So today I ran across a 1991 BMW 318i. It looks great, is owned by the guy at the local Firestone Auto Center. It was his wife's car. But most importantly, it is a 5 speed manual and it has just short of 100k miles on it. I seem to remember someone mentioning that the timing belts/chains on these things needed to be changed out at about 125k miles? Yes? No? What other things should I be looking out for?

Thanks!

their sweet electrical systems.
But really, I dont remember ever seeing it, so what is it your looking for? a Daily driver or a car for fun?

Decent car, it'll have a timing chain which isn't prone to failure as much as the belts are if they haven't been taken care of.

I've had 13 E30s and have had decent luck with them... hit 630,000 km on an '84 318i.

Posted by team haymaker their sweet electrical systems. But really, I dont remember ever seeing it, so what is it your looking for? a Daily driver or a car for fun?

Well, currently my only running vehicle is a 2002 Chevy Silverado 1500 and it is totally awesome with the extended cab and 5.3L V8... but the 15 MPG isn't so great. I can still get 18 MPG with it out on the highway (which is the most it was ever able to get, according to KBB.com).

However, I'm looking for something that can be a fun daily driver to get me the 15 miles into town and won't drink an ENTIRE gallon of gas doing so. You know, that means it costs me $3.50 just to drive to town and another $3.50 to get home.

The guy selling the car said that they are getting over 30 MPG with the BMW today. This would chop my fuel bill in HALF, which is totally what I'm looking for. Likewise, I haven't had a manual transmission since I traded my 1993 Chevy C1500 (with 4.3L V6 and 5-speed manual in an extended cab) in for my current ride brand new off the dealer's lot. I enjoy driving a car with a manual transmission a lot more than I enjoyed that truck. So, I'm sure I'd have a great time with this car. My only concern is this stuff I'm reading about these things being a total pain in the ass to maintain. I don't have a problem doing maintenance, I'm more concerned about knowing what maintenance needs to be done when. The car is supposed to have excellent records of what has been done, so I'm just trying to get an idea what I should look for having been done already as the car is about to hit 100k miles. Likewise, what am I going to need to plan on doing... I can budget that in, it isn't really a problem... I just need to know what to plan for. Not having a car payment means I can afford some parts when it is necessary.

Thanks guys, I do appreciate it. I am in the process of reading through the link that tholcomb provided.