Buying a wrecked bmw

[RustyLeskiv]

I am thinking of buying a used, wrecked 318i 4 door at an auction. Is this a good idea? Do parts cost too much? Is it worth it? Looking for wrecked bmw because dont have enough money fr a used. Buying wrecked at auction is much cheaper, but is this a good idea with a bmw? Appretiate any response.

[Oldporsche]

Buy low, (very low), sell high.

Beemers are interesting. Sell quick if you want to see any value from your improvements.

Good luck,
David Duffield

[82SC]

hey...post in the BMW forum...Wayne will love you for it

MJ

[Dantilla]

I've bought a few at auction. First was an old Jeep that I used goofing off in the mountains, so I didn't care that it went down the road a bit sideways.

The '73 911 I'm currently working on came from the auction. Had a minor engine fire, but I know the body is straight, so I have no fear of driving it at tripple digit speeds on the track when complete.

A ways back, I was going to bid on a Mercedes 500 SEC for my wife, until I overheard a couple of other guys saying that the SEC is the one Mercedes that has unique parts that are almost impossible to find outside of buying them directly from the dealer, where other Mercedes have lots of interchangability. I'm glad I didn't learn that after I had a damaged car sitting in my garage.

It would help to have someone who knows BMWs well look at the car before deciding how much you are willing to pay. If it works out, it's a great way to get a nice car, cheap.

[Emission]

Is this an E30 or E36 318i? Pre-1992 is E30. E36 is 1992-1998. E36 four-door has much better suspension, but more weight.

The 5-speed cars were fun, the automatics tended to be a bit on the slow side (0-60 > 9 seconds).

They are pretty good cars (especially for a commute).

[88911coupe]

Not sure which model year you are talking about but the 1.8 liter engine is just about bullet proof. I had 2 bmws with that engine, as has my brother, and they never break. All were well over 100k miles when we got sold them. The E36 body style is very nice and much more modern looking.
Good Luck

[CarreraS2]

I'm not sure buying a wrecked 318i makes any sense. In fact, I'm not sure it would make sense even if you got the car for FREE.

You can buy a pristine one for really cheap. Economically, with a 318, it seems like buying and fixing up a wreck is a bad idea. You will very quickly have more money into the wreck than you would have spent just buying a clean used one.

[caliber60]

Agree with the posting upstair. Rebuild car with high value like 911 makes more sense.

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

i suggest a running 325 instead, for the 6 cyl, 5 spd.and drive it. i have experience, watch the driveshaft. get parts from vines bmw atlanta cheapest

[JackT]

Depends on what you are looking for. Some of the 318 engines where reliable engines but sloooowww. Fun going down the mountain because they handle really well but going up the mountain was a struggle.
There are a lot of 318s for sale and you can get a really good deal on a non wrecked one if you look.