1997 BMW 318 consumer reviews

Bought the car new and had the radiator run dry in the first month. Over the years I have had the radiator replaced twice as well as every other part of the cooling system. I still keep coolant in the vehicle at all times. The car rides beautifully and smoothly, but I have been left high and dry too many times wth this car. Only drive it locally now and will ditch it before having to register it again next year, because it has something undiagnosable wrong with the emission that will make it fail smog. Would never buy BMW again. Would rather drive a Toyota or Honda.

I have owned mine for almost 10 years. Was not sure of purchasing because of the small engine, but i insisted. I loved the color combination and the styling. Over the years I have been bumbed out because it does not perform as fast as the other larger engines, but when it comes to handling it is one of the best cars out there.

Great, fun car to drive with great gas mileage and reliability. More standard featrues than next generation 3 series (E46), e.g., dual climate control which is not available in E46 3 sereis. 4-cylinder engine is spunky and has great repair record.