2200-Mile 1998 BMW 318ti Is Today’s Bring a Trailer Find
It was a budget BMW back in the day.
Here’s an entry-level BMW from the late 1990s with the right options.
This 3-series variant was smaller and lighter than its coupe and sedan siblings.
This one has incredibly low mileage, and its Bring a Trailer online auction goes until July 17.
The least expensive BMWs you can get today, the 2-series or the X1, have MSRPs that hover around the $40,ooo mark. Don’t complain too much, though, as, adjusted for inflation, that’s what you’d pay for the littlest Bimmer on the lot in 1998, the hatchback version of the 3-series. Then as now, you didn’t get a lot of extras unless you were willing to pay, but you did get a true BMW driving experience at a cut-rate price.
This 1998 BMW 318ti has the right boxes ticked and incredibly low mileage. It’s up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). It has the M Sport package and the five-speed manual, so you get a sportier look and stiffened suspension to go with your heel-and-toe shifting. With just 2200 miles on the odometer, it might be an even better buy than a new bargain BMW.
The idea of a hatchback 3-series seemed a little weird to U.S. shoppers when this car debuted, but not to the European market. The 3-series Compact, as it was known, could trace its roots back to the 2002tii Touring, combining hatchback practicality with that nimble handling and four-cylinder punch that made so many fans of Bavarian-style motoring.
More than eight inches shorter than the 3-series sedan, the U.S.-spec 318ti got a different rear suspension than the standard car, its own unique doors, and its own dashboard styling. To keep the price down, BMW nickel-and-dimed some of the features out (no flashlight in the glovebox, a compact spare tire instead of a full-size one). But if you were buying the 3-series hatchback for the engineering, not the luxury, the good stuff was still right there under the skin.
For one thing, the 318ti was about 130 pounds lighter than the coupe and sedan versions, making it quicker in both stopping and acceleration. It was also a bit more eager to dance, perhaps a little more prone to oversteer than its bigger cousins. Sounds perfect.
The 1.9-liter M44 inline four-cylinder engine fitted to this example made 138 horsepower when new, with 133 pound-feet of torque. For a company whose middle name is literally “Motoren,” that output might seem unimpressive, but this is a BMW four-cylinder from a time when you had to wring the engine’s neck to get the best experience. No lazy turbocharged torque and upshifting early, the 318ti wants you to mash that throttle.
This example spent time in long-term storage and was sorted out before being auctioned on Bring a Trailer a few years back. Besides the stiffer suspension, the M Sport package added fog lights and some handsome body upgrades, and other options include a sunroof and heated front seats. It’s basically in like-new condition, inside and out.
In-period, we gave the nod to the Acura GS-R over this entry-level BMW for the former’s rev-happy four-cylinder engine. But looking at this 318ti’s happy, ducktail looks and rear-wheel-drive layout, it’s not hard to see why a buyer would have chosen the Bimmer instead.
If the current cut-price options at BMW don’t stir your soul, then here’s a choice pick from the past that just might do the trick. The 318ti might have offered fewer goodies than its bigger sedan or coupe brothers, but it was still a true BMW.
