BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted November 28, 2008 Hey to all, Joined up to hopefully get some much needed advice on buying/owning our first bmw!! We have a small budget (3 -3.5k) and weren't even looking at bmw's until we did a quick search for what cars were avail in our $$ range, and to our surprise saw a few reasonable looking bmw's in the list. These are our 3 contenders in order of preference: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.as...amp;permanent=0 http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=189097223 http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.as...amp;permanent=0 What's peoples thoughts/advice, considering age and price? We live in Wellington so will not be able to view or drive the two Auckland listings. Is it too risky to take their word on state of vehicles condition? The second car was previously owned by a bmw collector, wondering if they are members here? There are also these listings as potential choices: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-189223294.htm http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.as...amp;permanent=0 Again, what are peoples thoughts on the above cars? The '91 is appealing as it is from a dealer, at least providing some cover in terms of any potential problems soon after sale. The '89 for the recon engine and buy now price. I read here that the 318 and 320 have little difference in acceleration but the 318 is far more economical...?? We have always admired friends and families bmw's for the way they drive and styling, but had presumed that they would be beyond what we would spend for a 'run about'. Having never owned a European car, we were also under the impression (like many non-owners) that they can be expensive to maintain and service. Although I'm sure that's true of most models that are pushing into they're second decade! Look forward to your informed responses Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andre3000 55 Report post Posted November 28, 2008 Personally i think that 91 from the dealer looks the best. Less chance of rust as newer, body looks in good nick, and dealers tend to fix up all the little niggely problems that u get alot of in an e30. Good luck with the search Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
isis 16 Report post Posted November 28, 2008 e30's are a good choice with your budget. though you could pick up an early e36 as well. go for the 89-91 E30's - facelift. Try and get a manual if you can. the auto's in the e30s are well.... 318s are pretty economical, 320s are a waste of time Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted November 28, 2008 Personally i think that 91 from the dealer looks the best. Less chance of rust as newer, body looks in good nick, and dealers tend to fix up all the little niggely problems that u get alot of in an e30. Good luck with the search Cheers, will give them a call today for more info... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted November 28, 2008 e30's are a good choice with your budget. though you could pick up an early e36 as well. go for the 89-91 E30's - facelift. Try and get a manual if you can. the auto's in the e30s are well.... 318s are pretty economical, 320s are a waste of time Forgot to mention that the car is primarily for my partner who isn't too confident in driving a manual around the city.... Thanks for the advice! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cale 36 Report post Posted November 29, 2008 The '91 320i would be my pick of the bunch, 14" basketweaves and leather. 2.0L IL6 is a nice motor- should sound good too. Personally I like the look of post facelifts. 2.0L il6 is less economical than the 1.8L il4 mainly as even though it has more power, it is heavier you have to give it the boot to go anywhere quickly, but hey, petrol is only ~$1.40 now ha! That said, 1.8L is a bit asthmatic. Both are very reliable and strong motors as long as they have been/are well maintained. You are right about parts, people who don't know about these cars are the ones to say parts are expensive. Not so. Getting new parts from the stealer (dealer) is sometimes pricey but if you go to Ray (HellBM) or Gavin (Euro-Italian) who are forum sponsors here you will get good parts for great price. I would be hesitant about buying a car without seeing it, maybe its just me. If you are serious about one of them maybe someone in Auckland might view it for you? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JiB 0 Report post Posted November 29, 2008 Um, I would actually say that BMW's have higher maintenance costs than Toyota/Honda/Nissan of similar vintage. But you get what you pay for I'd highly recommend a pre-purchase inspection from a BMW specialist. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted November 29, 2008 Um, I would actually say that BMW's have higher maintenance costs than Toyota/Honda/Nissan of similar vintage. But you get what you pay for I'd highly recommend a pre-purchase inspection from a BMW specialist. Noted, cheers! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted November 29, 2008 The '91 320i would be my pick of the bunch, 14" basketweaves and leather. 2.0L IL6 is a nice motor- should sound good too. Personally I like the look of post facelifts. 2.0L il6 is less economical than the 1.8L il4 mainly as even though it has more power, it is heavier you have to give it the boot to go anywhere quickly, but hey, petrol is only ~$1.40 now ha! That said, 1.8L is a bit asthmatic. Both are very reliable and strong motors as long as they have been/are well maintained. You are right about parts, people who don't know about these cars are the ones to say parts are expensive. Not so. Getting new parts from the stealer (dealer) is sometimes pricey but if you go to Ray (HellBM) or Gavin (Euro-Italian) who are forum sponsors here you will get good parts for great price. I would be hesitant about buying a car without seeing it, maybe its just me. If you are serious about one of them maybe someone in Auckland might view it for you? Hey, thanks for the advice and info. Def wasn't keen on having to bid without testing and would have wanted to do a pre-purchase assessment... At least I'm getting good advice, and in less than 24 hours! the search continues... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1258 Report post Posted November 30, 2008 yea that 91 silver 320i gets my vote . last of teh e30 , new colour . leather doesn't ewar out like the cloth seats do . nice wheels . un modified car . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted November 30, 2008 yea that 91 silver 320i gets my vote . last of teh e30 , new colour . leather doesn't ewar out like the cloth seats do . nice wheels . un modified car . Have found yet another potential car here in welly from a member of the site! Will keep BS posted on how we go. Yea, it does look tidy, but from the research I've been doing (all 3 days of it, lol) it seems that the 320i is more thirsty for not much diff. Reminds me of the old 186, 202 debates.... Thought this would have gone for a bit more.... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=188344931 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmw.maniac 1 Report post Posted November 30, 2008 Another vote for the '91 320i The M20 (in 320i) is a strong, reliable motor, compared to the M40 (in post '88 318i) which is prone to problems with hydralic lifters. Just make sure you get the cambelt done in the M20! M20s also sound a hell of a lot better than the M40. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silver Fox 43 Report post Posted November 30, 2008 M40's fine, change oil and filter regularly. no problems. No tappets to worry about either. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jjs 60 Report post Posted November 30, 2008 Have you looked at any E36's? For under $4k you could score a nice NZ new 318i Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted November 30, 2008 Thanks for the feedback - Eddy, S'Fox, Crockett etc. Car will be for daily use and for us to learn the in's and out's of owning/up-keeping an older bmw. Looking to get something that's fairly economical on fuel for now. Have had some progress on a couple of things already and will be checking out a locally owned 318i tomorrow. Have also talked the partner round and we'll be going manual!! Looked breifly at a few e36's but actually prefer the shape and style of the earlier models. Plus if I squint real hard or sit way back from the lap top screen, the shape actually reminds me of my first car - a 79/80 sunbird! lol. Hope that doesn't get me banned from the site! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tire 10 Report post Posted December 1, 2008 People will have something to say about the reliability of all the e30 engines, m10, m20 and m40 but at the end of the day they are all sweet and will all pass 200,000 with regular oil and filter services. You wont get banned for saying e36s look gay - they do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted December 1, 2008 ^ Was more concerned with the ref to the sunbird!! Should mention it was the box type shape and had a 186 put in, some slight body mods -spoiler, flared gaurds, louver. 225 feet all rnd etc... Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the above! Hope no one gives me too much s**t, was about 15yrs ago and only cost me about 1k. Seemed a good idea at the time! Lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cale 36 Report post Posted December 1, 2008 ... louver ... Can't stand the things, reminds me of old commodores and falcoons. I think we can forgive you if you post up some pics of the new car when you get it- Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted December 1, 2008 Best thing about the car was the motor! Moved to welly to study (never left). The bloody louver almost flew off in the first decent storm after I got here! Hahaha. Will hopefully redeem myself soon. Maybe even this week! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BLACK DORIS 9 Report post Posted December 3, 2008 Hey, have started a new thread as there's a few questions in there that I'm hoping bimmersport members can advise me on. It's titled, noob search update and questions - go figure. cheers p.s. hope it's still in the right forum as it contains more tech type questions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
