141 BMW 318

Clareman

I might have the opportunity to get a good deal on a 141 BMW 318 in January, it's an ex leased car belonging to a friend who has been out of the country for most of the time, it's a diesel (1.8 I think) that hasn't done many long journeys, most of the use of it would be around town really, there's ~14,000km up on it, I don't think it has ever been serviced which I would expect to be changed before Jan.

My questions would be

• How much would it be worth in Jan 2016
• Is the mileage too low?
• Any known issues?
• Would you buy it?

I know nothing about cars by the way, I drive an 8 year old Avensis and am happy out with it but I don't want to pass up on a great deal if it's presented to me and want to be prepared for how much it might cost.

R.O.R

How much would it be worth in Jan 2016

Anywhere between €27,000 - €31,000. Depends if you get it at trade price or close to retail. If it's being terminated before it's lease end (and 2 years would be short for a lease), then there may be termination charges built in to the purchase price.

Is the mileage too low?

Don't think there's any such thing as mileage being too low. If it's only done a lot of short start/stop journeys it might be an issue, but if it was doing long ish journeys when it was used, it shouldn't be an issue.

Any known issues?

It has the N47 BMW Diesel Engine, and if you google that, you'll get a lot of scary stories. From our experience of many of these vehicles on lease, the failure rate is few and far between. 2 out of roughly 100.



Would you buy it?

Probably not, as it won't be as cheap as you think. Nice motor though - 141 3 Series should have full leather, business navigation and sport steering wheel.

Clareman

Thanks for that, it'd be at the trade price, he's getting a great deal through work so there's nothing to worry about trade lease or anything like that, he has a brilliant job and will be relocating so that's where the car is coming from.

30k for a second hand car is an awful lot, but it's only 2 years old, I'm torn especially as the car I have has never given me a days trouble.

colm_mcm

My take on this would be:

Would you have even considered a 118 before this
If you had just seen a similar car advertised for €27k, would you have considered it?

It's easy to cod yourself into something because you're paying less than most people could get one for. We all love a bargain.
The 1 series is quite small in the back and mightn't fit your needs in that respect (child seat etc)

Clareman

I definitely wouldn't have the 1 series but I like the 3 series to be honest. I've a petrol car at the moment and am doing ~1,000km a week, it's not bad cause work pays my mileage expenses, but I'll need to move to a diesel sooner rather than later and I also need a reliable car

CIP4

colm_mcm wrote: »

My take on this would be:

Would you have even considered a 118 before this
If you had just seen a similar car advertised for €27k, would you have considered it?

It's easy to cod yourself into something because you're paying less than most people could get one for. We all love a bargain.
The 1 series is quite small in the back and mightn't fit your needs in that respect (child seat etc)

It's a 3 series though that op is looking at so should be fine space wise. I would agree though it's a lot of money to spend on a secondhand car if the main reason for buying it is it's a few thousand cheaper than retail. If you've always wanted a 3 series and have the money then go for it but your main motive op seems to be the fact of it being a bargain price.

Clareman

My main reasons are that I have the money at the moment and I need a new car, why not get something a bit upmarket, I'd probably be looking at another Avensis otherwise

colm_mcm

You'd get a new Avensis for that money


And it has a BMW engine!


Seriously though, there's a new Passat out, new skoda superb, lots of nice big cars you could get for the money.

Clareman

Yeah, new Avensis or 2 year old BMW, some decision, I'll probably give my existing Avensis to the wife so there isn't much need to have 2 Avensis outside the door

colm_mcm

Even down a class to similarly sized cars, you'd get a very nicely specced new Golf for the money. Or the option of spending €20k on a nearly new one.

I'm not saying the 1 series is a terrible car or anything, but IMO it's not worth paying big money just to get into owning a brand.

Clareman

I wrote off a Golf when I was in my teens, I'll never drive another 1 let alone own 1

It's a 3 series by the way

colm_mcm

Oh, that changes things. For some reason I thought it was a 1 series

What made you buy the Avensis before and what bits don't you like about it?

Clareman

I've a bad back and I found the seat in the Avensis extremely comfortable, I also had small cars before that and wanted something a bit bigger, I won a poker tournament and had the cash so I decided I'd buy a new car, so in 2007 I bought the Avensis, lovely and comfortable car which I get services every 15,000km, I'm up to 205,000km now.

bazz26

I don't see the 3 Series having more comfort than the Avensis. The 3 Series has a more firmer setup for a sportier ride. You would want to get an extended test drive to make sure you are happy with the comfort.

Clareman

He's heading back to the States in October he said I can have it for a few weeks to try it out, can't ask for better than that I suppose.

bazz26

I'd definitely take it for a bit and see if you can live with it.

Does it have a service inclusive pack with it? This covers basic servicing by BMW usually up to 5 years. Some owners buy it with the car when new as it's good value.

Having gone from owning Toyotas to owning a few BMWs myself just be aware that running costs are different between the two. Servicing and parts will be more expensive but not at a level that should put you off, just something to be aware of.

Clareman

I'm not sure on the service bit, but if I'm reading right if iI get it for €27k I'm doing well and there's no major offputting stuff to worry about but take advantage of the extended test drive

Toyotafanboi

sounds like you've already bought this in your head.

might well be worth looking around at what €27k could buy in general, just to make sure you actually want this car for reasons other than purely because he offered it to you. as was said, for example you could get a brand new very highly spec'd Golf or Jetta and have change left over or you could possibly bargain your way into a new Passat.

is there any warranty remaining on the 318 etc? don't think i'd part with anything near that figure in a private deal unless there was a decent chunk of manufacturer warranty remaining, for example.

Idbatterim

its ridiculous that it hasnt been serviced yet, with those particular diesel engines, id be even more vigilant...

bazz26

A 2014 model would still have about 2 years left on the BMW warranty.

Clareman

I'm thinking I'll get the car serviced for him while he's away, that way I'll be able to get my mechanical to have a proper look over it

Clareman

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

sounds like you've already bought this in your head.

might well be worth looking around at what €27k could buy in general, just to make sure you actually want this car for reasons other than purely because he offered it to you. as was said, for example you could get a brand new very highly spec'd Golf or Jetta and have change left over or you could possibly bargain your way into a new Passat.

is there any warranty remaining on the 318 etc? don't think i'd part with anything near that figure in a private deal unless there was a decent chunk of manufacturer warranty remaining, for example.

I'm thinking I'll either buy this or nothing to be honest, the car iI have has been rock solid for me and I know I have done at least 200,000km of the mileage myself, I get it serviced regularly and I don't drive it hard. Saying that iI know it's an 8 year old car and doing 1,000km in a petrol is just a waste.

R.O.R

Idbatterim wrote: »

its ridiculous that it hasnt been serviced yet, with those particular diesel engines, id be even more vigilant...

2 years / 30,000km, or when the car decides it needs a service, are the intervals on that model. It's clever enough to figure out when a service is due, rather than just picking a random time/mileage.


OP - if it wasn't bought with a service pack, someone was very silly. €500 for 3 services (5 years or 100,000km) is a no brainer, and every BMW we've bought since 2011 has had the basic service pack included. Original supplying dealer should be able to confirm if the pack is on it, but the cost of a service won't be included if it's not due (or overdue by too much).

The only thing the 318d SE is missing, that it really needs, is lumbar support. Not standard and not specified that often, but the standard SE seats are really poor for back support. Sports Seats are just about passable without it, but the SE seats really need it.

The extended test drive should give you a very good idea of whether you could live with it. At 1,000km a week you must be spending 2-3 hours a day in the car, and that would cripple me in those seats.

Clareman

R.O.R wrote: »

2 years / 30,000km, or when the car decides it needs a service, are the intervals on that model. It's clever enough to figure out when a service is due, rather than just picking a random time/mileage.


OP - if it wasn't bought with a service pack, someone was very silly. €500 for 3 services (5 years or 100,000km) is a no brainer, and every BMW we've bought since 2011 has had the basic service pack included. Original supplying dealer should be able to confirm if the pack is on it, but the cost of a service won't be included if it's not due (or overdue by too much).

The only thing the 318d SE is missing, that it really needs, is lumbar support. Not standard and not specified that often, but the standard SE seats are really poor for back support. Sports Seats are just about passable without it, but the SE seats really need it.

The extended test drive should give you a very good idea of whether you could live with it. At 1,000km a week you must be spending 2-3 hours a day in the car, and that would cripple me in those seats.

I spend at least 40 minutes each way to work every day, throw in a 2 hour trip to Dublin a couple of times a week and you get the 1,000

Idbatterim

2 years / 30,000km, or when the car decides it needs a service, are the intervals on that model. It's clever enough to figure out when a service is due, rather than just picking a random time/mileage.

is this car effected by the timing chain issue? Each to their own, I dont care what they say about servicing and reduced service intervals, to entice fleet buyers etc. No way would I be servicing any car, never mind a modern diesel every 2 years or 30,000km, which ever comes first. You can afford a 30,000 car, you can afford an oil service every year, IMO. OP dont break the bmw service history to save a few euro (it shouldnt cost that much on the 4 cylinders), have your mechanic look over it by all means...

Clareman

Just pulling out this thread again, I've been offer the car for €25,000 and I'm going to go for it. Now, how to get rid of a 07 Focus (wife's old car)

Idbatterim

put it up one DD and carzone...

Clareman

OSI wrote: »

Just make sure you do a check to be sure there's no finance on it for his employer before he leaves the country

All done

bazz26

You got it at a good price. Cheapest asking price for a similar car on carzone is a shade under 30k.

Clareman

I'm happy out to be honest, it has the service pack, it has 16,381km up on it and they are going to get it services & valeted before giving it to me, I think I might have a beer to celebrate

Comhrá

....I think I might have a beer to celebrate

And rightly so....congrats on getting a nice motor at a nice price.
Happy motoring.