Help---Deposit made, picking up in 2 days!!

[hdshovelhead]

I am hopefully going to be picking up a '97 318i on Wednesday for my daughter. The car has 97K miles, a clean Carfax, but I was hoping this forum could give me some insight to what I should immediately check for when I see the car for inspection. It is a private seller, not dealer. Looks like there has been 3 owners with the current owner for the last 6 years. What should I check for that can ultimately bite my wallet big? Thanks in advance for the help.....

[DNRC]

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191293 ;)

helped me with mine when I got it

[E36youngster]

definitely ask for service records, parts reciepts, anything that was done to the car that they can provide. its like buying any other car, check for obvious things: engine starts, runs fine, shifts well, no weird vibrations, normal stuff. big thing that might be a problem is cooling system. if theres something that doesnt seem too serious but you still have questions, post another thread describing exactly whats happening and we'll try to help you out.

welcome to the 'fest :thumbup:

[bimmerblack]

Give it a good test drive and let go of the steering wheel briefly and brake semi gently to see if it pulls, this could be heads up for the need to replace front brakes down the way and or an alignment.

[SCANDINAVIAN13]

The link DNRC posted is pretty much all you need for when you're going to check it out.