Alanstrainor bought a 325CI!!!

Big Nasty

conzymaher wrote: »

Some E39s are the most boring old fart barges on the go, but a dark one in M sport trim with slightly dished alloys looks amazing I think. its mad that a few small changes can transform a car. Same with the E90 in paddy spec, an awful looking car

unkel wrote: »

That's an insult to the great car the E39 is. A few spoilers and big wheels improve nothing to the car except for the looks

To be fair I have always thought that you can have two of the same model Bimmer side-by-side and one will look gank and the other sweet. I'm not talking about big spoilers and 20" rims here, more subtle things like the right colour, clear indicator lenses, the right set of wheels, etc. And I would say that about any Bimmer.

EDIT: I think this sums it up fairly well:

unkel wrote: »

Edit - but like I said before, why go for a big saloon decades before your time

I don't know about decades but when I was that age I couldn't see past a 3er coupe either and rightly so. Got in to an E39 at 31 and an E38 at 34 and I haven't reached 40 yet!;) I think all models can look muscely and agressive when specced correctly.:)

Back to the 3er's now!

Alanstrainor

ShadowHearth wrote: »

He has no friends, even 2 doors is overkill...

Jaysis...

ShadowHearth

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Jaysis...

Internet friends don't count!

Alanstrainor

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Internet friends don't count!

Bahahaha

ShadowHearth

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Bahahaha

that whole 4 doors more friends make me wonder - am i a friendless prick?

i love mazda, because it has only 2 doors and 2 seats. it means space only for my misses. So i dont need to drop off people home from pubs, i dont have free loaders who need to go somewhere. I dont need to overload my car with 4-5 people etc...

i love being a prick!

TestTransmission

ShadowHearth wrote: »

t it means space only for my misses. So i dont need to drop off people home from pubs, i dont have free loaders who need to go somewhere. I dont need to overload my car with 4-5 people etc...

It's one of the best things about having a 2 seater tbh. :pac:

Alanstrainor

So what you're saying is that when I get a coupe, I'll have to rip out the 2 back seats!

Owen

They're a handy fix for the small boot Alan! I have to put my bass amp in the boot, and my bass/leads bag on the back seats, both won't fit!

scamalert

Alanstrainor wrote: »

So what you're saying is that when I get a coupe, I'll have to rip out the 2 back seats!

%uck i didnt make clear myslef sry aboutthtat :rolleyes:
I meant that every time someone wants to get in or out of the car its pain in the a$$ to get out open the seat just that someone could get in.So yeah you need to loose the friends when buying coupe.

Connavar

scamalert wrote: »

%uck i didnt make clear myslef sry aboutthtat :rolleyes:
I meant that every time someone wants to get in or out of the car its pain in the a$$ to get out open the seat just that someone could get in.So yeah you need to loose the friends when buying coupe.

Or just do what I did and dont let anyone in/out through the drivers side

challengemaster

Connavar wrote: »

Or just do what I did and dont let anyone in/out through the drivers side

Thats the reason I was contemplating buying saloon msport seats, no way of folding it forward :pac:

TouchingVirus

RoverJames wrote: »

Are saloons defo a no no ?

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/325-I-E4/6013340673603310/advert?channel=CARS



€4500 for a 2004 with a claimed 68k miles.

In the interest of being open; I'm in the market for a 325i/ci myself, though I'm 99% sure I'm looking for a 4 door. With that in mind, I went to view this. Thought I'd post up my observations:

It appears to be a UK import, the BMW UK sticker on the back window & UK number on the BMW keyring were a bit of a giveaway. The interior is mostly spotless, few scuffs here and there. I'd nearly reckon it's a newish steering wheel on it as the semi-auto 330ci in the same place, of the same age and slightly higher mileage has much more wear on the MFSW. The service light says it's due in -18k miles and needs an oil change. The engine check light was on. The auto-boot unlock doesn't appear to be working, I tried both keys. The discs on the rear feel thin and have a reasonably big lip because of the wear - I think it'd be the first thing a mechanic would point out. The alloys are somewhat scuffed and bubbly, more bubbled than scuffed. It is out of tax since April.

I would say it's been for sale for a while as the car is clean but the wheels have splashes of dirt where rain hit the ground & splashed up, there's also a fair few cobwebs etc. There is no spare wheel in the boot. The back driver-side light has water in it, looks like the glue on the light broke down and let water in. Not a lot mind you but still. The mileage is a little strange, I'd like to know more about the car's history. The BMW service book ends in 2008 and the car had 47k or thereabouts if I recall correctly. So in 3-4 years only 21k went up on it, from the "1 owner".

I probably should have lead with this but I reckon it might have gotten a slight tip on the front passenger side. The bumper isn't sitting right into the wing, the black trim on the bumper is pushed in and a black plastic ring/housing on the front passenger fog light is missing. I gave it a little wiggle to see if it was a loose clip or whatever but the bumper was solid, yet misaligned.

Since I'm only looking about I didn't take it for a test drive and said if I was interested I'd call back. Somehow I don't think I will be. The search goes on...

Alanstrainor

I've seen 4 UK cars in the last few weeks searching for various cars. All around the same vintage 01/02/03 and all of them had alloys that were corroding. That black BMW was particularly bad. It would put me off even looking at UK cars at this stage tbh.

TouchingVirus

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I've seen 4 UK cars in the last few weeks searching for various cars. All around the same vintage 01/02/03 and all of them had alloys that were corroding. That black BMW was particularly bad. It would put me off even looking at UK cars at this stage tbh.

Yeah, it wasn't a great first impression to be honest. And it was the same with the 330ci semi-auto which is also a UK import (again, the old keyring with 0800 and first service stamp gives it away). I was prepared to overlook it, can get them treated if it's not terrible but the front bumper and unlikely mileage make me think something could be off - services at 47k, service clock reset I assume to 10k/20k and now reading overdue by 18k but the clock says 68k

It's cemented my desire for a 325i though, that straight six noise gave me shivers. Also, for a not-**** spec, because the M-sport spec was so impressive compared to my friend's 320d SE

ShadowHearth

So the uk is new jap from back in the day? Everyone wants Irish cars now?

Northern Monkey

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I've seen 4 UK cars in the last few weeks searching for various cars. All around the same vintage 01/02/03 and all of them had alloys that were corroding. That black BMW was particularly bad. It would put me off even looking at UK cars at this stage tbh.

I would take a UK car every day of the week over an Irish one. Fair enough they might be slightly more exposed to salt in the winter, but apart from that what do you see with Irish cars that UK cars are missing?

For my experience UK cars generally have a better spec, better service records (not always the case obviously) MOT every year from 3 years old (or 4 for NI). In general main roads in the UK are in better condition than the roads here.

Fair enough some might see a UK car as a way for a seller to hide a cars history, but would you do less checks on a car just because it was of Irish origin? Just look at the amount of threads on here lately about cars that have been clocked after someone sold them in Ireland.

Every car should be judged on its merits, not because of where it was first registered.

Alanstrainor

Northern Monkey wrote: »

Every car should be judged on its merits, not because of where it was first registered.

Of course.

But so far every UK car i've seen was a wreck. And you have to consider the age and price range of the cars i've been looking at. If I was looking for something that was only a couple of years old then i'd consider the UK cars for definite. But at 10~ years, not so much.

ShadowHearth

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Of course.

But so far every UK car i've seen was a wreck. And you have to consider the age and price range of the cars i've been looking at. If I was looking for something that was only a couple of years old then i'd consider the UK cars for definite. But at 10~ years, not so much.

do you already get stress m8? when i plan on buying a new car i am always so happy and excited, but when i am starting to look seriously, i am getting really stressed out!
at some stage when you checked few cars, you just want to drop everything and show a birdy to everyone!

Alanstrainor

ShadowHearth wrote: »

do you already get stress m8? when i plan on buying a new car i am always so happy and excited, but when i am starting to look seriously, i am getting really stressed out!
at some stage when you checked few cars, you just want to drop everything and show a birdy to everyone!

It's all i've been thinking about for quite a while! Definitely some amount of stress, should all be worth it though right!?

ShadowHearth

Alanstrainor wrote: »

It's all i've been thinking about for quite a while! Definitely some amount of stress, should all be worth it though right!?

i bought 5 cars in ireland alone and it is always the same:

1. excited, when you dont have money and you see so many awesome cars, you always wanted.
2. you get money together and finnaly sit down to look for all those awesome cars!
3. You start, checking them in more detail and find out: you dont want any of them anymore.
4. you look at few cars and then cant decide which one to go for! FUUUUUUU!
5. then you decide to get the one, take out money from bank account, you look at that pile of cash and start thinking: FFS look at all that cash! am i stupid to give it away for a car now, i was working so hard for it, just to give it away in one go?!?!?! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
6. you give money, sit down in to your car and go:



i am now in the middle of section 3 now...

Alanstrainor

I'm half way between 4 and 5 at the minute.

That pic...lol!

ShadowHearth

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I'm half way between 4 and 5 at the minute.

That pic...lol!

best thing to do - just take 2 days off. no browsing of donedeal or any other website. it will clear your head. In two days, there might be something new up, or you will rediscover that you might enjoy some other car too. who know, maybe the owner of a car you looked already will call you in that time and offer you lower price, happened to me once already.

* i know you refreshing donedeal every 2 mins now

MetzgerMeister

ShadowHearth wrote: »

best thing to do - just take 2 days off. no browsing of donedeal or any other website.

:rolleyes::rolleyes:

challengemaster

In alans case...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnLY0mi8twc

L-M

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3217653




A cheeky 2.5k might buy the above. i know it was posted before.

Bar the plates, wheels and price the below is gorgeous.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3279669

ShadowHearth

i came across that one above too. though of out child, when i sow it.

so what did you decided to do m8?

Alanstrainor

Bought a reliant robin instead. Beast of a yoke. I'll have pics up tomorrow.

Alanstrainor

Beep beep!

Connavar

Pics!!

ShadowHearth

Talk!