buying a 318ti

inogen

inogen

inogen

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buying a 325ti (not a 318)

10 years old, nearly 80,000. Full (mostly indie) service history. Looks well looked after. Recently serviced.

No bills or paperwork relating to work done. Just a log book.

Anything specific (or not) I should look out for?

(other than it being rear shunted? ;))
 
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Yeah. I know what you mean, but, there's fuel (+10 mpg) to consider. Insurance doesn't seem to be that much different though.

325ti's just look a little more expensive to run (not that I'm overly concerned) I don't drive that much.

This just seems like a nice example. Reasonably low mileage and in good nick. 12 months MOT, 6 months tax, not that far away...
 
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inogen said:
Yeah. I know what you mean, but, there's fuel (+10 mpg) to consider. Insurance doesn't seem to be that much different though.

325ti's just look a little more expensive to run (not that I'm overly concerned) I don't drive that much.

This just seems like a nice example. Reasonably low mileage and in good nick. 12 months MOT, 6 months tax, not that far away...
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Whilst the 318i is noticeably better on fuel, I'd still opt for a 325, especially if you don't do many miles.
 
Finding a good one (or one that seems on paper) as good as this one is proving a little difficult though.

I've been looking for the last 2 weeks or so. Most 325ti's are either 100s of miles away from me, with 100,000+ on the clock and have 19" alloys ;)

The ones that aren't are almost twice the price of the 318ti I'm looking at.
 
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What's making it appeal to you? Unless its about £500 I can't honestly see much that makes a 318ti worth buying over...just about anything else of similar size really.

If you can find a 6 cylinder one you at least get a decent engine to punt it around with, otherwise you get rotten looks, absolutely no go plus all the fiddly annoying faults that most e46's kick up, they're also pretty crap size wise compared to a focus, golf etc etc
 
If anything, the one your looking at seems to have very low mileage for its year, 8k p/a isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things.....

Got any photo's of the interior / steering wheel / seat bolsters etc?

100k+ miles is nothing to any properly looked after car, equally, its not hard to make a 150k mile 318i look like its done 80k....

Go and have a look at a few high mileage examples and see how they compare, you may find yourself thinking your looking at cars with similar levels of wear & tear.....

In short, make sure the one your looking at hasn't been clocked.
 
rodenal said:
What's making it appeal to you? Unless its about £500 I can't honestly see much that makes a 318ti worth buying over...just about anything else of similar size really.

If you can find a 6 cylinder one you at least get a decent engine to punt it around with, otherwise you get rotten looks, absolutely no go plus all the fiddly annoying faults that most e46's kick up, they're also pretty crap size wise compared to a focus, golf etc etc
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The appeal is that I like the way they look ;) I'm not really a fan of Focuses, I'm okay with Golfs... But I prefer the looks of the Compact. And I find the seats / driving position more adjustable / comfortable.

And no, it's not £500 ;) But 325ti's of around the same age / mileage / condition are £3k+ This is somewhere inbetween.



Scania said:
If anything, the one your looking at seems to have very low mileage for its year, 8k p/a isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things.....

Got any photo's of the interior / steering wheel / seat bolsters etc?

100k+ miles is nothing to any properly looked after car, equally, its not hard to make a 150k mile 318i look like its done 80k....

Go and have a look at a few high mileage examples and see how they compare, you may find yourself thinking your looking at cars with similar levels of wear & tear.....

In short, make sure the one your looking at hasn't been clocked.
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Yeah, I've seen some photos, though they're not that great. The fella selling it says the whole car is pretty immaculate bar an inch long scuff to the bumper. He says there's "absolutely nothing" wrong with the car. No problems with dashboard lights, engine noises, smoke from the exhaust, no rust, no dents, all the electrics work perfectly. Decent tyres, with alloys that look fine.

g28f86118.jpg



Autotrader do a vehicle check for £20 that's supposed to show up any irregularities with mileage. Are there any others?

I'll be doing some kinda check on it anyhow.
 
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Well at least it has climate control and an arm rest.....


Are you 100% sure you like the way it looks and not because its a sporty beemer innit?
 
Voxination said:
Are you 100% sure you like the way it looks and not because its a sporty beemer innit?
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Yeah, I've always liked em. I much prefer them to the 1 Series. And they're smaller (or at least feel smaller) in the front. I'm 6'4".

I also like a hatchback. I play bass in a band sometimes so often need to put amps and kit in the back. So boots on small saloons (and especially coupes) are no good really.
 
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Please please don't pay more than about a grand for a 318ti, they're worth **** all! Honestly I think you should drive it.....they're sloooow, ugly and nobody but nobody wants them
 
At least buy a Sport if you must have a compact. Those seats are awful. :(

Look at older 325tis, it's not like there's going to be much difference between that one and a slightly older 325ti.
 
danza said:
At least buy a Sport if you must have a compact. Those seats are awful. :(

Look at older 325tis, it's not like there's going to be much difference between that one and a slightly older 325ti.
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I'm not looking for a weekend car, or something that's especially fun to drive. I'm looking for a large (from a drivers POV) hatchback that's reasonably economical and won't depreciate too badly. I don't like Focuses. Not that keen on Golfs (having spent a fair bit of time with a Polo recently and more to come... I could do with a break from VW), I'm not that keen A3s either. Astra, maybe... but the 318ti is surely better than that?

If I could find a nice condition 325 for £1700-1800 with <80,000 miles I'd consider it. But I'd still need to swallow more expense. Whilst expense isn't the issue, I'm not sure I totally buy the "it's got to be 6 cylinder" thing. I just think it would be good car.. for me :)

Is there anything anyone thinks I should ask or look out for when I go to see it? :D
 
inogen said:
I'm not looking for a weekend car, or something that's especially fun to drive. I'm looking for a large (from a drivers POV) hatchback that's reasonably economical and won't depreciate too badly. I don't like Focuses. Not that keen on Golfs (having spent a fair bit of time with a Polo recently and more to come... I could do with a break from VW), I'm not that keen A3s either. Astra, maybe... but the 318ti is surely better than that?
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How about a Honda Accord (or Civic if you want something a little smaller).
 
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