HI
First post here, I am considering spending £3-4k on a automatic estate for driving up and down the motorway with family (3 of us are currently in a 3 door polo, I have not bought a car in a LONG time).
I am looking for something enjoyable and have been considering BMW 3 or 5 series. What should I be looking out for with these models, most in my price range are 2000-2003 reg and have 100,000+ miles on them.
How many miles will they do in total?
Are there serious costs i could be looking at for servicing with this mileage?
Should I buy an extended warranty?
Are the smaller dealers that sell these cars reliable?
Is there much room for negotiation on price?
Should I get and HPI and AA check myself?
Alternatively should i just lease a new car, although this looks complicated!? The other issue is I have little time to test drive anything.
Any comments would be a help!
thanks
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You can get a nice, high mileage BMW or Merc for relatively little money, especially ex-company cars. I've done this twice, once with a Merc 190E and again with a 318i Touring. The Merc had 116k when I bought it over 200k when i sold it. The BMW had 134k and sold it with 190k. No major problems with either, both still had original engine, gearbox and clutch. I've had more problems with new cars!
My advice is to look at the condition and service history and test drive. If it looks righ and drives well then it's probably okay, so then get an AA inspection and use the report to negotiate the price.
The only real problem with this type of purchase is resale - it's not easy to sel a car with circa 200k miles reagrdless of the condition/service history. So prob best to keep it for about 4-5 years unless it turns out to be a money pit.
I have been tempted with the leasing route but I always assume there's a catch somewhere regarding mileage/condition at end of lease. Also, like renting a house it's 'dead money'.
Good luck whatever you decide to do.
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3 series will might be a bit small.
5 series, very good, but 7/8 year old cars need bits and bobs and these aint the cheapest
there are other options, especially starting with a M, if you don't have to have a beemer
Edited by nick1975 on 18/12/2008 at 19:08
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On re-reading the op, I think you'd be better off buying something a bit newer for a few more quid. Say up to 5 years old with 100-120k miles, ex-company with full print-out service history. You could get a well-specced car for about £5-6k that will last another 5 years years with no major bills. It'll probably be worth less than £1k when you sell it but that's not bad in terms of depreciation, and you'll have a nice motor that you really appreciate while you own it.
I'm seriously thinking about going back to this way of buying after my experience with a brand new VW Passat.
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I have been tempted with the leasing route but I always assume there's a catch somewhere regarding mileage/condition at end of lease. Also like renting a house it's 'dead money'.
Ah, the myth of renting being dead money. With the average UK house losing 100 quid per day it is amazing that people still believe this myth. Hop on over to Moneyweek and read their very good articles on why renting has been the sensible option for the past few years and will continue to be so until house prices have fallen by 40 or 50 percent.
Good info on the BMW though :-)
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BMWs are everywhere.
Why not try a Ford, such as this one: dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=3...2
;-)
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Any particular reason why you want an auto?
BMW manuals are cheaper and it sounds like you're mostly driving on motorways where the advantages of an auto are less significant than in town.
Also, why BMW?
Although BMWs are great cars, RWD handling is again of limited value on a motorway - the money you're quoting will get you a much younger car from a non-prestige company.
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I drive an April 2001 318i auto saloon, with 75000 miles on. It had two owners from new before me, the second being my father in law. As he's had it from a year old, I know its as much of its full service history as I possibly could.
In short, I'm very pleased with it. I find it comfortable, enjoyable to drive, its not failed me yet, and would be pushed to find another car at sensible money I'd want to change it for.
Costs: mine is serviced by a good independent, so costs no more in routine work than our Renault Scenic. The camshaft sensor needed replacing at 70,000 miles. The front suspension needed attention shortly before I bought it (BMW charged FIL approx. ?1100 for this!) Both are known weak spots. Also watch the coolant tank. These can crack - again, a well enough known fault that our local BMW dealers' parts department carry them in stock.
Comfort: the cabin is snug, and very much focused on the driver. I find it comfy (I'm a gangly 5ft11) but drivers over 6ft might not. The back seat is tight. I find the cabin materials better than Ford/Vauxhaul/Toyota of similar age - they've certainly worn better than our Scenic. I enjoy the feel of the car on the road - its always a treat to drive after the Scenic or the 2000 Focus I have regular use of - but you need to drive a BMW back-to-back against the competition to decide whether you're willing to pay extra for that comfort.
If you're looking at 2000/2001 cars, note that until September 2001, the 318 autos were 115bhp with 4 speed GM autoboxes. They're thirsty if you drive enthusiastically. Mine averages 26mpg on mixed town and cross-country A roads, rising to 29 on long runs. I expect a loaded estate would do less. HJ's car by car breakdown says they gained more power and a 5 speed box for the next model year.
The auto has tiptronic style shift once you move into sport mode. Sport mode makes for urgent acceleration and a steep increase in fuel consumption. I've only used the manual shift once to try it out. The box always feels to be in the right ratio for the conditions, even on winding hilly roads, and doesn't drop gears in bends as some autos do.
Hope that helps!
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Notmyname, if you are looking at higher mileage cars of any make you are going to need to dedicate a bit of time to searching and sorting out the better cars on offer. That means test driving, inspecting and researching the car´s history a little bit.
As you readily admit you don´t have much time for this, I wonder if this is the best route for you.
One option would be to get an auction buyer to do the ´inspecting´ for you - Joe Dowd has been recommended here a number of times, and customers have reported that he won´t bid on cars for them that he considers in any way suspect or substandard. Just a thought.
Second point - you could get into a current-shape Astra/Focus or Mondeo/Vectra estate with less miles and years for that sort of money. The Fords in particular are excellent to drive, the Vauxs offer incredible VFM. But not the same badge ´prestige´.
There are a number of Astra estate autos at autoquake.co.uk for 4k-4.5k, all 2005, 15000 to 35000 miles. All ex-fleet.
Best of luck whatever you decide to do.
Edited by barchettaman on 19/12/2008 at 10:16
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HI
Thanks for the responses! A few answers to questions...
I also drive through London to get to the motorway hence an automatic. I had a rather miserable Sunday evening pumping the cluch for an hour and half last week....
I am 6'5 would this affect any of the cars I should look at, I also just bought a isofix car seat do older BMW have fittings for these?
I have always wanted to own a "badge" car and never had the £ so it is also a bit of an emotional decision.... Althought looking at comments maybe i should go look at the fords
Is there a good place where leasing is explained??
cheers
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www.leaseacar.co.uk/
Just to explain leasing, no connection to the company. HTH.
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6 cylinder is good for 200K as long as they've been serviced regularly but ...
Front wishbones - £500
Discs £500
Aircon £1000
Top end overhaul £1500
Gearbox £2,000
and so on.
I've done 500,000 miles in a 525, 330 and 728 so I know what I'm talking about!
You won't get a warranty over 100,000 miles.
So use your head, not your heart and buy a younger Ford.
"Badges" aren't much use to your wallet.
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