First car for Miss M (aged 15, going on 20).

[gjm 3194]

I'm on the look out for a first car for Miss M. She really (really, really) likes the E30, and a perfect world would see a cheap poverty-spec 316 or 318 manual pop up for sale at just the right time. Mechanical stuff I'll sort - bodywork I'm more wary of.

Early 4-pots were the M10 and I confess to leaning towards one of those. As far as I can tell, it's robust and simple.

The M40 is a later engine and I've heard some bad stories about them, enough to again have me favour the M10.

Early days. And I appreciate the E30 is very popular among those who drive as quickly as possible in circles at the weekend.

Of course, the E36s are becoming cheaper. Not quite so simple as far as I can tell, but not necessarily too complex either. I'm not as keen and feel the build quality isn't as good, especially the interior. Lots of tales of door cards falling off, saggy roof lining, dodgy plastics, and more.

An E46 is (again) more complex, and I suspect likely to be out of budget. That said, I've seen a couple needing some work sell for around $500 recently.

If I had my way, I'd probably opt for the E28 for her, but Mrs M feels that is too big, and the engine too powerful. <rolls eyes>

Edited April 23, 2015 by gjm

[kiwi328i 118]

My first car, and I mean the first car I bought with my own money and drove as a daily driver registered in my name was a VC Valiant 225 slant. I don't buy into the size thing too much, but I do like the idea of simple as a first car. E28's rock, as a first car and something to start your life long love affair with the automobile with all the trappings of rust, mechanical failures, walking to the gas station and failing on the motorway...I mean most of us learnt the hard way, there is no perfect first car. Just a first car. An E28 or an E30, I would have the E28, but hey many more E30's out there and probably easier in the long run, but E28's are really cool, and they are not big at all!

Good luck with the search!

[Apex 693]

A tidy, 318i or 316i would be a great first car.

Or a E36 318Ti.

You know you will be the one who gets called up when it dies though.

This is cool: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-873114116.htm

[camera doctor 25]

Personally, I would not let my kids drive a car without ABS and airbags - yes I know the knockers will say 'teach them to drive properly' but why would you not want the safest thing for them?

I helped my son buy his first car - a Starlet with ABS and Airbag, glad I did, he had 2 accidents, one major - car was written off, he was fine - not sure how safe an E30 would be ?

He then bought a E36 with airbags - no accidents in that one thankfully

[gjm 3194]

A tidy, 318i or 316i would be a great first car.

Or a E36 318Ti.

You know you will be the one who gets called up when it dies though.

This is cool: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-873114116.htm

I saw that. More than Dad can afford to spend at the moment, but it is a cool little car.

I'm keen to stay on a 4-pot for her first car if possible. I know where there is a SA 325i manual going cheap, but...

Personally, I would not let my kids drive a car without ABS and airbags - yes I know the knockers will say 'teach them to drive properly' but why would you not want the safest thing for them?

I helped my son buy his first car - a Starlet with ABS and Airbag, glad I did, he had 2 accidents, one major - car was written off, he was fine - not sure how safe an E30 would be ?

He then bought a E36 with airbags - no accidents in that one thankfully

I entirely understand, and it is something I am bearing in mind.

[camera doctor 25]

Get Miss M to ask around her mates for the Facebook pages with car sales - most cheap cars are sold that way now, Trademe fees are too high

Edited April 23, 2015 by camera doctor

[Apex 693]

+1 for ABS. Near all crashed I had as a youngster... and not so youngster were from a lock up.

[lord_jagganath 421]

2nd thing is, make sure that the ABS system is working properly. after spinning around on the track with a malfunctioning ABS system on the work ute during a drivers course . it would suffice to say that experience wasn't happy on my back.

[pldubs 308]

Get her a mk2 escort.

If its never running she can never crash it!

[gjm 3194]

Get her a mk2 escort.

If its never running she can never crash it!

That's what her boyfriend is getting - Mk2 2-door, 1600...

[Allanw 1052]

I seem to recall a crash test in the 90's, where a Hyundai Sonata and a VW Polo where crashed into each other. While both had airbags, the Polo afforded FAR more protection than the much larger Hyundai. Potentially, the Polo without airbags may have actually been better than the Hyundai with???

I sold an 96 Legacy wagon (NA) I had to a 16 year old girl touring the country. She was looking at the Legacy, or a Starlet. A week or so after I sold it, the girls aunty phoned to thank me for talking them into a bigger car - the girl was turning across SH1, and pulled across the path of a car, and the front left of the legacy was hit so hard, it spun fast enough for the back corner to hit the same car! An airbag in the steering wheel would have done nothing/little, but luckily, the legacy took the brunt, and only gave her some massive bruising from the seatbelt, and minor cuts from glass and flying plastic. I can't imagine a Starlet/Logo/Mirage etc for similar money, doing anywhere near as well.

I'd certainly be looking at crash data etc, if I was concerned about safety.

[MD13 459]

Safety? Get her a bog standard 520 - e34 with an auto box. Big, heavy and slow :-)

[aja540i 1903]

Stick with the e30, no safety bits but a good solid car and i bet everyone on here drives a little bit more carefully when they are in a car without abs, dsc, srs, etc. Otherwise i can recommend an e34, see profile pic!!

[gjm 3194]

If an E30... Then the M10 or the M40?

(Of course, there's always the E28 518 option with an M10, too.)

[qube 3568]

why do u insist on a bmw? i think there are far better first car options for a young 16yo girl for similar money.

sure, a toyota or nissan wont look as good or as cool but safety sure is important and im pretty sure within the first year she will be good enough to get a proper car.

also being a first car shes bound to get a few dents or back into a pole sort of situation and you will have to fork out decent money for e30 panel and paint whereas a cheap jappa u can just leave it be and upgrade her to a newer car in a few months or so.

[gjm 3194]

why do u insist on a bmw? i think there are far better first car options for a young 16yo girl for similar money.

sure, a toyota or nissan wont look as good or as cool but safety sure is important and im pretty sure within the first year she will be good enough to get a proper car.

also being a first car shes bound to get a few dents or back into a pole sort of situation and you will have to fork out decent money for e30 panel and paint whereas a cheap jappa u can just leave it be and upgrade her to a newer car in a few months or so.

Oh, there's no insistence on a BMW! Thought this might be the right place to ask about them though... ;-)

Lots of other things being considered. Japanese cars I'm less happy with (although I appreciate there are plenty of people feel the same about European ones) as I just don't know anything about them. I'm going to be the one who gets the call: "Da-ad....? The car is running funny..." And I'm the one who will have to fix it.

My only real experience of Japanese cars was when a heater stopped working in my sister's car. Take chassis number, pay a fortune for a replacement, get home again, pull entire dash to pieces to get to the motor and find... It doesn't fit. Turns out there were 7 slightly different motors fitted, with slightly different fittings, and the only way to be sure was to 'bring your old one in mate'. Just how do you do that when half the inside of the car is missing?

OK - that's perhaps an unusual situation, I don't know. But you can imagine it leaves a pretty bad impression. And I know the same can be true of European cars - Fiats, anyone?

[nick496 268]

The first car I got for the wife was a pulsar, which had ABS and airbags, and all the nice little dings. She loved it.

Got her a nice E46 328i, and now she complains about the running costs.

First car, hard to beat the pulsar.

Do love my E30 though.

[qube 3568]

pulsar great car

[Breaker 980]

If your gonna fix it you might as well enjoy it sounds like you'll be working on it as much as she'll be driving it

[qube 3568]

if thats the case.. e28 all the way haha

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2122]

nothing wrong with any E30 engine, all simple and easy, m40 would be my pick for a daily etc.

E36 not too bad but a bit heavier, a bit thirstier, is it you paying gas?

whatever it is get manual and teach her how to drive properly. can always go to an auto later.

having said that, E39s are cheap now can pick one up for a couple grand....

[Neal 512]

Tough one really. My 2.5 year old girl has a BGR / White Mk1 mini at the moment. Her mother isn't keen on it but my thinking is in 13 years time we can trade it for a modern economical multi airbag safe hybrid car.

If I were to get her a car now it would be a dual airbag e36 something or a z3 to get rid of the backseat so to speak. E36's are E30 money but are quite a jump in safety and don't have that wooden brake pedal or non abs of the E30

My wife is still with me because her e36 at the time did a great job at the time when it was involved in a major collision. This model BMW has my respect.

[gjm 3194]

nothing wrong with any E30 engine, all simple and easy, m40 would be my pick for a daily etc.

E36 not too bad but a bit heavier, a bit thirstier, is it you paying gas?

whatever it is get manual and teach her how to drive properly. can always go to an auto later.

having said that, E39s are cheap now can pick one up for a couple grand....

I suspect I'd be paying for everything, although if she has a car she has no excuses for needing a lift to work!

Manual is definitely first choice. The Merc is an auto, the 320d has selectable auto. She'll get experience of all three.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2122]

E36's are E30 money

show me these E30s!?

can buy about 3 E36s for the equivelent E30 these days!

[gjm 3194]

Stripping underseal off the black Ti racecar this weekend. It's an opportunity to learn about the E36 - that's a car I've never worked on in the past.