BMW Problems

It's very low mileage for the age of the car, is it genuine? If it is I would suggest a value of $8000-$10,000, depending on the condition.

If you've checked the battery and that's ok, check the starter to make sure there's no problem with that, and then pressure check for a blown head gasket. It's not unknown for a head gasket to blow on the 318 and you can get an hydraulic lock in a cylinder that will make it difficult to start if that cylinder is the one that's on compression when you go to start it. It doesn't always show up on the temperature gauge as overheating, but it is sometimes evident with white smoke from the tailpipe when the engine is cold.

Contact the Roads & Maritime Services and they should be able to give a list of accredited engineers who could inspect your car.

Your car is out of warranty, so you would have to make a goodwill claim for BMW to replace the bottle free of charge. I think they should come to the party with the cost of replacing the bottle, and by all means try that, but I doubt you will be successful. There are many plastic components used in the cooling system on BMWs, and like the expansion bottle on your car they all eventually give trouble. In my view it's poor engineering.

Obviously they’re both high performance cars that are designed to eat up the open road, but equally they have to be able to handle the pressures of day-to-day motoring. I wouldn’t like to say one is better than the other for daily use, and I wouldn’t be buying one on that basis, so go for the one that most appeals for its performance.

I wouldn’t recommend a used BMW with that sort of mileage on it if you plan to keep it for an extended time. They are expensive to service and repair, something you must be prepared for in the future as the kilometres climb. I would definitely recommend that a dealer, or preferably an experienced BMW mechanic check it if you did decide to buy it. Go for a 7-seat SUV from a Japanese brand.