Older BMWs

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twink19, Jul 11, 4:46am

check service records. nothing fancy about the servicing 1600 will be a bit gutless, if you have a regular garage get them to check it for you

alltorque350, Jul 11, 4:55am

1600cc use a lot of petrol for there size. They say if you cant afford a new BMW then you cant afford a second hand one. Expect large repair bills.

hockeycam, Jul 11, 5:03am

Thanks alltorque! :) I'll stay away from them until i can get a brand new one.

fiatracer, Jul 11, 5:39am

"They say", they are wrong. BMW servicing and repair can be quite reasonable. You should talk to some actual people who have actually owned actual BMWs. Like me. 8 and counting. all over 150,000km and all over 10 years old.

budgel, Jul 11, 7:50am

budgel, Jul 11, 7:53am

I drive an older BMW (1999 740i), and am into doing my own work on it, but it has only been routine maintenance so far.

Like any car, if well chosen you will get a good run from them with only routine servicing costs, and the pleasure of driving is a real plus.

There are very good online forums that cater to both laymen and enthusiasts (you will probably become one!)

If parts are needed they can be bought online for around half the local price.
There are good independent BMW workshops in most main urban centres that charge fairly and really know their stuff.

fourkingz, Jul 11, 12:06pm

I love my car, she's a solid old bmw. I recommend looking on a NZ Bimmer website forum, to get it "straight from the horses mouth" as the saying goes. I also recommend this site for any bimmer owners to get a better idea of parts needed for your car http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do

ffbuksh, Jul 11, 12:22pm

Get one with a low mileage. I've got a newer 330ci and i go to the AA to get it serviced. They do a fantastic job at a fraction of the cost. It's not that expensive to maintain these days because you an get their parts everywhere.

elect70, Jul 11, 12:52pm

Get 6 cylinder - 325328330if its got service history.& NZ newneither expensive to repair or partsthoroughcheck of coolingsystem is a must

fiatracer, Jul 11, 1:26pm

agreed - the main thing to check, or have checked, is the cooling system. It's wise to budget for water pump and thermostat job on any used BMW. radiators are also a weak point but not costly. I've replaced them with brand new in both 3 and 7 series, and can't recall paying more than $350. The main thing is to use a BMW specialist - they know what to look out for, and what preventative steps you should take. they also know some of the tricks that other garages don't - ie - recoding remotes, etc. I am selling a BMW right now that has invoices for *attempts* to do this. I took it to my local BMW guy who spent about 8 seconds, and it was done!

richardmayes, Jul 11, 1:56pm

I've never owned one, but an older bloke I know who owned an E28 530i for a long time said there is nothing especially wrong with them, except you have to accept that every once in a while another $800 electronic black box will fail and need replacing. Sounds pretty par for the course with older car ownership IMO. you could buy a sensible Accord or Camry and when the auto craps out it will cost you all that and more!

I have driven a couple of older 6-cylinder BMWs (E46 323Ci, E30 325i) and they are beautiful little cars, but definitely driver-focussed with firm suspension, not a lot of elbow room, and a sense of sitting behind a big engine in a small car - excellent!

Apart from being much newer and flasher-looking, the E46 coupe didn't really seem to do anything the old E30 didn't do, the basic feel of the ride, handling and engine performance was much the same.

Like any car. mechanical things can be fixed or replaced, but rust can be terminal so make sure any car you buy has a good straight body.

monaro17, Jul 11, 3:54pm

Little BMWs like the 316 and 318 are effectively just jappas with a flash badge. They are cheap for a reason, a friend of mine bought a 2001 318i low kms immaculate and then found a few months later that the fuel cap stopped releasing, the electric windows stopped so too did the central locking. Don't be tempted by the low price if you are going to go european you have to spend a few $$

juliet20, Jul 11, 4:12pm

I've had 5 BMW's, no real issues in the last 10 years, my current 325i is 23 years old and has never had any major parts replaced.

sharchew, Jul 11, 5:24pm

I have a 1995 525 had it 6 years no problems what so ever and very good on fuel

trogedon, Jul 11, 6:49pm

A friend has a 2003 740 v8. As soon as he bought it he spend $1400 on the brakes. Its been totally reliable for him in the last 3/4 months of ownership - partly because he almost never drives it - it costs too much to run!

s.c, Jul 11, 6:53pm

I bought a 320I after been told not too and I love it. I was really careful choosing it and got mechanics advice etc the Bimmer website is great and people are really helpful with questions advice etc,I haven't found the servicing much more expensive than other cars and the driving experience is far superior

edangus, Jul 11, 7:06pm

I also have an E38 740. My favourite car to date. at 160,00kms its just starting to get run in.

Compared to the Muscle Cars and Classics I have had, this puppy is easier and cheaper to get parts for. Its all about what you want from a vehicle.
I love it. Personally I would not touch anything in a BMW under 2.5ltrs.
But thats just me.

fiatracer, Jul 11, 7:45pm

hmmm, I don't agree. Comparing apples with apples [same size, engine size, age] and even a lowly 318 is a better drive than a similar Japanese car I reckon. Contemporary road tests [lets say 1990 issue sof Car magazine] used to never rate Japanese cars, but we all have different likes.

safcnz1, Jul 11, 8:04pm

22 year old bmw here 535 up to 245000 MILES and never had any major work done

ema1, Jul 11, 8:08pm

I had an E28 525e BMW years ago, it went very well was economical beyond belief even with it's 2.7 litre ETA engine.
I must say though it had it's fair share of niggly problems, mainly electrical like electric windows ceasing to operate, faulty central locking and dash lights failing odd times and wiper motor sharing off it's drive from the wiper action arms !
Starter motor blew up, shorted the armature and shorted the field windings as well., what a shit of a thing to remove and fit another rebuilt starter onto.glad I didn't do the job but got stung well and truly for the time involved with the change for sure.
Sold it soon after and vowed never to own another one, heck I've had several a lot older than the BMW, both English and Japanese cars that never had all the problems it had.

doug207, Jul 11, 8:55pm

4 cylinder BMWs of that era are complete junk.
However, the 6 cylinder motors tend to be quite strong, one of the ones in my family is almost at 300,000km without any issues whatsoever.
I've had four BMWs myself and done a lot of KM in all (except the E12) and in my family we've had quite a few, all have been excellent cars with no issues, I had more problems with my 1990 Corolla than any of my BMWs.

With that era 3 series you are looking at, there are a few common issues. If you decide to go further with it, I'm more than happy to point out the main problems with the E36s.

hockeycam, Jul 12, 12:22am

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm so tempted to get an older one 1998 - 2002. I guess from what you are saying is, i need to check it out carefully.

hornnett, Jul 12, 5:20am

Did you ever wonder why such an expensive car when brought new is such a bargain second hand.
And isn't it not surprising that owners have never had many problems with their cars ,who wants to admit they brought a money pit.Best advice i can give you is to ring any non BMW franchise workshop and ask their opinion.And anyone whos read any of my posts will know how I hate people ringing workshops for free advice but this really is important.
BMW owner are all wannabes.

richardmayes, Jul 12, 5:53am

You are implying that the "obvious" and "only" reason is because they must be a maintenance nightmare.

However there's another possible reason:
New BMWs are status symbols, and their first owners tend to be the sort of people who can and will trade them in for the new model after a few years of running. And then where do the old ones go after that!

edangus, Jul 12, 6:33am

That is the most appropriate response I have ever seen!

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