E36 318iS - should i buy?

[Solo Man]

Guys, am thinking of buying above car. Needs lots of tender loving care as it has a lot of faults, but if i can get it for my price, i think i will be able to turn it into something nice. Faults are:
Some bad scratches on one door
Brake/handbrake light stays on
Passenger seatbelt catch broken
Aircon not working - hope it is only missing gas
Leather on seats badly worn (Why is it that the lightish coloured leather on the E36 3 series is such a problem??)
Steering wheel needs new leather (want to ask them to make it nice and thick when they repair it)
One fog light cover missing
Gear lever knob loose
Gear linkages got lots of play
Car badly in need of valet inside
Needs service, new waterpump and thermostat
Mostly small items and more labour intensive than money wise (OK, if the aircon is shot then we talk big bucks, but will try and live without it then)
Is there a company in Cape Town that can clean the leather seats and maybe redye them same colour?
Bodywork not bad and tyres and wheels are very good.
Suspension probably needs some new ball joints, etc. (OK, some more bucks)
What do you guys think, is it worth it (i have time - semi retired)
:flyfun::thumbs:

 

[Doomsdaya]

:ttiuwp:

 

[///MALCOLM325]

Depending on the price you going to get it at, I personally think the 318is is a good car, although the I6 motors are just great.

Parts on E36's are quite cheap and found almost everywhere...

I know a buddy of mine owns the Pretoria Onyx Leather franchise that specializes in leather seats (clean and redye). They also have a branch in Cape Town.

Get quotes to get the mechanicals fixed up..and then adjust your offer accordingly.

 

[Solo Man]

The one picture of the car that is on gumtree does not show any of the problems. Have not yet bought the car and was hoping for some advice in this regard, keeping in mind all the work it needs.

---

From experience i know that most of the stuff needed to fix the car is not that expensive, and i love working on cars when i am not pressed for time. Will give Onyx a call (my brother had his X5 seats done there - they are in Durbanville) and i have referred a friend to them as well.
The motor has 300k kms on the clock but is still pulling well. I know that the 1800 motor in the 316i is tough, and hope this one is too.

 

[Doomsdaya]

Most of the problems you listed seems cosmetic, which aint too bad. How much does the seller want ?

 

[Raybimmer]

Maybe about R10 k with front suspension recon .
E36 are generally reliable with front suspension and overheating being known problem areas .It seems parts are freely available and not too expensive in Cape Town so IMHO about R25k may be ok , if the car is tatty there may be deeper problems mechanically wise . Drive the car , check braking for shakes R2K , front suspension and rear trailing arm bushes-car wanders at speed especially in the wind , aircon-does fan in front of radiator run ? does the aircon cycle on and off ? Seats can be recovered , worst case you take them out , take the leather off and the seat leather is then used as patterns to cut and sw new ones . Good luck

 

[Solo Man]

Hope to get it for under R25k
Drove the car yesterday and had a strong sidewind blowing. Car did wonder a bit. Coming back the other way it was much more stable. Drove well, no braking problems that i could detect. Clutch felt fine, gears changed nicely except for a lot of play on the gearstick and the loose gearknob did not help. Another thing that bothers me is that there is a loose key that you first have to insert in a hole (not the ignition) and then you use the ignition key to start it. I have become so accustomed to pressing a button, the doors unlock and you get in and turn the key in the ignition and off you go. Will definitaly have to do something about this problem. Any sparkys with a solution?

 

[Diablo Jnr]

go for it...318is are great cars :thumbs:
good luck

 

[Raybimmer]

Loose key not std so you may have problem there , remember some ews items must be replaced as a set (RRRR) . Good luck .

 

[Solo Man]

OK, so i have bought the car today and already replaced waterpump and thermostat. The key problem i hope to sort by getting the locksmith to remove the existing barrel and to modify it so that the original key wil fit it. Then the chip in the ring around the ignition barrel will work again. The second key problem is, i only have one key and need to have another made up for me. Anyone in Cape Town be able to do it for me at a reasonable price??
Car drives like a dream. There is some play on the suspension as it wallows slightly when road is bumpy. Did about 70km today and the fuel gauge needle moved about two needle widths, which i think is not bad.
It needs a major valet, which i plan to start with tomorrow. I also need to check out the abs light, as that is what comes on and then some time later it will extinguish and come on again later. Could that be a loose connection?
The other thing is the heater/ventilation/ac fan inside the car is not working. What could be the problem. The ac light comes on and the compressor kicks in when you switch the ac on, but no airflow comes out of the vents. Hedgehog?
Thanks for the response thus far!!

 

[Doomsdaya]

I think keys can only be done at BMW, it goes for R1300 and another R300 to programe it. ABS light could be a sensor, not too expensive, somewhere around R120 from the stealers

 

[L~C~G]

Your cabin fan is probably fooked.

It sits under the grate below the windscreen wipers. Im not sure if the engine bay on the 318 is the same as a 328 but if it is you are in for a treat.

There is no way to remove the old fan without breaking it and there is no way to instal a used fan without bending your fire wall, and if you do that it is almost impossible to fit the grate back into place. Apparently if you buy a new one, the blades are not attached to the motor and can be clipped onto the sides when the motor is in place.

I would just grab a multi meter and check if there is any power being supplied to the fan first though just to make sure.

There is also a silver control unit with a huge heat sink on it that seems to be found in all of the E36`s which often causes problems with fan speed and fans not running.

If there is power going to the fan, then your fan is most likely gone, if there is no power being supplied then i would go after the other part i mentioned.

 

[Theo D]

Very strong car you've bought...My 318iS has over 350 000km om the clock and is still going strong :thumbs:

Have a look at this story

http://www.mikesaltauto.co.za/index...cle&id=121:clock-watchers&catid=1:latest-news

 

[L~C~G]

This is going to start a trend where guys wind their clocks forward in stead of back now.:rollsmile:

 

[Neogenissis]

Very strong car you've bought...My 318iS has over 350 000km om the clock and is still going strong :thumbs:

Have a look at this story

http://www.mikesaltauto.co.za/index...cle&id=121:clock-watchers&catid=1:latest-news

my 95 316I which i bought 2months ago show 908698km

 

[///MALCOLM325]

Almost a million km's???? Maybe a faulty digital odometer :rollsmile:

I don't think it was done on one motor if that mileage is true lol

 

[Neogenissis]

Almost a million km's???? Maybe a faulty digital odometer :rollsmile:

I don't think it was done on one motor if that mileage is true lol

Lol thats what i thought....i doesnt really matter to me anyway because i bought the car for nearly nothing lol.

i thought the speedo has probebly been tampered with

but i know the motor is original block, not sure if it has been rebuilt.

i have no history on the car.

 

[FaSTandFurious]

where are the pics ?

 

[Solo Man]

Sorted out my key problem yesterday. Locksmith replaced the tumblers in the ignition barrel to match the original key with the transponder chip and it is working like a charm. Cost R220:thumbs:
Got some parts for the car from scrapyard in Phillipi today. Got a quote to have the car seats resprayed for R1800 from a company in Strand. Still have to do something about the scrape on the left rear door as i am not good with panelbeating/spray painting. Am still searching for the two small buttons on the radio that operate the bass and treble (Standard Grundig radio/tape) Also need to get to the heater blower behind the firewall to see if it is getting any power and then take it from there. Is it possible to get to the power connection without taking the fan out?

 

[Loom]

Got a quote to have the car seats resprayed for R1800 from a company in Strand.

Could you post before and after pictures, please?