Polo vs. BMW.............

justeoin

i want to buy a car for fourth year in college, but being in college, I can only spend about €2000ish on it. I was looking at the likes of a 96-97 VW polo, or similar, but then I saw that i could get a 92 BMW 316i for similar money, and the insurance quote i got on Quinn Direct varied very little between the two. I kind of like the idea of having the BMW, basically because I like how it looks, and i imagine they would be pretty reliable, and its a bit more interesting than a polo. Is this a stupid idea? will a €2000-€2500 BMW be a piece of crap and more trouble than its worth? Bearing in mind I'm a poor student (a loan is going to pay for the car), should I take the sensible option, or is the BMW sensible enough? a little help?

PowerHouseDan

Unless you have a bit of money put away in the bank dont go for the Bmw's as i was advised here (yet bought one anyway) now nothing has gone wrong so far(tap wood) but repairs costs can be big and Heavyish on petrol.... If your going to use it from a-b then go for the polo..... But to be fair i have never had second thoughts about buying my 94 316i

unkel

justeoin wrote:

is the BMW sensible enough?

Sensible, no. BMWs are generally very reliable, but only when serviced properly. Your main challenges would be:

1. Buying a good condition E36 that is nearly 15 years old
2. Maintenance compared to a Polo or can you do essential maintenance yourself?
3. Find the extra money for tax / petrol and although you state there is little in it, I'd have thought a good bit more in insurance too

Tbh, for a budget of €2k and no spare cash to solve problems, I'd go for a '97-'98 Nissan Micra 1.0 liter. Build up your NCB and by the time you graduate, you can afford to drive a real car

PowerHouseDan

Ya bear in mind tax is 400 euro for the year....Unless you can afford to run a Bmw, dont buy one.

unkel wrote:

Sensible, no. BMWs are generally very reliable, but only when serviced properly. Your main challenges would be:

1. Buying a good condition E36 that is nearly 15 years old
2. Maintenance compared to a Polo or can you do essential maintenance yourself?
3. Find the extra money for tax / petrol and although you state there is little in it, I'd have thought a good bit more in insurance too

justeoin

well, ye brought my dream crashing down, with a harsh dose of reality! And so quickly too! ye are probably right, a 14yr old car, with all those miles that are bound to be on it are bound to cause trouble! That said, my brother is a mechanic, in a mercedes/audi dealership, so maybe that'd bring down the costs a small bit? I dunno! Anyway, thanks for the advice!

unkel

justeoin wrote:

well, ye brought my dream crashing down, with a harsh dose of reality!

Noooooohhhh! Although it makes sense and you know it, to keep it a dream for another few years. Hang on to the sensible stick and in a few years you might be driving a real car - and I ain't talking BMW 316i there

Robbo

Get something cheap to build up the no claims and some cash and don't even consider a Bimmer that's missing 2 cylinders.

PowerHouseDan

I had your dream once and ya no what i did i bought that dream. Parents/friends thought i was crazy 20 and owning a Bmw but i love them. No mods whatsoever a Bmw should stay the way it is.... I am in College like yourself but have a fairly good paying part time job so pays the running costs of the car.... Am worried in case something does go wrong with the card. Have to replace the rad soon enough....If you are considering it.... Get it fully checked... I got the full works checked my mech said buy it and Engine wise it was excellent which is rare....My story is if you think you can afford the running costs with have a social like why not!Just add up the costs before you do anything

justeoin wrote:

well, ye brought my dream crashing down, with a harsh dose of reality! And so quickly too! ye are probably right, a 14yr old car, with all those miles that are bound to be on it are bound to cause trouble! That said, my brother is a mechanic, in a mercedes/audi dealership, so maybe that'd bring down the costs a small bit? I dunno! Anyway, thanks for the advice!

pontovic

I wouldn't really go for a polo if thats still one of your options. I used to own one and recommend them to everyone, but theyre expensive for what you get in them. I had a 1997 polo and it had no power steering, and it was underpowered. Having said that, they are quite economical to run and would make a good students car. I had mine for six months but as soon as I got my full licence and a raise at work I got myself a Bora, for the long distances.

I would recommend to you a Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.25l from around 1998/1999. Theyre meant to be a great car with a nippy engine and great reliability.

If you want a closer look at cars, check out www.parkers.co.uk and www.honestjohn.co.uk. Parkers have a comprehensive review of pretty much every car on the road build in the last 10 years. See its review section.

Big Balls

PowerHouseDan wrote:

I had your dream once and ya no what i did i bought that dream.

Ah come on.. dream cars are Spiders, 911 Turbos, Conti GTs... not 15 year old BMWs !

PowerHouseDan

Well my dream car is the Bmw M3 and TILL then i wanted to own a Bmw and Love the e36's.

Big Balls wrote:

Ah come on.. dream cars are Spiders, 911 Turbos, Conti GTs... not 15 year old BMWs !

Big Balls

Not really sure I'd see an M3 as a dream car either.. sure you can go out and buy one of them new for about 1500 quid a month with the right finance deal.

For me anyway, dream cars are things you could only afford if you won the lotto! Dolores style.

PowerHouseDan

Everyone has different views, if i won the lotto i would still buy a New M3

Big Balls wrote:

Not really sure I'd see an M3 as a dream car either.. sure you can go out and buy one of them new for about 1500 quid a month with the right finance deal.

For me anyway, dream cars are things you could only afford if you won the lotto! Dolores style.