BMW 3 series Why so cheap?

Nothing wrong with the E46...the diesel is a great car and goes on forever..EXCEPT....swirlflaps!..if you buy one make sure they've been blanked off :thumbs:
 
Google................BMW 3 series in the snow :lol::lol::lol:
 
BMW in the snow....nothing 4 bags of gravel in the boot won't fix :D
 
ronnus said:
Heh! :D I clearly just have very low standards (and have owned a couple of vRS's, lots of fast for much cheapness :thumbs:)

And they go forever with no maintenance, as many a minicab driver will testify!
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My mate had a black VRS, nice clean car, remapped the engine etc he loved it, until one fateful night he got hailed as a taxi twice. He sold it about a week later. :D
 
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Tony - this is just another car thread where everyone is desperately keen to tell you what THEY bought! First question for your needs is, what mileage do you do a year?
 
My hearts set on a series 3 bmw.. gonna spend around 2k plus my astra which is worth about 4 quid

seen some low (relative) milage ones. dont want silver or red... looking for dark blue or somehting.. 1.8l sounds about right.. dont want 2l or above

hearts set on it now... gonna have to be done :)
 
Yves Geza said:
Tony - this is just another car thread where everyone is desperately keen to tell you what THEY bought! First question for your needs is, what mileage do you do a year?
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its more about a treat for me.. i know its gonna cost more to run than the astra.. but ....hehehe :)
 
Yves Geza said:
Tony - this is just another car thread where everyone is desperately keen to tell you what THEY bought! First question for your needs is, what mileage do you do a year?
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But of a silly comment that. I haven't bought a BMW, (I actually own a Renault Clio tourer as it simply suits my run about needs). I advised based on experience, and the fact I've almost driven almost everything on the mainstream market thanks to my job and its links, and from what I gather are the OPs needs.
 
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KIPAX said:
its more about a treat for me.. i know its gonna cost more to run than the astra.. but ....hehehe :)
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I'd go for the 320 diesel if you can. Plenty of power even in the E36 type which you've been looking at (i only say 'even' because its two generations behind the new 3 series, but theres absolutely nothing wrong with that!). A bit more upfront to buy on average, but they go on for longer, are quicker and cost less to run!
 
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Fine. So looks like you're looking for a perfectly sensible 318 petrol rather than the more economical but more desirable therefore more expensive to buy and inherently more expensive to maintain 4 cylinder diesel.

Incidentally, don't rule out small six-cylinder cars at that price. They're a bit unfashionable because of emissions and road fund licence but they're slightly nicer to drive and around the £2k mark you're marginally more likely to find the proverbial "well looked after rich man's wife's car"



ETA - two more posts appeared while I was typing that which disagree with my suggestions.
 
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Yves Geza said:
Fine. So looks like you're looking for a perfectly sensible 318 petrol rather than the more economical but more desirable therefore more expensive to buy and inherently more expensive to maintain 4 cylinder diesel.

Incidentally, don't rule out small six-cylinder cars at that price. They're a bit unfashionable because of emissions and road fund licence but they're slightly nicer to drive and around the £2k mark you're marginally more likely to find the proverbial "well looked after rich man's wife's car"
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Why is a 320d more expensive to maintain? Taken to the right place, it's all relative. It also depends what goes wrong with it. Add to that the Diesel engined BMWs are more reliable than their 4 cylinder petrol counterparts, and they go on for a lot longer. When you're looking at a car with a few years and miles under its belt, that's a very important factor.
 
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-ca...es-323i-se-4dr-manchester-fpa-201303306029146

FSH on above. Cheap as chips and old tax regime so you pay for engine size and is flat £210 or so.

Full hairdresser convertible:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-ca...w-3-series-318i-2dr-derby-fpa-201302085260826

Only a 1.6 but 2002.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-ca...s-318ti-se-3dr-nottingham-fpa-201302225452807

This is a high mile 1.6 at a trade place but it is a 2004 so younger than most you'd get for £2k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-ca...316i-se-16v-4dr-rotherham-fpa-201303255937657
 
Laudrup said:
My mate had a black VRS, nice clean car, remapped the engine etc he loved it, until one fateful night he got hailed as a taxi twice. He sold it about a week later. :D
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Heh! :D Brilliant! I have to admit to picking up my wife and some friends in Edinburgh City centre in my MK1 vRS, they were running late so a gaggle of drunk girls knocked my windows and asked if I was their taxi. I said no but muttered under my breath something about going home at 140MPH ;-)
 
Spuff said:
Blimey! It's not often you see the words "treat" and "Octavia" in the same sentence :D
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Superb would be a little upgrade, as nice as A6 (as Audi admits themselves) for less and more headspace

P.S. I didn't buy this car, but it could be my next (4x4 diesel estate)
 
i have owned a lot of bmws over the years the likes of europarts stock most service items what i will say is its german and when they go wrong they go wrong big time a lot wont touch them now as with ins companys charging a small fortune to insure 1 if you go for 1 get the name of the service garage and phone them just to make sure it has been serviced there the amount of cars over the years i have seen with fake (mickey mouse) as wee call it service history
 
KIPAX said:
My hearts set on a series 3 bmw.. gonna spend around 2k plus my astra which is worth about 4 quid

seen some low (relative) milage ones. dont want silver or red... looking for dark blue or somehting.. 1.8l sounds about right.. dont want 2l or above

hearts set on it now... gonna have to be done :)
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Remember the 3 series is a fairly heavy motor, the 1.8 engine has to work hard to shift it about.

I really would recommend at the bare minimum getting a 318.

While the stats may suggest the 316 is more economical in reality if you want to enjoy the car you will want a bit more poke. Economy wise there is actually not much in it between the the 1.8 & 2.0 4 cyl and the 2.2 6cyl engines. On a run I used to return an enjoyable about 34mpg from my 325ci (318 drivers don't get that much more...) and now I get a dullard 36mpg from my 1.8 mondeo. Guess what, I'm buying another 6cyl E46 soon...
 
ronnus said:
I'll apologise in advance for dullness.

Octavia.

There, I said it :thumbs:
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Nothing wrong with Octavias, plenty with 250K plus on the clock. We bought ours with 90K.
It is a 1.9 TDi and does 50+MPG all the time, nearly 60MPG on a run.
 
I have been out on a job tonight but the wifes been checking stuff for me... the insurance is 200 quid more which I would expect... didnt realise how the tax system works though.. that was a bit of a shock ..well over 200 quid to tax ..

getting a little confused with numbers now? i mean the car version numbers.. 316 320 ect...erk
 
2002 onwards...

316 - 1.8l 4cyl
318 - 2.0l 4cyl
320 - 2.2l 6cyl
323 - 2.5l 6cyl
325 - 2.5l 6cyl
328 - 2.8l 6cyl
330 - 3.0l 6cyl

320d - 2.0l 4cyl
330d - 2.9l 6cyl

Pre 2002 the 316 and 318 both had 1.9l petrol engines, but the output of the 316 was 105hp vs the 118hp of the 318.

Edit, oh - and pre 2000 the 320 was a 6cyl 2.0 engine not 2.2...
 
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Spuff said:
Blimey! It's not often you see the words "treat" and "Octavia" in the same sentence :D
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VW group have reportedly spent a billon euro on developing complete integration across the brand range. Toyota, Nissan and others have stated they are way behind in parts interagation.

A Skoda is a Golf is an Audi, under the skin they use the very same identical parts, your paying for body styling and brand name, mechanically from now on they will be identical.

VW are aiming for just 3 platforms across the whole group .


Somebody say about BMW 3 price being relative to supply and demand, this is very true, the 3 series is the most common car in Europe, if you want a bit of exclusivity then buy a ford mondeo, far fewer about.
 
That looks a nice specimen for the money.

Same facelift and only difference is my 2.2 M roadster has bigger wheels, wder low profile tyres and the arches are meatier. (6 Cylindrer engine)

Its a load of fun but small inside (def 2 seater) and tiny boot. A real fun car! Certainly not a family workhorse!!!

S
 
andy700 said:
Everyone who loves cars should own an Alfa Romeo at some point in their life.
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When I win the lottery I'll buy a Guilietta Sprint Veloce or Sprint Speciale. Not before, they are rather rare and expensive, what with being 50 or so years old now.
 
Mikesphotaes said:
I was thinking of another BMW (last one, 528i, went nearly 130K), was advised by a mechanic friend that the diesels have a tendency to jump timing chains and have something wrong with their crankshaft design.
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Thats a specific model engine.

The N47 engine does have issues, but is much newer than we are talking here. If you get the older M47 then it doesnt do this (at least I've not heard of one - the N47 I know of around 30 that have done it)
 
admirable said:
Google................BMW 3 series in the snow :lol::lol::lol:
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My bmw is better than 4*4s in the snow. This year I went past a few chelsea tractors that coudlnt move. :D:D:D

Depends partly on the driver and partly on the tyres (and a bag of sand in the boot)
 
barneyrubble said:
My bmw is better than 4*4s in the snow. This year I went past a few chelsea tractors that coudlnt move. :D:D:D

Depends partly on the driver and partly on the tyres (and a bag of sand in the boot)
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My Audi had some trouble in the snow. 4wd good, ESP ("Electronic stability program") bad. It kept putting the brakes on when one wheel span making progress impossible - destroying the momentum of the vehicle every time a wheel momentarily lost traction made it more likely to get stuck :(. I learned to turn the ESP off and it was fine after that.

If I could find a set of steel wheels in the right size I'd leave the snow tyres fitted to them, but I'm not paying 60 quid twice a year to get the swapped on the off chance there's a day of snow, so I don't.
 
acetone said:
VW group have reportedly spent a billon euro on developing complete integration across the brand range. Toyota, Nissan and others have stated they are way behind in parts interagation.

A Skoda is a Golf is an Audi, under the skin they use the very same identical parts, your paying for body styling and brand name, mechanically from now on they will be identical.
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This simply isn't true. There are bigger differences than styling and name that affect the price. They differ on the quality of materials and the factories where they are built and general mechanics which differ greatly from Skoda to Audi and right up to Bugatti. The finish and quality of interiors and exteriors is also massively different across the brands. My last 2 cars have been Audi A3s, before that I've owned golfs and I've also spent lengthy time with both Skodas and Seat. There are huge differences in finish, driving and build quality. A Skoda is simply nowhere near an Audi.

The MB program is about saving money on the key components of the chassis. It's revolutionary for the auto industry. It means two very different cars could share similar chassis design. The new golf and A3 feel very different to drive and hugely different to sit in despite both being based on the MQB platform . The A3 interior alone is more than worth the small (I did the sums) premium.

Key components of the chassis could be the same design across everything from Skoda to Porsche over the next few years but this doesn't translate as "my Skoda Octavia is basically a Porsche 911" even though fundamental parts of their key components will be similar or the same design.

In camera terms its like saying that a Nikon D4 is the same as a Nikon d600 because they share some parts and come from the same company. Or that two houses are the same because they have the same foundations.
 
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onomatopoeia said:
When I win the lottery I'll buy a Guilietta Sprint Veloce or Sprint Speciale. Not before, they are rather rare and expensive, what with being 50 or so years old now.
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That would be because they rusted away.:thumbs:
 
KIPAX said:
I have been out on a job tonight but the wifes been checking stuff for me... the insurance is 200 quid more which I would expect... didnt realise how the tax system works though.. that was a bit of a shock ..well over 200 quid to tax ..

getting a little confused with numbers now? i mean the car version numbers.. 316 320 ect...erk
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first digit: 3,5,7 etc, denotes the series
next 2 digits, e.g. 16, denotes the engine size. So, 316 is a 3 series with a 1600cc engine, 316i is petrol, fuel injected. That applies to most models, but not to the 540, which has a bigger engine than the 4 litre indicated by 540.

What people are saying is that the 316 or 318 may be underpowered with their 1600 or 1800cc engines. In my limited experience, I would agree with that.
 
Garry Edwards said:
first digit: 3,5,7 etc, denotes the series
next 2 digits, e.g. 16, denotes the engine size. So, 316 is a 3 series with a 1600cc engine, 316i is petrol, fuel injected. That applies to most models, but not to the 540, which has a bigger engine than the 4 litre indicated by 540.

What people are saying is that the 316 or 318 may be underpowered with their 1600 or 1800cc engines. In my limited experience, I would agree with that.
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Not quite accurate, as confusingly a 318 is a 2 litre and the 320 is a 2.2!
 
The engines are complicated further than that Garry. Take the current car for instance. The 316, 318, and 320 all have the SAME diesel engine tuned to different levels for reasons of efficiency/emmisions/performance. Dunno about the current car but the 318i and 320i had the same engine during the E90 generation.

The current 318D has an incredible engine - the perfect blend of economy and and performance. I very nearly bought one this year but I couldn't face owning another RWD BMW and the xdrive models were out of my budget. The current 3 is as close to perfection in an exec saloon as possible with current tech imo
 
Its hard work I know that.. was almost set for a 320d for the fuel... can get them for just over 2k with around 90k on clock.. seems good for a diesel that price..

I want to make a decision on model.. they all look good so its just whats best... as looks are ticked then the only other thing is best for fuel.. am i right in thinking from all the models that the 320d will be best for fuel.. ? I do a mixture of town and mways but not hundreds on myway anymore

got a mega full weekends work so gonna revisit the whole ideas after weekend.. looking to buy next week so need to make a decision.. its not important to buy next week.. but no reason not to :)
 
PS appreciate all the help and advice so far.. it really has been important and helpful ..truly..
 
Sounds silly coming from a young person such as myself, I'm 21 and my first car was an e34 BMW 520i.

I had driven alot of other cars whilst learning, all front wheel drive and when I saw this pop up for £500 on fleabay. I thought whats the worst that could go wrong.

It was on 86k, no tax or MOT. hence the cheap price, I had it taxed for 6 months and then had a family discount on an MOT. Never broke down. Not a single thing went wrong with it. There we're no faults to begin with, other than the electric window on the drivers side taking a little while to go down.

I absolutely loved that car, amazing on the motorway and if you we're careful you could get 45mpg. I lost my job and could no longer afford to insure it. (Wasn't even that expensive, £800)

Have a look at something like that! I'd avoid an Audi 80 though, a friend of mine bought one because it was £300 on auto trader and all the electrics failed within 1000 miles.

What about a Mk2 golf or something like that? Mk2 and Mk3 golfs?
 
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