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!

  • Jeanbaptiste 2022 Tesla model 3 performance ~35000 miles tires - ~$1000ish. Several cabin filters ~$50
  • El scotto No rag-top, no rag-top(s) = not a prestigious car brand. Think it through. All of the high-end Germans and Lexus have rag-tops. Corvette is really its own brand.World-leading engines. AMG, M, S and well Lexus is third-world tough. GM makes one of the best V-8s in the world in Bowling Green. But nooooo, noooo, we're GM only Corvettes get Corvette engines. Balderdash! I say. Put Corvette engines in the top-tier Cadillacs. I know GM could make a world-class 3.5 liter V-6 but they don't or won't. In the interior everything that gets touched, including your butt, has to feel good. No exceptions.Some think that those who pay above MSRP and brag about it are idiots. Go the opposite direction, and offer an extended 10-year 100,000-mile factory warranty. At a reasonable price. That's Acura's current business model.
  • Carrera 2014 Toyota Corolla with 192,000 miles bought new. Oil changes every 5,000 miles, 1 coolant flush, and a bunch of air filters and in cabin air filters, and wipers. On my 4th set of tires.Original brake pads ( manual transmission), original spark plugs. Nothing else...it's a Toyota. Did most of oil changes either free at Toyota or myself. Also 3 batteries.2022 Acura TLX A-Spec AWD 13,000 miles now but bought new.Two oil changes...2006 Hyundai Elantra gifted from a colleague with 318,000 when I got it, and 335,000 now. It needed some TLC. A set of cheap Chinese tires ($275), AC compressor, evaporator, expansion valve package ( $290) , two TYC headlights $120, one battery ( $95), two oil changes, air filters, Denso alternator ( $185), coolant, and labor for AC job ( $200).
  • Mike-NB2 This is a mostly uninformed vote, but I'll go with the Mazda 3 too.I haven't driven a new Civic, so I can't say anything about it, but two weeks ago I had a 2023 Corolla as a rental. While I can understand why so many people buy these, I was surprised at how bad the CVT is. Many rentals I've driven have a CVT and while I know it has one and can tell, they aren't usually too bad. I'd never own a car with a CVT, but I can live with one as a rental. But the Corolla's CVT was terrible. It was like it screamed "CVT!" the whole time. On the highway with cruise control on, I could feel it adjusting to track the set speed. Passing on the highway (two-lane) was risky. The engine isn't under-powered, but the CVT makes it seem that way.A minor complaint is about the steering. It's waaaay over-assisted. At low speeds, it's like a 70s LTD with one-finger effort. Maybe that's deliberate though, given the Corolla's demographic.
  • Mike-NB2 2019 Ranger - 30,000 miles / 50,000 km. Nothing but oil changes. Original tires are being replaced a week from Wednesday. (Not all that mileage is on the original A/S tires. I put dedicated winter rims/tires on it every winter.)2024 - Golf R - 1700 miles / 2800 km. Not really broken in yet. Nothing but gas in the tank.
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