Buying advice needed

davadee

Hi,
I'm looking at two similar cars at the moment, 320D BMW one is a 2010(55k) and ones is a 2011(38k), both are similarly priced (€19k) and both have low mileage. The main reason for the post is that one is the 2010 model is high spec(Sat Nav, leather seats) while the 2011 comes with standard Efficient Dynamic standard. The 2010 is based in Dublin where the 2011 is at car giant in London.

2010
www .spiritpremium.ie/Used-Cars/?car=89714122680698630&make=BMW&model=3%20Series&type=&year=any&max=

2011
www .cargiant.co.uk/BMW/3-series/details-674066-BMW-3-series.asp

Looking for some advise on the cars, which would have better resale in say 2 years or any advise on the cars in general!

bazz26

The higher spec model would be more desirable to both own and sell on assuming it is in good condition, but it's swings and roundabouts as the other one is a year younger. My advise is to just buy the car for yourself and enjoy it, don't worry too much about the next owner. Also just be aware that those engines can and do suffer from timing chain issues that are expensive to fix so make sure either one is well checked out prior to buying and full service history is must with either.

davadee

Thanks Bazz,
Yea swings and roundabouts is right, I have been going back and forward on this one for a week now and still none the wiser, and I know its not exactly a problem I should be complaining about! I have read up on the timing chain and had a 07 320D msport I bought private a few years ago that blew the turbo due to bad services, or oil changes (turned out it was clocked in the end) but that's why I was leaning on the lower mileage one over the higher spec one

bazz26

Both are very low mileage for their respective years. Make sure to do good background checks on both cars. If you can get them inspected by a BMW dealer then they should be able to verify the mileage as it's stored in 3 places on BMWs - they key, the odometer and the ECU. Regular servicing especially oil and filter changes is imperative with these engines and the 30k km interval BMW recommend should be halved for an oil service imo.

fmcg_scribe

davadee-

Agree that mileage on both cars looks low.

If you haven't been to see either car for a test drive and to review paperwork, you could start the ball rolling by doing checks with HPI Check in UK and Cartell/Motorcheck in Ireland.

With BMWs, it is important to focus on spec and service history. Spec because you will want to move the car on some day. Service history because a problem beemer will punish you emotionally and financially.

If you're serious about the UK car, you can phone BMW UK Customer Information (vehicle specification line - see http://www.bmw.co.uk/en_GB/footer/publications-links/contactus/contact-us.html) to find the following information: price when new, options fitted, summarised service history in BMW UK dealer network, and details about any warranty repairs. Calls cost £1 per minute (in UK) but the information can be useful before you decide to travel to see a car. You need to give them chassis number or registration number of car (private plate numbers not accepted).

Suggest you focus more on the Irish car.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

While I absolutely agree that condition is the key there is a concern with high mileage cars. Age means nothing.

What you want is a car that has been well looked after, driven with mechanical sympathy, and serviced properly. A car with higher milage has had more "at risk" distance on all the parts and more chance for a careless owner.

If you have two cars in good condition go for the one with the lower milage.
Two cars with similar milage go for the one in better condition and better history.
Two cars, one newer with higher mileage and another older one less miles in similar condition go for the one with less mileage.

Despite perfect service and good condition a gearbox, drive train, engine or exhaust with higher mileage is more prone to failure than one with less mileage. A car has no concept of time (except the bodywork) it knows only how far its traveled.

Condition > Milage > Age

fmcg_scribe

Sloane Low Hitch wrote: »

While I absolutely agree that condition is the key there is a concern with high mileage cars. Age means nothing.

What you want is a car that has been well looked after, driven with mechanical sympathy, and serviced properly. A car with higher milage has had more "at risk" distance on all the parts and more chance for a careless owner.

If you have two cars in good condition go for the one with the lower milage.
Two cars with similar milage go for the one in better condition and better history.
Two cars, one newer with higher mileage and another older one less miles in similar condition go for the one with less mileage.

Despite perfect service and good condition a gearbox, drive train, engine or exhaust with higher mileage is more prone to failure than one with less mileage. A car has no concept of time (except the bodywork) it knows only how far its traveled.

Condition > Milage > Age

Overall, I agree with you but there some edge cases that can crop up when looking at used cars.

Case #1

• Bog standard or premium car is advertised for sale.
• Car has a petrol engine.
• Car is, say, between 2 and 5 years old.
• Car appears to have a service history but frequency of servicing requires clarification.
• Car's mileage appears to have averaged much less than 10,000 miles per year, possibly as low as 5,000 miles per year.

On the face of it, this car might be good.

However, why are the miles so low given the age? Was the car a second (or third car) or a "weekend car" for the current/most recent owner? Was car used mainly as a track car and has seller indicated this? If that's not the reason, why was the car used to little? Was the car serviced and maintained regularly? In particular, how often was the engine oil changed? If car is high performance, are the brake discs warped (because of rust from lack of use)?

My point is that low miles might not always be a good thing especially if the car's servicing was let slip because it wasn't doing "normal" annual mileage.

"Exotic" cars like Ferraris and the like may fit into this category but such cars needed to be looked at differently because they are usually second or third cars and people who buy them new or used are usually fussy about cars and should have the deep pockets required to run them.

Case #2

• Bog standard or premium car is advertised for sale.
• Car has a petrol engine.
• Car is, say, between 2 and 5 years old.
• Car appears to have a full service history.
• Car's mileage appears to averaged 20,000 miles or more each year.
• Car appears to have had one previous owner, say, a garage employee or an employee of the manufacturer or national distributor.

On the face of it, this car appears to have high miles for its age and for a petrol car. However, a close examination of the car and its paperwork suggests that most of the car's mileage was motorway miles and no expense was spared servicing and maintaining the car.

Assuming that the car was priced competitively, would someone interested in that model be able to ignore it?