richb 0 Report post Posted March 23, 2009 (edited) Joe wants his first car and despite my efforts is thinking bmw rather than alfa ... don't worry we will work on him .... he is in wellington and as a 19 year old has not the greatest budget , so we are looking for a bimmer that is strong and reliable as he would struggle for the coin to repair if it broke , if you have a good one let me know cheers richard opps re the typo in the heading . Edited March 23, 2009 by richb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bravo 35 Report post Posted March 23, 2009 (edited) Sounds like he is on the right track. Can you refine youre requirements more so we can help maybe a bit better: Approx budget. Proposed engine size or performance criteria Safety features required Number of doors etc My first suggestion would be take a look at a 318i manual e30, or a 325i manual e30, or 318i, or 325i, or 323i e36. Welcome to the site! Graham Edited March 23, 2009 by bravo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richb 0 Report post Posted March 23, 2009 na he's young and will sort his stuff given time ..... his mum has an alfa , his dad a m5 and he loves em both .. the cars too . yes budget would be around 2500 and prefer a smaller engine and his mum says ABS and airbags would be good , which would point toward an E36 ... he likes the shape of the E30 though . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huff3r 347 Report post Posted March 29, 2009 na he's young and will sort his stuff given time ..... his mum has an alfa , his dad a m5 and he loves em both .. the cars too . yes budget would be around 2500 and prefer a smaller engine and his mum says ABS and airbags would be good , which would point toward an E36 ... he likes the shape of the E30 though . E30s have built in ABS in the drivers right foot, or at least mine does As for airbags... then it starts getting expensive.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JiB 0 Report post Posted March 29, 2009 Depends how much power he wants/is allowed I guess a 325i E30 would be best value for money. Some of these came with ABS Cheaper to fix (I think) Simple car, not that much to go wrong. The facelift models - 1988 onwards have improved crash structures if safety is a concern. However, these are generally more sought after (read: expensive) than the pre facelift models. I bought my pre facelift 325i auto (with sports/economy/traffic trans option) for $2000 - full leather, sunroof, no rust, etc. An extra $500 spent on it and it would've been a very reliable car Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites