Young asian boii 0 Report post Posted June 10, 2018 I am a university student looking into what to get as a first car, and one of the models I'm considering along with an Audi A4 and a few JDM's (Honda Integra & Prelude, Toyota Celica & Altezza, Nissan Silvia & Primera) is an old BMW 3 series from around the 90's or 2000, depending on what's available I guess. I see a lot of used BMW 3 series' for sale on Trade Me Motors, which are mostly around the 90's and early 2000's. Is there anything I need to know about daily driving and maintaining a 3 series ( from the 90's and early 2000's) that might important for me to consider? I hear from friends and family friends that BMW's are costly to maintain in NZ because of parts or something, but I want the BMW enthusiast community's opinion in this, as I don't know a lot about maintaining and owning European cars in NZ. I'm not gonna get a car till sometime at the end of this year (hopefully) or maybe even next year, depending on how soon I can get a part-time job, so I have lots of time to decide. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drtimwright 104 Report post Posted June 11, 2018 Hey, I have a 1998 BMW convertible. So 20 years old now! It's an E36 chassis (you'll get used to the chassis codes soon enough). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_3_Series#Third_generation_(E36;_1990–2000) I've had it 3 years now. With any older car, you'll get the normal things wearing out: suspension bushings, accessory belts, and other stuff. I haven't found those to be overly expensive. The E36, however, is known for cooling system failures. And if that happens, then it's costly to fix. Because your engine might be bung as a result. So try to find out what maintenance has been done on the cooling system: radiator, hoses, thermostat, water pump, etc. And direct your mechanic to throughly check the cooling system in any potential purchase. As for part prices, they haven't been too bad. There seems to be good availability locally and www.fcpeuro.com can deliver to NZ if you want to do a bit of DIY. Oh, and a convertible (or cabby as everyone here says) will always cost you more. Because of the extra moving parts. But they are SOO GOOD. Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
