2006 bmw 320 se.

goz83

Hi guys.

I've had it up to my tonsils with my 03 e200k. I'm looking for a change to tie me over for the next year, or so. Was looking at 06-07 mondeos as a fall back and seen this one for consideration. Reckon I could get it for €4300, but still a bit more than I want to spend right now with other priorities in hand.

I want to stay as close to 3k as I can and I saw this. Any opinions? I Had a 01 318iSE from 2007-2010 and loved it. Some fuker stole it and was never recovered. I like the beamers, but don't want a money pit either.

I do vert small miles by the way....maybe 5k a year in or abouts

goz83

Any advice on the 3 series would be great. Hoping to view today.

Atlantic Dawn

"Some service history" would be my biggest concern, 120k miles is not much on a car if it has had regular annual oil changes. If you can see no recent history I would walk away, this could be a car bought from new and the oil never changed on it. Are these timing belt or chain, if belt factor in needing to change that if your have no date when or if it was ever changed. I'd try to get one with leather seats if I was in the market for one, otherwise car itself looks in goog nick, all keys present etc.

goz83

Thanks Atlantic Dawn. Im looking for something decent for the next year or two max. The owner said something about needing a new oil tap ? Or trap maybe

king_of_inismac

I did 250k miles on my E90 (diesel) and it's still perfect (Fiance now drives it).

Some things to watch out for:

Watch out for the steering lock on these. Costs about 1k to get fixed. If the yellow warning light is on, it will eventually fail and you won't be able to move/drive the car.

Run-flat tyres are expensive. You can switch to normal but you won't have a spare (I did this a few years ago).

Getting the car into reverse can be a little awkward on these. Wouldn't be as smooth gearbox like other brands.

Check all the lights. The brake lights failed on mine for some reason.

king_of_inismac

Also Mileage is very low for the age of that car (120k). I'd be checking the old NCT certs and get a history check done on it.

bazz26

If you want something relatively trouble free for a year or two then something like an Accord is worth looking at:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2007-honda-accord-nct-5-17-tax-5-16/11860078

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2006-honda-accord-2-0-type-s/11803981

Mileage is above average on them but a petrol Accord is one of those few cars that high mileage wouldn't be a concern with me.

goz83

So I went to have a look. I told the guy that my max budget was 3k and he had agreed to this before I viewed it. It was very clean. Barely a ding on the body work and some respray on the front bumper from what was obviously a minor enough tip.

Then I checked under the hood and there was fresh oil under the head and a fair bit of gunge almost out of sight around the area of the belts. There was a small bit of gasket sealant visible and the engine was a little warm.

I test drove it anyway and she drove great. Then the guy mentioned the smell of oil before I had even noticed yet. The test drive was less than 10 minutes and when we got back, the oil was burning and smoking. The seller said it was leaking from the cap, which there was some leaking, but it wasn't adding up. I looked under the cap and there was a bit of mayonnaise present.

So, I figure I would walk away and dodge a bullet. Somewhat disappointed though. Thanks for the replies guys. The trip was worth it anyway, because I got some work done nearby, which is good for business.

Accords are also on my list. Lovely yokes too.