I have always liked the look of these, rather than the normal coupe/saloon version.
However, I don't really know much about them and would value any advice. My intention would be to run one for 3-5 years / 50-75k miles. I would be spending around 6K.
Are they a reasonable prospect at this price or is it all image? Which engine would be best, etc?
What I am getting at is the question of whether a 3 Series Touring is a viable and reasonable proposition when compared to a straight, run-of-the-mill, family car. For example, if I get a newer, high mileage example to reduce the cost, could I expect reasonable service from it for the above period, whilst at the same time driving a good quality and capable vehicle that has already suffered a great deal of its depreciation in somebody else?s hands.
The image/status/prestige isn't that important but service and quality is, hence looking at what I think would be a 'hard wearing' car.
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Have a look at the following:
www.bmwland.co.uk/
An excellent forum for UK BMW owners ----- you'll get loads of advice there from guys who know these cars inside out, and there are things to watch out for.
Might see you there!
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By the way, you'll need to register
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Other people can advise on the car 9have you looked at the Cary by Car Breakdown (menu on the left?) but the one thing I'd say is: get an insurance quote. Some insurance companies insist on trackers on BMW's and that whacks the cost up.
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I bought a 4 year old 318i Touring in 2002 which had 134k miles on the clock and ran it until 2006 when it had done 180k. Still going strong. No problems, lovely car, just a bit underpowered. It had sports suspension which meant it sat a bit low for the more more aggressive speed bumps.
My advice would be to get a 320d or a 320i, and go for an ex-company car with full history and high mileage for best value.
happy hunting!
Pat
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I bought a 4 year old 318i Touring in 2002 which had 134k miles on the clock and ran it until 2006 when it had done 180k. Still going strong. No problems lovely car just a bit underpowered. It had sports suspension which meant it sat a bit low for the more more aggressive speed bumps. My advice would be to get a 320d or a 320i and go for an ex-company car with full history and high mileage for best value.
This would be the sort of thing I'm thinking of doing. I have looked at the car by car breakdown and bmwland.
I think one of the things that attracts me to a BMW is exactly what is said above and whilst a Mondeo (for example) would probably be fairly competetive I would want something a little better quality that would wear nicely and still be worth spening money on as it ages.
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"little better quality that would wear nicely and still be worth spening money on as it ages."
Its not and it wont. BMW's do not wear nicely and be worth spending money on. It will wear just the same as a mondeo and be considerbaly more expensive when it comes to spending money.
You are thinking of buying a BMW for all the *wrong* reasons. Buy one becuase you want it, no other reason - if you try and justify it by saying "it will last longer and require less to keep going" forget it - you will be extremely disapointed.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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"You are thinking of buying a BMW for all the *wrong* reasons. Buy one because you want it, no other reason"
Yes dearest TVM, I buy washing machines and televisions for the "right" reasons, I choose cars for emotional and all the other "wrong" reasons......
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You are thinking of buying a BMW for all the *wrong* reasons. Buy one becuase you want it no other reason - if you try and justify it by saying "it will last longer and require less to keep going" forget it - you will be extremely disapointed.
That could be a good point. I actually want a Lexus LS400 but looking ahead, I'm thinking of fuel costs. The two would be very different vehicles of course but I want something good, not just nice. What I imagined was that the BMW would be just as hard wearing as the Lexus and give good service. If they are not all that good and priced on the badge, etc. then I can't see the point.
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Its not and it wont. BMW's do not wear nicely and be worth spending money on. It will wear just the same as a mondeo and be considerbaly more expensive when it comes to spending money.
This is not true. The interior of a BMW *is* noticeably harder wearing than that of a Mondeo - looked after, a BMW shows very little, if any, signs of wearing at higher mileages bar the unavoidable seat bolster wear.
This is based on my experience of owning well looked after examples of BOTH Mondeo Mk2 (x2) and E39 5 Series (x2).
Of the two 5 Series we currently have, you would be unable to tell which was the higher mileage car by going on interior condition they are both that good. One has 3 times the mileage of the other.
The Mondeo is a great car, but the BMW is a noticeably higher quality product in every area. Which is what you'd expect, given they cost a great deal more than a Mondeo.
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My experience as well Michael. My old 330 was cleaned to a gleam before it left home for pastures new. The interior was "abused" by my dogs.....sea, river and road debris, despite this sort of abuse and more general hammering by them the seats cleaned up like new and showed no wear when it left me.
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"Its not and it wont. BMW's do not wear nicely and be worth spending money on. It will wear just the same as a mondeo and be considerbaly more expensive when it comes to spending money."
I'll second that - my mate is dismantling a BMW 540 as a kit car donor. It's done 140k, and he has a full service history. Some of the costs are unbelievable, and for things I would not expect to have to replace on a run of the mill car (like the power brakes master cylinder at a cost of >£1k. For parts only!)
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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Other people can advise on the car 9have you looked at the Cary by Car Breakdown (menu on the left?) but the one thing I'd say is: get an insurance quote. Some insurance companies insist on trackers on BMW's and that whacks the cost up.
This is virtually unheard of, I certainly never had to have a tracker fitted a 530 so I doubt any insurer will insist on something so silly for a £6k 318.
And BMWLand can be a bit hit and miss unless you want advice on how to fit Chrome 19's to your car :(
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Get the BMW. Mate of mine has one and he hasn't spent megabucks on servicing in three years. You can get non franchised garages to do the usual service stuff for the same labour rates they charge for other makes of car. The bits may be a bit more expensive but then you will not lose as much as most in depreciation. You see lots of Ford and Vauxhall owners getting big servicing bills too.
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My old 330d costs around 200 to 300 quid a year to service at main dealer, usually in the lower end, it drives like new now and if something a bit quicker, and what's gone wrong on it, not much over and above service items, its on an x plate and over a 100k. The only things I recall it getting is the seatbelt loom bit for the airbag (they all do that) and a number plate light has corroded on it.
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Possibly everyone is right here. A BMW is perhaps more vulnerable to abuse than a less complex Ford; so if it's been owned fron new and driven as it's intended to be driven (as I suspect the 330d in PU's family has been), or chosen carefully and then looked after (Michael R) it will give you little trouble. One that's been caned (or driven two miles to the station every day) will give you grief.
But there's an element of luck inevitably. 'One careful owner' might be true -pity there were nine others....
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History is everything. But you could get stung on a misfuelled Mondeo TDCi........you never know.
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130118885626
on fleabay - I owner how much it will finally go for.
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I had a 2004 320d tourinf from new. I did 119k miles in it and NOTHING went wrong, not even a bulb blew.
It was quick, economical (never below 46MPG, often above 53MPG), handled extremely well and was very well built. In 119k, it only went to the dealers 5 time for a service.
I would certainly recommend one to you if you can live with the size, it is a bit small. Good Luck.
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£6,300 currently, with less than a day to go until the end of the auction.
I notice that 318's seem to be a little more common. Would it be worth getting a high mileage example and having it chipped/re-mapped for a little more poke?
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The bits may be a bit more expensive but then you will not lose as much as most in depreciation.
This isn't true. The BMW will cost more to start with (either new or used), and though the % depreciation is lower, the fact that it would cost about £5k more at 3 years old than a Mondeo would means the actual MONEY you lose is greater.
Equally the depreciation on a Rolls-Royce Phantom might be low in % terms, it's still tens of thousands per year because the selling price was so high.
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Its a difficult question to answer. For only £6k you will be getting a pretty well-used example of the 3-. For similar money you could get a much newer and lower-mileage Ford Focus or GM Astra - similar size inside.
If you stick to the service intervals and don't abuse the car then most modern vehicles will do 100k without major failure (OK, the odd random car will blow an engine, but you'd be very very unlucky for that to happen to you). Beyond 100k and things start to get a little more uncertain and obviously more dependent on the car's history.
Older/high-miles BM's tend to want things like suspension parts, subframe bushes, brake discs/pads, alternators, starters etc. If you go down to your local GSF or ECP they keep these parts on the shelf. If you can do the work yourself then its not a problem; if you have to pay someone else then it could get a little expensive.
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Ageing father has a 320td touring - its his first diesel and he now claims he will never drive a petrol engined car again. For his driving style and annual mileage the car seems to be ideal and the servicing costs, reliability and lack of wear and tear for quite an old car is excellent. The car was previously owned by my elder brother who is generally considered to be a car killer so this is probably the highest praise possible.
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Thanks for the advice and replies.
I need to look at some BMW 3 series to gauge for myself the quality. If I could run one at a slightly higher cost, compared to running a Mondeo for example, I would do it, provided it is actually a better car and, as I have mentioned, 'hard wearing'.
One point that has always bugged me about owning a Ford:
Depreciation based upon nothing more than the fact that it's a Ford, there are loads of them about and a new one is out now/about to be out. This seems crazy. For the very same reasons a BMW, at the price I would buy, should seem less dissatisfying although it has been pointed out that I would pay more to start with. So whilst I may not be any better off I would feel happier, rather than resentful.
So you could say that if you take the costs and put them to one side, although they are not to be ignored, a BMW may make sense.
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A 3-series Touring is rather smaller than a Mondeo actually - you'd be better comparing it to a Focus estate. Sit inside a Mondeo and it feels more toward 5-series size...
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And don't forget its a proper rear wheel drive car.
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Having bought a 3yr old 318i Touring at the start of the year I can add that 'so far so good'.
I could have bought a newer, lower mileage mondeo or similar but having been impressed with the reliability of my last BMW I wanted to stick with them. It isn't massive (in fact only a few mm longer than the saloon) but I get loads more in it that I could the old Compact! Admittedly, part of it is the image and aesthetics - it looks good with it's M series alloys and low ride height but I don't make any excuse for buying a car I like the look of.
My car would have cost about £23k new and so paying £9k for it 3 yrs old with 90k on the clock got me, in my opinion, quite a lot of car for my money.
Fuel consumption not great around town though...
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Don't take offence but a 318 with 'M' alloys and lowered suspension??? Do you have a little M badge for the back of it as well?
I'd take a 9K Mondeo over that anyday and I love BMW cars.
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>>Don't take offence but a 318 with 'M' alloys and lowered suspension??? Do you have a little M badge for the back of it as well?
No offence taken but just to iron out your implication that I have modded up my car to be something it isn't -
The M wheels are just an optional extra. It also has a M steering wheel/gearknob which are standard equipment.
I didn't say it was lowered, I said it had a low ride height. This is because it has sports suspension (standard equipment) and low profile tyres.
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I wasn't making out you modded your car. I just think it's rather cynical of BMW offering 'M' extras on their cars. My 330ci had exactly the same bits of tat on it (including awful M aluminium sill protectors) and I thought it was a bit of a joke to be honest. Part of the reason I got rid was I hated the 'wannabe' image and was looking for an M3 to replace it.......
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Get a Renault and run it until it breaks, then throw it away.
Much more comfortable than a BM, cheaper than a Ford, and better styling than either.
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