Hey all,
As I have mentioned a few times I plan to buy a new car next year in the next 6-8 months and as I never buy anything without a great deal of research first, now is the time to start.
I will be 22 by the time I purchase, and feel it would be a good time to own a car I've wanted more or less ever since I developed an interest in cars - an E39 5 Series or perhaps an E46 3 Series. I'd like to do this in the near future becuase if I leave it to long, they'll all be getting on a bit, and I have no love/desire for the current BMW range. I am the sad sort of person who, when watching Gone in 60 Seconds, had more lust for the coppers 540i than for some of the Ferrari's...
So, what am I in for? I will be looking to spend less than £10k and have no problems buying privately or at auction. I have worked out this means I should be able to get one of the below cars, unless any of you guys know better..
99-00 528i Sport
00-02 525i Sport
00-02 530i Sport
01-02 325i/330i Sport
I love the looks of the Sport, so thats what I'd prefer. You'll note some of those seem a bit ambitious for under £10k in 6 months time - well, I'm not scared of high mileage so am prepared to own a car with more than 100,000 miles on the clock if it means I can have a newer/higher specified example, and looking at HJ's recent auction reports I don't think those are going to be too far out of reach with the possible exception of facelift E46's in Sport guise. I don't know much about these. If I am honest I prefer the E39 in terms of... everything, but the performance of the 3 is tempting. Evo clocked a 330i @ 5.9 seconds to 60. But a 3 is only acceptable as a facelift Sport.
What am I to expect in terms of running costs? Is there a reputation for unreliability or will a BMW will be a largely trouble free, well built car with the odd expensive service and large tyre bill? Are any of the engines a particular reliability nightmare? Are some to be avoided whilst others to be encouraged? Is this really worth doing or are these cars £10k for a reason?
My Mondeo is a fantastic car, despite near 130k it... just works. Am I neive to expect similar performance from a more expensive, apparently better engineered car like a BMW? I don't expect general Mondeo running costs but surely it should prove to be at least as reliable?
I've figured I'm in for servicing costs of about £300 every 10k miles, an insurance bill of about £1000 a year, and £400 a set for tyres. Is this wildly inaccurate? I don't actually know what mileage I will be doing per year with the car yet which is a tad ackward. Could be as few as 5k around town, could be as many as 25k on the Motorway.
I'd dearly like a diesel - but I've figured I don't have a hope in hell of getting a decent 330d Sport or 530d Sport for my budget so I've put that lust aside and will stick with petrols unless anyone genuinelly thinks the 6 cylinder diesels are acheivable.
Ownership experiences would be most appreciated. Not too fussed about alternatives, but as resident Mondeo pimp I guess I'd be daft to make a final decision before test driving an early ST220.
Thanks guys!
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If the car is on variable servicing it won't need a service every 10K miles. BMW alternate "Oil Service", "Inspection I", Oil Service, Inspection II" etc, and these are required based on how the car is driven but on average you can expect them every 13-16K miles.
If you stay away from main dealers, Independents currently charge about £80-100 for an Oil Service, £180-250 for an Inspection I and £250-300 for an inspection II. If you are any good with DIY servicing you can of course halve these costs.
The sport models come with 18" tyres and you will struggle to replace these for £400 a set. I have been pricing tyres for when I need them and the best I can come up with is £500+ and those were internet prices which didn't include fitting or balancing etc.
I recently bought an '02 330D Sport and I am absolutely loving it. Like you I was looking to spend £10K or less, but I knew deep down that I wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than I really wanted. One day while looking through the Autotrader, the right car with the right spec popped up so I threw my budget out the window and bought the car.
You can find 6 cylinder diesels for £10K but they won't be sport models and will have high mileage. If you haven't driven one, try a 320D, I drove a couple before buying the 330D and I have to admit that you won't be disappointed with the power. You won't find a 320D Sport for your budget either, but a 320D bought at a keen price will leave lots of money left over to add the Sport alloys and body kit. I considered that option when I was looking and would have probably gone that route if I didn't make that impulse driven decision a couple weeks ago.
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I'd be tempted to go for a diesel as a first BMW. 320d is a good sound motor, bags of performance and economy as well as cheap tax.
The E39 is a far more rewarding car than the E46. Handsome fast and a pleasure to own.
My new 535d has been delayed yet again.....
Wonder how long it will be some one suggests a blinking Mondeo !
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Wonder how long it will be some one suggests a blinking Mondeo !
He's already got one of those!
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Beemer 330D's - you wouldn't regret...just get a manual one.
Around here Bristol/South West they're available from independents for circa £13k so from private or auction you should be able to achieve 10K with a pinch. The 184bhp one needs servicing about every 12-13K...later ones 204bhp every 15,000+...miles is still 9K away at 10k clocked. costs was never that much - oil service circa £70 a time, a major service - think I had one in the 55k miles was a couple of hundred - over 3 and a bit yrs....my local skoda guy charges not much less than that for the new Octavia major servicing
Fuel economy hard to shift off a steady 43mpg, and not driven slowly :-)
No problems encountered with the engine during my ownership.
people mention turbos etc, but again, mine was ok.
Nice car for the money (esp second-hand) and better residuals at that point too, once the 1st yrs depreciation is out the way.
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I absolutely cannot afford more than £10k, as much as I'd like to. The less I spend the better, means more money to spend on petrol and student stuff :p
I know only too well how good the 5/330d's are - I convinced my father to buy one and it's presence on the driveway haunts me on a daily basis ;)
Servicing sounds cheaper than I expected - I don't really like the idea of a 320d though, deep down I want a 5 unless a particularly good 3 turns up.
What about an auction-fodder 525d Sport, what sort of money do they command, and is the 525d a) good and b) reliable?
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I absolutely cannot afford more than £10k,...
So how are you going to deal with the unplanned repair bills that will surely arrive when you're running a BMW that's a few years old and has done a high mileage?
I've recently moved from Mondeo's/406's etc to a Mercedes and it's a different world with cars like Audi/BMW/Mercedes etc than it is with Mondeo's - there's an expectation that people who run them can afford the bills.
It's all very well asking people's experience with different models - this is fine if you're buying a fleet of them, but with any single car you could be very lucky, or you could be very unlucky. If you've no reserve to cover bills then you could end up with the car off the road and unusable.
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That's why I don't want to spend more than £10k max. I will have more available, but I always find it a good idea to have a pool of cash incase something unexpected happens.
The less I spend, the bigger my reserve. A good 528i Sport can be had now for about £8k..
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www.tradecentre.co.uk/cars/search3.asp?Id=266536
Okay, I admit this is £11k but if you wait 6 months it might get within budget. (In case the link doesn't work it's a pale metallic blue 525d auto, 03 plate, with air con and leather and 86k miles).
If I were in this market, I'd be sorely tempted, particularly if it were manual - there never seem to be any manual ones though.
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Spent the afternoon driving a 55 plate 320CD SE.
Made it a lot more difficult. Was ready to discount the 3 but this car was brilliant. Still think a good 3 Sport for my budget is going to be a lot harder than a good 5 Sport.
Anyone else got any reliability comments?
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You might like to spend a day at www.manheimeurope.co.uk Leeds branch - when they have a BMW leasing day.
As genuine a car as you'll find, from a reasonably well maintained stock - well they should have been serviced, at the main dealer!!
VB
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Michael
Old shape or new shape ? Some of the old shapes still being pushed out on 55s
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Hi Michael, I have been running a 320d 52 plater for over 2 years now, (i usually get bored after a year) and can thoroughly recomend em, I am an old git(nearly 50)but drive like a young git........... this car is FUN! word of caution tho, BMW dealers aint cheap and once mine is 3 yrs old which is soon I will go to a privateer, also room in back is not that good.
Anyway, have u tried ebay?
have a butchers at this one....
cgi.ebay.co.uk/02-52-BMW-320d-SE-No-Reserve_W0QQit...m
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Still think a good 3 Sport for my budget is going to be a lot harder than a good 5 Sport.
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a glance at the cargiant website will show that the cars you are looking for are already close to your budget. personally, i would go for the 5 rather than 3 series.
Anyone else got any reliability comments?
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the cars of the vintage you mentioned are generally excellent in the reliability department. very cheap and easy to maintain on a diy basis, especially if you use the long life oils.
( someone will be along soon to tell you to beware of bmws because they are all thrashed in his opinion. ) so unless you get a thrased dog, you should be ok.
p.s. the 18" wheels are common on the 3 sports whereas 17" is more common on the 5 series sports. i would avoid 18" wheels myself. 17" ones give quite a good ride although honestjohn says he prefers standard 16".
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I doubt this makes an awful lot of difference to my choice but my current plan is to keep the car for a very long time. After one of these, the only other car I really desire is an E39 M5. I intend to purchase one after my next car, but not until I can afford a complete minter, and afford to run it.
Until then, my next car will have to last me that time :)
This is why I am currently favouring 100k+ mile examples - figuring I can take advantage of other peoples shying away from cars like this and get something newer..
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320D Sports were only introduced in 2003 and in my search I never found one for less than £14K. My 330D Sport is an 02 and being older and more miley than the newer 320D Sports, I got it cheaper...still not £10K though!.
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cargiant has (today) three 320d es (i.e. some sports gear fitted) and one 320d sport - all year 2003.
2003 "03" 320D 2.0 ES Saloon Manual Diesel Met Blue 77,880 mls £10,799
2003 "03" 320D 2.0 ES Saloon Manual Diesel Silver Grey 72,669 mls £10,999
2003 "03" 320D 2.0 ES Saloon 6-Speed Diesel Grey Green 68,452 mls £11,299
2003 "53" 320D 2.0 Sport Saloon Manual Diesel Met Blue 85,794 mls £12,499
note that the last one is under trancer's 14k budget!
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In my defense I was looking 3-4 weeks ago 8-).
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In my defense I was looking 3-4 weeks ago 8-).
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quite ok by me, trancer. i do remember your thread from when you were looking for the 320d models and asking aboout auction prices.
i was just pointing out to michael that prices are very fluid.
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I absolutely cannot afford more than £10k, as much as I'd like to.
I wonder if i would be able to tempt you into a 2001, 330iSport (original sport, not a SE 'dressed' as a sport), FBMWSH under your budget?
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You certainly would it if was still around when I'm looking to buy in May/June time.
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