1991 318is

[koya1893]

Can someone give some idea as to how much one should pay for a 1991 318is with 200k. By the way what does the "S" stands for in the 318 is?

[OttoBob]

"S" is for sport meaning it has sport seats, steering wheel, upgraded wheels, and possibly better shocks and sway bars. It all depends on maintenance history on what you should pay. I saw a 91 318is go for $8,000 that had 180,000 miles. It was owned by Mike Miller. He is the tech writer for the BMWCCA magazine Roundel. If your potential car has incomplete records and any rust, I would not pay much at all, or look for one with service history.

[koya1893]

what kind of records should I ask for or look for? What makes Mike Miller's worth the money? this car I found is seating in some old man's yard from what I saw the interior was all torned up. He went to the junkyard and got different back seat from another E30 and the fron seat are in bad shape with seat covers. I saw one rust spot center of the rear of the car just below the bumper in the area of the undercoating was painted on. Looks like a small cancer that rusted from inside out and the metal has flaked of. What kind of power did this particular model came with? Which motor do they have in them? I want to build a Xcross car to play with. Do they have a lot of posibility for add on power.

Ben

[OttoBob]

The 1991 318is is a desired car because it got the 16 valve 4 cylinder motor known as the M42, and it is the last year of the desired E30 chassis/body. This combination only existed for 1991. The same motor carried over to the E36 car, but it is a heavier car. the E36 318ti (compact) is a lighter weight hatchback that also makes a good track car. The 1991 318is is the lightest weight E30 and has horsepower of about 150. This is a high reving responsive motor like a baby version of the E30 M3. Earlier 318i E30 cars (1984-1985 vintage) have an 8 valve 4 cylinder motor that does not perform like the 1991. The 1991 318is would make a great autocross/track car. Mike Miller is a guru of BMW maintenance, so his car was impeccibly maintained, and it had some nice performance upgrades. If you are interested in BMW's you should join the BMWCCA. You can get advice from Mike Miller thru emails. This site has also been very useful. Waynes book on 3 series cars is well worth the money. The car you are looking at sounds pretty rough to me. I would look for something better and pay $3,000 or so, and then expect to put $ into general maintenance, and suspension upgrades.