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Help Finding a "True" First Car

R

RavenSEAL

Diamond Member
There is something about BMWs that just strikes me, I just really want one...BUT, in my current position, money is a factor.

I'm currently a college student that's somewhat dependent on loans and grants, but I have a part time job that's about 11-12K year. I have a good credit score right now thanks to a well managed CC.

Here are the things I'm looking for:

Purchase Time Frame
Start/Mid-January

Area
Tampa/St.Pete/Orlando [FL]

Price range
4-6K USD
2K Down
Everything else financed through dealer/bank until Financial Aid/Tax Return comes in.
Trying to keep it under $100/month.

Year
2000+

Millage
-100K if possible. Anything below 120K should be OK.

Looks
-Not like my Grandma would drive.
-Coupe would be nice but open to Sedans
-Sporty, seriously.
-I live in Florida, so a convertible would be nice.
-Semi-Modern

Gas Efficiency
Not a V8/Humvee. 30MPGish would be nice.

Maintenance Cost
Relatively affordable

What seems to be fitting
MX-5 Miata

Open To
Not looking like my grandma

Any help is appreciated it, I've been working 40hrs/week over the past two weeks and haven't had the time to look for much. I know asking with so many specifications is difficult, but if anyone can donate any of their free time, I'd really appreciate it.

If I do end up buying one that someone list here for me, I can always "donate" a small finder's fee. 😉
 
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"I will most likely be putting around 8K on a loan."
"I'm currently a college student that's heavily dependent on loans and grants"

Very bad financial decision in my opinion.
 
sniperruff said:
"I will most likely be putting around 8K on a loan."
"I'm currently a college student that's heavily dependent on loans and grants"

Very bad financial decision in my opinion.
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Well, that's why I'm trying to see what I can get with what I have to work with. I'm hoping for a good tax refund to payoff the majority of that loan.

Right now I'm living within campus, so you can pretty much put 80% of that "heavy" into housing/meals. I plan to move back home (Yes, home) for the remaining two years of my major. So that'll go away for the most part.
 
You can't afford the maintenance. The car will be fine for a while and then it will break, you will park it because you can't afford the 3K repair bill but you'll still be making the payments on it and be stuck. Take the 2K you have, save 2K more and buy a 4K car that has a reliable reputation: Accord, Camry, Crown Vic, etc. When you finish school and have a higher paying job, save your money and buy a BMW then. They'll still be here in a few years, they aren't going anywhere. 🙂

Good luck.

BTW, despite what you may think, that Bimmer ain't gonna get your knob polished or make you a rock star at school. Take some advice from an old guy. It only works with NEW Bimmers. 🙂
 
They aren't *that* terrible if you're willing to lookup, diagnose, and do minor repairs on your own. I would say they're a decent first car.


That being said, 8k loan on 10k bmw for first car is a bad idea.


I bet you could find a half decent beemer for $3k though.. I'd be prepared to put some time into it, but it could be fun if done right.
 
SpatiallyAware said:
They aren't *that* terrible if you're willing to lookup, diagnose, and do minor repairs on your own. I would say they're a decent first car.


That being said, 8k loan on 10k bmw for first car is a bad idea.


I bet you could find a half decent beemer for $3k though.. I'd be prepared to put some time into it, but it could be fun if done right.
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Mechanical aptitude (can't buy this) plus tools and facilities make this a tall order to fill, not to mention time. The guy already works and goes to school (awesome, by the way, more students should work). Having a fix'er upper isn't a terrible idea for a car but just the cost of parts on Bimmer are outrageous, even if he does the work and that doesn't include tools or facilities.
 
Luxury car, luxury maintenance. That's all I've got to say. They're okay cars. Just if anything goes wrong, it will be expensive to fix. Even the oil changes can be pricey. IIRC, they do take synthetic. They also take premium gas.

You can't afford that car with what you make.

IMO, you should get yourself a good quality daily driver while in college. Pick up something reliable like a Civic or Corolla.
 
I think everyone's already mentioned that it's a terrible idea. And I concur. What I say next is assuming that you have understood all this and will still go ahead and buy a BMW even if it is a bad financial decision at this point in your life.

You can find affordable daily driver BMWs that have been well maintained. You just need to look hard.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

I still think it's a bad idea - especially since you're going to end up financing 80% of the cost of the car. You might get lucky and not have to spend anything on the car aside from consumables (oils, filters, etc) for the next 2 years. Or you might end up shelling out 3-4k to fix major issues which you can't foresee. Could go either ways.
 
satyajitmenon said:
I think everyone's already mentioned that it's a terrible idea. And I concur. What I say next is assuming that you have understood all this and will still go ahead and buy a BMW even if it is a bad financial decision at this point in your life.

You can find affordable daily driver BMWs that have been well maintained. You just need to look hard.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

I still think it's a bad idea - especially since you're going to end up financing 80% of the cost of the car. You might get lucky and not have to spend anything on the car aside from consumables (oils, filters, etc) for the next 2 years. Or you might end up shelling out 3-4k to fix major issues which you can't foresee. Could go either ways.
Click to expand...

Damn, those are all really nice D:

But yeah, I figured a 3 series would be too much for me... 🙁

My biggest issue is I don't wanna look my Grandma driving a Camry. If I'm gonna spend my hard earned money on a car, I want it to be at least nice and sportish.
 
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1. Finish school with as few student loans as possible
2. Get a decent paying job
3. Save a bit of money for emergencies
4. Save more for used Bimmer
5. ?
6. Profit!

There are a bunch of things I "want" but cannot afford. Hell, there are a bunch of things I want and can afford, but choose to spend the money elsewhere. But you can't afford a car like that just yet, be patient and do things right and you'll thank yourself later.
 
SearchMaster said:
1. Finish school with as few student loans as possible
2. Get a decent paying job
3. Save a bit of money for emergencies
4. Save more for used Bimmer
5. ?
6. Profit!

There are a bunch of things I "want" but cannot afford. Hell, there are a bunch of things I want and can afford, but choose to spend the money elsewhere. But you can't afford a car like that just yet, be patient and do things right and you'll thank yourself later.
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While I fully understand what you're saying, I still need to get a car.

I'm not sure whether this applies to this line of 3 series, but I rather buy something expensive and fine rather than something cheap and disposable.
 
Oh, and assuming you have $2K to put toward a car, you can get a decent car at that price. I paid $2K for my current car, and in 17 months I've put well over 40K miles on it, and put just a few hundred bucks into repairs and maintenance (lessee, $70 O2 sensor, $70 FP relay, $10 headlight, $5 turn signal bulb, $50 rear brake discs and pads, and 6-7 oil changes). And it looks and runs very nice for its age.
 
RavenSEAL said:
Damn, those are all really nice D:

But yeah, I figured a 3 series would be too much for me... 🙁

My biggest issue is I don't wanna look my Grandma driving a Camry. If I'm gonna spend my hard earned money on a car, I want it to be at least nice and sportish.
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There are better & cheaper daily drivers that fit the bill at your price point. You can get a BMW later once you're done with college and have a better job.

For now, just buy a reliable daily driver like a ford focus or something. It won't break the bank and won't (hopefully) break down either. 😛

You have plenty of time to join the Official BMW DoucheBag Club later in life. We're not about to change our membership process and secret handshake anytime soon. 😉
 
satyajitmenon said:
There are better & cheaper daily drivers that fit the bill at your price point. You can get a BMW later once you're done with college and have a better job.

For now, just buy a reliable daily driver like a ford focus or something. It won't break the bank and won't (hopefully) break down either. 😛

You have plenty of time to join the Official BMW DoucheBag Club later in life. We're not about to change our membership process and secret handshake anytime soon. 😉
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Lol, I'll keep your word on that. :biggrin:

SearchMaster said:
Oh, and assuming you have $2K to put toward a car, you can get a decent car at that price. I paid $2K for my current car, and in 17 months I've put well over 40K miles on it, and put just a few hundred bucks into repairs and maintenance (lessee, $70 O2 sensor, $70 FP relay, $10 headlight, $5 turn signal bulb, $50 rear brake discs and pads, and 6-7 oil changes). And it looks and runs very nice for its age.
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What car would that be?
 
If you have that amount of $$ put aside, you could always consider picking up an E36 325i or so, which are fairly reliable and not as complicated to work on as the E46 and beyond. You could probably find something pretty pristine for $3,500 or so, and you could put the remaining funds into an interest-bearing account. Pull from as needed for desired or required work.
 
You could spend about $4000 on an E36 generation and save the rest for repairs. You'd have less horsepower and less crash safety than the newer generation though. It won't impress anybody, but to me that's a positive. Nobody would think you're a spoiled rich kid.

E36M3Luxury-1.jpg
 
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LOL, looks like the OP is just looking for validation cause to me, he already made up his mind.
Everyone have already said its a bad idea.
 
Now that I think about it, ATG has been failing you this whole thread.

You need to buy an E46 M3 or a Lotus Elise. Everything else is the equivalent of a granny car like a camry. 😀
 
I don't get the complaints, it's a cheap car, it's not expensive to repair, ignore the naysayers I know 3 people who had 3 series' as their first cars... No problems (And one of them was a girl!)
 
sniperruff said:
"I will most likely be putting around 8K on a loan."
"I'm currently a college student that's heavily dependent on loans and grants"

Very bad financial decision in my opinion.
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laaaawls, it's so obvious OP should not buy a BMW, but of course he'll do all he can to pretend otherwise and try and reason why it's not a terrible fvcking decision.
 
Well, I've spent about an hour looking through Miata listings on Cars.com/AutoTrader/CG and finding a Miata in my area is getting harder and harder as a I look.

I'm obviously looking to get something around 01ish, and since it's not a BMW (which is what I want, lol). I dropped my budget to around 6K and there really lisn't much to look at. Most are 90-99 with over 100K miles, the rest '01+ are mostly 9K up.

EDIT: Just to note, I'm still not very sharp with stick and with the traffic in this area....hmmm...
 
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