l have a 1995 BMW 318i se that has recently started misfiring.The strange thing is that some days it will run fine but the majority of the time it is misfiring and when l press the accelerator the car seems to accelerate then splutter a bit then accelerate then splutter a bit... etc

Does anyone know what the cause of this is likely to be and if so how to fix it as at the moment l can not really afford to be paying the garage!

Thanks for any replies.

spark plugs, distributor if it has one or the O2 sensors arnt reading right

have you been through any deep puddles from the recent rain?

i went through what l thought was a puddle, but the water came over the front bumper. oops. anyhow, the front of the car sort of floated and we got through, but a small amount of water must have gone into the engine.

it sorted itself out over the next couple of weeks.

i would put some redex or other fuel system cleaner in the petrol tank.

cost about £4. worth a shot

The misfires can be due to a lot of different things. And it would be costlier to do a trial and error repair. It would be better to have the car scanned/diagnosed by a reputable BMW repair shop. Sorry.

Dirty air filter, oil seals on the distributer,dirty plugs, in need of an oil change/ service, HT leads, fuel filter needs replacing, worn/ coked-up points..Need l go on?
Have the bastard serviced and you will notice the difference immediately!
It will cost about £120 of your hard earned!

l had a 318i that did the same, l started with the basics. A tune up, spark plugs, plug wires & new ignition coil. That did not cure it but still was good to do anyway. Next l did my O2 sensors & again good but did not do it. Next thing l changed out was the crankshaft Position Sensor. Finally that ended up doing the trick. Mis fires can be very annoying as they can be many different things. Here is a trouble shooting list that u can go on & try to find ur problem.
http://autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker
Good luck!