A Used BMW

[skulkingghost]

Alright so its time I got a new car, I have been driving a 95 Buick Park Avenue Ultra for the last year + since my dad didnt want to drive it because he bought it back when his back was hurting and it was a killer on gas, so when my bro went away to college he decided to start driving his civic back and forth to work. So long story short bro switched campus' and is now commuting so he too his civic back, my dad took his car back (the buick) cause his back is acting up again) and my mom has her corolla. And I, working a full time job saving money for college starting in september now need a car. Now my budget is under 3000$

Ive looked at alot of cars and currently have my sights set on this BMW
http://media.vehix.com/sellers/99/10160810/wbacb4312nff92265_000001.jpg

Its a 1992 BMW 325I with 130k on the odometer.

Heres what I think
First I am taking the car to a fourth party (ill explain) mechanic. The car has been serviced by the getty station up the street from me. The guy at the getty station has worked on the bmw before and vouches for its excellence in service records. They also have all past service records. However I am takign it to my usual mechanic to get one last opinion before I pay for the car, he will throw it up on the lift and take a look and give me his honest opinion.

the car is going for 3200, I am goign to offer him 2600 (which I think he will agree to) with the money saved I am taking it to a mechanic to get the following done:
-Replace all Fluids and Belts
(the car has been sitting for a year and rarely driven inspection was last

-The car is missing one Rim so I will replace that

-The driver and passenger front windows you have to hit the button and keep clicking it to get the window to go down (could this be a motor, or perhaps something electrical)

-There was a slight smell when I first started the car however once I got it started I figured it was jsut from the evaporated gas since it had been sitting since i didnt smell it again.

-The body is perfect the engine sounds great and there is no rust or scratches whatsoever.

-Im also looking for good deals on angels eyes/halogen kits and clear corners if anyone knows a good place for parts let me know. Im currently cruising autowerks.

-The interior leather is a bit spidered (no big deal) and the bottom of the seats are black due to dirt from the seat of the pants (I work at a detailing shop I can get it out no problem, a good vaccum and wax and this car will look brand new)

Im wondering what you people think of this plan to ensure its a good car, and any suggestions you may have for maintenence and upkeep. This is a good deal right if everythign works out? I figure the car will probably last me another 100k miles if I baby it.

 

[DainBramaged]

Personally, if I wanted a car that I thought was going to last me another 100k miles or so, I'd look for a 92-97ish Nissan Maxima for around that price and not mess around with the potentially higher costs of a BMW.

 

[swtethan]

be sure to paint the plastic

angel eyes and clear corners, but black bumpers? noooooo

 

[Colt45]

forget fluids, worry more about timing belt and clutch et al. stuff that costs money. err i think that engine is chain actually..

Thats got the aluminum I6 w/o sleeves right, just the silicon something or other coating?

 

[skulkingghost]

no clutch its automatic. And Swetethan would you recommed an all white look or all black, im thinking all white at the moment, how much would it cost to paint?

I have no idea what the aluminum l6 is sorry my knowledge of cars only goes so far.

 

[daveymark]

get ready to spend some money on maintainence. Hope you have some deep pockets

 

[Captante]

If what you are looking for is reliable transportation with minimal hassle I strongly suggest you look at a different car... a 1992 BMW of any kind is a potential money-pit of epic proportions no matter what kind of shape its in & this one sounds like it has some electrical issues which can be a total nightmare to fix even if you enjoy that sort of thing.

If you were a mechanic and/or had plenty of money to spend I'd still advise you to steer clear of this particular model which is one of the less desireable BMW's for many reasons. If you want a cheap fixer-upper BMW I'd look for an older, faster, better handeling & FAR less complex 320i/318i with a 5-speed transmission, but again unless you want a project on your hands you should avoid any european car from those years except maybe a VW. Also I don't know the guy at your local Getty, but I can tell you from painful experience that most mechanics can't be trusted with a BMW, Volvo, Saab or any other higher end European car and there are most likely problems resulting from improper repair & use of none-factory parts that he's not even aware of.

For the amount of money you seem to want to spend you should be thinking about somthing like the Maxima DB mentioned or a slightly newer mid-sized American car instead. Either one will be much more reliable & in particular the American car will have far cheaper parts, plus can be worked on easily by just about anyone, while the 325i you are considering is going to need lots of expensive TLC, if not right away, then very soon & it'll be an ongoing thing ... do yourself a big favor & keep shopping, theres much better choices out there.

 

[swtethan]

all white or black is your choice, I like all black but the paint job could cost more than the car... or you could just paint the bumper and trim all white, which would be much less expensive.

 

[Black88GTA]

Do you know why the rim is missing? If the previous owner for example nailed a curb / pothole hard enough to damage the rim, threw away the evidence, and then slapped the spare on, there could also be hidden suspension damage.

If you are mechanically inclined and can work on it yourself if it is required, I'd still possibly consider it. However, BMW parts aren't cheap, and the Euros tend to make the cars impossible to work on. If something relatively major comes up (~$1k+ repair, for example) can you afford to take care of it or be without a car until you can? If you are stretching your budget as it is just to pay the purchase price, I'd look at other cars - namely mid - late '90s domestics. Repairs are tons cheaper, parts availability is a lot better, mechanics are more familiar with them, and you can get a much newer car with fewer miles on it due to poor resale values.

That said, I recently purchased a 1994 BMW 840Ci myself, and mine has been pretty good - although, it has needed a fuel pump and valve cover gaskets replaced so far. Part of the problem was that the previous owner never drove it (he put about 2000 - 3000 miles on it in 3 years) so little things kind of went bad from sitting. In contrast, I've put ~6000 miles on it in 5 months.

 

[Sluggo]

Please check the prices listed in this thread and ask yourself if a used BMW is going to be inexpensive basic transportation.

Shop for a used Maxima or Accord

 

[makken]

This is coming from a guy who drives a '97 BMW 328is w /158k miles as a daily:

-definately get it checked by a mechanic, if you can find a mechanic that specializes in european cars, even better.

-research major problems with that model, and check for them - the only major one I can remember off the top of my head for an E36 BMW is the dreaded subframe coming apart.

-If she was well taken care of, and if you take care of her well, then she'll be as reliable as any other car you could consider.

-Know where to find parts for her, so you won't get ripped off on prices (this is where the high maintaince costs usually come from... seriously, I once ran a price quote at the local BMW dealership: $2.00 per screw, $1.50 per nut... FFS just go to home depot / ACE hardware)

I suggest you ask the E36 guys at www.bimmerforums.com - they hold a wealth of information.
I also suggest you look through http://www.bimmerdiy.com/e36 - very helpful site if you plan to work on the car yourself, or if you just want to get familar with its insides. I'll also suggest you invest in a bentley manual.

I abhor angel eyes on E36s (they just don't look right to me), but if you must, check out http://www.umnitza.com/ a bit on the expensive side though.

-you'll have a blast with that car.

 

[Aimster]

I got my BMW with around 85,000 miles on it. It has around 95,000 miles on it now.

I've had no problems, but I can tell you driving 150 miles today scares me. The transmission sometimes likes to give me a kick. Replacing the transmission would cost me 5-7k, but I got extended warranty. No warranty and I wouldnt have touched this car at all.

 

[SuperSix]

Ack.. Bad choice. With the $$$ left over, buy yourself a bicycle - you're gonna need it.

Especially since it's been sitting for a year.

 

[lightpants]

Save the money you were going to spend on this:

-Im also looking for good deals on angels eyes/halogen kits and clear corners if anyone knows a good place for parts let me know. Im currently cruising autowerks.

And put it somewhere safe, to use for cab fare.

 

[JetsFanatic]

Go here for specific questions on your model

I have an 1986 325es with 230k

:camera:

 

[JulesMaximus]

Two words: Money Pit

/thread

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
no clutch its automatic. And Swetethan would you recommed an all white look or all black, im thinking all white at the moment, how much would it cost to paint?

I have no idea what the aluminum l6 is sorry my knowledge of cars only goes so far.

Has the tranny been replaced yet? Because that is a sealed unit and they tend to last about 100k miles before they need to be replaced. That's $3k right there...$5k if you take it to a BMW dealer for a new unit.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

BMW is an abbreviation - it stands for Broke My Wallet.

Get another Civic.

Edit - The only sights that should be set on that BMW are pictured here.

- M4H

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Captante: a 1992 BMW of any kind is a potential money-pit of epic proportions no matter what kind of shape its in & this one sounds like it has some electrical issues which can be a total nightmare to fix even if you enjoy that sort of thing.

M4H: Get another Civic.

Listen to them, they're right. You're saving up for college, not the time to be driving a BMW for most people. As with anything else, you get what you pay for.

 

[skulkingghost]

ok so any suggestions for a nice good loking car (sporty preferably) manual or automatic under 4k around the zipcode 19382? or should I make a new thread.

Also UPDATE:
Mechanic says it needs about 2k worth of work and that if i could offer the guy 1500 and do the repairs for 2k id have a bargain anyone agree?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
ok so any suggestions for a nice good loking car (sporty preferably) manual or automatic under 4k around the zipcode 19382? or should I make a new thread.

Also UPDATE:
Mechanic says it needs about 2k worth of work and that if i could offer the guy 1500 and do the repairs for 2k id have a bargain anyone agree?

no, you wouldn't. it would need another 2k of work next year.

go get a maxima or an accord.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: daveymark
get ready to spend some money on maintainence. Hope you have some deep pockets

Quoted for truth. They are very expensive to maintain and part prices are horrendous. Is it worth having to pay 2 or 3 times as much for maintenance and parts to drive a 15 year old Beemer? It WILL get old and you'll be wishing you had a Honda or Toyota.

 

[purbeast0]

id I had around 3K to spend on a car and was in your situation going from a 95 buick, I would probably get like a late 90's honda civic or accord over a 92 bmw. that car is going to give you nothing but problems and already has a shltload of miles on it.

 

[skulkingghost]

I hear you guys as i said before anybody see deals around the zipcode 19382 for under 4k. Im searching vehics autotrader craigslist and cars.com

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: skulkingghost
I hear you guys as i said before anybody see deals around the zipcode 19382 for under 4k. Im searching vehics autotrader craigslist and cars.com

you'd be the coolest kid in school

anything broken would be cheap to fix, and i believe this is the last year of forged internals

max