77k Miles 5 speed @ 10k

My main concerns are of course the usual BMW down the road maintenance. Out of my choices for vehicles the ONLY reason why i'm even considering this car is because of the fuel eco, my other choices are a RX and an Outlander, so i'm thinking really hard about it.

Main question: Will the maintenance cost of this car outweigh or even equal the money saved in gas? (Quick sig figs, RX300 19/22mpg, Outlander 20/25mpg, 330i 20/30mpg)

Any other advice pertaining to the vehicles would be welcome too.

 

You're buying a 6 year old out of warranty BMW for fuel economy purposes?

 

You are 18 years old and you are thinking of buying a BMW with 77k miles on it.

Why not buy a used accord with alot less miles on it for the same or cheaper price? The Accord will blow away those milege numbers and not cost you an arm and a leg to get it fixed if something breaks?

Use your head for something other than a hat rack kid.

In other words, your pretty dumb if you buy a high milege BMW at this stage of your life.

 

Jesus christ, this is why I hate asking for help from you guys....

SecStac kinda has a valid point, but why can't you guys just answer the question I asked?, as for killercls, i want 40secs of my life back for posting the obvious.... SINCE YOU GUYS WANT TO BE ASSHOLES, I will have to break down my life and a bunch of unecessary information that I thought wasn't necessary, but I guess it is.

My situation does not allow me to choose the cars I get. If you see my Sig you can kinda get the idea... maybe 1 of those cars (the mustang, but it's an auto v6) is a teenager car but the rest? Obviously I dont have a choice in what cars I get.
Can't you guys give me a break and maybe think a bit deeper, killercls you're friggin 47yrsold lets think outside of the box a little bit?
Lets give that 18yrold kid a LITTLE credit, maybe he knows that getting a used accord will be MUCH better than getting a used BMW, but jeez if we all got what we want wouldn't this be a wonderful world?

The three cars that I HAVE to choose from are: '99 RX300, 03 Mitsu Outlander, and '02 BMW 330i.

I dont have any other options, if had a 4th option, i'd prolly take that one.

So I will ask again....

Main question: Will the maintenance cost of this car outweigh or even equal the money saved in gas? (Quick sig figs, RX300 19/22mpg, Outlander 20/25mpg, 330i 20/30mpg)

Any other advice pertaining to the THREE vehicles would be welcome too.

 

Sorry..its just when I was 18 I was driving a POS Beater VW Squareback.

I would go with the Mitsubishi if I were you.

 

I personally rather be driving a third gen 5spd integra. But any reasons why you'd go w/ the mistu?

 

i'd take the bmw

 

Yah, but I'm really scared about it breaking apart and having to shell out like 2grand to get it working, I've read thousands of reviews, none of the serious problems (auto tranny falling out, suspension failing) apply to that certain model, but still having to replace the sunroof and power windows are still pretty expensive.... But I hope that's already been done so I dont have to pay for it :grin: , the main reason why I'm concered with gas is because I do about 80-100 mixed driving miles a day, and the rental PT Cruiser aint cuttin it (The in dash trip thingy says I'm avg. 20mpg, i feel it's off a bit and i think I'm gettin 22/23) and the Camry isn't my car, so I can't always drive it, hell if I could always drive the camry I'd get the RX and leave it in the garage with the Armada...

 

If anything breaks on the car you're fucked, and shit WILL break. I, like you, was also considering an e46 BMW, a 2001 330i 5-spd w/ a little less than 100k on the clock. Well my cousin's best friend is a tech at a Bimmer dealership so I asked him what he thought.

He basically told me for a broke ass college student it WAS NOT worth the risk. When shit breaks, money adds up with the QUICKNESS, especially on a BMW. And seeing as how BMW isn't stellar on reliability it's even more of a gamble.

Also, I think you'd prefer to get it serviced at a reputable independent garage rather than the BMW dealership to help ease the ass raping a little, but also realize that you don't get a loaner. If you live at home with cars to spare then its no biggie, but if you depend on that car, it could be a hassle.

But anyways, since you can ONLY choose between those 3 cars, I'd say fuck it and get the BMW, although I'd really try to broaden my choices.

 

Personally I wouldn't go near a late-model BMW that was out of warranty unless you personally knew the car's owner and trusted them enough to sell you a car that wasn't a total piece of junk...otherwise that's asking for it big time. Those suckers are spendy to fix.

 

If you cant afford to fix it, then dont buy it.

The 330 is a great car but shit does tend to start going at that mileage.

 

the rx300 for maybe a bit better reliability .

I have half a dozen friends rolling 328i-330ci with no major issues. is it auto or 5spd?

 

^ it's a 5 speed. That's the first thing he said in his post...

 

sometimes its not the problems its the scheduled maintenances. my buddy with 90k had to do $1,300 on maintenance and water pump i believe NOT from a dealer either. now he has to do timing belt and clutch as well as some maintenance soon.

AND he's a broke college student at 19. reliability is an issue on top of HIGH maintenance/repair costs.

 

 

i'm just thinking differently, they and myself included do all of our own maintenance so i sometimes forget. I did my own maintenance since 16 and on the 330's belts and water pump was not all that hard.

 

Hrmm so only 1 person has even talked about the Outlander, so is it safe to say that my two best choices are the RX300 and 330i?

Question, knowing that something expensive will happen around 100k, would that thing (Most epensive out of the norm repair I've read online about this specific car is the alternator replacement and uh interior electrionics) equate, or even negate the money i'd be saving gas wise? just a reminder the car will be driven 80-100 mixed miles a day.

 

My buddy has a 323i with 174k on it and not an issue yet...

 

The Lexus is by far the best choice here. They are more reliable than the BMW or the Mitsubishi. Like most here have said, the BMW will break your bank when it needs maintenance. Of the other two, the RX is a better, more reliable choice.

 

WAIT! Something just struck me... does the 330i req. premium only?

 

Well, the RX does.

 

No it doesnt.

 

 

RX330: "premium gasoline recommended for best performance," which is consistent with all Toyota V-6s that I know about (incl. RX300).
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...07/166546.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...1193146AAcDnJ1

 

My parents had a RX300. It ran on regular unleaded as far as I remember. My mother was thrilled about that because she was sick of filling up her old ls400 with premium.

I "think" but am not sure that her current rx400 is also regular unleaded.

 

remember everything you read online is 90% bad things about something.


my friends GF has a 330ci drives it like well a girl, the oil gets changes every 6months if that. she's running it in to the ground the way she drives. she's had it since 15k miles now over 140k and still running with no major issue's

 

recommended =/= required

Oh, and I'd get the RX for its better reliability

And yes, the 330's maintenance will negate any savings in fuel.... if something breaks. And something will break down the road. BMW parts are on the pricey side.

 

aackshun I think that you should really get that Accord.



03 Mitsu Outlander is probably the closest thing is that group.

A 9-yrs old Lexus can be expensive to maintain on the road. I wouldn't touch a 6 yrs-old 3-series with both depreciation and repairs costs.

 

I really wish there was an Accord option

But remember when I said if there was a 4th option, I'd take it? Well I lied because the 4th option is a GMC Envoy , I'm waiting till tuesday when the selection of cars will change.

 

Why are these the only choices? I would choose to not afford the BMW. You are wise to wait for more choices.

Some people think that $1000 service trips = no problem. Listen to the the biggest BMW fanboy on this thread.

Saintor - "I wouldn't touch a 6 yrs-old 3-series with both depreciation and repairs costs."

 

I'd buy one since i dont think the issues they do have are that bad.

But this kid is worried about gas mileage which makes me think he would be upset with a $500 repair bill if it ever came.

So yea, dont get the BMW then. Most dont have major issues but the little issues add up.

 

Like I said from the start.

 

I'll give another update come tues, atleast you guys answered part of my question....

 

I'm completely baffled by the choice of a coupe or a SUV. Especially when talking about fuel economy.

 

Why do you have to look at these cars cant you look at others as well?

 

I had two E46s: a 328 and a 330i. I have to admit that I completely fell in love and still miss my 330i to date, it was a small, very nimble and fairly powerful sedan. I had a manual transmission on mine, and it was a blast to drive. I have to admit that I even prefer the E46 sedans over the E90s, they looked so much better. From an enthusiast's point of view, I can only recommend it. One thing that is very true though, is that parts and repairs are not cheap as you know. Be prepared to spend if something goes wrong...if you cannot afford the maintenance, than it's not in your best interest to pick up a CPO Bimmer. Make sure you do your homework and verify the way it was maintained, either it was trashed or not, Carfax-it, take it to a BMW specialist. But as far as reliability goes, I find it's always about the car. You'll hear about horror stories, but I've rarely had problems with my 3 series...The guy who I sold the 330i to, still has it and told me he was around 124k. Out of the choices you gave, I certainly wouldn't get anything else.

 

If you're scared of maintenance and repair bills, the RX300 might be the better option. It runs well on regular. My sister has an 03 RX300, fills it up with regular from day 1 and we haven't even had a problem since. It's got 110k miles now. Toyota/Lexus independent shops and dealer technicians have been telling us that regular is OK. Her average mpg is 21 in the lifetime.

E46 BMW actually holds the resale value very well. However, things can easily go wrong on this car, although nothing will be major. If it's been maintained, the car will be OK. Besides 77k miles on a 3-series is nothing.

It has to drink premium gas though. Gas mileage is terrific if you drive a lot of freeway. My neighbor has a 2000 328i with 5-speed. It has about 140k miles now and he said it's been giving him 31 mpg for highway driving. If you're stuck in traffic though, the mileage goes down to about 21.

 

Well, thanks allot guys for the post, they really did give the BMW a second look (which would have NEVER happend), but since the car I'm getting has to be used by my mom a 5 speed just won't do (mom's lazy, she hated driving the maxima), so to keep things short and simple... my uncle got an Eclipse, and he's giving us the Diamante back (it was his car to start off with, which why in my sig it was labled as gone because he needed it back).


The Mighty D (Lets not talk about the John Deere...)

I would have probably loved the 330i until something broke down on me, but my mom just really wasn't too keen on the idea of driving another manual again (women.... ugh), either way now this lifts a GIGANTIC monkey off of my back, and NOW I get to finally start worrying about a car for me, and me only... (So now that accord is an option killercls)

Random question, doesn't have to be answered, I could google it but I'm lazy... Does Kansas have laws regarding exhaust? Because while I was up @ my school ALLOT of cars definitely were running without cats and mufflers.....