A.R.S.E.

http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/search ... D_14873353

I've been considering buying a BMW as a 2nd car. Now, I have sweet FA to spend, but it got me thinking: Would you buy a BMW or Merc with high kilometers on it if everything else was in pretty good nick? My reasoning of heading in this direction is that I'm pretty mechanically minded and do all my own work anyway and it's probably been driven pretty good considering its 'new' sticker price.

I would. A high km car of a decent make would not bother me in the least. How does the price compare with others of the same model with lower km's? If it is a lot lower I would be concerned, but naturally it should be lower.

buyer beware with any 2nd hand car. Being mechanically minded and being a 2nd car should help you go for it

I think he's probably missing a digit from that price.

Redbook quotes around $15k for that model second-hand.

As for older Mercs & BMWs they are pretty good (my parents have had some older ones over the years). The only dramas they tended to have were electrical, things like switches. Understandable when the cars were 15-20 years old.

I'd trust a 20 year-old Merc more than a 20 year-old Bimmer, though.

Ive read things about BMW Automatic Gearboxes being a bit like time bombs, and that they are designed to be replaced, rather than repaired, ive heard of 5k for the local BMW dealership to replace an SMG gearbox in an '04 325, while it would be cheaper for a normal auto, still not a small amount of cash

On a side note, my dad drives an '03 325i, its a great car, very comfortable, and goes hard enough... hasnt skipped a beat yet either, had it for almost 2 years, and just ticked over 100,000km's (he spent almost 35k when he bought it, i reckon its got a 2 missing off the front of the asking price for that)

http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/pri ... B892085060

What about that one? :P

A really old merc is a reliable car.
Beemers aren't as clear cut, but they were usually very durable, I've had friends running with them back at home.
Mind you I'm talking about cars which weren't young even 10 years ago...so it may not be what you're looking for, really
However, with either of them, if something goes wrong it may cost a lot to replace (even if you can do the repairs) - I'm not too familiar with old euro cars' parts costs.

Ok scrap that, just checked that car; it's only 9 yrs old, I was thinking much older.

Just out of curiosity, why do you buy another car if you don't have money?

ysu wrote:A really old merc is a reliable car.
Beemers aren't as clear cut, but they were usually very durable, I've had friends running with them back at home.
Mind you I'm talking about cars which weren't young even 10 years ago...so it may not be what you're looking for, really
However, with either of them, if something goes wrong it may cost a lot to replace (even if you can do the repairs) - I'm not too familiar with old euro cars' parts costs.

Ok scrap that, just checked that car; it's only 9 yrs old, I was thinking much older.

Just out of curiosity, why do you buy another car if you don't have money?

Hmmm. I won't go into why I can't afford a better car, but basically, small businesses don't work well if no one pays you. (I now work for someone else but those business bills are still there.)

The reason I need another car, and a seriously cheap one at that, is we live rurally. Work for me is 45mins away and her study/work is 30mins away, in different directions. At the moment we're using my old girls swift, but it's racking the k's up pretty quick. We're down in Brisbane for my Mrs' surgery and was just poking around the net. I already own a Falcon, know it's reliable, but it would take the risk of an older BMW/Merc for something different and adventurous.

Santa.. It could be good or bad. There are quite a lot of 'People' out there that take car that are 'Not Road Legal' eg Non Repairable Right Off's and change the cars plates and do the minimum to get it running and sell it cheap as most sell interstate. I would say it is Quite low for the price/year, at that price you would be looking at a E30/E36 not a E46.

When I went looking for the one I drive now, I seen Quite a few doggy brothers. 1 of them I seen was similar to that one you posted, told me to meet him at he's GF place as they were selling her place as she just finished moving in with him(Empty house, and people in the block knew of any one living in the place for 10 years. Car had NSW Plates yet she was ment to of lived here for 6 years with it.) there were quite a few other things but I degrees. Look under the car most people don't, you can see if it has had work done quite easily or curb hopping seen on the under layer.


But on the other hand some people have real values and don't charge like a wounded bull for a Unleaded basic Ford/Holden.




Mine(E36) runs great, dealer log book services all it's life and it is about to have it's 19th Built Day.

4k is waaaay too low for that 3 series. As mentioned, either it's missing the 1 from the front of the price or it's a repaired write off or something. For that sort of money in a BMW you'd be looking at an old E28 or E34 fiver or an E30/E36 318i. 6 cylinder E30s seem to be appreciating at the moment.

A well maintained Euro shouldn't be too bad. Just do the usual checking the 'net to see what goes wrong with them. The E46 you linked to, for instance, tends to have power window regulators go and the plastic cooling bits in the engine are better off replaced with metal as they will fail sooner or later. But then, if that E46 was a genuine price and a genuine car it's the bargain of the year and go for it anyway.

I'd do it. I rack up the kays living on the Central Coast and have had far worse cars than a Beemer or a Volvo and still be damn reliable. Get it body checked through the NRMA/RAC (depending on where you live), costs about $200 - $250, but well worth the piece of mind if you don't know what you're looking for.

my neice got an older BMW like that, it was cheap and not long after it blew a head gasket, and the gasket alone cost $1500. While the car was fairly cheap, it was the repairs bills that caused her to sell it.

Is she hot?

she works at Maxines, go visit her one day and judge for yourself.

but would you classify her as an Elite Girl. though I do feel a bit hungry, time to get something to eat.

w00dsy wrote:she works at Maxines, go visit her one day and judge for yourself.

Maxine's Restaurant is Melbourne's premium lingerie destination.

Next ARSE meet?

not if my niece is working there

working indeed....

Father in-law ended up scoring a little '98 Excel for 2k which is surprisingly tidy. Not a BMW, but it'll get the Minister of War and Destruction to work in the mornings economically. Just gotta drive it back now :/