€8k to spend on a car

Gear Freak

Hey guys,

I am looking to buy a second hand BMW 3 series. I have a maximum of €8k cash ready to go and I own a 99 Ford Focus (with 143,000 miles on the clock!) to trade in.

Ideally I want a 2 litre diesel. I have a couple of questions and I would really appreciate if you guys could help me:

1. Am I better to wait until the New Year to purchase

2. Can anyone recommend a good alternative to the BMW

3. Should I opt for diesel over petrol? What is the difference in performance, fuel cost, repairs, etc.?

4. Should I opt for automatic over manual? Again, what is the difference in performance, repairs, etc.?

5. Anything I should be wary of?


Again any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Rossa

Idbatterim

what kind of mileage do you do? at eight grand I'm assuming 06 / 07...

listermint

First question,

What years are you looking at, second question what sort of mileage do you do and where would your driving generally be (urban stop start / long distance commute) ?

celtic_oz

value ?

Gear Freak

Hey,

I would do roughly 20,000 km a year.

The majority of my driving would be on the M50.

What kind of millage would be acceptable on a used 3 series?

Gear Freak

@celtic_oz

That car looks great but it is in the UK....

Gear Freak

@listermint

My preference would be an 07/08 model.

The majority of my driving is on the M50. (50km on the M50 into work each day)

Cheers

Moneymaker

For a motorway cruiser a S60/S80 is fabulous.

More comfortable and nicer place to sit in then a 3 Series imo. Been in and driven both and on back roads the BMW is fantastic and better to drive, but for the M50 id rather be in an S60.

You should be able to get a very nice S60 diesel for 8 grand.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volvo-s60-2-4-litre-diesel/5124471

With change too! Don't worry about high mileage, those cars are good for 300k no bother.

An Audi A6 would be another good choice too.

bidiots

That went quick!

Moneymaker

Lol bloody hell.

I can still see it on a search engine

Edit: there we go, works now.

celtic_oz

That car looks great but it is in the UK....

Kaiser D

^.....for €8k!

You'll need more than that OP

Gear Freak

Lol, thanks for the meme! I'm beginning to realise that.

What about this one?

[url]Http://www.carsireland.ie/999882[/url]

Kaiser D

Thats a 2.0 petrol model, and rather pricey too.

JJJJNR

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-520/6014814

bazz26

First of all, your almost 15 year old Focus is worth sweet feck all as a trade-in to a dealer. Better off selling it privately yourself as you will also get a better deal on a newer car without the Focus.

20k km per year is around 12k miles which is not really diesel mileage territory. Anything diesel of that vintage will be a high miler at this stage. You will also get better value in a petrol car for your money as everyone and their uncle wants a petrol car even if they don't have any use for one.

If I were in your shoes this is what I would be looking for in a 3 Series:


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/BMW/3-Series/318-I/201344219334402/

JJJJNR

Gear Freak wrote: »

2. Can anyone recommend a good alternative to the BMW

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Audi/A3/1.9-TDI/201340218805485/

Idbatterim

that 5 series looks nice, so does the above. The below isnt bad either...

http://www.carzone.ie/search/BMW/3-Series/1.6-SE../37913845505098380/advert?channel=CARS

your either getting spec or age...

Gear Freak

I managed to get a little extra from the bank. I'm looking at the below spec for €10k, do you think it is good value?

2007
318 es
2 litre
45,000 miles
Full cream leather
1 previous owner
Petrol
Manual
129 bhp @5750 rpm
The engine and car itself are immaculate

Do you think this car is good value?

Id really appreciate any help

Bigus

Gear Freak wrote: »

I managed to get a little extra from the bank. I'm looking at the below spec for €10k, do you think it is good value?

2007
318 es
2 litre
45,000 miles
Full cream leather
1 previous owner
Petrol
Manual
129 bhp @5750 rpm
The engine and car itself are immaculate

Do you think this car is good value?

Id really appreciate any help

Third or fourth week of January you will have a much greater choice, and probably get into an 08 on the new tax rate for that sort of money.