New to BMW, looking to buy...

[ryadre 12]

Hi everyone, my first post here as I am starting to look into maybe buying our first euro car for my wife and kids. The car will mainly for my wife and 3 kids who are under 10 years old driving around town, school drop offs etc, and maybe the odd trip out of town (we generally use my Ranger when we head out of town). Am thinking of buying a wagon due to the larger family, and the odd time transporting large dog somewhere. Currently we have a people mover which has done its time for when the kids were younger...

I have started looking online into 2005 to 2008 3 or 5 series wagons, mostly Jap import, and prefer the motorsport package obviously. I read that the 4 cyl engines could be good to stay clear of? Also would like to have NZ radio freq which I see I should be able to alter the world tuner in, unless it had the idrive unit I guess (which looks like al the 5 series have?)

Does anyone one have any opinions for me on what would be better? Realistically we would only go up to $20k for our next car.

Any issues to look out for?

[benpaul12 62]

Welcome! My thoughts:

3 series e46 wagons: probably the best looking wagon BMW has produced. Stay away from the 4cyl options here as the smaller 6cyls have a beautiful sound, feel and performance. The boot isn't that big, but the rear/front seats area is very comfortable. You might find in the used market that many of these by now have had their radios updated or converted. The M-spec e46s have a firm ride and based on how light (in comparison with new models) it is, the ride can feel rough at times.

3 series e91 wagon: not the best looking wagon, but a very good car. Comfortable with heaps of people in it, nicely kitted. Stay away from the 4cyl versions. Needs to be m-spec to look decent. 335i wagon would be AMAZING.

5 series e39 wagon: awesome looking, big, but getting old. Ones that have been well maintained and good looking combinations of colours are harder to find.

5 series e60 wagon: looks like a van, but excellent, cushy wagon. 525i would be a good bet here in terms of power vs. fuel economy.

I'd probably pick the 325i e46 if it was up to me, but I have nostalgia for the e46.

I know many people don't like it, but have you looked around at the X3? Some of them look awesome, and are a good small size SUV.

[ryadre 12]

awesome thanks for your input, will have a look

[ryadre 12]

Not too keen on the X3, we have had both suv and wagons before and prefer to go with a wagon. Price wise to get a msport wagon we would have to look at 325i E91 or maybe E60 5 series. Our current car is 2004 and we want to go up a few years. Looks like most cars would be around 80 to 110km on the clock, would they be due for any major service or parts?

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2122]

would they be due for any major service or parts?

at that milage, there is no way anyone can give you an answer. a proactive owner / dealer serviced vehicle might be fine, or it could have had no major work by that age.

you need to take into consideration milage relevant to age.

[coop 261]

I'd guess, generally, at 110k you may get another 40 to 50k worth of stress free motoring before you may need to do stuff, bushes, wheel bearings, gaskets/seals, water pump etc. Not BMW specific but any brand really,

E60 530i Touring would be the best bet. I'd look into a warranty or some type of insurance.

Some will probably suggest the over priced 3.0 diesels which are a waste of time considering both of the 3.0 petrol engines deliver out standing fuel economy especially on the open road.

530 touring v X5 3.0 or 325/330 touring v X3 a no brainer considering all the high mileage E53 X5s (at that mileage where thing start or have gone south) go for a similar price as a 530i touring with under 100k on the clock.

Then you get the higher fuel consumption and added complexity of the 4wd system. Put simply the only reason why these things are popular is because every bastards neighbor has one or wants one.

Edited July 8, 2015 by coop

[ryadre 12]

Yes not to keen on diesel and fuel economy is no big deal due to the low mileage we do in the car. Might be a dirty word here but I guess I could look at an Audi a4 or rs4 wagon too. Need to go and have a look in the flesh at all our options I guess to see what we like.

Edited July 8, 2015 by ryadre

[Mark 178]

I recently bought a 2000 E46 touring 325i as a replacement family car. While looking I test drove a couple of 2007+ A4 Avants. I may be bias but even though the BMW is 7 years older it felt far more solid and rode more smoothly.

I too would recommend a 6 cylinder E91 or E61. Excellent value for money. Just buy a warranty for piece of mind.

[Driftit 1948]

I have a 2005 E60 530D Motorsport for sale for $16Kono.

It has higher kms but being a well maintained diesel it doesn't really matter.

Superior economy and torque over the petrol equivalents. Over 1000kms per tank with nearly the same performance as the petrol's.

http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/53251-2005-e60-530d/

Otherwise Milan on this forum has his 530i Wagon for sale. Very high spec.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/910151148

[ryadre 12]

I have a 2005 E60 530D Motorsport for sale for $16Kono.

It has higher kms but being a well maintained diesel it doesn't really matter.

Superior economy and torque over the petrol equivalents. Over 1000kms per tank with nearly the same performance as the petrol's.

http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/53251-2005-e60-530d/

Otherwise Milan on this forum has his 530i Wagon for sale. Very high spec.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/910151148

Both really nice looking cars, not sure if diesel would be ideal for mainly short runabout trips most of the time?, plus the extra hassle of RUC, we live in rural town so its basically 5 mins down the road, then back again. Probably wont buy another black car, just hard to keep looking clean, and its always me who ends up having to wash the vehicles!

[ryadre 12]

I recently bought a 2000 E46 touring 325i as a replacement family car. While looking I test drove a couple of 2007+ A4 Avants. I may be bias but even though the BMW is 7 years older it felt far more solid and rode more smoothly.

I too would recommend a 6 cylinder E91 or E61. Excellent value for money. Just buy a warranty for piece of mind.

Thanks for you input, yea I will definetly have to have a closer look at everything and test drive when the time comes.

Out of interest what does a basic mechaincal warranty cost per year, have never bought one before. Is autosure the main one?

Edited July 8, 2015 by ryadre

[Matth5 471]

Cost of the warranty might vary. Dealer quoted me $1500 for a 3 year autosure warranty. Excess is $350 and covers up to $5000.
Or I could pay $2000 for the extreme warranty that covers some extra items and up to $10000.

In the end he gave me the standard 3 year warranty for free. Think negotiating a free warranty is easier than negotiating the price down, at least the dealer I dealt with said yes right away when I asked.

This was for a 2010 BMW 335i, not the E46 on my profile, I'm sure that one would be way to high mileage for a warranty.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Matth5

[ryadre 12]

yea i had a quick look at autosure website and it looks liek they cover up to 160kms and 16 years old, which woul dall be fine for us looking around 80-100km

[Allanw 1051]

getting the warranty chucked in is always easier, because they have a pretty decent margin on them for the dealer - you get a better "discount" for a lot less "cost" to the dealer (lower margin etc). Same with finance - sometimes the finance commision is more than the commision for selling the car!

[benpaul12 62]

^ Careful with the add-on insurance though. When I financed my car they tried to add insurance which was an extra $2.2k to the total bill, which is quite a bit when you're paying interest.

Look around and get it separately if it seems expensive, I found AA had mechanical insurance for a Euro at $70 per month.

[ryadre 12]

Thanks guys

[benpaul12 62]

Please don't get an Audi lol...http://dougdemuro.kinja.com/audis-boring-styling-has-turned-its-sedans-into-shoe-si-1529905532

[HSB 282]

Audi ...rs4 wagon too.

this if you would like to burn some money lmao

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

Interesting to see peoples take on this. If it was me, I'd be into the diesel 5 series straight away. You can't argue RUC is a hassle when you can buy them from the petrol station at 10,000km a time, at the same time as you fill your tank. And all that torque and economy...

[coop 261]

what diesel economy?! It may better the petrol by 1.5l/100km open road and maybe double that around town. Nothing to write home about. Then the added expense of when it's shits itself. More expensive parts. Less of them on the road so parts aren't abundant like the 318/530/540 petrol etc. water pump for my 320d, BMW have none in stock, 10 days ex Germany etc.

That's before taking into account the extra asking price of the diesel over the petrol equalivent, which will take years of driving to make up the difference.

If our diesel was priced the same as oz then fair enough. About 5 cents cheaper per litre and no road users.

Put simply with ruc it makes no sense owning a diesel car.

At the same time modern efficient petrol engines are making diesels redundant in anything less than a SUV capable of towing decent weight.

Edited July 9, 2015 by coop

[MD13 459]

And it sounds like a tractor...

[ryadre 12]

Yes I have just always had in my mind that it's mainly beneficial having diesel if i was doing big kms like I do in my new ranger. But for the wife car doing small school runs and the odd trip to Hamilton petrol is fine.

[ryadre 12]

this if you would like to burn some money lmao

Fair call, just rattling off what looked ok looking online quickly

[Olaf 3243]

I dig the e46 touring, have had mine for 2.5 years and done about 38,000 kms (it's now on 148k). It was a fresh import with Japan service history.

Not convinced of the argument buying at 110k kms providing for 40-odd kms of low-maintenance motoring! I've spent two years catching up on deferred maintenance, and discovering the numerous 'common failures' of the e46. Don't get me wrong, I really like driving it. I am left wondering if the e90 touring is a significant improvement - I hope it will be!

I now have what is a pretty well-maintained example! Just need to get that new AC compressor sorted, and it's time for new shocks and mounts/bushes etc.

Do your homework before you buy up, it could cost you plenty.

[ryadre 12]

I'm kinda leaning towards the e61 530i motorsport wagon at the moment I think. What's the story with the Japanese idrive radio and nav. I see a few imports advertising that they have nz radio working in them. Do you get a bmw yard to reprogram it or something?