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1998 BMW 328i for $14,000 w/ 59K - Decent Price?

T

thawolfman

Lifer
This lady I work with has a metallic orangeish 328i that she's looking to sell within the next couple months. (4dr Sedan - Automatic)

I haven't really had a chance to check it out much yet aside from looking at the outside, but it seems to be in great condition, and it's only been serviced @ the dealership.

I haven't looked at a bluebook price on it yet (Gonna do it after this post) but I'm just trying to get an idea on what people think about this. Update - Blue Book is $16,450 w/ standard features - I don't know what options it has so I left em standard.

I currently drive a '92 Honda Prelude and have been looking to upgrade for awhile.

Thoughts/Comments/Etc are welcomed and encouraged! 😀

-Ben-

Edit: Link Fixed & Updated
 
My first thought is that you need to fix your link. My second thought is that metallic orange isn't my favorite color. My third? I think I'd personally prefer a 5 series...

😉
 
Originally posted by: Astaroth33
My first thought is that you need to fix your link. My second thought is that metallic orange isn't my favorite color. My third? I think I'd personally prefer a 5 series...

😉
Click to expand...

4th: I like cocoa.
 
1) Link Fixed 😛
2) The color's actually not that bad - Kinda unique IMO 😉 😀 :Q
3) Astaroth: Yeah maybe, but it doesn't sound too bad for what it is, eh? 😉
 
Originally posted by: z0mb13
328 is sweeet...

get it!

I have a 330 and I love it!!

but gas can be a problem, u have to use premium gas...
Click to expand...

when you're driving a bimmer, i don't think the type of gas you need really matters. 🙂
Drive a premium car, it comes with a premium price 😛
 
i say get it.. we bought a black '95 325i with 55k miles on it for $9500 about 2 years ago and it runs great... we had to get the dashboard changed, cost about $500 and that was the only problem it had...
 
Sounds good to me, and while I'd never personally buy an automatic if I could help it, that's a pretty nice price indeed. Just ask her what type of service history and all it's had; some bmw's seem to have a penchant for requiring lots of (expensive) work, while others are fine.
 
Yeah - I'm definitely leaning towards going for it, just need to figure out where I'm gonna come up with the cash...and I'd imagine insurance would cost a pretty penny too...:Q

Hopefully I can snag some pics of it next week while I'm at work, but I really don't mind the color - I haven't seen anyone in town w/ a red prelude, let alone a orange BMW 😀

I do think that a manual would be nice, but seeing as how I still haven't learned (Been bugging my father to teach me for years now) and that traffic is usually ass around here, I'll stick w/ the auto...

We shall see~ 🙂
 
Aside from my personal opinion that premium-brand cars are generally a waste of money, and for most people, represent poor financial planning, that sounds like a decent deal. You pretty much know the car has a good history, and having been serviced exclusively at the dealership, you know that it doesn't have a bunch of off-brand parts that might cause unnecessary problems later.

She wins by getting a little more than she would in a trade-in deal, and you win by getting fair price on a used car that's probably in great shape.
 
Originally posted by: Thegonagle
Aside from my personal opinion that premium-brand cars are generally a waste of money, and for most people, represent poor financial planning, that sounds like a decent deal. You pretty much know the car has a good history, and having been serviced exclusively at the dealership, you know that it doesn't have a bunch of off-brand parts that might cause unnecessary problems later.

She wins by getting a little more than she would in a trade-in deal, and you win by getting fair price on a used car that's probably in great shape.
Click to expand...


I agree~ 🙂

Can't wait for her to call me when she's ready to sell - She's looking into getting a new 5-Series, so hopefully she'll be ready soon....er actually I could use a little more time to save up some cash! 🙂

-Ben-
 
Heh that's funny I was looking at ~95-98 328s in the paper today. They had a few convertible ones and the prices didn't seem too bad. What would be the cons of buying a car like this (not specifically convertible, but older BMWs I mean)? Expensive to fix? Any others?
 
Originally posted by: rpc64
Heh that's funny I was looking at ~95-98 328s in the paper today. They had a few convertible ones and the prices didn't seem too bad. What would be the cons of buying a car like this (not specifically convertible, but older BMWs I mean)? Expensive to fix? Any others?
Click to expand...

http://www.alldata.com/TSB/06/98067733.html

Found that, and aside from service and premium gas being expensive I really can't find anything else - Although I don't know what it'll do to my insurance~ 😕
 
Yeah I'm looking at older cars right now because I need something that won't kill me in insurance. I wanted to buy a new car but it would be like $400 a month. I'm trying to think of some older cars that are cool and won't be quite so high in insurance. I really don't know what BMWs are like for insurance.
 
Looks like a good deal. I particularly :heart: that Avus Blue E36 in GtPrOjEcTX's link. 😉

There are a few things to look for on a used E36 M3 before purchasing (suspension-wise esp.), particularly one equipped w/a manual. I'd say that it's pretty safe to say that a 328 w/auto has probably (hopefully) avoided the stresses associated w/repeated autocrossing. If you do purchase this or a similar car as in the above links, and as I've heard countless new E36 (1992-1999) BMW owners advised on BF.com, make replacing the plastic thermostat housing a priority before 80k miles. Some folks say the original stock housing is brittle and prone to breaking over time. I wouldn't want to have that thing bust on the freeway and be coolant-less for any significant period of time .

One other thing, though---don't ever drive one afterwards w/stick. You'll miss it (even in traffic). Plus, the cost of an auto -> manual swap is somewhat prohibitive too even if you get a good deal on parts & labor ($1500-2000). So make sure you're going to be enjoying what you're getting over the long-run as the car will probably remain an automatic 'til insurance 'total' do you part. 😉

BTW, I learned manual on mine... while at the dealership. 🙂
 
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