hmmmm mileage on this bmw

bad2dabone

hey all, i'm looking for a cheap 3 series touring and this one http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/318-TOUR/200935195020557/advert?channel=CARS is very well specced for the price, but the catch is 200k miles. What do you think ? Too many miles?

batperson

200,000 miles in a petrol engine? NCT up in under 3 months.... I wouldnt touch it with a 200,000 ft pole!:D

biko

Only a dealer can describe a 200K mile car as in "mint condition"

Offer 800

bad2dabone

i doubt i'ld get it for 800, would 1,500 be a decent starting point? and what should i be looking out for when i go view it?

EPM

TBH, it says FSH and it's a very good spec. If it checks out I wouldn't discount it straight away. Just not maybe at the full asking price. Looks mint

cruizer101

Car looks in good cond and says has full BMW service history.

One thing that does seem a bit strange is NCT just done but up early next year, why was it left so long to go through the NCT, just something to ask.

Otherwise nice looking car, just cause there is a lot of miles doesn't mean its going to break, far better with well kept car with more miles than a crap kept car with less.

SV

Magnus wrote: »

Only a dealer can describe a 200K mile car as in "mint condition"

Offer 800

That's funny, I wasn't aware the miles on a car denoted the condition..

Tigger

i appluude the people who didn't "correct" the milage here

bazz26

I'd have no problem buying a car with 200k miles on it if the car is running perfectly and has some sort of service history with receipts for any major work carried out on components that have already come to the end of their usefulness.

However it would have to be very cheap to tempt me. I would not spend €4k on a car that might cost half or more of that to replace naturally worn parts at that mileage such as gearbox, clutch, cat converter, etc. I'd buy it as a cheap drive it till it dies car only.

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

Tigger wrote: »

i appluude the people who didn't "correct" the milage here

Agree 100%. Most uk imports here are clocked. If it was well maintained 200k isn't much. Sure if you got a year out of it ?

R.O.R

^^^+1 Bazz26

I'd only pay about €750 regardless of condition. If it's bought at a price as though it's disposable then it's worth it.

If not then it's too big a risk as there is a likelyhood that large bills are on the way.

I've driven a few huge mileage machines that came back here. Doesn't matter how well they've been maintained, they just never feel the same as something with 80 - 100k miles.

cruizer101

Harry Poor Vane wrote: »

Agree 100%. Most uk imports here are clocked.

Who ever said it was imported, according to mywheels its not anyway.

00D911

batperson wrote: »

200,000 miles in a petrol engine? NCT up in under 3 months.... I wouldnt touch it with a 200,000 ft pole!:D

Nct doesnt expire until 01/2011 if you do the math thats 15 Months away !!!!!!!!

Dark-Mavis

Tigger wrote: »

i appluude the people who didn't "correct" the milage here

I was very surprised myself too.
Loads of cars out there like this one with really shiny steering wheels and worn bolsters on the seats!

rebel.ranter

They seats & wheel can go like that after 50k miles. This car just goes to show that you would really want to know your stuff to spot a clocked car, particularly a BMW of this era (e46/e39).
I sold a 5 series back in 2000 with 180k miles to a friend of mine, he brought it over the 200k miles mark in 18 months then sold it in 2002. I spotted it 3 years ago still driving so that was 4 years after it had 200k miles!

A quick check of mywheels.ie shows it was last taxed in Oct 2006 though So it has probably finally retired.

Lord Nikon

"HUGE SPEC"??

I see leather, alloys and parking sensors. Just above poverty spec if you ask me.

teednab-el

It is a smashing car and all but at 200,000 miles, you are only asking for trouble and the asking price at that is very expensive. Thats also very high milage for a petrol engine. It may cost you more than what you would expect it to when parts begin to wear and tear and give up. This car has surely seen better days and with that milage I'm sure it would sound rattly and worn. Id advise you not to touch it.

VolvoMan

It's about 3k too expensive, even if it does look in very good condition. I'd only touch it with that mileage if it was a 6 cylinder, not a pissy little four cylinder 318.

eyesofvenus

Mywheels.ie says 2 owners so it hasnt been passed around much.
Usually id say that if its well looked after outside/inside then engine probably is too. Its 00D3 too which says to me the first owner had a few bob.
But going on 200k miles id have my doubts.
Best thing to do OP is go have a look and bring a competant mechanic with you.

On a side note it only has a 1.5 Ncap rating, pretty bad

VolvoMan

eyesofvenus wrote: »

On a side note it only has a 1.5 Ncap rating, pretty bad

That must be wrong because the E36 3 Series was the car with that rating. I think the E46 got 4/5 stars.

caprilicious

Personally I wouldn't touch it, BMW parts are ridiculously expensive when things go wrong, and on a car with such high mileage chances are things are going to go wrong.

Unless there was a massive service history to show that all the dear bits have been replaced then I agree with whoever said offer €800.

Just to give you an example, I had a Z3 a while ago & the ABS light came on. I didn't think it'd be too big a thing, how wrong I was...€1200 + labour + vat later then €200 for new brake calipers later (recon/not BMW one's) it finally passed the NCT.

I kid you not I cried when BMW called to tell me how much the repair cost. needless to say I fixed it up, sold it on and swore never to get an older BMW again

eyesofvenus

VolvoMan wrote: »

That must be wrong because the E36 3 Series was the car with that rating. I think the E46 got 4/5 stars.

You're right.
E36 = 1.5
E46 = 4
mywheels.ie is innacurate yet again :rolleyes:

bad2dabone

caprilicious wrote: »

Just to give you an example, I had a Z3 a while ago & the ABS light came on. I didn't think it'd be too big a thing, how wrong I was...€1200 + labour + vat later then €200 for new brake calipers later (recon/not BMW one's) it finally passed the NCT.

ouch! well i'll take the advice of those who have been there before and skip this one. Theres no way the dealer is going to take 1k for it or so considering he's looking for 4k. The search continues!

EPM

An indy would do it cheaper! I still reckon it might be worth a punt if the service and repair history are good. No harm seeing how low they'd go on price

eyesofvenus

bad2dabone wrote: »

ouch! well i'll take the advice of those who have been there before and skip this one. Theres no way the dealer is going to take 1k for it or so considering he's looking for 4k. The search continues!

How much is your budget?

Iron Hide

200k? that things been driven to hell and back, twice.........

bazz26

Red Storm wrote: »

200k? that things been driven to hell and back, twice.........

This is the typical Irish reaction I was talking about earlier, if the car was serviced and looked after properly then a car will do well in excess of that mileage. My father has a Toyota Avensis with similar mileage and it is running fine.

A car with a third of that mileage could have had the crap driven out of it yet many folks would believe that it would be a better buy. I would have no problem buying a 200k mile car as long as the price was cheap enough to drive it until something major goes wrong that is not worth fixing and give it away. I would not pay anywhere near €4k for one though as that is too much money to pay for something that may have a short life span.

bad2dabone

eyesofvenus wrote: »

How much is your budget?

about 5k i reckon

bazz26

bad2dabone wrote: »

about 5k i reckon

Just out of interest, €5k will get you alot of car these days, why look at high mileage cars with such a generous budget? A well looked after high mileage car can be an excellent buy but the price has to be low so that you loose very little if it becomes uneconomical to repair.

teednab-el

bazz26 wrote: »

This is the typical Irish reaction I was talking about earlier, if the car was serviced and looked after properly then a car will do well in excess of that mileage.

It may or it may not, It really depands on the make and the parts in the car but no matter how well you look after a car, they all have a lifespan and it cant last forever. 200,000 is massive mileage, this car has seen alot of the road. It has been around the world and all. It may have a bit more milage in it but I dont believe it will be trouble free past the 200,000 miles mark. Id offer in between €700-€1000 for it and no more if I couldnt find something better than that car.

Mr Benevolent

bazz26 wrote: »

Just out of interest, €5k will get you alot of car these days, why look at high mileage cars with such a generous budget? A well looked after high mileage car can be an excellent buy but the price has to be low so that you loose very little if it becomes uneconomical to repair.

+1. Madness to look at a 200k mile car if you've got €5k to spend. You can get a very, very good car for that. Any limits on engine size for tax/insurance?

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

cruizer101 wrote: »

Who ever said it was imported, according to mywheels its not anyway.

I never said it was imported. But alot of low milage 2nd hand beamers on the irish market are. It's one of the most popular marques imported. That was my point.

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

caprilicious wrote: »

I kid you not I cried when BMW called to tell me how much the repair cost. needless to say I fixed it up, sold it on and swore never to get an older BMW again

There is your problem, you brought it to a BMW dealer. You would have saved on the kleenex if you were more savy

bazz26

teednab-el wrote: »

It may or it may not, It really depands on the make and the parts in the car but no matter how well you look after a car, they all have a lifespan and it cant last forever. 200,000 is massive mileage, this car has seen alot of the road. It has been around the world and all. It may have a bit more milage in it but I dont believe it will be trouble free past the 200,000 miles mark. Id offer in between €700-€1000 for it and no more if I couldnt find something better than that car.

As I said buying a 200k miles car can be sensible if the car is in good condtion with receipts for any major work carried out and as long as it is bought cheap enough so that if it becomes uneconomical to repair you have lost very little. Paying anywhere near €4k for such a car is madness and defeats that purpose.

I am also a firm believer that the reading on the odometer is not an accurate indication of wear. A low mileage car owned by a granny who drives to the shops grinding gears and only serviced once may not be a better buy than a 200k miles car that has spend most of it's life on good motorways serviced and maintained at the recommended intervals.

Eoin

neuromancer wrote: »

"HUGE SPEC"??

I see leather, alloys and parking sensors. Just above poverty spec if you ask me.

Plus climate control, but no MFSW - though that would probably be quite easy to retrofit. I still wouldn't pay anywhere near that kind of money though.

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

neuromancer wrote: »

"HUGE SPEC"??

I see leather, alloys and parking sensors. Just above poverty spec if you ask me.

Poverty spec LOL:D

Saab Ed

Op, I can see why you are attracted to this car, nice colour, touring version and a cool reg. The dealer knows this and he's trying to squeez the last out of people for what is what I call peasant posh. Dont be hooked by the urge to drive something a little different with a fancy number plate just because it falls well under the budget of a low mileage gem. This car is far too expensive and IMO soon to be a money pit. As the others have said 5k gets a lot of car these days. Dont be fooled by polish :D

http://cars.motornet.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200929194648614

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

[quote=Saab Ed; Dont be fooled by polish :D

http://cars.motornet.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=200929194648614
[/quote]

Racist

bad2dabone

well i'm not set on completely on a bmw but i'm after something with a fair amount of luxury, that drives well. and has a bit of size to it for packing with pram and nappies etc as my wife is up the Damien. Year isn't as important as condition and reliability, I've always liked the look of the touring BMW's (especially the newer 5 series touring, think its lovely, alas waay out of budget!) hence beginning my search there.
I'ld rather buy an older car with a good spec than a newer one and have a loan.
Tax isn't too much of a concern, but i'ld be unwilling to shell out the tax for something over 2.5l.
I'ld consider importing from the UK although I don't have a clue about going about it.
And i've got 3 months to find the car - plenty of time ....

znv6i3h7kqf9ys

bad2dabone wrote: »

well i'm not set on completely on a bmw but i'm after something with a fair amount of luxury, that drives well. and has a bit of size to it for packing with pram and nappies etc as my wife is up the Damien. Year isn't as important as condition and reliability, I've always liked the look of the touring BMW's (especially the newer 5 series touring, think its lovely, alas waay out of budget!) hence beginning my search there.
I'ld rather buy an older car with a good spec than a newer one and have a loan.
Tax isn't too much of a concern, but i'ld be unwilling to shell out the tax for something over 2.5l.
I'ld consider importing from the UK although I don't have a clue about going about it.
And i've got 3 months to find the car - plenty of time ....

Buy in UK and save a couple of grand

eyesofvenus

Harry Poor Vane wrote: »

Racist

Polish isnt a race...:rolleyes:

bad2dabone

any good websites to look at UK cars for sale?

batperson

The advert states the NCT expiry is "February 2010".

Although the smaller print goes on to mention that it has just passed the test which is strange, so its either 3 months or over two years

00D911 wrote: »

Nct doesnt expire until 01/2011 if you do the math thats 15 Months away !!!!!!!!

eyesofvenus

batperson wrote: »

The advert states the NCT expiry is "February 2010".

Although the smaller print goes on to mention that it has just passed the test which is strange, so its either 3 months or over two years

Look at the title of the ad :P

w123

VolvoMan wrote: »

It's about 3k too expensive, even if it does look in very good condition. I'd only touch it with that mileage if it was a 6 cylinder, not a pissy little four cylinder 318.

My pissy little 4cyl Merc 230te has ove 400k and runs like a dream. My guess is that there's another 400k left in it.

Having said that I paid only 2k for it.

Saab Ed

w123 wrote: »

My pissy little 4cyl Merc 230te has ove 400k and runs like a dream.

Ah but if thats a W123 as your name suggests then thats a different matter all together. Sure we'll all be dead before that thing stops You cant put a beemer 1.9 on the same pitch nevermind the same league as that aul warhorse.

mondeo

I've driven cars with 150k + and they were ok to a degree, 200k would push me away, Soon perhaps someone who may buy that car for the reasons being it's a cheap newer shape BMW may end up putting a recon engine into it sooner rather than later as at that mileage it's knocking on alot. Never mind how shiney it is or a fancy reg etc, lift the bonnet and check the gasket seals at the top and bottom of the engine as they could be knackered and it will be obvious if they are. Replacing any worn parts on an E46 is going to be expensive and not worth it on a 200k car unless it is sentimental reasons your doing it.