Faults:

Nothing major.

Brakes have been done 2x in 10 years.

The original radiator was replaced well after 300K miles!!!

Two major tune-ups completed.

Struts in the front were done recently (although they needed doing much earlier).

The car has been a terrific handler despite my lazy upkeep!

General Comments:

I actually disagree with most prior opinions of this car, with the exception of its slowness. It most certainly is out of first gear with the three speed automatic!!! Its handling is excellent, and second to none. Its turning radius is darned near perfect. It virtually has no body roll whatsoever!

Most replacement parts are very reasonable, except the radiator, which will cost you 300 dollars unless you find a generous seller!

Being a 1984, it is also the first of its E30 body style, so some parts may not interchange with later models.

Of the 12 cars I've owned in 17 years of driving, I will NEVER sell this car, as it is the most reliable I've ever owned!!

Faults:

Head gasket and valves at 380k.

Radiator at 340k.

Brakes every 100K.

Tires every 50K.

General Comments:

This is the best car I ever had. Wonderful car, great handling, comfortable, and even had good gas mileage. Drove the poor thing into the ground, and donated it to charity.

Just plain wore it out at 476K. Had body flex, serious door drop, and all the suspension bushings were gone. I think the real service life of one of these cars is about 450K. Wish I could find one with about 100K on it to restore.

Faults:

Brake booster?

Vacuum leaks?

General Comments:

I recently bought my 84 318i as an "upgrade" to the endless line of VWs I had previously owned. Found a gorgeous '84 out on an island that had rarely left the island, and was driven around since new by an old lady.

Great things about the car:

The 318i is a particularly simple BMW, I don't think anything that could have broken on that car would be very difficult to replace.

Even though it's a 24 year old car in (8/10) visual condition, everywhere I went people comment. "wow I bet that helps with the ladies!" or "How did you get the money for a BMW?!) I guess people never realized it only cost me $1,600.

I found that the car was very sluggish (especially coming from a 91 GTI 16v) but with the 5-speed it was at least decently drivable.

IF YOU STAY AWAY FROM DEALERSHIPS, these cars are very affordable to repair and maintain.

Bad stuff about it:

Lost my key, no mobile locksmith had the "future-tech" skills required to cut a damn key for my '84 (something about high security key cuts?) so I had to get a whole new lock cylinder as it was the quickest option to get back on the road.

The beige cloth interior was kind of pulling apart, the weave was just too worn out, can't really complain about worn out cloth on a super old car, it's like if I wore the same shirt since I was 1 and whined about it looking worn out on my 25th birthday... think about it.