A question about a car!

[bugsy46]

Ok the following is a pic of the underside of a car im thinking about buying. It is a 1996 BMW 316i with 55k on the clock. The body of the car is faultless, no scratches, no dents, no scuffs, no rust, NOTHING! But, as im a newbie to cars, I noticed the axle on this pic has a little bit of a rusty colouring to it! Is this perfectly normal for a car and not a problem?! What are your thoughts on this pic?!

Thanks folks
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Laura - "And where did looks come into this and bugsy leave steven alone. You are not gods gift to women you may think you are but you're not."
Keith - "All the best"

[10 pence Short]

It's fine, It's the inner CV joint, it'll be just surface rust .The metal is very thick there and takes all the power transmitted to the wheels.
If you bought it and were at all concerned you could try some waxoyl or such stuff (Jenolite). But anything too much would just fling off when it spins.
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I haven't had a cont all day, drinkstable.

[bugsy46]

Thanks! boss!! x x x x x x x
____________________
Laura - "And where did looks come into this and bugsy leave steven alone. You are not gods gift to women you may think you are but you're not."
Keith - "All the best"

[Madmanx]

Absolute rust bucket.
What,s the guys tel no so I can tell him.
No, seriously it,s good,had lot of bm,s .
You can,t go too wrong.
Check when the timing belt was last changed and service history etc. Good luck
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https://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll9/manxhornet/Hornet001.jpg

[McGee]

Haha you think thats rusty.

You should see the underside of my Jeep.
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Its pronounced Jixxer!

[Drew]

[Ichy]

You just need to check the fuel lines. They really do rust badly.

[Phoenix]

Looks pretty damn clean for a 96, shiny new backbox too. Undersides rust. mainly suspension components, arms etc buts its surface rust and usually nothing serious until you start hitting 25years old etc.

*waits for Annabella to chip in about the appalling manufacturing quality of BMW driveshafts

[bugsy46]

Did somebody mention cambelt? Thought these cars ran on cam chains?!?

And DRew?! Why not!???
____________________
Laura - "And where did looks come into this and bugsy leave steven alone. You are not gods gift to women you may think you are but you're not."
Keith - "All the best"

[Drew]

Ive never known the point of 316 / 318 bmw's, they will hardly move. Big heavy car, with an engine worth of powering a small hatchback.

[Nb]

It is a chain dont worry. Just look for signs of head gasket failure.
Another thing to look for on beemers is that they eat front lower wishbone bushes, they sit at the back of the wishbone and seem to fail often. To check them put the handbrake on and put your foot on top of the front wheel and push the wheel towards the back of the car quite hard, you will see if its knackered by how much the wheel moves backward. It also shows itself as clonking under braking.
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Cbr1100xx blackbird gone, mk4 golf gt tdi chav now
Colin1 wrote 'Im grateful for what i can get, which isnt all that much.'
Columbus travel insurance are crap!! Do not use!

[iCraig]

[D O G]

You will be needing two more cylinders in that beemer my good friend.

[Johnny GSX-R]

Its gonna struggle to perform as stated earlier. False economy getting the 316/8 model IMHO.

I had a 318 and it was terrible, 320 / 325 is a whole lot better.

Build quality is good, handling is ok for a heavy saloon, gearboxes are generally very positive. Not a bad ride by any standard but the straight 6 is far superior.