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best older bmw for ~$10k
Hello, I recently totaled my Honda Accord and have around $10k to purchase a new vehicle. I've always wanted a BMW and considering I will probably only use this car for 3-4 years maximum, I want something fun. Before when purchasing the honda, reliability was a great concern but now I'm not looking for it to run forever. I want to drive a manual even though I don't know how yet so what would be the best choice? I was thinking a mid-ninety's 3 series?
| | Reply » best older bmw for ~$10k |
E30 325is or 318is.
Buy one for ~$2,500, then spend the rest of your $7,500 on fixing it.
Whatever you buy, set aside at least $3,000 for maintenance in the next 2 years. I guarantee your:
Radiator
Thermostat
Water pump
Fuel pump
O2 sensor
Clutch
Brakes
End stage resistor
Any of the above or combination of the above will breakdown in the period of time you're thinking of owning the car. And this isn't limited to BMWs, it's just cars over or near 10 years old and 120,000+ miles will tend to have these items go bad. And if you're budget is $10,000 those will be the numbers you'd be looking at.
| | Reply » best older bmw for ~$10k |
The issue is how much you want to budget for repairs. You can buy extended warranties through many different sources (pentagon federal credit union) etc. which can cover major failures. If spending $5000 over the next four years in repair is not an issue for you, go ahead and get a bimmer. I would say go for a 2000 3series. Look for either low miles and buy a warranty, or a car with all service records available. High milage bimmers may have many of the commonly failing parts already fixed. If the previous owners did the work, you then have a car which will go another 100K miles.
| | Reply » best older bmw for ~$10k |
95-96 E36 325is, 328is coupe 5speed. And yeah set aside about $3k for maintence.
| | Reply » best older bmw for ~$10k |
Quote: E30 325is or 318is.
Buy one for ~$2,500, then spend the rest of your $7,500 on fixing it.
Whatever you buy, set aside at least $3,000 for maintenance in the next 2 years. I guarantee your:
Radiator
Thermostat
Water pump
Fuel pump
O2 sensor
Clutch
Brakes
End stage resistor
Any of the above or combination of the above will breakdown in the period of time you're thinking of owning the car. And this isn't limited to BMWs, it's just cars over or near 10 years old and 120,000+ miles will tend to have these items go bad. And if you're budget is $10,000 those will be the numbers you'd be looking at. | Radiator - $165
Thermostat - $30
Water pump - $53
O2 Sensor - $85 x 2 = $170
Clutch - $210
Brakes - $Depends
Final Stage Resistor - $60
Total cost of parts - ~$900-1100 (depends on the brakes you buy)
Don't forget control arms/ball joints, control arm bushings, trailing arm bushings, wheel bearings, and so on. Then there are the standard maintenance items - spark plugs, oil, coolant flushes, air filters...but these things would cost you regardless of the car's age (I'm fairly fanatical about mechanical upkeep so I've always done them myself rather than trust the dealership to do it under the maintenance warranty).
$3000 is a reasonable estimate if you're going to pay to have the work done. You'll probably spend about half of that if you're a reasonably competent DIYer. And once most of these things are replaced/repaired, they're good for at least another 6 years. I did a lot of research on this when my 323i went out of warranty 20 months ago. I was considering swapping it for a newer 3er with warranty. 330 perhaps, maybe even an E90. However, the numbers don't add up - it would cost me at least 16-17k to get into an E90 325, and it would probably take 20 years to spend that much in repairs and maintenance on the E46, even if my subframe gives out at some point. For a daily beater? Forget it. Much cheaper (right now) to keep the aging E46 and give it what it needs. I figure I'll get at least three or four years of relatively repair free life out of this car (to about 100k mileage) before a large rash of replacements is needed.
It's not the parts that get you - it's the labor.  All of the items you've listed are fairly easy DIY repairs save the clutch, which you can probably have done for $400 at a decent independent shop. Generally, anything that doesn't involve lifting/jacking the car should only be considerably moderately difficult at worst, as it probably won't involve any heavy mechanical work.
| | Reply » best older bmw for ~$10k |
My 1997 528i with 56k miles and excellent condition was $11450. You can find E39 5er's (1997-2003) for this price usually with around 80K miles. Also, you can get E38 7er's (1995-2002) for a similar price and similar miles. You have to be careful though, because maintence bills can add up really fast in an improperly maintained car though. I got new headlights, $600, Wheel Bearing $350, Belts and idler pulleys, $250 all before it got on the road. They are such great great cars that they justify the price though 
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best older bmw for ~$10k