Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe E30 318is is described as a perfect daily driver. Considering it's closing in on half a million miles, it's certainly had a lot days-driven under its belt. You'll need to decide if its impressive odometer affects your price-o-meter.
Horror! Confusion! Erectile disfunction! Man, yesterday's crazy Fairlane wheelie popper proved to be a lot of things to a lot of people. Sadly for its seller, for 77% of you, what it most proved to be was over priced. That may have been a bit of a clown car, and so, in contrast, today we're looking at a car for which there will be no clowning around, because it's got places to go.
What in your opinion is the perfect daily driver? If you said Scarlett Johansson, sit your ass down and keep you hands out of your lap. If you happen to be the seller of today's 1991 318is then your vote for everyday ride would have to be this Alpine white E30 coupe. That's exactly how this clean machine is described, and while not perfect, it does seem to fit the bill as it has already put 441,000 miles on the clock.
Yeah that's right, four hundred and forty one thousand miles. That's almost a trip to the moon and back! And yet, this little Bimmer still seems to take a shine, and it looks to be about as unmolested an example of the marque as you could want.
Of course it is a 318is, and you've got to want the less powerful but lighter four cylinder car over its bigger brother. Offered in the U.S. in 1991 only, the E30 318is was almost identical to 325is, including leather-covered sport seats, 14-inch basket weaves, and a subtle spoiler on the trunk lid. Where they diverged was under the hood where the 318 had a 1.8-litre M42 four while the 325 had a 2.5-litre M20 with six pots.
Surprisingly, a lot of people jones for the smaller engine car, the 318is being a pretty rare beast, and lots of fun to drive even if not quite offering the alacrity or smoothness of its six cylinder sibling. The M42 put out 134-bhp from the factory, and this one - while rocking more miles than a jazz collection - has had some maintenance attention to keep things smelling summer fresh.
It's not all original however, as the seller does note the addition of such items as a short shifter, Bilstein struts, and H&R springs. Once owned by a lawyer, and driven 100 miles a day under his care, it's now in the possession of its second owner, who want's to be rid of it as he works from home and hence has no commute.
The car is in remarkable condition for its age and mileage, and equally impressive is the claim that everything on it seems to be in working condition. The passenger seat is a little beat up, but the driver's throne looks just fine, and there are amazingly no cracks in the dash, a common issue with the E30s. Also cool, the factory trunk lid tool kit is almost complete, seemingly only lacking the glockenspiel.
The is editions of both the 318 and 325 are pretty desirable cars and offer similar handling. The big difference of course lies in their engines, and while performance of the six cylinder car will always be better, some people like the raucous nature of the four as that's more reminiscent of BMW's glorious 2002. Whether that coterie includes you might make a difference on how you see this car's $4,900 price. Of course its mega miles might have an even bigger influence.
What do you think about that much cash for this white knight Bimmer? Is that a price that should ave a new owner piling up the miles soon? Or, is this an is that. . . isn't?
You decide!
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For $4,900, This Bimmer Has Miles To Go Before It Sleeps