I've spotted a 1998 BMW 318ti M-tech on the local CL. 190k miles and looks OK in the blurry phone pictures. $3500. Is this worth looking at? How do I verify it is an M-tech car? This would be for a daily driver, 20k miles per year. I'm thinking mileage is a bit high to do that for more than a year or two. Thanks!
not sure how you can tell if the M-tech stuff is factory or not.. but there really is not much to the kit.. Just the bumpers and factory emblem on the side to say it is an M technic product. It is the 95 T-tech that is worth money
3500 might be a bit high, but I do not know, the 318ti has been climbing in value due to being a cult car
I'm not a fan of the ti.
I'd rather get the longer wheelbase, full trunk and better rear suspension if I was driving it 20k/yr. I also think $3500 is pretty high for a 190k example in that you can find a clean 325i or is for that money and mileage around here.
They seem to pull a premium over a comparable 325 around here. They're cool, but I don't really get it.
That seems to be a fair price for my area.
Seems a little high to me unless it's pretty clean and has non-saggy interior and receipts for a recent cooling system r&r. I used one to daily for a couple of years. It made a nice commuter until the tin worm got a hold on it. It did take a bit of maintenance, but about anything around 200k and at the bottom of a depreciation curve is likely to need some love.
Ti wheelbase is the same with all e36 models. Ti's e30 rear end allows many cheap bolt in factory lsd diff ratios. M tech stuff is mostly appearance. Straight six is a bolt in affair.
westsidetalon wrote: Ti wheelbase is the same with all e36 models.
Oops, my bad. You are correct, 106.5".
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
I always thought it was shorter too, so don't feel bad.
FWIW, if its in good shape, it might be ok priced. I personally won't buy one with the M44 1.9L
yamaha wrote: In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker: I always thought it was shorter too, so don't feel bad. FWIW, if its in good shape, it might be ok priced. I personally won't buy one with the M44 1.9L
whats the problem/difference with the 1.9l ? (besides OB2)
What makes the 95 special?
Swank Force One wrote: What makes the 95 special?
I believe it was the last/only year of a factory lsd option, clubsport?
westsidetalon wrote:yamaha wrote: In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker: I always thought it was shorter too, so don't feel bad. FWIW, if its in good shape, it might be ok priced. I personally won't buy one with the M44 1.9Lwhats the problem/difference with the 1.9l ? (besides OB2)
M44 lost the forged internals.
Not really an issue for a stock street car... but the folks that like to strap puffers on these prefer the 1.8 M42 for it's strength.
westsidetalon wrote:Swank Force One wrote: What makes the 95 special?I believe it was the last/only year of a factory lsd option, clubsport?
GPS nailed the biggest point, the M42 was a better engine. Some very early 96's might have lsd rears, but that was done and gone before the bulk of the 96MY
And OBD-1 to start with makes EVERYTHING oh so much easier to do.
That was the part I liked about mine - 95 m42, lsd and 5 spd. obd1 makes the engine swap a little easier, but there's enough obdII swaps now that it isn't that big of an issue. People complain that the rear end isn't as good as the sedans, and yet rave about e30 handling. The ti is a couple hundred pounds lighter than the sedan and is a bit loose in the rear if you really push it. More rubber and an m-coupe rear can help. For a commuter you probably wouldn't feel a big difference. In the stoplight grand prix, a chipped ti is a titch quicker than the small engined e46s. Typical e36 stuff applies, cooling, leaky steering, oil filter housing, interior quality all apply. HVAC blower is probably tired by now. m44 cooling system has more plastic parts than the m42.
I use my 99 to for DD duty. Its not bad, but I would have been better off buying something Japanese. The mileage is great, but its not a very fun car unless there's snow on the road. Its great for the highway driving mine spends 95% of its time doing.
I loved my 95 ti. I will have another. I must be part of the cult.
oldtin wrote: People complain that the rear end isn't as good as the sedans, and yet rave about e30 handling.
No one raves about E30 handling except maybe against it's contemporaries. It's fun to drive at the limit because of it's awful transition between compression and extension... which is why we move all the pick-up points, convert them to spherical bearings and jack the spring rates up to kart levels of movement. "Fun" does not equal "good".
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
True, the best thing about them is that you can build a s54 powered M coupe without the "Cock 'n Balls" appearance using a ti. 
my 96 was one of the very last with the Factory LSD. It was buttoned down with a Bilstein PSS9 coilovers, 328 front brakes (the ti gets solid front discs) sway bars, and DS1s running 235/45/17 star specs.. it was -very- fun to drive.
While it could not run away from your average Camry in the stop light grandprix, I do know for a fact that it could outhandle a WRX as I saw one guy put his into a jersey barrier trying to keep up with me through an onramp. They key was not to lift. Properly set up as mine was hopefully, it would just stick and stick and stick
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:westsidetalon wrote: Ti wheelbase is the same with all e36 models.Oops, my bad. You are correct, 106.5".
Seems it would have less polar moment than a coupe too.
I like em, but thats a high clock for that money imho.
all the "missing" length in the ti is behind the rear wheels.. they hacked a good 9 inches out of the car.
From the a pillars forwards, the car was typical 318i sedan. The doors were a unique blend of coupe' length and sedan frame, and everything behind that was completely unique to the ti series. Even the taillights were different from all the other e36s
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