What do you think of this BMW 316?

xha1r

Hi guys,

Was originally going to buy a Golf as my first car but decided to look for cheaper alternatives. Came across this puppy...

http://images.carzone.ie/images/650707_20070402060416_1.jpg

http://images.carzone.ie/images/650707_20070402060416_1.jpg

130miles, asking €3.5k...

Also, from the pics it appears it isn't registered in Ireland, so I'm assuming that'd mean I'd have to pay VRT. I used the calculator and it comes out at just under €1.5k. Insurance would be just under €2k. So altogether it'd cost be €7k to get it on the road.

With the mileage, is it worth it?

Cheers,
xha1r.

As an aside, how much would it cost to pain it black? (not really a fan of white cars). Decent, but not expensive paint...

jhegarty

not up on my uk regs , what yet is it ?

cyborg

If you don't like white buy a different car, not woth the hassle or expense of a repray. Also you will have to NCT this car once its registered. In my mind it's too much trouble for what it is just find a nice Irish NCT'd one in a colour you like pay your money and drive away....

xha1r

jhegarty wrote:

not up on my uk regs , what yet is it ?

1997.

colm_mcm

is R reg not 1998?
316 will appeal to a different type of person than the civic

E92

R reg is Aug 97 - Jul 98

colm_mcm

oh yeah, forgot about the whole August thing!

bazz26

Try and find a nice high spec 318is, not much more expensive to buy in the UK, 130bhp and much better than the 316i.

rebel.ranter

TBH if you are goiong to the bother of buying a UK reg one why not just source one yourself in the UK, in the black colour you want. You may even get extra stuff like leather for the same money. I agree with above poster on going for the slightly more powerful model.
Herself had a 316i 1994 saloon and it was actually a nice car, even thought e colouor was not great.

milltown

Nuttzy wrote:

They`re heavy and slow and blow head gaskets and look crap unless there in their class colours of red/navy/black/dark green.

Just buy a 1.6Lsi civic coupe, i happen to have 1 for sale, a 1999 with 60k miles, nct til Dec`08 and abs, air con, el sunroor, e/l mirors probably a better spec than them entry beemers. You can drive away in my car for E6250 and not have the hassle of then nct-ing, vrt-ing, logbooks and taxing and number plates.
It also has a sony mex-r1 dvd player stereo.

Also the civic doesnt break and will save you on services/replacements as Bmw`s are more expensive to get stuff done/fixed.

Ps: My civic is also in the colour of your choice.

And this years award for impartial advice goes to......:rolleyes:

For a first car I'd say a 318iS is off the list for insurance reasons. There's no shortage of E36 316s around in Ireland, never mind England. If you don't like white, don't buy white. It'd be impossible to sell on anyway and a full respray, apart from the cost, would raise more eyebrows. At that age and money I'd focus less on the reg and be willing to sacrafice a year or two to get the right car, colour, spec and mileage with a service history. Too many horror stories about UK imports being clocked. BMWs wear their miles very well and that could well be closer to 200k for all we know.

Hope you get a good one.

Dr. Seuss

Wouldn't touch it. VRT has to be paid, for a start. And worst of all, it's white - who the hell drives a low-end white BMW except scumbags who wear those white linen 3/4 length trousers? You even said yourself you'd want it resprayed! Just buy one in the colour you want - BMW's are common as muck, so you should be able to get one to meet your exact spec!

Avoid that Civic too - state of it.... black alloys, worn tyres, ghey spoiler (why does a 1.6 even need a spoiler?)...and that's only at a glance from a low-res pic. On the plus side, it is high spec compared to most BMW's, as beamers are always patheticly low specced at entry level; but he's also charging too much for an 8 year old Civic!

michaelanthony

milltown wrote:

And this years award for impartial advice goes to......:rolleyes:

For a first car I'd say a 318iS is off the list for insurance reasons. There's no shortage of E36 316s around in Ireland, never mind England. If you don't like white, don't buy white. It'd be impossible to sell on anyway and a full respray, apart from the cost, would raise more eyebrows. At that age and money I'd focus less on the reg and be willing to sacrafice a year or two to get the right car, colour, spec and mileage with a service history. Too many horror stories about UK imports being clocked. BMWs wear their miles very well and that could well be closer to 200k for all we know.

Hope you get a good one.

I sold 2 white e36s in the last year and a half with no problem. White is not popular among the irish but is in other countries. I sold both of mine to foreigners and there is no shortage of them here. And white should get you more attention than other colours if that doesn't bother you.

If you must get the 316, It's ok but the head gasket went on mine and it was never the same after. I suspect it's because it's a heavy car and the 1.6 is not really up to the job. I'd say to not hold onto it too long (a year max) and definitely try to get a 318 next, they really are better.

Alternatively there are quite a few 316s with 1.8 engines out there on the autotrader( engine changes ) so it's easy to insure it as a 1.6 if you want. You can check the engine size on www.vehiclelicensing.gov.uk (vehicle enquiry link) and you might be lucky.

cantdecide

i've had a couple of beemers and most recently a '92 E36 325 saloon. which i really liked.

318 at least is a no brainer. some of the coups are common as muck but you have the right idea but if you go the the uk for one, which i have three times now, make sure it has FSH, this is vital. but for less than €5k all in you have to take your chances...

Tanabe

michaelanthony wrote:

Alternatively there are quite a few 316s with 1.8 engines out there on the autotrader( engine changes ) so it's easy to insure it as a 1.6 if you want.

What's the point? Wouldn't that just render your insurance null & void? You may as well not even have any insurance should you have an accident!

Dr. Seuss

Nuttzy wrote:

What do you drive just out of interest?

XK8.

jhegarty

michaelanthony wrote:

Alternatively there are quite a few 316s with 1.8 engines out there on the autotrader( engine changes ) so it's easy to insure it as a 1.6 if you want..

Are you sure its an engine change , they made them with 1.8s for years......

xha1r

http://www.ireland.com/servlet/Satellite?c=NM_MotorAdvert_C&childpagename=flat.motors.nicemove.ie%2FNM_MotorAdvert_C%2FMotorDetailView&cid=1180427294387&packedargs=displayMode%3DnonPrintable%26PageMode%3D0&pagename=IT_Nicemove%2FRender

What bout this one? Mileage is a bee-yatch.

commited

Are you willing to go to the UK to get one?

DublinDilbert

I Had an E36 316i for a few years and liked it, very solid on the road, but as others have said here it will be a bit sluggish, but once you get up to speed it will happily sit there...

If you go for one from 95 onwards it will have a Timing Chain, so no timing belts to change.

I would not recommend that you buy one, unless you or someone you know can roll up your sleves and work on it.... The engine shouldn't need much, just make sure the cooling system is working well... The sort of things that will need replacing as it goes over the 100K mark will be:- Rear Trailing Arm Bushings, Wheel bearings, Shocks, Wishbone Bushings, Ball joints, Front brake Discs...