My gf has a 318ti w/ 136k that has not had ANY of the preventative maintenance appropriate for its mileage. (Her dad purchased the car w/o a PPI and much knowledge about the car's condition. He meant well but didn't do his homework/was a little too trusting.) The shocks are in despicable shape, it probably needs new tie rods, and definitely FCABs. The cooling system is all stock as well and probably is due for some replacement to avoid bad things from happening. My question is this: Is there any danger, other than the inevitable increased cost of a catastrophic event to the car, to not doing these maintenance things. I am most worried about the suspension/steering components. If one of those was to fail would my gf be in any danger (losing control, etc.). Is this a large risk? She does not drive crazy or anything, just to and from school. The reason I am asking is because we are both college students and she is depending a lot on her father for financial support. He doesn't seem to want to spend any money on the car. I am trying to find out if I really need to put the pressure on him to help me replace some of these things. If the car dies it would be his own fault (although it would be a shame) so I am not worried about that as much as the safety of my girl.

Front suspension components become pretty obvious when they are going bad. Lots of shimmy when driving at certain speeds and again while braking. CAB's are so cheap it's not worth taking a chance on them. Same really with control arms. You can do all the front end, control arms with balljoints, CAB's, and tie rod ends for around $200 in parts. If any of this stuff fails it can be very dangerous to your GF.

I've tried to price front end components and haven't been able to find prices that cheap. (200 for entire front end) Where do you get your parts? Sounds like a great place. Thanks.

I've tried to price front end components and haven't been able to find prices that cheap. (200 for entire front end) Where do you get your parts? Sounds like a great place. Thanks.

Here on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Bmw-E36-325-318-323-328-Control-Arm-Arms-Tie-Rods-KIT_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33583QQihZ015QQitem Z250169581917QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW). Groton isn't the best brand but if you are looking for cheap there ya go. Better brands can be bought for around $300 from BMA Parts (http://www.bmaparts.com/index.php)