handgrenade 189 Report post Posted August 6, 2014 Hi all A friend is looking for a daily which is more economical than his current wrx. Can anyone here please provide any experience they have of how thirsty a 318 is? Are they safe to run on 91 fuel? Any responses appreciated. He is thinking of a St205 celica fwd which by online info is worse than his wrx!!! Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1283 Report post Posted August 6, 2014 manual e36 318ti , run them on 95 , , or e36 316i or 318i manual , all the auto's suck ,make the car heavy and use lots more fuel. e46 is heavier so probably will use more Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Palazzo 474 Report post Posted August 6, 2014 My manual 328i is about 10-12% more economical than my old Legacy RS. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1661 Report post Posted August 6, 2014 My parents E46 318i manual with M43 motor averages about 35mpg around Hamilton and low 40mpg open roads. Pretty good for a heavy car i think. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nath 134 Report post Posted August 6, 2014 I had an E46 318i sedan auto and it used piss all fuel. Very economical Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Top Secret 2 Report post Posted August 7, 2014 http://www.fuelly.com/car/bmw/318i/1999/TopSecret/217347 My fuel economy seems to vary markedly. My car is due for a major service though. What would people recommend I check over while I do that? I started off filling it only with 98, but the performance felt identical with 91 and the fuel economy seemed to improve.. strangely. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Young Thrash Driver 1020 Report post Posted August 9, 2014 If he wants economy, maybe he should be looking at a Corolla? Sorry, couldn't resist Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob HB1 90 Report post Posted August 9, 2014 Our e36 318 which has been converted to manual does 700 to 800 ks on a tank Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blonky 2 Report post Posted August 10, 2014 My e36 318i did around 10l/100km, e46 318i 8l/100km mixed driving Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blonky 2 Report post Posted August 10, 2014 Should mention I had the e36 with the soch engine in manual so that's why I'd say the e46 doch had better economy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2069 Report post Posted August 10, 2014 manual e36 318ti , run them on 95 , , or e36 316i or 318i manual , all the auto's suck ,make the car heavy and use lots more fuel. e46 is heavier so probably will use more Yup around town they are horrid for the size of the motor. Those Auto box's I am sure they sourced from an HQ Holden or something. This is the closest one I could find to my driving City/Highway %. http://www.fuelly.com/car/bmw/318ti/1997/Taku9/241046 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
handgrenade 189 Report post Posted August 11, 2014 Thanks guys .. Despite my efforts he won't buy a BMW as he thinks it will cost him lots in maintenance. Although a small win .. He's not buying a celica !! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allanw 1071 Report post Posted August 11, 2014 Thanks guys .. Despite my efforts he won't buy a BMW as he thinks it will cost him lots in maintenance. Although a small win .. He's not buying a celica !! Apparently he hasn't compared Toyota parts prices with BMW ones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1661 Report post Posted August 11, 2014 Genuine BMW parts from dealer vs repco branded japanese parts is the usually idiots comparision. Parents bought their E46 at 42,000 and its done over 100,000 now. The Oonly things replaced beside usually maintenance items have been a DISA valve, heater resistor and a control arm. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
handgrenade 189 Report post Posted August 12, 2014 Apparently he hasn't compared Toyota parts prices with BMW ones. Are they similar? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted August 12, 2014 Parents bought their E46 at 42,000 and its done over 100,000 now. The Oonly things replaced beside usually maintenance items have been a DISA valve, heater resistor and a control arm. to be fair, those are things that shouldnt be breaking on a car thats done 100k Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allanw 1071 Report post Posted August 12, 2014 Are they similar? Well... Dad owned one Toyota, and after the reaming he got on the required parts for it, he brought a BMW and has been raving about how little it's cost him over the last 15 years, and Dads a stickler for replacing anything that might cause him a problem. BMW parts are surprisingly cheap in a lot of cases, especially on older cars, and there are a lot of aftermarket options too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1661 Report post Posted August 13, 2014 to be fair, those are things that shouldnt be breaking on a car thats done 100k 2 of them are common E46 weak points so its not really suprising, not to mention its a 14 year old car nowl so its not just km that have an influence. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
my_e36 43 Report post Posted August 15, 2014 ^^ agree. My e46 had DISA valve died as well as a nearby intake rubber pipe cracked. Probably due to engine bay heat over the years. Control arm bushes were munted too. That was when the car at 8 years old at 90-100 thousand kays. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rowans17 19 Report post Posted August 15, 2014 For what its worth, last year my flatmate had a WRX and i had a e46 328cia. We found that they would use roughly the same amount of fuel on average despite me having 200kgs and 800ccs on him. His could use less fuel if he kept off that turbo though. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites