I was looking at possibly buying a used previous gen (e46) 3 series, or maybe a previous gen 5 series for a secondary daily driver. I'm just a bit worried about reliability issues with a BMW that's a few years old and out of warranty.

Do you guys think I am thinking about this too much? I've got around 16,000 to spend, so what do you recommend I do?

Thanks!

 

If it's out of warranty, make sure you can afford the repairs down the road first.

 

For that price range I suspect you will be buying a lot of issues.

 

For 16k....don't by a BMW...by a Honda/Acura

 

Just seems odd, you're 20, live in NYC and want a secondary daily driver, but only have 16K to spend on it? What is your primary, weekend car? How much driving do you do? Why do you need a BMW?

 

 

I dont know but Bimmer are not reliable. I'm looking for a previous gen E46 coupe or convertible myself in the price range of $20000 or some change.

 

If its out of warrenty or doesn't come with an extended warrenty I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole. Thats one of the main reasons I didn't get an E46 M3...all the decently priced ones just finished their warrenty and I didn't feel like spending all my money to keep the thing running. A couple of my close friends have bimmers, and I can tell you, the dealership is like their second home unfortuneatly. Same with our old 740...that thing was at the dealership every other month for the oddest things...

 

Might want to ask e46 owners about their experiences. Would get a better idea than hearing 2nd hand stories.

www.e46fanatics.com

 

I think BMW E46 (outside of M3) are the most reliable of all BMWs. If you got $16k, you should be able to get an 03 325i, nicely equipped with around 50-60k miles. Drive it for 2 years and you shouldn't have that many issues.

Obviously, BMW isn't a Honda, but it isn't as bad as a lot of people think. And again, 3 series are generally very reliable.

JJaber06, you're maybe half right about BMW. 740i and E46 M3, as well as E39 M5, usually want more attention, but regular 3- and 5-series are pretty reliable.

Fossil_TL, if you have a $20k budget, you can get an 05 325i with about 30k on the odo. In fact, I saw an 05 325i auto with Sport Premium Package with 28k and $19.9k asking price at a local used car dealership.

 

My GFs '03 325i has been NOTHING but problems! That car has around 56,000 miles on it and has had everything go wrong...

 

Why bother yourself with loads of potential problems that might come after the warrenty is out?

Get a Honda/Toyota ....

 

If 250$ a month for repairs is within your reach...

 

Well, I just changed colleges and I go to school in Georgia right now...so I need a car to get around down here.

My parents thought it may be nice to get me a nice car because of my new school, and my birthday, so they brought up the BMW subject. They were willing to spend about 20-22k on a car, but I thought that was a bit too much to spend on another car, so I suggested that we only spend around 17,000.

The thought about getting a Honda/Acura product is probably a much better idea - lots of weird things go wrong with BMW's once they get old (according to bimmerfest).

I'll look into the TSX or the TL...sounds like a much better idea

So with 20k to spend, would you guys be interested in a used Bimmer?

 

Yikes...i'll have to maintain the car out of my own pocket, so that's definately a no


I really didn't realize that there were so many additional expenses i'd have to think about.

Thanks for the heads up

 

If you think owning a BMW is gonna be like owning a Civic, you're in for a rude awakening. But E46s are hardly what I would call unreliable.

 

if i was in your shoes, i'd take the 20k, buy a civic/accord in the $10k region, invest the rest so i can use that towards buying a house after college.

 

You can get a 6MT TSX for around that price now I bet...

 

get a new Scion Tc comes with a full factory 3yr warrenty.

 

I got a 330Ci last year (38K miles at the time) and it has been much more reliable than the 2001 Acura CL Type S I got in 2004. I have not had ANY issues so far (up to 62K miles.) Any car will be only as good as you treat it. I bought it from a private seller who did all the maintnance at the dealership.

 

I dunno man, you think you can fit many dead hookers in the trunk of a civic?

House buying is overrated these days. Rent FTMFW.

 

That's what chainsaws are for...sheesh....

But given that the BMW guys are saying "no" on the $16-20K BMW and OP doesn't want to put up $250/mo ($3000/year) for maintenance, the Honda Civic, Accord, TSX, Scion tC, Corolla, Matrix, Mazda 3, etc. are all better choices.

I am going to look at a new 335i in a couple months though.

 

word. i wanted a flashy car for college. all it got me was alot of speeding tickets and door dings, not to mention replacement clutches, parts, etc, not easy for a college student/part time.


i sold my car and bought a 93 infiniti for 2 grand, i use that to drive around town and to school. im probably going to upgrade to something a little nicer too, but in the meantime all my money is sitting in the bank earning nice interest.

you can find a decent used accord or camry for 10-15k easily, throw the rest in the bank and buy yourself a new TV or just live off it. (i bought a HD TV )

 

with that money just get a used s2k =)...

 

03 maxima ftw... and save yourself about 7-8 grand.

 

With respect to the previous 5-series...be very afraid! My brother had a '01 540i and a couple of my neighbors had other 2000-03 5-series vehicles. It used to crack me up how many problems they would have...burned out tail and headlights nearly every month, power window motors, alternators, wipers, sunroof motors, cup holders (break off all the time), CD players, etc. It seems that the engines are solid, but everything else constantly breaks.

Near the end of ownership, my brother stopped fixing everything on the 540i and would just publish a monthly list of all the things that were breaking and wrong with his car. He seriously was able to add new things to the list each and every month. And that was a 540i with 95K miles on it. Incedently, he bought that car a year old with 14K miles on it...