Opnion on a 1993 BMW 325is Reliable?

[Walay]

1993, BMW 325is 6Iengine
I am planning to buy a used one with 200,000miles on it...
The engine seems to be in great condition, and the car was will taken care of....
but are there any know problem about the car that can't be fixed?
The guy is selling it for $8,000 is it a reasonable price?

please help~

its a 4 door, automatic tran., black leather interior, black paint, and sports package.

 

[Thegonagle]

Do you really want a BMW so badly that you'd blow $8000 cash (you can't get a loan on a car with 200,000 miles, so forget it if that's your plan) on a 9 year old one with 200,000 miles that may or may not have major problems down the road? Don't buy it if you can?t afford to replace the transmission for $2000 and take care of little things here and there that will be $50-200 every so often. I'm not saying it wont serve you well, but there are much better overall values to be had for $8000.

The last car I bought with over 200,000 miles was 11 years old and cost me a mere $600. I put about 40,000 more miles on it before I had a one car accident with it. I did put several hundred dollars into it over a couple of years, but it was a good car. But it was only $600.

 

[max105]

From the experience of my friends and some car reviews, the older (pre-1997) models weren't very reliable. They seemed to have a bunch of engine or mechanical problems (I forget which one, or it could be both). I've heard the newer ones now are much better though.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Wow, $8k to blow on a car with 200k miles? Yikes. Do you really think the engine has much life left on it?

 

[Thegonagle]

It might have plenty of life left in the engine, but you need to know what you're getting into with the rest of the car (any car!) when it has 200,000 miles. Little things will wear out or break every so often, and if you don't or can't keep up with it, the car will quickly turn into a $2000 POS. I hear good BMW parts aren't cheap.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

<< It might have plenty of life left in the engine, but you need to know what you're getting into with the rest of the car (any car!) when it has 200,000 miles. Little things will wear out or break every so often, and if you don't or can't keep up with it, the car will quickly turn into a $2000 POS. I hear good BMW parts aren't cheap. >>

Define "plenty of life". I wouldn't bet anything more than 50k more miles before it requires a major overhaul. BMW = break my wallet, right? I mean, for less than $8k you could get a '93 Accord with ~100k and expect 100k more out of it if you treat it right. I'll probably get flamed for bringing honda into this

 

[Thegonagle]

I'm not going to flame you for bringing Honda into the discussion.

It all depends on how often the oil was changed and what kind of miles. I've heard of a freaking Chevy gasoline engine that that went close to 800,000 highway miles with 3000 mile oil changes. That BMW might go another 50,000 miles, it might go another 200,000. I personally wouldn't be too worried about that engine, but I would worry about the rest of the car with that many miles. I would buy that car, I just wouldn't pay more than half of what that guy is asking.

 

[Bellgoody]

Walay
I love BMW's and have a 1986 735i which is a pleasure to own and to drive. But 200,000 miles is over my limit for a used Beamer. At 250,000 miles 325's need the engine overhauled and reworked. BMW's are designed this way. My mechanic, (whom I treat with as much respect as my Mother), tells me that at any given milage, he can tell what is wrong with a BMW and what will go wrong in the next 3000-5000 miles. You can count on spending at least $1,000.00 a year maintaining any older BMW and that's just so you don't have to spend serious repair money later.

If you want to enjoy owning a BMW without taking a second mortgage, there are 3-series BMW's out there for $4000-$5000 with less than 125,000 miles on 'em. You can drive those for years, just doing regular maintenance, without major repairs eating you up. As a point of reference, I bought my 735i two years ago, with 124,000 miles on it and in showroom condition for less than $6,000. The best car I've ever owned.

PM if you have any questions I can help you with.

 

[RSI]

Not worth the price. If it had half the mileage, then I'd say go for it.

-RSI

 

[xero940]

<< Walay
I love BMW's and have a 1986 735i which is a pleasure to own and to drive. But 200,000 miles is over my limit for a used Beamer. At 250,000 miles 325's need the engine overhauled and reworked. BMW's are designed this way. My mechanic, (whom I treat with as much respect as my Mother), tells me that at any given milage, he can tell what is wrong with a BMW and what will go wrong in the next 3000-5000 miles. You can count on spending at least $1,000.00 a year maintaining any older BMW and that's just so you don't have to spend serious repair money later.

If you want to enjoy owning a BMW without taking a second mortgage, there are 3-series BMW's out there for $4000-$5000 with less than 125,000 miles on 'em. You can drive those for years, just doing regular maintenance, without major repairs eating you up. As a point of reference, I bought my 735i two years ago, with 124,000 miles on it and in showroom condition for less than $6,000. The best car I've ever owned.

PM if you have any questions I can help you with. >>



Truer words friend, truer words...

I have a 1986 BMW 535i, with 116,000 miles on it...But it has served me well since 1992, when I bought it! :Q BMWs are VERY well made vehicles, and are so great to drive/trick out/look cool in...but they AREN'T Jesus...they're not gonna be golden for much more after 200,000 without some major repairage later...and much like my Beamer, you'll prolly have to drop 1K/2K yr. to keep it in tip-top condition...but it's worth it, and you can drive it for a LONG time if you do...my car works a charm b/c I properly maintained it, but that car, at 200K miles, for $8000...that's a negative; buy another car, or negotiate down...

 

[JoPalm]

BMW's are great cars, have a '92 525i that we got last year, good car. But then again, it only has like 125k on it I think. It's a BMW, so of course you'd pay more for it than a honda year newer, can't really compare there.

 

[xilluzionx]

Damn 8 gz is a lot of 200k on it is a lot. I was going to get a BMW 325i with 60k miles but i changed my mind. The guy wanted 10,000 for it.
BTW , it was a 97