Young asian boii

Good idea. Some more slightly relevant questions:

1. Where is the best place to get your car insured?

2. Where is the most popular with students like me?

Just an update. I talked to the seller and he said that the problem with the power steering is the pump. Said it'd cost around $100 to fix in Hamilton (since that's where I live and that's where the seller is located). 

13 minutes ago, Eagle said:

Get someone with mechanical experience to go with you if you take a look.

Do you mean someone with mechanical experience specific to BMW's or just cars in general?

I've sort of made up my mind on saving hard till the end of the year for a JDM, but a part of me is still wanting to get a cheap 318ti (around $2-$4k) as my first car. I have a few questions about this:

1. How hard would it be for a first year university student to maintain a 318ti?

2. How expensive is petrol? I usually just go to and from uni during the weekdays, and hardly anywhere in the weekends. Sometimes I go out with friends, or go places to take care of things.

3. In your opinion, would it be smarter to just keep saving for a nicer car, or to buy a cheaper one as a first car?

Note: There is a BMW enthusiast, who owns a nice 318ti manual with an aftermarket exhaust, a spoiler and a rear bumper kit that lives 2 blocks away. Occasionally, his fellow BMW enthusiast friends are working on their cars at his place.

Any advice would be great! I'm in no rush to get a car, since I still need to practice parallel parking and take my restricted. 

So, after a long time of thinking, I've come to the decision of saving up for a JDM till the end of this year, but a part of me still wants to get a BMW.

I've been scouring Trade Me and the Facebook Marketplace for cars, and I came across a 1998 318ti E36 that's selling for $1200 in the same city as me, and has been driving it from Hamilton to Tauranga for a bit. 

It has 206xxx km's and according to the seller, the only problems are that it has a "rough idle" and that the power steering will need to be sorted out in the near future. I also asked the guy and this E36 has an M42.

He's selling it because he doesn't want an extra car lying around, as much as he was planning to keep it.

Do you think it would be worthwhile buying a good cheap E36 with a small engine as a first car? Also, how much would it cost to fix the power steering of 

Another plus is the fact that a bunch of BMW enthusiasts live 2 blocks away, and we have family friends that can work with cars, one owns an auto shop. Any advice on this?

I'm back! So, after a long time of thinking, I've come to the decision of saving up for a JDM till the end of this year, but a part of me still wants to get a BMW.

I've been scouring Trade Me and the Facebook Marketplace for cars, and I came across a 1998 318ti E36 that's selling for $1200 in the same city as me, and has been driving it from Hamilton to Tauranga for a bit. 

It has 206xxx km's and according to the seller, the only problems are that it has a "rough idle" and that the power steering will need to be sorted out in the near future. I also asked the guy and this E36 has an M42.

He's selling it because he doesn't want an extra car lying around, as much as he was planning to keep it.

Do you think it would be worthwhile buying a good cheap E36 with a small engine as a first car? Also, how much would it cost to fix the power steering of 

Another plus is the fact that a bunch of BMW enthusiasts live 2 blocks away, and we have family friends that can work with cars, one owns an auto shop. Any advice on this?

20 hours ago, qube said:

or just buy my one which is sorted cooling system wise, interior and exterior both mint, and is a rare clubsport so will hold value relatively better than the stock boring ones.

How does your clubsport do with gas mileage and general problems etc? What size is the engine?

Out of curiosity tho, what are the main problems of running a 318ti? Like, the most important ones that is, in terms of the engine and general stuff. 

Would there be a good E46 that doesn't use up too much gas? Because I don't want to be paying too much for gas weekly

I'd probably want to get an E46 then

20 minutes ago, Eagle said:

In that age range there are heaps of new and used parts available locally and overseas.1990-2000 coves 3 different chassis, each with their own positives and negatives and wide range of engines choices. Its hard to really give any specific details without knowing this. Generaly speaking they do cost more to run and maintain the an average jap car but do have their advantages.
Finding a good example and getting pre purchase check done by someone who knows the cars is the key point especially with a BMW

BMW gripes ive heard from people usually stem from buying neglected\worn out cars, not knowing where to buy new and used parts from, comparing genuine dealer part prices to made china japanese parts or just buying problematic models.

What are you primarly using the car for?
What is your budget?
Are you planning on paying someone to work on the car or doing work yourself? 
 

I'm looking to primarily use it for daily driving (getting to and from uni, going around Hamilton etc). Budget-wise, I'm looking to spend around $5-7k or less, but I'd also like to know how much you'd consider a reasonable price range for a used BMW 3 series (I'm thinking of getting one that's a coupe, but a sedan is fine). For the last question, if I can learn how to work on it myself then that would be great.But,  I don't really mind someone working on it for me tho, since my Dad has friends that are mechanics, who I could even learn how to maintain a BMW from.

I am a university student looking into what to get as a first car, and one of the models I'm considering along with an Audi A4 and a few JDM's (Honda Integra & Prelude, Toyota Celica & Altezza, Nissan Silvia & Primera) is an old BMW 3 series from around the 90's or 2000, depending on what's available I guess. I see a lot of used BMW 3 series' for sale on Trade Me Motors, which are mostly around the 90's and early 2000's. Is there anything I need to know about daily driving and maintaining a 3 series ( from the 90's and early 2000's) that might important for me to consider? I hear from friends and family friends that BMW's are costly to maintain in NZ because of parts or something, but I want the BMW enthusiast community's opinion in this, as I don't know a lot about maintaining and owning European cars in NZ.  I'm not gonna get a car till sometime at the end of this year (hopefully) or maybe even next year, depending on how soon I can get a part-time job, so I have lots of time to decide. 

I am a university student looking into what to get as a first car, and one of the models I'm considering along with an Audi A4 and a few JDM's (Honda Integra & Prelude, Toyota Celica & Altezza, Nissan Silvia & Primera) is an old BMW 3 series from around the 90's or 2000, depending on what's available I guess. I see a lot of used BMW 3 series' for sale on Trade Me Motors, which are mostly around the 90's and early 2000's. Is there anything I need to know about daily driving and maintaining a 3 series ( from the 90's and early 2000's) that might important for me to consider? I hear from friends and family friends that BMW's are costly to maintain in NZ because of parts or something, but I want the BMW enthusiast community's opinion in this, as I don't know a lot about maintaining and owning European cars in NZ.  I'm not gonna get a car till sometime at the end of this year (hopefully) or maybe even next year, depending on how soon I can get a part-time job, so I have lots of time to decide.