2001 BMW 318 M Sport question

VeeGo

I am going to test drive this BMW this weekend:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/318/Ci-SE/1148447/

Now what I wanted to ask is, whether this the actual M sport model or is it just M alloys? I'm guessing that this is SE with M alloys, but im not sure.

Also, is this a fair price given that NCT expires in few months?

Im loving the looks of this car, but I don't know a lot about BMW's so any advice will be appreciated.

JoeySully

post yer question here http://www.bmw-driver.net/forum/

you might even find the owner on there

Balfa

Can you even get a 318i m-sport? I know the US equivalent of M-Sport (the performance package, known as "ZHP") is only available on the 330i.

listermint

Its "m-spec" . From the pictures it has the m-spec interior i.e. the silver trim, although you can just order that on an se spec model. Also i cant tell from the pic of it has the m-spec splitter on the front. It does have the side skirts . The alloys are correct . But the real teller is the sport suspension. Which for obvious reasons i cant tell from the pictures. Should be able to tell from if you background check the chassis number with BMW if its proper or just had some obvious parts thrown on.

Also just a note it is the old 1.9Lt which is only pushing out around 115bhp . Its a heavy car too so its not going to get the best drive quality. If you can look around for a post September 2001 model . Newer 2Lt engine more efficient and it puts out around 145bhp. You will tell the difference straight away. Also i got mine in from the UK paid in total around the same price as he is asking there only mine is the newer engine and it is loaded with extra's trip computer, cruise control , parking sensors , multi cd etc...

bazz26

Seems a bit expensive when you can have this newer one with the much better 2.0 litre engine for a little more money:

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/318/CI/993544/

bonham23

Its an se it says it on the carzone url.
Replica mv2's I'd say. Does not have the msport bumpers,sills or sports seats.price doesn't seem too bad but I'd haggle hard. you'll need a full service history to try and verify mileage

Ferris

bazz26 wrote: »

Seems a bit expensive when you can have this newer one with the much better 2.0 litre engine for a little more money:

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/318/CI/993544/

+1

go for the 16v 2L or one of the bigger 6cyl engines. the 1.9 engine in the car you are looking at is poor.

rebel.ranter

That one has replica wheels & is an SE. The M-Sport has a different front & rears bumper, different suspension. They can also have different seats, steering wheel, front fogs, etc.

Gumbo

bonham23 wrote: »

Its an se it says it on the carzone url.
Replica mv2's I'd say. Does not have the msport bumpers,sills or sports seats.price doesn't seem too bad but I'd haggle hard. you'll need a full service history to try and verify mileage

it also says it is an M-Sport in the url too.

imo it looks very close to an M-Sport.
it has the side skirts, it has the rear lip, it has the silver interer dash inserts, it has the M-Sport steering wheel with cruise and redio controls.

the front and rear bumper is a weird one as they are the same bumpers that you get on every E46 coupe in 2001, only the M3 had the sport bumpers, but i dont know if they were an option for the standard coupe. also the seats look very bog standard to me but they could be genuine.

best bet is to get the vin number, go down to a friendly bmw garage and ask them wether it was first delivered as an Se or M-Sport. they can give you a full list of all options ordered on the car when bought new.

just a little insight, but my mam bought a 2001 318Ci in 2001 and it is a carbon copy to that car posted above, had the skirts and the same bumpers as above but it also had full leather interier, CD player, of course different wheels but my point is, it was classed as an M-Sport car too.

when she bought a newer one in 2004 it had the M3 bumpers etc as they were standard on an M-Sport model for deffo then.


to cut a long story short : the wheels are deffo a recent add on, but we all change wheels after a few years especially if the standard ones are kerbed etc

it could be an M-sport, my advice....talk to a BMW garage to double check it if you can.

Gumbo

rebel.ranter wrote: »

That one has replica wheels & is an SE. The M-Sport has a different front & rears bumper, different suspension. They can also have different seats, steering wheel, front fogs, etc.

the replica wheels is not a big issue, anyway, how can you tell if there replica from a photo like that?

see my post above with regards to the front and rear bumpers.

the car also looks faily low, so it does look like an M-Sport suspension imo

it can have different seats alright but leather is an option on these cars not standard

it does have an M-Sport steering wheel

also it does have PDC too.

it does have front fogs

bonham23

sounds like you are tring to convince yourself its an msport.

The wheels did not come with the car as the mv3's only appeared from 03 onwards.
all msports had sports seats (some se's from 04 onwards came with them also)
The standard trim on an an msport interior would be alcantara suede.
All of the ci's has mtec suspension anyways. (the saloons did not)

Gumbo

bonham23 wrote: »

sounds like you are tring to convince yourself its an msport.

The wheels did not come with the car as the mv3's only appeared from 03 onwards.
all msports had sports seats (some se's from 04 onwards came with them also)
The standard trim on an an msport interior would be alcantara suede.
All of the ci's has mtec suspension anyways. (the saloons did not)

im not trying to, the OP is thinking about buying the car.
MV3's only came out very recently so i presume you meant MV2's but come on, people change wheels all the time and as i said above that it has alot of the msport items, best bet would be to check in a BMW garage to make sure for himself.


just to back up the seat theory, here is anothe MY 2001 E46 with mtec kit, note the seats :


as i said in my very first post in this thread that the only thing that would throw me on this car was the seats.

Bandara

kceire wrote: »

im not trying to, the OP is thinking about buying the car.
MV3's only came out very recently so i presume you meant MV2's but come on, people change wheels all the time and as i said above that it has alot of the msport items, best bet would be to check in a BMW garage to make sure for himself.


just to back up the seat theory, here is anothe MY 2001 E46 with mtec kit, note the seats :


as i said in my very first post in this thread that the only thing that would throw me on this car was the seats.

The vast vast majority of people do not change the wheels ever.

kdevitt

Its a boggo standard SE with replica alloys - the only sports feature is the steering wheel. The bumpers/skirts are totally standard. Its a reasonable price, but I'd avoid given the spec- it doesn't even have an armrest. All coupes came with the sports suspension too by the way.

This one is a sports model (albeit a facelifted one) http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/318/Ci-M/973087/

Biro

kceire wrote: »

the replica wheels is not a big issue, anyway, how can you tell if there replica from a photo like that?

see my post above with regards to the front and rear bumpers.

the car also looks faily low, so it does look like an M-Sport suspension imo

it can have different seats alright but leather is an option on these cars not standard

it does have an M-Sport steering wheel

also it does have PDC too.

it does have front fogs

The M-Sport seats are different, even the basic ones had the manual leg extension thingy at the front of them. The upgraded ones were electric and leather. The ones in the OP's post are the basic non-Msport ones so far as I can tell. Also, the front bumper is the standard one.

VeeGo

Thanks for info everyone, it cleared it up a bit.
I'm tempted with 320 now, however I cannot get axa to insure me on it as I'm 21 years old and it is 2.0l car. Anybody know how much more buying 2l would cost me to maintain?
318 is only 4 euro more than my old 1.4 Astra to insure, tax is also around 500.

listermint

I think your confused. The 320 is infact 2172cc or 2.2Lt . You would be hard pressed to get a decent quote at your age on the 320. The 318 PRE Sept 2001 is 1.9Lt , and POST Sept2001 it was facelifted and they replaced the ageing 1.9Lt with a 2.0Lt engine.

That means the "if" you go for the better post Sept 2001 318 you stand a better chance of getting a quote than on the higher rated 320.

Hope ive explained this well enough, if not read it again

Also the tax on the post sept 01 318 stands at 590 per annum . It is a more efficient engine so you will get better fuel consumption than the older 1.9. Insurance costs shouldnt be significantly different.

E92

listermint wrote: »

I think your confused. The 320 is infact 2172cc or 2.2Lt . You would be hard pressed to get a decent quote at your age on the 320. The 318 PRE Sept 2001 is 1.9Lt , and POST Sept2001 it was facelifted and they replaced the ageing 1.9Lt with a 2.0Lt engine.

That means the "if" you go for the better post Sept 2001 318 you stand a better chance of getting a quote than on the higher rated 320.

Hope ive explained this well enough, if not read it again

Also the tax on the post sept 01 318 stands at 590 per annum . It is a more efficient engine so you will get better fuel consumption than the older 1.9. Insurance costs shouldnt be significantly different.

Between 2000 and early 2001 the 320Ci had BMW's M52TÜB20, i.e. a 2.0 straight 6. In March 01 they replaced the M52TÜ with the M54, so the 320Ci from about march 01 has the M54B22 i.e. a 2.2 litre engine.

Here is a 320i with the 2.0 engine. Pity it's a saloon though:o.

L-M

E92 wrote: »

Between 2000 and early 2001 the 320Ci had BMW's M52TÜB20, i.e. a 2.0 straight 6. In March 01 they replaced the M52TÜ with the M54, so the 320Ci from about march 01 has the M54B22 i.e. a 2.2 litre engine.

Here is a 320i with the 2.0 engine. Pity it's a saloon though:o.

Was it a similar case with the Z3's, with the 1.9 and 2.0? Some good info there.

E92

Limerick-man wrote: »

Was it a similar case with the Z3's, with the 1.9 and 2.0? Some good info there.

The Z3 1.9 had the same engine as the E36 318is, while the 1.8 was the same engine as the facelifted E36 318i(M43B18). The 1.9 was never offered in RHD(that one has the M44B19 engine). We got a 1.9i to replace the 1.8, but that has the same engine as the original E46 318i has(the M43B19 for those who are interested)

The Z3 2.0 had the 2.0 6 pot engine also found in the E36 3 series and E39 5 series, but as it was only offered from 99, it does not have the Nikasil problem that other BMWs with this engine may have. That was replaced by the 2.2i in '01.(all facelifted Z3s have an "i" after the engine size, like all other BMWs do)

VeeGo

I decided not to buy this car after test driving it today. I have no complaints about performance, although I could use more HP. The interior of the car was in a very poor contition, the car itself was dirty, damage on alloys, front left tyre not balanced properly... I could keep going but enough said, it was far from perfect condition mentioned in the ad. I ain't gonna pay 10k for a car and then spend half day cleaning it.

Instead I'm gonna give this guy a ring:

bazz26 wrote: »

Seems a bit expensive when you can have this newer one with the much better 2.0 litre engine for a little more money:

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/318/CI/993544/

Hopefully I can try it out tomorrow, I'll keep you posted.

BTW, it wasn't an M sport.

RubberMammy

They tend to cost a fortune.

Then they breakdown a lot.

Then the Servicing costs you a fortune.

Live the dream!

Fishtits

Rubber,

It would be good if you could share more details with us.

I've driven BMW's since 1987 (all secondhand) and haven't had a breakdown, parts are dirt cheap (do the labour myself)

Why the bad impression?

listermint

RubberMammy wrote: »

They tend to cost a fortune.

Then they breakdown a lot.

Then the Servicing costs you a fortune.

Live the dream!

Shame you have left your groundless points with no personal info to back them up. Love your sweeping statements though very insightful!!

unkel

@RubberMammy - if you have something useful to share, please do. Otherwise stop trolling.

Bandara

RubberMammy wrote: »

They tend to cost a fortune.

Then they breakdown a lot.

Then the Servicing costs you a fortune.

Live the dream!

If your not happy with the price don't buy one.

No, they don't breakdown a lot at all

No it doesn't, any BMW specialist will do work for a reasonable price. And you will get the value back of it when you sell your car with a good service record.

Yes, do live the dream, lifes too short to be so bitter.

Elessar

I'm 22 with a 320ci Coupe - I can give any info you want regards maintenance etc. I'm insured with axa 2 years no claims for 1380 - but last year I was with quinn direct for 2000 which was the cheapest around I could get. If you can afford that, go for it!

Only bad thing is fuel economy, I get about 23mpg but I have only done 6000 miles in the year since I bought it so it's not too bad.

Nameless1

I recently bought a 320d M-sport which is an extremly sweet car 150bhp, it really is a classy looking sporty car and its a 4 door.
Im insured with Quinn for €1700 fully comp and Im 22.
I say to anyone whos young and interested in a bmw to buy a 320d M-sport (03 onwards), if your going to spend the money on a 318 you may as well move up to a better level with the 320 and without a doubt make sure you buy from England or Northern Ireland, you can be choosy (better selection and spec) and you will save 1000's if you shop around

VeeGo

Thanks for the info everyone, I've never expected so much help.

Test drove that 2.0 318 from the previous post last Sunday. Didn't notice massive difference in performance, but then again, there's nowhere arround my estate to give this car a proper run. The car is in OK condition, only two visible scraches on front and rear bumbers, seats and steering wheel are fairly worn-off, everything else is fine.

Here's the link to the car again: http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/BMW/318/CI/993544/

Got a quote from quinn for 1800 euro, which is 500 euro more than 1.9 318. Also, the tax is expired, so thats also 580 on top. I've got just enough cash for this, but then I'll only have enough cash for beer and petrol for the next 3 months.

Any other suggestions for cheaper insurance? I've already tried alianz and axa, both refused to insure me. 123.com quoted me at 2100 for TP and 2700 for fully comprehensive.

I will leave the whole car buying deal for 2 weeks and then decide. Any advice welcome, as well as links to any nice coupes, not necesarilly BMW.