Buying a BMW - Advice Please!

[Jamex316 1]

I'm looking to buy my first BMW, any advice would be appreciated.

Imported or NZ New?

[Mark 178]

Do some research. Google all you can first.

I notice from your other thread that you want to buy an E39 5 series? There is plenty of information on this site about these cars, they get discussed often.

Good luck!

[briancol 3]

I'm looking to buy my first BMW, any advice would be appreciated.

Imported or NZ New?

First piece of advice. Get a prepurchase check by a BMW specialist mechanic, not the local 'grease monkey' or car inspection outfit.

Edited January 5, 2011 by C0SM0S

[Jamex316 1]

Thanks guys, are the japan or singapore imported bmw's any good, I've heard they are not as good as the nz new.

[M3_Power 636]

First piece of advice. Get a prepurchase check by a BMW specialist mechanic, not the local 'grease monkey' or car inspection outfit.

Also preferably somebody with a BMW scanner tool as you'd be surprised that not all faults show up (actually quite common for it to not show) on the dash and some BMW specific codes aren't read by generic OBD scanners.

[Driftit 2078]

Talk to any inspection service or BMW specialist and they will tell you to stay away from Singapore cars. But there was a recent argument on Bimmersport with a bunch of people backing the Singapore cars.

My personal experience with them has been very very bad and costly. And I still feel people who recommend them are handing the person a grenade.

Jap cars usually have more options than the NZ new ones. NZ new ones are usually in better condition.

But get the car to a specialist to have it checked. Where in NZ are you. We can recommend one close to you.

[Jamex316 1]

I'll take serious note to that! I'm in Hamilton.

I'm hoping to get a 2000-2002 E39, I suppose its pointless going for a 520i, I wonder if a 525i or 528i is any good...

[Michael. 2313]

2001/2 540i would be the way to go if you want performance

...or if you want a nice pleasant, but not so fast drive a 530i is the better option.

Don't waste your time with the 520i or 523i variants, completely underpowered for a car of thats size, the 528i is okay.

[Jamex316 1]

Thanks mate, 540i sounds thirsty as we do town driving mainly, I think I'll stick with the 530i.

[kiwi535 538]

Thanks mate, 540i sounds thirsty as we do town driving mainly, I think I'll stick with the 530i.

if you want economy see if you find a 530d(diesel) rare but worth it if you want torque and economy,they dont have the top end rush or outright horsepower of a equivalent petrol car but have thir own attributes.if you get a chance drive one

[Jamex316 1]

Don't like the diesels man, gotta pay tax and all. Also I don't want to spend that much at the mo.

Has anyone done exhaust or other mods to improve performance? 0-100 in 7.6 I thought would be better for a 3 litre.

[Michael. 2313]

You would need to retune it if you tweaked the exhaust, the ECUs can be remaped at least.

But mid 7s too 100 is about right for a car of that size with an automatic box. By comparison, a 330i is in the low sixes because its carry a fair bit less weight. If you want a reasonably quick off the shelf six, a 330i sedan is a good buy.

[Jamex316 1]

3 series too small.

Sweet, Do you mean the tuning the factory ecu?

Who can do it?

Which mods are more effective?

[Driftit 2078]

Gavin @ Hi Velocity can tune it. He is up in Auckland though.

[Gotheschu 1]

Gavin @ Hi Velocity can tune it. He is up in Auckland though.

+1

[Jamex316 1]

Cool, will get up there when I have my bmw at hand.

[matt45 1]

if you're city driving then Parking Sensors Or a Reversing camera (can be installed if it has a tv monitor already) is a must ... people said this before i got mine, i didn't realize how right they were until i got it, i would be completely screwed without the PDC.

How much are you looking to spend? personally i would allow 15-20k for a 530 in good condition and spec.

[Jamex316 1]

At the most $15k.

Whats pdc?

[matt45 1]

At the most $15k.

Whats pdc?

park distance control

[Jamex316 1]

IC, I'm more performance or accessories oriented~~

[Jamex316 1]

Is the e38 728i any good??

I know it lacks power, but that's not an issue if its for a 7 series cos I'd be wanting to just cruise along in it as opposed to performance.

[my_e36 43]

Don't like the diesels man, gotta pay tax and all. Also I don't want to spend that much at the mo.

Has anyone done exhaust or other mods to improve performance? 0-100 in 7.6 I thought would be better for a 3 litre.

Many people don't like diesel for the extra "tax" (RUC) that you pay separately. It actually depends on how much distance you do in a year. You are looking at around 20,000km per year for most small cars. Generally the thirsty the car you are getting, the less k you need to do to break even in petrol cost vs the diesel fuel + RUC cost.

As for performance, BMWs are no drag car. If you buy one for straight line performance, there are better value cars out there.