BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000

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Wed 13 Apr 2016 11:06
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - Whiffle

Hi,

My 1995 Merc C200 is getting very tatty now and I need to look into getting a replacement shortly.

I have an 18-month old and with buggies, toys etc. so I have decided on a BMW estate.

With a £4,000.00 budget, any advice on what to go for would be much appreciated (mileage, fuel type, age, engine size).

It will probably be doing around 10,000 miles per year but not a lot of motorway driving - going to be used for commuting 7 miles to work.

Economy is more important than sheer power as my ragging days are over with a little one around now.

With regards to transmission - I used to much prefer manuals but am much less fully these days.

Any advice for what to look for would be ver much appreciated.

Thanks

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Wed 13 Apr 2016 11:14
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - 520i
The best 3 Series wagon that you can find, I'd have thought.

Stick to the lower end of the range and you should get something decent and economical. Have a damn good look at it though; check the mileages and the paperwork tally with what's online (MOT history check), give it a very thorough test drive, and set the bar high. Many of them at that price range will be knackered high milers or will have something to hide, so expect to view plenty of them! BM's are easy to work on, well put together and, in diesel form, will get you to the moon and back on a full tank. They're also 'wannabe' fodder though, which can be bad news. I bought a 5 Series (cheaply) which the previous owner had negelcted to the point that the auxiliary belt was running on steel straps alone in places, the rubber was long gone. So be sceptical of every one you look at it!

Your only other option is a 5 Series Touring, but they're hard to find and more prone to rust and hard lives in the countryside than the saloons.

Edited by 520i on 13/04/2016 at 11:18

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Wed 13 Apr 2016 14:08
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - Whiffle

Thanks for that.

I don't consider myself knowledgable enought to be able to spot any major issues so anything that I do consider buying is going to have an expert give it a once over first.

What sort of Reg date and mileage should I be looking for?

I know that it is often better to get a new a car with a high mileage, other than the opposite, but where is a decent balance between the two?

Is around 2008 plate with 100-120,000 miles about right?

What sort of engine size do you think I should go for? Is 2 litres acceptable for a 3-series estate or should go for something a little larger?

Based upon my intended use, it seems pretty sensible to for a petrol over a diesel.

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 12:32
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - meldrew

HJ is right when he says that older cars suffer a lot of potentially expensive niggles but one has to do one's best to anticipate them.

Sister in law has a 120k mile 6 cylinder estare and it seems to have lasted well but not sure that I would buy it as the potential cost of the bigger engine is not worth it. One of our 3 series is two litre petrol and the engine and drive train are fine at 90k miles.

Niggles include small irritating oil leak from valve gear cover, slight exhaust crack thar seals itself when hot, heater control resistor needed replacing, inlet manifold air leak repair, noisy aircon.......

I suppose what I am saying is check what has been replaced and what advisories are or have been on the MoT. A professional check might be good value.

A trivial point is that with the radio aerial in the rear windscreen this can sometimes fail which affects AM and you can't get sports commentaries on Radio 5!

I would say that generally BMWs are well built and good value and I will certainly stick with the brand. As always caveat emptor!

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 13:50
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - RobJP

The problems start once the mileage climbs on BMWs. Especially if maintenance has been minimal.

You say you want economy. Well, that really means a 320d / 318d. The timing chain problems on cars of the age you're talking about are well-known. In addition, they've all got DPFs - which will probably be reaching the end of their lifespans now, requiring expensive replacement. They've also all got DMFs with the clutch, and (depending on the mechanical sympathy of the previous owner / owners) those could well be worn out now too.

So a £4000 car could, quite feasibly, cost another £2k within a year or less. And that's just on the clutch/DMF and DPF. If the timing chain goes then the engine is quite possibly scrap.

I'd recommend not going for a 'premium' brand. You'll get a hugely newer / lower mileage mondeo estate for the same money as a 3 series. And cheaper parts for when things do go wrong.

(finally, no, I'm not a 'premium' brand or BMW hater). I've got a 2013 325d estate. But I've had it since nearly new, maintain it perfectly, and will quite possibly drive it into the ground.

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 15:22
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - gordonbennet

RobJP sums it up, the problem with this type of car, when compared to a simpler Japanese/Korean model, is that up to a point the far eastern models can stand neglect and misuse better than the Gernam cars can, and unless you DIY or have a very tame mechanic, the cost of maintaining these cars properly (which invariably means giving the makers recommends a good ignoring) is high, but cheaper in the long run.

Again, this is another thread could have been answered with ''buy a Sonata/Magentis estate'', i betcha lots of us would have one of those bought cheap used as a reliable workhorse if only they'd made the blighters.

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 15:37
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - Cyd

Have you got your heart set on a 3 series or are you open to suggestions?

I run a Saab 9-3 saloon. Mine's an Aero 2.0T with a tune and suspension mods, but the Wagon has plenty of load space and the 2.0t 175hp version probably has the best performance/economy mix for most. (avoid the 1.9 diesel). I get 32-34 bashing rural A roads and can better 4 on the motorway with a light foot (rare for me). It's smooth and quiet and easy to drive. Even with it's lowered sports suspension my teenage lads and others report that the car is very comfy in the rear (even when I press on), so I imagine the 'normal' versions would be too. You also can't argue with Saab safety - with it's Elk tested roof structure and side airbags and impact protection it's a safe place to be. Mine has ESP and EBD which I'm sure were available across the range. I carry 4 mountain bikes on the roof of mine and a wagon comes with roof rails. The stereo has aux in which I use for a Pure highway and much of the range has xenons which are brilliant. The twin zone aircon makes light work of UK summers. For your 4 grand I'd have thought you'd be able to get a newer and better spec'd car than a 3 series. Worthy of a look and maybe a test drive I'd say. As mentioned, stick to petrol for your typical drive cycle. Oh, and they have a space saver spare - none of this foam rubbish. (Edit - I tried putting them in for you and the stupid software won't do it.)

Edited by Avant on 15/04/2016 at 01:16

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 15:41
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - Cyd

Don't know why the paragraphs I put n didn't show?? Hope you can read it okay

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 15:52
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - HandCart

Are the Saab petrol engines their own design?

Parts availability still no problem?

(just curious)

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 18:31
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - Cyd

Saab UK have deals with all the old OE suppliers and places like Neo Bros have plenty of pattern stuff. The problems of MG Rover haven't afflicted Saabs.

You can Google the engines - GM base units with some Saab tweaks

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 18:59
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - csgmart

It will probably be doing around 10,000 miles per year but not a lot of motorway driving - going to be used for commuting 7 miles to work.

I'm surprised that no one else has picked up on this (2 x 7 miles per day) - totally unsuitable for diesel engines IMO. If the car you are looking at doesn't have a DPF (too old?) then it might be OK but diesel engines take longer to warm up in the winter months and fuel economy can be worse than a petrol engine over these short distances, as I know from personal experience.

I'd go with a petrol car whatever you end up choosing.

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 20:36
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - Cyd

I'm surprised that no one else has picked up on this (2 x 7 miles per day) -

Really? I believe i wrote:
"As mentioned, stick to petrol for your typical drive cycle"

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 21:50
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - Paul77C
I had a 2007 325i touring. Loved it and still miss it. But never ending problems with misfire that BMW could not sort under the extended warranty. I hope I was just unlucky but there are plenty of stories out there. I'd be wary of a N53 direct injection engine of that era.
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Fri 15 Apr 2016 09:53
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - csgmart

I'm surprised that no one else has picked up on this (2 x 7 miles per day) -

Really? I believe i wrote:
"As mentioned, stick to petrol for your typical drive cycle"

My mistake. Your post was difficult to read without paragrahs (as you susequently pointed out yourself).

I was picking up on what a couple of other posters had said and diesel seemed to be the recommendation.

Edited by csgmart on 15/04/2016 at 09:54

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Thu 14 Apr 2016 22:39
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - phil_z70

Difficult one really a E91 touring petrol with a minimum 100k mile is probably what you would get for that money or an E46 touring with lower miles, but I don't think the petrol engines in either are very reliable, check the car by car section for each,

Unfortunately your driving cycle doesn't suit diesel cars with DPF and as previously said the potential repairs that could be needed could be the same as you paid for the car (if your unlucky !)

Nothing against them though, I have an early E90 diesel and think its a great car

Plus BMW part prices aren't cheap, some copy parts aren't up to the job

What about something like a Ford Mondeo estate, plenty of them and quite a lot of car for not much money

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Fri 15 Apr 2016 01:23
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - Avant

I'm sure it's annoying, when you say you've decided on a BMW estate, for us to come up with suggestions othret than BMW. But - there's no polite way of putting this - your budget is too low for a decent BMW.

The Ford Mondeo is a good suggestion as there are lots of them around at all price levels. If you want something a little different, see if you can find a petrol Mazda 6 estate or Honda Accord Tourer. Or perhaps a Volvo V50 or V70?

As others have said, avoid diesel.

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Fri 15 Apr 2016 09:29
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - gordonbennet

I can see why people like the 3 series, especially E46/90, a comfortable size overall, not too wide which plagues so many modern cars which have bloated, benefitting from RWD so as with MB, they gain a decent turning circle which does make life easier.

Confess i wouldn't want a Mondeo or Insignia estate purely because they are such huge cars now, i don't normally mention Fords but so long as you avoid the latest Focus which seems to have got bigger whilst the interior has shrunk, previous model Focus estae might be a decent alternative to a 3 series, if the above good suggestions don't grab you.

Course you could go up in height a bit, the vast range of MPV's and now SUV's do score well, bit smaller footprint but gain interior space with higher rooflines and they tend in most cases to be squared off at the back, another useful space gain.

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Fri 15 Apr 2016 09:55
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - Trilogy

I'm sure it's annoying, when you say you've decided on a BMW estate, for us to come up with suggestions othret than BMW. But - there's no polite way of putting this - your budget is too low for a decent BMW.

The Ford Mondeo is a good suggestion as there are lots of them around at all price levels. If you want something a little different, see if you can find a petrol Mazda 6 estate or Honda Accord Tourer. Or perhaps a Volvo V50 or V70?

As others have said, avoid diesel.

I'm sure you can get a decent BMW within your budget. I'd suggest you go to the relevant owners club forum and perhaps become a member of the club too. You'll find a wealth of knowledge from owners. This strategy was invaluable for me when I bought my Mercedes, which was 15 years old when I bought it. Finding the right car can take a bit of patience, well worthwhile if you do.

I wouldn't go for a Volvo instead, parts won't necessarily be any cheaper than a BMW. My parents had a Volvo between for 9 years but never had another.

Edited by Trilogy on 15/04/2016 at 09:58

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Mon 18 Apr 2016 09:41
BMW 3 Series Touring - Buying a used BMW estate - Budget of £4,000 - johncyprus
You'd either have to be very knowledgeable or very lucky to get an excellent BMW for £4K. There are some good older BMWs out there but all will be needing TLC to keep going and if you're not able to do the work yourself as another has said, budget maybe 2k for repairs in the next year.
The Saab would be a wise choice, I recently drove a 2006 estate which had 185k on the clock and was enormously impressed.
Failing that, have you considered an Octavia?

Edited by johncyprus on 18/04/2016 at 09:46

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