BMW Milage

Jacob55

Hi Y'all
I am in the market for a BMW 3 Series (2005/06). Having a look around carzone etc. I see the milage on these cars seems high (to me). A lot of them have 80k+ miles. My current car VW Golf (2004) has 40k miles.

So I guess my question is, should I consider getting one of these 'high' milage BMW or is the this type of milage nothing to worry about on a BMW.

Any advice much appreciated!

Cheers
JJ

robtri

Jacob55 wrote: »

Hi Y'all
I am in the market for a BMW 3 Series (2005/06). Having a look around carzone etc. I see the milage on these cars seems high (to me). A lot of them have 80k+ miles. My current car VW Golf (2004) has 40k miles.

So I guess my question is, should I consider getting one of these 'high' milage BMW or is the this type of milage nothing to worry about on a BMW.

Any advice much appreciated!

Cheers
JJ

BMW suffer just as much from mileage as any other car on the market place... they are not that better built...

Service history is king.... i would rather a higher mileage car with full history than a lower mileage car with none....

anyway 80k over 5 years is only 16k a year.. not a high miler at all

.Longshanks.

Providing the service history stacked up, I'd pick a 2005/06 almost anything with 80k over 5 years than a 2004 golf with only 40k miles.

kuro_man

I think other cars do high mileage better than BMW's - VW and Mercedes spring to mind. A friend had oil seals go on a 318 after 80k.

I you really want it, get the lowest mileage you can afford and get a mechanic to check the engine and suspension.

mickdw

15 to 20k miles per year would be considered normal IMO.
If I saw anything less than about 70k miles on an 05 car, I would be looking closely at its history.

80k is not high miles. Having said that, the bmw diesels often need expensive work done between 100k & 150k miles

TJJP

kuro_man wrote: »

I think other cars do high mileage better than BMW's - VW and Mercedes spring to mind. A friend had oil seals go on a 318 after 80k.

I'm not even going to touch that....

I've had numerous BMWs with 80-100k miles generally problem free.

Obvious I know, but check the miles you’re seeing are miles not klms. Carzone isn't too good that way. But in answer to the question, 80k is no problem just be sure it's priced accordingly.

mickdw wrote: »

15 to 20k miles per year would be considered normal IMO.
If I saw anything less than about 70k miles on an 05 car, I would be looking closely at its history.

80k is not high miles. Having said that, the bmw diesels often need expensive work done between 100k & 150k miles

Often? Sorry mickdw, you know this stuff better than I, but other than as 'reported' on the web have you ever seen this? Not knocking your theory but this is an oft claimed issue that I've never seen in Ireland. Is there really a bigger issue with BMW diesels (in Ireland, over and above other brands) or is it just US web lore where the market is huge and owners post issues far more often?

BTW, saw a beauty of a 2003 E200 today; those cars still look good. My old e39 of a similar vintage couldn’t have held a candle to it. Those mercs have dated well and must be worth a look?

bmstuff

TJJP wrote: »

BTW, saw a beauty of a 2003 E200 today; those cars still look good. My old e39 of a similar vintage couldn’t have held a candle to it. Those mercs have dated well and must be worth a look?

What?

Tragedy

You're comparing m-sport bodykit with bog standard e-class.
Most E39's don't have m-sport and do look terribly, terribly dated.

M-Sport kit looks lurvely on them though.

bmstuff

Tragedy wrote: »

You're comparing m-sport bodykit with bog standard e-class.
Most E39's don't have m-sport and do look terribly, terribly dated.

M-Sport kit looks lurvely on them though.

Yeah non facelift e39 look quit outdated now, agreed. Facelift with M kit still look very good today.
I could not find any e200 with Merc sport kit though, maybe someone?

mickdw

TJJP wrote: »

Often? Sorry mickdw, you know this stuff better than I, but other than as 'reported' on the web have you ever seen this? Not knocking your theory but this is an oft claimed issue that I've never seen in Ireland.

Oh ive seen it & I wouldnt run a bmw e46 3 series or E60 5 series through those kind of mileages as the costs can be just silly. I dont know about e90 really.
I also saw a case where a guy had the failed cat & few other probs close together on a 530d at about 80k miles & 3 years old. turns out the car had really done 140k miles.

TJJP

Tragedy

I prefer the beemer but the E class looks more modern :pac:

Silvera

Several times over the last few years I have considered buying a 318 Coupe. I have done lots of research online, emailed people, and viewed various cars. IMO they are over-rated. My 2003 Astra (with 78k miles) has a 'tighter' engine (i.e. no oil leaks) than lower mileage 318's I have viewed.

When you consider the running costs (i.e. you must maintain a stamped service history with a BMW to have a good resale value), etc., I think I would rather stick with a 'regular' car instead

....I'm currently considering a Golf or Jetta TSi.
(at least I can continue to service my own car (i.e. 5k miles oil and filter change) without worrying about how not having a stamped up service history will effect future resale.

(N.B. I'm a panel beater by trade)

TJJP

Same as that, sacrilege I know, but the merc has dated better I reckon.


and random Octavia comment of course.... first in...

bmstuff

Silvera wrote: »

Several times over the last few years I have considered buying a 318 Coupe. I have done lots of research online, emailed people, and viewed various cars. IMO they are over-rated. My 2003 Astra (with 78k miles) has a 'tighter' engine (i.e. no oil leaks) than lower mileage 318's I have viewed.

When you consider the running costs (i.e. you must maintain a stamped service history with a BMW to have a good resale value), etc., I think I would rather stick with a 'regular' car instead

....I'm currently considering a Golf or Jetta TSi.
(at least I can continue to service my own car (i.e. 5k miles oil and filter change) without worrying about how not having a stamped up service history will effect future resale.

(N.B. I'm a panel beater by trade)

Oil leaks on BMW?

Yeah well if you do not change the gasket(s) at regular intervals they will eventually cause leaks of course, like any other car really. It could be the valley pan gasket, oil reservoir etc...

People are scared by BMW, but period they are cheaper to maintain than an Audi or Merc.

And frankly a 318 is very cheap to maintain. Plenty of room to work in the engine bay and many parts available for very reasonable prices.

Also BMW has the most aftermarket parts available. Much more than Merc and Audi etc...So if you know what you are doing, you can fit OEM quality parts or even better for cheaper, and sometimes much cheaper than the dealer.

But in fairness many parts are quit often surprisingly cheap from the dealer, unless you need a new ABS unit or a set of air shocks...

And in my opinion the BMW stamps does not really help a car holding its value. Yes it is reassuring for the potential buyer/customer, but a car with full BMW Service History and one without, but services done from a specialist, will have no price tag difference when it comes to sale. Ok some will prefer the FBMWSH, and might pay a few quids extra for the right one, but usually, service stamps or not, a car value will not be affected., price is more based on demand than anything else.

daveharnett

Silvera wrote: »

Several times over the last few years I have considered buying a 318 Coupe. I have done lots of research online, emailed people, and viewed various cars. IMO they are over-rated. My 2003 Astra (with 78k miles) has a 'tighter' engine (i.e. no oil leaks) than lower mileage 318's I have viewed.

I'd imagine that the four pot petrol engines amount for a pretty small % of bmw's sales compared to most popular manufacturers. I think we might be comparing gm europe's bread-and-butter engines with bmw's for-niche-markets-only b@stard children.

That's no excuse for putting out poor engines (assuming that they are weak, I have no idea), but it could go some way to explaining it.