318Ti Compact purchase

[targarama]

My kid brother is keen on these now he's had a spin in one (which is overpriced, so I'm trying to guide him to a better deal). He's got about £5k to spend inc. his old car. We're going test driving in the next few days.

Any things to watch out for? (I'm guessing they are quite similar to the full size 3 series under the skin).

When are the major services on this engine? (Cambelt etc.?).

Thanks.


T/.

[adamt]

I am not sure which compact your brother is after,

I have a lot of experience with the e46 318ti.

Its a fantastic little machine, a small car which is very grown up imho. The engine is good, refined, even at redline. But it isnt very quick in a straight line. However round a country lane, it can carry a lot of speed as the BMW suspension i spot on. This is because it manages to soak up all the bumps whilst still maintaing quite a good suspension balance.

I wouldnt recomend the e36 compact as the underpinnings are from the e30 3, and dynamically it falls short of BMW imho.

all the best
adam

[dtmpower]

Woudl disagree with the above , same suspension setup as a z3 - e36 front/e30 rear.... nothing wrong with it everyday , nice small cars, nippy and a touch more refinment and class than say a golf or similar ilk

I had a 316i compact for 80k miles , only thing that went was the original bmw battery......

[targarama]

He's looking at P-R reg'd cars with lower miles and R-S reg'd cars with a few more miles (say 90k).

When did the model change over? Was it around 2000 when the front lights turned a bit dodgy looking?

[Philrose]

My daughter has had 2 Ti compacts -- one had traction control, one didnt. Useful safety feature which she thought was on the second one but found out too late that it wasnt. Didnt know whether this was standard or an extra.

[targarama]

Well we went out looking yesterday and he bought a 1998 318is Coupe yesterday after test driving a few cars. Same insurance cost, more space and a very nice car for what he is paying IMO. The car has climate control AND an electric sunroof which is rare on these cars. He's well chuffed.

Spot the Corolla GTi about to go up for sale in the private ads to help fund his purchase if anyone wants a bargain 'rude boy' mobile (well it seems to attract them anyway).

>> Edited by targarama on Saturday 23 April 15:43