Thinking about buying a 2005 BMW 325i...

[Orsorum]

My previous car (2004 Kia Optima) was totalled a week and a half ago. I bought my last car when I was in graduate school and have been working for two years now as a professional, am thinking about upgrading. However, I'm feeling some trepidation as this is a very large purchase and I'm apprehensive about buying such an expensive car.

Car is a silver gray 2005 325i, 35k miles, black leather interior. I would walk away with it at 25k, that includes sales tax and documentation fees. I'm putting 8.5k down and financing the rest at 3.9%, leaving me somewhere around a $320/month loan payment.

The original warranty is in effect until the end of 2008 and I'd have an extended warranty (comes with the BMW certification, I think) for another 2 years/50k miles.

I am having a hard time justifying in my head buying this vehicle when I could buy a similar year Accord, Camry, or Acura for a bit less. However, I also will say that this car is an absolute dream to drive, more fun than I think I've had driving anything else.

So, my questions for y'all:

- For those here who've considered BMWs and not purchased them, what factors did you take into account?

= For those here who've purchased BMWs, what issues did you run into? Was maintenance a huge issue? Gas mileage? Etc.

Any and all thoughts are welcome.

 

[T2urtle]

my thoughts are this.. so your going to spend 25k, pretty big move. most likely a 5 year loan. your warranty ends at 2010 but your still paying for the car till 2013. Not saying things break all the time but can you afford to spend $1000 between car payments sometime between 2010- 2013 ? Even if the car doesn't break on you, there is maintence service. Unless your a good DIY type guy.

another thing that throws a red flag to me. is your buying a bimmer, WHY ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT GAS? Most people who buy higher end cars don't worry about that. I understand your coming from a kia 4 banger to a small straight 6. be happy with anything above 20 in the city and 25 on the highway. that is what most 6 cylinder cars get. But be way more happy about the torque you get.

I was looking at a 03-04 330ci, coming from a maxima that got 20-25mpg. So i knew gas mileage is all the same. I did everything on my in terms of maintence, but there are some things that i can do on a bimmer. so i know at one point in time i would have to go to dealerships. i drove the car and loved it. but i declined the car because there are other cars out there that offer simliar options, performance and styling for slightly less. for me it was the g35x, acura TSX/TL, Legacy GT. Those 3/4 cars have slightly lower insurance premiums. I can get them same priced as the 330 but lower miles. or lower price with same miles. SLIGHTly cheaper in routine maint.

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: T2urtle
my thoughts are this.. so your going to spend 25k, pretty big move. most likely a 5 year loan. your warranty ends at 2010 but your still paying for the car till 2013. Not saying things break all the time but can you afford to spend $1000 between car payments sometime between 2010- 2013 ? Even if the car doesn't break on you, there is maintence service. Unless your a good DIY type guy.

Yes, I can. I have no debt and a very small housing payment relative to my monthly income. Most of my other spending is discretionary and I can adjust if necessary. My concern is getting hit up multiple times in a year, for example, for $1,000 for maintenance.

another thing that throws a red flag to me. is your buying a bimmer, WHY ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT GAS? Most people who buy higher end cars don't worry about that. I understand your coming from a kia 4 banger to a small straight 6. be happy with anything above 20 in the city and 25 on the highway. that is what most 6 cylinder cars get. But be way more happy about the torque you get.

Actually, from what I understand I'll most likely get better gas mileage in the BMW than I did in my Kia. In my Kia I was getting ~21 city/~27 highway.

I was looking at a 03-04 330ci, coming from a maxima that got 20-25mpg. So i knew gas mileage is all the same. I did everything on my in terms of maintence, but there are some things that i can do on a bimmer. so i know at one point in time i would have to go to dealerships. i drove the car and loved it. but i declined the car because there are other cars out there that offer simliar options, performance and styling for slightly less. for me it was the g35x, acura TSX/TL, Legacy GT. Those 3/4 cars have slightly lower insurance premiums. I can get them same priced as the 330 but lower miles. or lower price with same miles. SLIGHTly cheaper in routine maint.

I'm going to take a look at an Acura this afternoon and look around. I'd like to pick something up soon but I also don't want to pay out the nose if I don't have to.

 

[caspur]

You may have noticed there is a certain stigma regarding owning a BMW on these forums. Most posts tend to favor Japanese brands and models that parallel the consumer reports surveys for reliability. (Acura TL, Infiniti G35, etc.)

When you are on a budget, it is never a good idea to buy a European car, especially one that may have an uncertain history and expensive parts/repair costs.

A BMW purchase needs to be an emotional decision. You will be buying a car at a higher price with less features than its competitors. The BMW "magic" in many cases is simply not worth the premium BMW charges over its rivals, especially if you can not discern the differences between the two.

 

[dirtboy]

Originally posted by: Orsorum
- For those here who've considered BMWs and not purchased them, what factors did you take into account?

= For those here who've purchased BMWs, what issues did you run into? Was maintenance a huge issue? Gas mileage? Etc.

Any and all thoughts are welcome.

My roommate bought a new 325Ci and I've considered buying one on numerous occasions after driving his.

Maintenance after your free 4 years isn't cheap. BMW's break and they aren't cheap to fix. Tires are expensive. Insurance is high too. What I found, for the comparable cost to drive a BMW, I could get twice as much car somewhere else.

Sure it's not a BMW, but in the end, how important is the experience to you.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Only a rich man buys a used BMW. Go down to the service dept and ask them to show you costs to fix various things.

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: dirtboy

Originally posted by: Orsorum
- For those here who've considered BMWs and not purchased them, what factors did you take into account?

= For those here who've purchased BMWs, what issues did you run into? Was maintenance a huge issue? Gas mileage? Etc.

Any and all thoughts are welcome.

My roommate bought a new 325Ci and I've considered buying one on numerous occasions after driving his.

Maintenance after your free 4 years isn't cheap. BMW's break and they aren't cheap to fix. Tires are expensive. Insurance is high too. What I found, for the comparable cost to drive a BMW, I could get twice as much car somewhere else.

Sure it's not a BMW, but in the end, how important is the experience to you.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Only a rich man buys a used BMW. Go down to the service dept and ask them to show you costs to fix various things.

I'm going to do that when I stop by later today.

I am not sure how long I plan on keeping this car; I have a 3 year warranty and I will most definitely keep it for that long. At that point, however, I will have to reevaluate where I am and what I can afford. If the maintenance costs become prohibitive I will trade out at that point.

 

[T2urtle]

a bimmer is going to cost you 1.5 times as much as another car at 100k. But the pleasure and joy from driving a bimmer is endless.

I dont care what kind of bimmer i'm in it makes me smile on the highway. take that car on the highway at 100 and you will understand. I feel thats how most owners show drive them. A bmw is more of a auto enthusiast type of car or someone with rather large pockets that dont mind spending a couple of grand on maintence. i think front brakes on one at dealership is about 1500$. I know i priced out a set and replaced them for a friend and parts were just insane versus normal parts.

when ur at the dealership talk to service, pretend like u own the car and ask them to schedule service for next week and tell them things u replaced on your kia. like a blower motor, front brakes, 30k service 60k service and etc.

25k for a 2-3 years old car and 35k.

consider these cars as well

http://www.cars.com/go/search/...cnum=1&leadExists=true

http://www.cars.com/go/search/...cnum=0&leadExists=true

http://www.cars.com/go/search/...cnum=9&leadExists=true

of course these are cars in my area. they are entry level luxury cars. priced a little cheaper and a little lower miles. the G35 comes close to the bimmer expereience but nothing can match it. if maintence was the same all across the board i would get a bimmer as well. but maintence prices and likeness of things going wrong seems to be a little more common on bimmers.


edit i found this on anothe forum. just a little heads up. this is a list of common problems on a x5. yea its not the same but just to give you an idea.

http://www.540i6.com/probsfixes.html

 

[iamwiz82]

Just a few thoughts. My BMW costs the same (actually a few dollars less per 6 months) for insurance than the Toyota we used to have.

Tires are no more expensive than any other car. Tires are tires, you can go to tirerack and find cheap ones that will perform just as well.

A DIYer will find part prices no more expensive than a common Japanese car. Don't believe me? Check out bavauto.com. Look at the brakes for a 325i, pads and rotors will run you $200 for all four corners. Considering that my Miata's brakes cost over $400 for the exact same OEM parts, it's not that bad.

 

[dirtboy]

I dunno about Toyota's, but insurance on me for a 328Ci or 335Ci is about 50%+ higher with the same carrier than other cars.

Tires are what makes a BMW handle the way it does. Can you avoid runflats, sure. But you need to put sport tires on them or you will find yourself disappointed. Sport tires are cheap and they don't come with a 30k+ mile warranty.

I'm surprised to hear parts are comparable to Japanese cars, but I'd be pretty funny to see someone fixing their own BMW... perhaps a sure sign they couldn't truly afford one. Hence why I think leasing a new one is better than a used one.

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: dirtboy
I'm surprised to hear parts are comparable to Japanese cars, but I'd be pretty funny to see someone fixing their own BMW... perhaps a sure sign they couldn't truly afford one. Hence why I think leasing a new one is better than a used one.

Someone fixing their own car, regardless of make or value, is a "sure sign" of absolutely nothing. :roll: There are a million reasons to fix / maintain your own car other than $$ savings. Some people (myself included) actually enjoy working on their own car. And, you get the knowledge that the work is done properly, the satisfaction of doing it yourself, you learn about your car and how it works, you don't have to entrust your car to some stranger who may do a hack job and overcharge you or steal things out of it, you don't have to set up an appointment, get rides to / from the service center or be without a car any longer than necessary, the work can be completed on your own schedule, etc.

And yes, the parts cost is actually pretty comparable to Japanese cars. Some parts are pricey, of course, but you will find that on almost all cars - especially imports. Maintenance / wear item costs are not much higher than with any other vehicle. Of course you will get raped if you take it to a dealer - they charge those prices because they can. If you are even moderately resourceful and know where to look, you can find most things at relatively reasonable prices.

 

[fstime]

Most people here spewing their bullsh*t on car reliability (the recent fad tends to bash german automakers) have NEVER owned anything even remotely close to the vehicle they are speaking against.

My personal experience with the last generation Mercedes and BMW's (E39's and W210's) have been excellent and I can say parts for Japanese cars are EASILY just as high if not higher. I know the G35 has some insane repair costs. Acura is also up there; Lexus wants $100 for an oil change.

 

[StageLeft]

Hope you know how to use a wrench. Or your credit card. Cause when that thing breaks, if you cannot repair it you will pay a lot for somebody else to. Now, granted somethig like brakes you could get done mostly anywhere (though OEM parts will cost a mint), but if you're unlucky enough for a more serious problem and it's to the BMW dealership, watch your credit card cry. Again though, it's the fact the parts are for BMWs that makes them so expensive.

This is a fairly new one though and it really may not cause you a lot of heartache, but if you are expecting the cost of maintenance to be what you'd get from a subcompact japanese/korean car, forget it.

i think front brakes on one at dealership is about 1500$. I know i priced out a set and replaced them for a friend and parts were just insane versus normal parts.

Oh hahahaha. I could get new ones done for $300ish on my maxima, I bet.

Considering that my Miata's brakes cost over $400 for the exact same OEM parts, it's not that bad

Yikes. I actually don't know what OEM would be on my max but the last pair of $26 front pads I bought went 40k before the rotors finally died after 110k miles, so I was pretty darn happy with them and they had about half their life left still.

Yeah, it seems to me that instead of bringing a car (any car) to the stealership, at the least buy the parts online because sometimes they are MUCH cheaper than going from the stealership.

Most people here spewing their bullsh*t on car reliability (the recent fad tends to bash german automakers) have NEVER owned anything even remotely close to the vehicle they are speaking against.

I go on hearsay (it's my right on the internet, dogone it!). I knew a guy who had two BMWs. He said the first one cost so much he sold it and only bought the second after the pain of the first had somewhat left him. Then the second one cost him as much, too, and he finally realized no more BMWs for him. Part of his problem, though, was that he was buying relatively aged full size ones, like 7 series and didn't do any of the work himself, so transmission replacement can cost many thousands, for example.

Anyway, though, all this silliness aside, on average you'll be paying more for a BMW than most other cars, but any luxury brand has markup. I have a friend with an acura who buys honda parts. They can be 100% the same except purchased from the honda dealership instead of acura and have a different serial number on them (although he also buys online, actually).

 

[BarneyFife]

Find an independent mechanic that specializes in BMWs. I've never fixed anything at a dealer that wasn't under warranty.

 

[Orsorum]

I purchased a 2001 330i for $13,438 this afternoon, 90k miles (many more than I wanted). It's been through the 100k checkup and has a clean history. Any way I look at it one of these puppies isn't going to be cheap in the long run, but this option keeps my upfront payments to a minimum. I've already diverted some savings each paycheck towards a maintenance account for this car.

I love driving this and I know I will enjoy it.

 

[Zenmervolt]

I just hope you don't blow a tranny.

ZV

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
I just hope you don't blow a tranny.

ZV

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

 

[DivideBYZero]

I saved money going from a Gen 1(GF body) WRX to an e46 M3. So there you go. Cat firmly amongst the pigeons.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Orsorum
I purchased a 2001 330i for $13,438 this afternoon, 90k miles (many more than I wanted). It's been through the 100k checkup and has a clean history. Any way I look at it one of these puppies isn't going to be cheap in the long run, but this option keeps my upfront payments to a minimum. I've already diverted some savings each paycheck towards a maintenance account for this car.

I love driving this and I know I will enjoy it.

Cool, I was going to suggest the 330 or 328i options for you, as the 325i is awesome but performs a little anemically.

I'm looking into a '99-'03 328/330 for my wife, to go with the e39 M5. The maintenance costs bother me, but thankfully I've got some cash stashed for rainy days and broken BMWs

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: Orsorum
I purchased a 2001 330i for $13,438 this afternoon, 90k miles (many more than I wanted). It's been through the 100k checkup and has a clean history. Any way I look at it one of these puppies isn't going to be cheap in the long run, but this option keeps my upfront payments to a minimum. I've already diverted some savings each paycheck towards a maintenance account for this car.

I love driving this and I know I will enjoy it.

Cool, I was going to suggest the 330 or 328i options for you, as the 325i is awesome but performs a little anemically.

I'm looking into a '99-'03 328/330 for my wife, to go with the e39 M5. The maintenance costs bother me, but thankfully I've got some cash stashed for rainy days and broken BMWs

Missed the purchase post.

Enjoy, OP. Let the nay-sayers have their moment, then you have yours in the driving seat. ENJOY! Your ride is full of WIN!

 

[Arkaign]

Ya, DbZ is correct. The only right car is the one that you are happy with / satisfied with. What anyone else has to say should have little, if any, influence on your personal choice and enjoyment. To some people, a BMW puts a smile on their face, to others, not so much. Whatever, just be prepared for the things to look out for and have fun!

 

[Zenmervolt]

As Orsorum's semi-official car purchase adviser (read: bad influence) I do have to say that I think he got a very good deal on the car. It runs strong, is very smooth, and has that "right" feeling that a used car should have (I don't know how else to describe it, but there is a "vibe", for lack of a better term, that a decent used car will have).

I give him 2 months before he gets a speeding ticket with it though.

ZV

 

[SearchMaster]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
As Orsorum's semi-official car purchase adviser (read: bad influence) I do have to say that I think he got a very good deal on the car. It runs strong, is very smooth, and has that "right" feeling that a used car should have (I don't know how else to describe it, but there is a "vibe", for lack of a better term, that a decent used car will have).

I give him 2 months before he gets a speeding ticket with it though.

ZV

He'll be pulling into your driveway to perform maintenance any day now .

Nice car for a good price in any event.

 

[ViviTheMage]

man, if I had 25k for a car........

 

[makken]

I currently drive an E36 328is and absolutely love it.

For the maintanice issue, sure, if you go to the dealer to get stuff done, it's going to cost you an arm and a leg. Then again, if you're stupid enough to go to the dealership for out-of-warranty maintence, you deserve to pay an arm and leg. If you've taken a look at the checklist for an oil / inspection service from BMW, you're basically paying $500 - 700 for what amounts to an oil change and fluids check.

I just did some basic maintance on the car over the weekend, and the parts, although did cost more than other cars, were not extreme. I ended up spending just over $100 to change the engine oil, replace the sparkplugs, air filter, and flush the coolant.

As for reliablity, Im at 170k miles (knock on wood) and the only major issue i ran into was a cracked hose running from the radiator to the expansion tank.

 

[Dunbar]

Don't worry about the maintenance costs, scheduled maintenance isn't bad if you avoid dealers. The extended warranty will cover anything that breaks. As someone who owns an Accord ('03 V6) and is considering a BMW I'd say go for it. The Accord is a fine car but is frankly boring to drive compared to the 3 series.

My personal preference is for the E46 330, the 325 feels underpowered to me. Also, I've been seeing some 2006 (E90) 330's in the mid 20's and that's a much better deal than the E46 325 IMO. BTW, I've driven about 8 different 3 series in the last two years. I probably would have bought one already if the company I work for wasn't about to be sold.