UCOTD: 1993 BMW 318

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Today's used car is a California-based 1993 BMW 318is that is being restored.


The seller has put in a new fuel filter, new valve cover gasket, new timing chain cover gasket, new catalytic converter, a whole bunch of new sensors, a new headliner, a new heater core, new battery, new brakes, a new thermostat, new plugs, new wires, and new spark plugs.

There are cosmetic issues and some minor mechanical stuff that seems to not yet be solved. It's also not clear what transmission the car has -- I didn't see it listed nor do I see an interior photograph. This matters, at least to me, because a manual transmission 318 is pretty interesting.

There are more pics, mostly of the shocks and struts, at the original listing.

Check out this $7,000 BMW here.

[Images: Seller]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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3 of 37 comments
  • Dusterdude Dusterdude on Jun 12, 2023

    Uhhh , $7k , no thanks ! Even if you were a Beemer person, this screams “ buying someone else’s problem” . Owner would be best to “ part out” this vehicle

    • 95_SC 95_SC on Jun 12, 2023

      7k may be optimistic but this is nowhere near a part out.


  • Frank Frank on Jun 12, 2023

    Years ago I worked at an auto shop, for regular customers we'd pick up and drop off their vehicles. As the errand boy, that was my job. A golfer guy had this exact car, same color, he worked at a golf course. There was another guy that owned a golf course, and he had a green volvo of the same vintage. Can you see where this is going? I got confused and dropped off buddies green 3 series at the other guys golf course. It sat there for 3 days before he called up asking where his car was. We all had a good laugh over that screw up!

  • Chris P Bacon Tuscadero is pink, but eye-searingly is a bit of a stretch. It's actually a little on the darker side in person. Jeep dropped the color just before we could order our '22 4xe. So we got one in High Velocity yellow. Sahara, with a soft top. Was the first one that made it to the dealer when it was delivered, salesman told us everyone in the showroom went out to see it when the truck rolled in. The missus loves it. It's not a color you could put on anything, but it works on the Jeep.
  • Jpolicke It probably won't make a bit of difference. Tesla has a working design for a charging station and probably a comprehensive manual for construction and installation. Nothing that a competent general contractor couldn't handle. Why keep people on the payroll when there are plenty of takers that will be happy for the work? The task of locating and acquiring real estate was probably dumped on some of the corporate survivors.
  • Andrew In the UK cars have to go for a mandatory road worthiness test every year from 3 years old onwards. I was advised to change the tyres on my 6 year old car because they had perished because of age and it would fail next time as a consequence. I mentioned rotating tyres at my tyre shop and they looked at me like I was crazy.
  • Rna65689660 There are colors you lease, and colors you buy. Never buy any shade of silver, grey due to the fact it matches the road surface. White only looks good on some cars, but great on appliances.Currently on British Racing Green,MINIWife is on Red, Edge. Going to Hot Pepper Red, Bronco Sport in a few weeks.
  • MKizzy I was only into black cars and am on my third black sedan in a row after starting my car ownership life with an inherited blue vehicle. I am starting to change my mindset and will (probably) find another color for my next vehicle. I still love black, but in the 2020s, black vehicles are lost in a grayscale sea piloted by time and financially stressed owners prioritizing resale value and low maintenance over appearance.
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