l,....unless you go in and do light weight rims. hood, body panels,etc

[silforty]

put it this way, my spending limit's are about 5,000. in that limit a e30 318is sounds good. but im not sure about the e36. e30 looks better in my opinion

[newyorkm3]

e30kid speaks the truth.....for $5k you can get into a clean e30....you'll fall in love with the handling.....I promise. As far as reliability goes....I drove an e30 325ic for 7 years and never once did she leave me stranded (this includes the time I hit black ice, bounced off guradrails like a pinball, tweaked the whole front end, and still made it home 55 miles)

[silforty]

wow, its that good? what was the miles on the 325 you were driving?

[powerslave]

My old 91 (E30) 318is was a blast to drive. It rocked out in the twisties and was an incredibly fun car. My sisters E36 318i makes me want to cry, its SO underpowered for the weight that little 4 banger has to haul!

[bluntface]

get a 318ti and drop it !!

[Andrew]

The way I see it, if your going to get a 1.8, try to gat a 318ti, its an e36. They really cool, better than the typical e36. They def. arent as cheap as an e30, but more power, and cool looks isnt bad.

[silforty]

no thanks, that looks pretty ugly, but thats just my opinion. if i were to get a 318, i'd say "is" looks better then the "ti." thanks for all your help, more then likly, im going to be looking for a E30 version 318is now. but any more opinions and facts are always good to know. so far, noone has told me anything bad about the e30 version except that the stock brakes are too soft, but that doesnt matter since it WILL be changed. anything regular, like air filter, timing belt, etc will be changed so it doens't really matter. as long as its overall reliable. i still cant imagine someone owning a car this old for 7 years and still never gotten stranded. talk about reliability and toughness!