Obsessed with reliability.. which BMW to get

Dohnjoe

I have about 13K to spend on a secondhand estate, but also want a bit of power

Looking at 320D's.. or should I go the Audi route if reliability is my biggest concern

cnocbui

If reliability is your main concern, get a Honda.

Special Circumstances

Obsessed with reliability ...

Dohnjoe wrote: »

Looking at 320D's.. or should I go the Audi route if reliability is my biggest concern

Good luck!

PatL23

A 8gen 08+ Honda accord touring is the car to get. The idtec engine is a peach with linear power delivery all the way through the rev range. It has 148hp but it can be safely remapped to 170hp without killing the clutch(was a problem in 7gen models).
If you go for the EX model you get all the toys you could want. Only thing to watch out for is a service history because they need the correct oil(0w30) some mechanics say they can use cheaper 5w30 but don't listen to them.
Watch around the sunroof because some were prone to rust problems but there was a recall on this(in UK at least) so it may have already been done.

Best bang for € car by a mile

logie101

I always found the BMW 3 series estate to be a bit small. A Skoda Superb estate would be my choice.

NIMAN

Dohnjoe wrote: »

I have about 13K to spend on a secondhand estate, but also want a bit of power

Looking at 320D's.. or should I go the Audi route if reliability is my biggest concern

I have a couple of friends who would tell you if its reliability you want, run a mile from Audi.

deandean

Sorry but if you want reliability, don't go for a 6+ year old bmw 2L diesel. Just forget it.

CIP4

Well sure any BMW or Audi you buy for 13k is going to be well back the years and neither will be overly reliable stuff will go wrong with them the same way as it will go wrong with any 5 plus year old car. If you want a car where nothing will go wrong buy new. So if reliability is your main priority buy a demo Dacia Logan (estate) 5 year warranty in other words 5 years of you only paying for servicing and tyres. That's about the only new estate you'd afford with 13k.

Ugly looking yoke especially compared to an Audi or BMW but you either buy one of them or suck it up and be willing to spend money to keep the 6 or 7 year old BMW / Audi on the road as thinking you can buy one that will only ever need to be serviced is delusional you can't have your cake and eat it too.

NIMAN

CIP4 wrote: »

Well sure any BMW or Audi you buy for 13k is going to be well back the years and neither will be overly reliable stuff will go wrong with them the same way as it will go wrong with any 5 plus year old car. If you want a car where nothing will go wrong buy new. So if reliability is your main priority buy a demo Dacia Logan (estate) 5 year warranty in other words 5 years of you only paying for servicing and tyres. That's about the only new estate you'd afford with 13k.

Ugly looking yoke especially compared to an Audi or BMW but you either buy one of them or suck it up and be willing to spend money to keep the 6 or 7 year old BMW / Audi on the road as thinking you can buy one that will only ever need to be serviced is delusional you can't have your cake and eat it too.

I can see the OP crying after that advice!;)

CIP4

NIMAN wrote: »

I can see the OP crying after that advice!;)

That's my outlook on it secondhand cars represent great value for money in the fact that a new BMW is 40-50k and you can buy one 6 or 7 years old for 13k but it will require money regularly being spent on it you save on the purchase but spend more on the maintenance. The only guaranteed fully reliable car is a new one and stuff might go wrong on them but the difference is you pay nothing to fix them because of the warranty. Like with many things it's basically a trade off between capital (purchase) cost and operating (maintenance) cost.

NIMAN

Couldn't agree more.

6 yrs old and maybe 100,000+ miles on a car is when its going to start costing you money. And it will always cost you money as different parts start to fail due to age and wear n tear.

acronym Chilli

NIMAN wrote: »

Couldn't agree more.

6 yrs old and maybe 100,000+ miles on a car is when its going to start costing you money. And it will always cost you money as different parts start to fail due to age and wear n tear.

It's also a point where depreciation more or less stops, certainly if you keep servicing and doing repairs

NIMAN

True, but if reliability is your main criteria, rather than buy a 6 yr old BMW you'd be better buying a 2yr old Ford or Kia.

Idbatterim

Anyone who thinks that buying a few year old 13k bm or Audi that something might go wrong with, will cost more than depreciation and interest on new car which are certainties is deluded.

I have a 2003 325ci and the bro a 2005. In the over 7 years of combined ownership nothing has gone wrong on his car and a starter motor failed on mine, refurb Bosch job on eBay for e30.

The scare monger ing on cars which aren't new is hilarious, as if people are proposing to buy an older Ferrari etc or Bentley which could actually break the bank ...

Del2005

Dohnjoe wrote: »

I have about 13K to spend on a secondhand estate, but also want a bit of power

Looking at 320D's.. or should I go the Audi route if reliability is my biggest concern

If your looking for an estate what are you looking to hual? 3 series or A4 aren't much of a load lugger as they are both based on small cars.

CIP4

Idbatterim wrote: »

Anyone who thinks that buying a few year old 13k bm or Audi that something might go wrong with, will cost more than depreciation and interest on new car which are certainties is deluded.

I have a 2003 325ci and the bro a 2005. In the over 7 years of combined ownership nothing has gone wrong on his car and a starter motor failed on mine, refurb Bosch job on eBay for e30.

The scare monger ing on cars which aren't new is hilarious, as if people are proposing to buy an older Ferrari etc or Bentley which could actually break the bank ...

I don't know where I said buying the new car was the cheapest overall ownership option. The op wants the most reliable option for 13k and a new car with a warranty is the most reliable option. Also how much do you think a new car for 13k can lose. It's not as if anyone suggested buying a 40k Audi to save money over buying a 13k Audi.

But I do actually agree with what your saying secondhand car are almost always the cheapest overall cost of ownership but that's not what the op asked they asked what would be the most reliable option. What I simply said is that ultimately buying a secondhand BMW or Audi for 13k stuff will go wrong which is what you said.

bmwguy

Idbatterim wrote: »

Anyone who thinks that buying a few year old 13k bm or Audi that something might go wrong with, will cost more than depreciation and interest on new car which are certainties is deluded.

I have a 2003 325ci and the bro a 2005. In the over 7 years of combined ownership nothing has gone wrong on his car and a starter motor failed on mine, refurb Bosch job on eBay for e30.

The scare monger ing on cars which aren't new is hilarious, as if people are proposing to buy an older Ferrari etc or Bentley which could actually break the bank ...

I have had 8 cars in my life, 3 x Peugeot (2 were new, my mother's really but I drove them more than her, the other a 13 year old 406 coupe), an Alfa 156 which was 5 years old when I bought it, 2 x 3 series e46, the first was 6 years the 2nd 8 years old. Also 2 x e39 5 series, 1st was 7 years the current one was 9 years old when I bought (now 12). Only major thing was with the first e39 the auto gearbox failed and had to be replaced. I sourced one in UK for £500 and got it fitted here but wasn't too expensive.

But I always kept my cars serviced and I think I reaped the rewards. Others don't though that's why I am reluctant to change my car now even though I kind of want to....I know my car

kirving

I don't think it's really being suggested that an older BMW will actually cost more (even including maintenance) than depreciation on a new car would cost.

If the OP is 'obsessed' with reliability, I really can't see a DMF or timing chain bill being an acceptable failure, despite depreciation costing more in the long run.

I think a better option to the older premium cars would be a 3 year old Focus bracket car if reliability in the primary concern - preferably something Japanese.

bazz26

OP, if you need a diesel estate for around 13k and want it to be reliable then go with a Honda. You will pick up an According Touring on your budget and cost of ownership would be less than either a BMW or Audi.

Something like this:
http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Honda/Accord/2.2-DTEC/201609241578556/

selectamatic

Another one to consider purely on reliability terms would be a 2.0 d4d avensis estate 13k would buy you a very clean example possibly a higher spec than most of the average Irish avensis' and they are very reliable especially as any dodgy handbrakes were phased out post 2012. Adequate power for a daily driver very well geared for cruising and frugal on diesel too.