questions about a 1985 318i

[custom e30]

i have a e30 but found 1985 318i with alot of replacement parts and 210.xxx miles on the m10 motor, i wanna buy this for my gf to drive, im told by locals that the car is a piece of crap and not worth anything but a headache, that its gonna break down all the time, im wanting your opinion if i should buy, he wants $500 bucks, what you think?

[Holland]

I don't know how wrong you can go with $500, but that is quite a bit of mileage for the M10, considering you have to beat the shit out of them everywhere you go.

[custom e30]

what you mean beat it up

[Holland]

Trust me I have one, you have to rev the piss out of them to get anywhere. even with the 3.91 diff I don't even contemplate shifting under 3 grand unless cold.

[custom e30]

ok thanks dudes

[FetusGoulash]

I would say go for it if the car is in good shape. My 85 is at 360,000kms and runs strong does not ever let me down. and i beat the piss out of it all the time! Any car can last a long time if it has been maintained properly.

M10's are dead simple and cheap to repair so thats a bonus if anything does fail

[MattsBMWs]

I've owned two M10 318i's now, and they are good cars. You do have to beat the piss out of them everywhere you go. They are fun to wind out, but the L-Jectronic fuel injection and the ridiculous cold idle system are my biggest gripes. Motronic on the 6 cyl models was a HUGE improvement. Don't go for a slushbox, that motor is too underpowered for anything but a stick. As far a reliability is concerned, my cars only left me on the side of the road twice in the 10+ years I had them. Just make sure the car has had basic maintaince and when you test drive it make sure the engine is ICE COLD. Most problems will show up on 1st cold start. Let it idle and run for about a min or so, then drive. Watch the idle as it warms up. Good luck!

[genocide98]

I've owned two M10 318i's now, and they are good cars. You do have to beat the piss out of them everywhere you go. They are fun to wind out, but the L-Jectronic fuel injection and the ridiculous cold idle system are my biggest gripes. Motronic on the 6 cyl models was a HUGE improvement. Don't go for a slushbox, that motor is too underpowered for anything but a stick. As far a reliability is concerned, my cars only left me on the side of the road twice in the 10+ years I had them. Just make sure the car has had basic maintaince and when you test drive it make sure the engine is ICE COLD. Most problems will show up on 1st cold start. Let it idle and run for about a min or so, then drive. Watch the idle as it warms up. Good luck!

+1 to everything this guy says.

I've had mine for almost 4 years, and it was a total POS i towed home out of some guy's lawn where it sat for 3-4 years (literally)

It's left me stranded twice due to a faulty alternator bracket letting my belt slip and battery die. User error on my part.

Don't get a 318i auto.. they're the most gutless car you can imagine. I swapped mine to a stick.

They aren't really POS cars, but they can be problematic if they haven't had their engines maintained. They're very easy to work on, though. And parts are dirt cheap... almost everything except motor/trans swaps over from other e30's, too.

[gone002]

dude have have to shift mine at 4k... but its a fun lil car to drive....
the FI sucks!!!!! still chasing gremlins out of mine!!!!!

[Be30mer]

i have a 318i automatic. its one of the slowest cars i have ever driven. I bought it as a project because I had an e30 325is as my first car a long time ago, and loved it. But it definitely needs something better than the m10 to have fun, especially with the godamn auto transmission. What do you guys with the 5 speed m10's think of your cars performance?

[Jean]

It's fine for daily driving with a 5speed, 83-85 318 cars are fricking light. Mine tipped the scales at 2500lbs with the m30b35 swap and full interior. That's why they can still move ok for normal driving with the m10. But, if you were going to do a swap I would start with later chassis to make some things easier...

You would still want to convert the front/rear brakes for example...also front strut housings aren't ideal when you do a swap either....

[Be30mer]

It's fine for daily driving with a 5speed, 83-85 318 cars are fricking light. Mine tipped the scales at 2500lbs with the m30b35 swap and full interior. That's why they can still move ok for normal driving with the m10. But, if you were going to do a swap I would start with later chassis to make some things easier...

You would still want to convert the front/rear brakes for example...also front strut housings aren't ideal when you do a swap either....

What would be some advantages that the late model chassis has over the early chassis? Because I cant find any decent late models around here with straight bodies.

[Jean]

I listed the main ones above, drum brakes, thin front struts, non vented front rotors. very small rear diff, non round c101. So lots of things to "upgrade"

[Holland]

It's tough but unique that's for sure.

[Be30mer]

I listed the main ones above, drum brakes, thin front struts, non vented front rotors. very small rear diff, non round c101. So lots of things to "upgrade"

Whats a c101? And I never knew the front strut was thinner on the earlier models. I guess that could be a reason for the lower weight of the early models.