To change or not?

adocholiday

I have had a 2002 BMW e46 318ci m-sport for the past 3 years. I bought it with 88k miles on the clock and now there's 113k on it.

I've recently been told that the timing chain is a bit stretched and that there are 3 small but significant oil leaks in the engine, one of which needs a valve and sensor replaced as part of the fix. Last week it failed the NCT on rear suspension imbalance so the shocks need to be done too.

Total cost to repair = €1,300. Will need new front tyres in the next 12 months too. Mechanic advised that otherwise it's in good shape.

Work done to date on it aside from regular servicing:

2 rear tyres, rear springs, fuel pump replacement, new battery, & 4 new coil packs.

So I have a choice - put €1,300 into the car now, and hope that nothing major will fail in the next 2 years or so; or else just cut my losses, sell as is, and change the car.

The major downside to this is that I could spend 10k on another car and in 12 months time have to put the same money or more into that one if something goes wrong. The reason that I'm trying to not have to change the car is that I'm getting married this year, so I'd like to keep any extra spending to a minimum until that's done at least. The beemer might fail before then if the timing chain gets worse, so I've to make this decision soon.

What do ye think? Is it worth fixing?

Toyotafanboi

if you like the car, i'd fix it. 318 Ci is a nice car and what's €1300 for the devil you know. anything you could buy for €1300 will almost certainly need a cash injection in the near future.

Moneymaker

Depends really, if it's a car you love and want to keep it, then keep it. It's always a risk buying a new car and you may get stung for that kind of bill(or worse) anyway.

Big downside is 1300 is pretty close to the value of the car. Even an M-Sport won't fetch more then 2-3k. It's a lot of money to put in to it.

bmwguy

Since you are saying you might sink 10k into another car I can only assume you are looking in the 6-8 year old group of cars, there is no assurance these will not need the same work or more done. Shop around for the work that needs doing. But you are effectively spending your car's value on repairs which isn't an easy thing to stomach. If you do the work I would suggest keeping the car for at least 2 more years to get the value out of it. Then sell for 2k.

adocholiday

Moneymaker wrote: »

Depends really, if it's a car you love and want to keep it, then keep it. It's always a risk buying a new car and you may get stung for that kind of bill(or worse) anyway.

Big downside is 1300 is pretty close to the value of the car. Even an M-Sport won't fetch more then 2-3k. It's a lot of money to put in to it.

See that's the thing, I do like the car but I don't have any particular love for it. I'd definitely be trading up if I didn't have the expense of a wedding over my head. At the same time I'd also be quite happy to hold onto it for another few years so long as no other major issues arise.

I was going to try to sell it in current condition for about 1k, so by spending this money on it I'll likely be making an overall loss when I do go to sell it on. These are all the factors that are making it so hard to make up my mind

bmwguy wrote: »

Since you are saying you might sink 10k into another car I can only assume you are looking in the 6-8 year old group of cars, there is no assurance these will not need the same work or more done. Shop around for the work that needs doing. But you are effectively spending your car's value on repairs which isn't an easy thing to stomach. If you do the work I would suggest keeping the car for at least 2 more years to get the value out of it. Then sell for 2k.

Exactly. I was looking at changing to a 2010 Insignia/Mondeo, which can be got for about 10k, however if I wait then in 2 years time I'd certainly be looking to spend much more, maybe even go the whole hog and go for a brand new car.

Jesus.

Change it. You're putting almost as much into it as the car is worth

Toyotafanboi

Jesus. wrote: »

Change it. You're putting almost as much into it as the car is worth

When did that become a good justification for change?

Gael23

Jesus. wrote: »

Change it. You're putting almost as much into it as the car is worth

Agree with this. You'd be throwing good money after bad. Put the €1300 towards an upgrade.

Jesus.

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

When did that become a good justification for change?

Serious?

bisounours

[QUOTE\]

Exactly. I was looking ato a 2010 Insignia/Mondeo, which can be got for about 10k, however if I wait then in 2 years time I'd certainly be looking to spend much more, maybe even go the whole hog and go for a brand new car.[/quote]

I am in no way an expert but when I went to my mechanics for a service he had 3 Insignias parked up for engine replacement/refurbishment. Says the pre-2012 Opels/Vauxhalls are known for seizing which is a 3000 job.