Advice on buying

[wolv 0]

Hi,

New to this forum and need some advice on purchasing a BMW – I don’t know much about cars sorry. My budget it $12 - 14k. In terms of look I like a car like this one here:

http://www.kiwiauto.net/used+cars/BMW/car+6862/

This is however a bit beyond my budget, after contacting Jerry Clayton they were very helpful and said they could try and source one for me that fit my budget. I understand from reading other posts that there is some risk with purchasing a SG import, but then a lot of people have said good things about JC so I assume this would be ok?

The 2002+ facelift models look nice, and I dun mind an M-Sport either - but I guess I'm hoping for a bit too much with that budget.

Requirements:

• 4 Door Sedan
• Km's can't be overly high (sub 120,000 km) and must be a 1999 or higher
• Somewhat fuel conservative (I drive to and from university, if I leave early in the morning and come late total time spent on the road would be like 1.5 hours, or maybe even 1h per a day, 5 days a week). Don't really want to be spending more than say $180 a month on fuel.
• Must be reliable – I don’t want to buy a $12000 car and then spend like $2000 more in repairs over the next few years.

Others cars that I found on Trademe are:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=131787860

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=173293994

-Bit higher than budget, hopeful that they may come down. Also I’m not sure about fuel consumption it’s a 2500cc, but I’m told that it is not as bad as you would think?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=110640433

Any help would be greatly appreciated – I’ve been searching for over a month with no luck, and am in a hurry.

Thanks,

wolv.

[briancol 3]

The guys here are correct about the perils of ex-Singapore cars however I can confirm that if you are buying from Jerry Clayton Singapore, the car should be a good purchase.

I am a car dealer and have had a bit to do with JC's cars, and have had trouble faulting them.

[kiwi535 538]

i t depends on what you mean by reliable.....BMW are NOT as reliable as yoer average jappa,or should i say they do need a bit of preventative maintenance program.You need to make sure that this maintenance has been carried out,esp if ypu buy a car with a few ks...which you may need to do based on your budget...

[Smac01 12]

i t depends on what you mean by reliable.....BMW are NOT as reliable as yoer average jappa,or should i say they do need a bit of preventative maintenance program.You need to make sure that this maintenance has been carried out,esp if ypu buy a car with a few ks...which you may need to do based on your budget...

The other thing you need to think about which is often overlooked is resale value. This often comes down to mileage on a car. Its easier to sell an older model with lower kms than a newer model with higher kms. Just a thought from my experience

[arshik 0]

Hi mate

Its good to know your are another bmw fan.If you want you can go to Falcon motors in otahuhu.They have got 3 bmw from japen.I have bought my bmw from them and no problems with the car mate.Their price is good and good service.I was there last sunday and saw this 3 bmw and looks good and also they have low kms.if you want then contact me on 0212509057/2678447 and i can talk to the owner as he has become a good friend of mine after buying my bmw.

Cheers

mohammed

Hi,

New to this forum and need some advice on purchasing a BMW …quot; I don’t know much about cars sorry. My budget it $12 - 14k. In terms of look I like a car like this one here:

http://www.kiwiauto.net/used+cars/BMW/car+6862/

This is however a bit beyond my budget, after contacting Jerry Clayton they were very helpful and said they could try and source one for me that fit my budget. I understand from reading other posts that there is some risk with purchasing a SG import, but then a lot of people have said good things about JC so I assume this would be ok?

The 2002+ facelift models look nice, and I dun mind an M-Sport either - but I guess I'm hoping for a bit too much with that budget.

Requirements:

• 4 Door Sedan
• Km's can't be overly high (sub 120,000 km) and must be a 1999 or higher
• Somewhat fuel conservative (I drive to and from university, if I leave early in the morning and come late total time spent on the road would be like 1.5 hours, or maybe even 1h per a day, 5 days a week). Don't really want to be spending more than say $180 a month on fuel.
• Must be reliable …quot; I don’t want to buy a $12000 car and then spend like $2000 more in repairs over the next few years.

Others cars that I found on Trademe are:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=131787860

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=173293994

-Bit higher than budget, hopeful that they may come down. Also I’m not sure about fuel consumption it’s a 2500cc, but I’m told that it is not as bad as you would think?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=110640433

Any help would be greatly appreciated …quot; I’ve been searching for over a month with no luck, and am in a hurry.

Thanks,

wolv.

[bravo 34]

The shape you like is called an e46 (Thats the code number for that particular model).

What you'll find with an e46 is that when it needs repairs they will be much more expensive than the older models, esp if the auto gearbox needs repair at a later stage.

The same goes for the e39 which is what the 525i is that you linked to.

If you have a limited budget you may find spending $10k on an excellent condition e36 (the previous model 3-series built from 1992-1998) as the car you'll get for your money will be pretty mint and you'll have some left over for maintenance.

If you're set on an e46, you won't be going wrong as they are excellent cars, its just better to buy a sorted older car than a newer car with problems and hence a cheap price tag.

You'll find the 525i a fair bit thirstier than the 318i as it is also a heavier car, but its not that bad really. 2500cc is not a large motor if you're buying a full-sized saloon. If you want vheap gas you have to buy a smaller car, not just a smaller motor.

[wolv 0]

Hey,

Firstly thanks for all the advice. I understand BMWs are more expensive to repair and may not be as reliable as some japanese cars. But from what I hear they are alright. What I meant was that I don't want any disaster cars, like if I buy a 110,000km car I expect it to go a year or two without any problems, this seems reasonable enough right? As I understand some of the more serious problems (like gear box repairs) come at around 160,000 - 180,000km mark, is this right? I know sometimes cars just break, but I really want to avoid any models/dealers/places of origin that are known to have problems - so any previous experiences and advice in this department would be really appreciated.

Thanks again,

wolv.