BMW 3 Series >/€4,000 - suggestions?

sdanseo

Hey folks just looking for a few reccomendations.

Gonna have about 3,500 plus my own car (1996 corsa, trade in value of about 500 quid if I'm lucky) to spend in the next couple of months, always had my heart set on a 3 series so I'd ideally be looking for one of those. I'll be wanting an E46 and I'm seeing anywhere from 2,900->10,000 for 00-02 models on carzone.

Anyone any reccomendations as to what I should be looking for? Any major problems that need to be looked out for with highish mileage (anything I can afford is likely to have around 70-100k on it already). Also I'm only 21 - almost 22 - so insurance being €800 at the mo I don't want to push it up too much so the smaller engine the better - but is a 316 underpowered?

Would really appreciate input from you hardcore beemer geeks :P

Eric Cartman

theres so many 3 series out there its a minefield to navihgate through, the only things id say is check for a full service history , if its a bmw dealer service history all the better (all the recalls etc.. done) also considering how common the 3 series is to buy get one with all the options on it (heated leather, navigation if possible, climate control) itll be a nicer car to sit in and help you when you go to sell it again ,

your 21 so engine size can be dealt with reasonably, if you think you can shell out for it id go for the 323 , but the 320i is definitly no slouch and wont hurt the insurance a lot

sdanseo

Problem is the running cost though. I'm used to €40 petrol lasting me two weeks :P

Eric Cartman

sdonn wrote: »

Problem is the running cost though. I'm used to €40 petrol lasting me two weeks :P

the 320 is still quite lean especially if you have a habbit of exceeding the number on the red and white sign on the road , if you do a lot of motorway or main road it will probably end up using the exact same fuel as a 318 but be more fun , 318 may be a good option also , eprsonally i wouldnt touch off a 316 because theyre normally absolute bog spec and the price is inflated by 17-18 year olds buying them because there the only rwd car quinn will let them have

bazz26

The 316i up to late 2001 was a 1.9 litre unit and only had around 108bhp which is pretty weak for an engine of that size. They were not great on fuel either. I would avoid as you are really only getting 1.6 performance from a 1.9 litre engine. The facelifted 316i from late 2001 got a new valvetronic 1.8 litre engine which was a bit more powerful and fuel efficent than the old unit.

Also don't even bother using the old 96 Corsa as a trade-in. It will be worthless to a dealer, sell it privately on donedeal.ie. Having no trade in also puts you in a better position to negotiate the price down on the new car. Only last week I managed to land a 08 Fiesta for my sister with a sticker price of €9250 for €7600 straight.

sdanseo

What about performance on the 00 318i's? They seem to be the most available thing in my price range. A 316 only appeals to me for fuel and tax, I don't really want to go that low on performance.

kerten

As everyone says 6 cylinders are very nice and refined engines and smallest possible(2.0 L) one is pre-facelift 320i. If you can insure 6 cylinders don't bother with 4 cylinders.

I have 00 320i manual. I am looking for a short term smaller car for my learner driver wife. if your corsa is ncted and running well, we may have deal. pm me if you are interested.

bazz26

The 2000 318i uses the same 1.9 litre engine found in the 316i except the 318i has 118bhp. This is still poor for a 1.9 litre petrol engine.

high horse

Would you consider an E36? The 318iS is a good car, 140bhp from a 1.9ltr engine and they're surprisingly economical on petrol

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1407589

sdanseo

Cheers bazz. Wouldn't consider E36, just don't like them anywhere remotely near as much - I'd sacrifice performance for the facelift model.

Either way a massive improvement on the pulling power of my COrsa on the M1 though yeah? :P

bazz26

Why not consider the 320d diesel? Alot quicker than the 316i/318i and superior fuel economy. The pre facelifted E46 with the 136bhp engine is the one to go for like this:

http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201021198191493

sdanseo

What about http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201026198658250 - presuming he means BHP and NCT

Opinions?

macshadow

up the budget a bit and you could have this http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1161414 although the price may be wrong, it does look a bit too cheap.

high horse

high horse wrote: »

Would you consider an E36? The 318iS is a good car, 140bhp from a 1.9ltr engine and they're surprisingly economical on petrol

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1407589

Looney price on that.

crazyFeet

friend of mine has one of the 2l Diesels and it is a brilliant car, had a diesel myself (2.0l diesel a3) and i never thought same size desiel engine can be so much fun like the one that beemer has. The insurance will be a LOT cheaper aswell, please do check it! Economy is great. When you are buying it make sure to bring a mechanic with you or bring it for 'heath check' to a car centre (pre-book the appointment), it is important to check turbo and stuff to avoid a money blow.

Idbatterim

from 02 on the coupes went from 118bhp to 143bhp, fuel consumption also improved. air con came as standard also. Nice extras are: leather, multi function steering wheel, climate control and sun roof. Although it is rare to get all of them in one car. Definitely get the car professionally inspected by an independent BMW garage prior to purchase. Another thing is, I spent quite a bit of money on visually enhancing the car, new alloys, rear led lights, m sport bumper, rear lip spoiler etc, chrome exhaust tip. If I was buying again, I would try and get a car that included some or all of these. Things I have had to get done with car so far: Water pump, thermostat, oil filter housing, wishbone, bushes. Absolutely normal once you hit 70-80k miles. One thing I would say about being worried about higher mileage is this. If you buy a car with say 60-70k mileage, all the usuals that crop up like I mentioned above may be a few months to a year away from failing and having to be replaced. However if you get one with say 80-90k miles, some of the expensive stuff may have already been rectified on the car, and wont need doing again unless, you are driving it for god knows how long. The 320ci is a 2.2 litre engine. One of the issues with going for the bigger engines is the lack of cars available. You will have a colossal amount of options with the 318's, where the number of 6 cylinder car's is small in comparison. For someone who is very fussy like myself this makes a big difference. As I would rule out any car that wasn't one of 3 colors, didn't have leather, mfsw and air con. Be patient when looking for the car, sometimes carzone for example would have several beauties on it and other times like now there are very few!

BESman

crazyFeet wrote: »

friend of mine has one of the 2l Diesels and it is a brilliant car, had a diesel myself (2.0l diesel a3) and i never thought same size desiel engine can be so much fun like the one that beemer has. The insurance will be a LOT cheaper aswell, please do check it! Economy is great. When you are buying it make sure to bring a mechanic with you or bring it for 'heath check' to a car centre (pre-book the appointment), it is important to check turbo and stuff to avoid a money blow.

Looking for a diesel myself. They seem to be a rarety, at least on DoneDeal anyway. They also seem to be a good bit pricier, is there a reason for this?

EPM

macshadow wrote: »

up the budget a bit and you could have this http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1161414 although the price may be wrong, it does look a bit too cheap.

That's a scam surely

Idbatterim

was checking out done deal, check out the below link, no price on it, but spec wise it is top notch, very very rarely do you see a 318, with sun roof, mfsw, leather, climate control & reverse parking sensors. (It may be a uk import)

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/969581

it is an automatic, not sure if the OP is looking for manual or auto...

sdanseo

Rang him, it's sold. Would have been too pricey for me I'd say.

kev1.3s

I have a 99 e46 318i for sale nice clean car It's tested till the end of the year and it'll fit in your'e budget. It's not fast by any stretch of the imagination tho but we've had her for 4 years and all the typical e46 faults have been repaired at this stage.

sdanseo

Might be interested Kev, is it up anywhere? Not buying till mid august but worth a peek!

kev1.3s

car's not up anywhere yet only decided to change it on Friday because I got a good deal on a 320d, two issues I have with the car as she stands are
1: A Friends child scratched the passenger side with a stone some weeks ago but this is going to get some paint next week and courtesy of them and while it's there I'll get her polished and,
2: the interior trim around the doors is scratched not to sure what to do with these yet. Send me you're email and I'll send you some pics.

crazyFeet

BESman wrote: »

Looking for a diesel myself. They seem to be a rarety, at least on DoneDeal anyway. They also seem to be a good bit pricier, is there a reason for this?

Yes, yes there is The reason for this is that diesel engine is obviously more economical, second it has a lot longer life expectancy (sometimes double the milage limit) It is well worth getting one, especially 2.0l one and do not buy it without an expert examining it in you presence as there can be expensive faults with it like turbo (check the engine for oil spitting)

crazyFeet

Idbatterim wrote: »

was checking out done deal, check out the below link, no price on it, but spec wise it is top notch, very very rarely do you see a 318, with sun roof, mfsw, leather, climate control & reverse parking sensors. (It may be a uk import)

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/969581

it is an automatic, not sure if the OP is looking for manual or auto...

I don't understand who in the right mind would buy an automatic transmission (only if you are disable)

ESPECIALLY IF YOUR BUYING A BEEMER!!!

EPM

crazyFeet wrote: »

I don't understand who in the right mind would buy an automatic transmission (only if you are disable)

ESPECIALLY IF YOUR BUYING A BEEMER!!!

So I take it based on this criteria you would exclude an E60 M5 then

:rolleyes: