I'm thinking about buying a 1993 BMW 325i. Automatic transmission, 173K. I have no experience with BMW's at all. What am I in for in terms of hidden expenses? Are there normal maintenance parts that are only carried at the dealership? Are repairs really that much more expensive than other cars? How many miles can I put on this thing before it falls apart if I take decent care of it?

9/2/2007 4:51:30 PM

repairs arent that much more depending on the part. how much is it?

9/2/2007 4:54:00 PM

think again.

9/2/2007 4:55:10 PM

my 1994 325ic wasnt bad for basic stuff the clutch was cheaper than my saturn to replace

9/2/2007 5:02:54 PM

word of advice, don't do it.

9/2/2007 5:13:05 PM

Care to elaborate?

All of this is assuming the car checks out fine by a mechanic of course.

9/2/2007 5:18:16 PM

it costs around 1500 right? thats a cheap mistake.

even if it blows up pulling out of the dmv you will have learned a valuable lesson.

9/2/2007 5:20:35 PM

If the price was really good, you should consider it if you are slightly mechanically inclined. Like most older cars, things are going to wear out and need to be replaced no matter how good the car has been taken care of in the past. The e30 and e36 cars (bmw 3 series) aren't extremely complicated cars to work on and parts are relatively cheap. I get some of my parts for my e30 from bmaparts.com. Hope this helps somewhat.

9/2/2007 5:21:35 PM

Is it unreasonable to expect it to hit 250K assuming it's been maintained properly?

I can do a few things myself, but major repairs like replacing a transmission or rebuilding an engine are out of my league.

[Edited on September 2, 2007 at 5:27 PM. Reason : .]

9/2/2007 5:24:20 PM

If you have a job go for it.

If not buy a honda.

9/2/2007 5:41:11 PM

I dunno where the hell all the garage guys are this weekend.. Must be on some kind of trip together. They could give a hell of a lot more detail than anyone else here. I'd suggest finding some bmw forums or something and reading/asking around. As long as you aren't expecting the car to never have a problem and you are capable of doing some wrenching yourself and dealing with little things that just aren't going to be right on an older car, I really doubt you'll have any huge problems with it. I'm not the most knowledgeable on bmw's, though.

9/2/2007 5:41:31 PM

^^ exactly. if you can afford to roll the dice, go for it. if you'd be screwed if it died or started nickle and diming you worse than expected, get a honda or toyota or something. you'll have plenty of time for the "cool" cars when you get a career level job and salary.

9/2/2007 7:29:00 PM

173k and auto....forget it...

9/2/2007 7:43:02 PM

I'm not buying it because it's "cool." I'm buying it under the impression that it will last for quite a few more miles with fewer major things going wrong with it than most cars in the same age/milage/price range. If that impression is wrong, tell me. I don't mind putting some money into it, but if a repair is going to cost half the value of the car I'm gonna buy another junker instead of paying to fix it. I'm in grad school, but get a stipend. My wife already has a career. We just financed a car in December. Our other car just bit the dust and I want to pay cash for something rather than having two car payments.

9/2/2007 7:43:06 PM

I'd go more towards what duke said about a honda or toyota then for now

9/2/2007 7:43:54 PM

miata if you want something fun

civic

sentra

etc

9/2/2007 7:46:25 PM

175,000 is alot of miles on any car, from any country. Sure it may make it to 250,000, but to rely on the BMW name alone to get it there is foolish.

You can probably buy a ford taurus, etc, that's ten years newer for less money. That's a decade newer. An equally boring people mover with the same power and half the miles.

Trust me, I nursed my daily driver Nissan past 220,000, and I regret I didn't sell it at 175,000. Parts, even reasonably priced import parts, add up fast. Not to mention your time and busted knuckles.

[Edited on September 2, 2007 at 8:02 PM. Reason : http://www.ncstatesurplus.com/ssp/public/ssphomepage/ssp.htm]

9/2/2007 7:58:19 PM

Quote :

"An equally boring people mover with the same power "

that sort of Consumer Reports type of comparison is completely ridiculous and meaningless if you're even enough of a "car guy" to compare the power output of the two cars. The BMW is about 10 times less boring.


i'm not saying that getting a newer Taurus is a bad idea for what it sounds like you want in a car...i'm just saying that it is in no way comparable to an E36, even if they produce a similar amount of horsepower.



and yes, i would say that BMW maintainance and repairs are substantially more expensive than lower end cars. My college roommate had a 318i. the AC compressor shit the bed, and the cost to replace it was like $1200 or something.

I used to have a 330ci (pics in my gallery). Fantastic car (sold it to get something more performance oriented), but my buddy who bought it just took it in for the 70k service and spent $2100. They did a front brake job, replaced some temp sensor for the AC, and did the standard 70k service.


BMW makes a fantastic product, but to buy one as an endeavor in frugality or financial responsibility is wishful thinking. It's a premium car, and everything about it commands a premium price (i mean, maybe some guy somewhere got a clutch replaced cheaper than in a saturn, but in general, you're gonna have to pay to play.)

9/2/2007 8:10:00 PM

Eh, 170hp just doesn't do it for me, no matter how well the car is balanced. But yeah, what Duke said: it's a 15-year-old premium car.

9/2/2007 8:16:58 PM

oh, they're not fast--merely adequate. no doubt about that. the driving experience, though, is altogether different from something like a taurus, or even a civic or sentra.

and by different, i mean way better. they aren't sports cars, and don't do anything exceptionally well, but they're really good at everything (at least that's the way my E46 was, and the E36 M3 I drove, and dad's E46, and his Z3 2.8, and his X5s).

9/2/2007 8:44:24 PM

The e36 is a great chasis (I should know, I've had 6 of them), but if you're considering getting it with an automatic, you're not really going to get anything positive with the car. I'd go for a Honda Civic or something, they're not THAT bad.

To answer your question though, a properly cared for e36 should indeed last longer than your average car, my current e36 M3 has 200k miles, gets tracked very heavily (I don't hesitate to drive it to tracks 500+miles away), and still has as new compression on the factory engine. Doesn't use or leak any fluids. But solid !=cheaper to own.

Listen to Duke, and others above this post. Mostly spot on.
Ahmet

9/2/2007 8:44:27 PM

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/car/412078370.html

9/2/2007 9:57:40 PM

check out the e36 vert at the used cafr lot off method and western blvd.

9/2/2007 10:19:10 PM

Quote :

"Automatic transmission, 173K"

this is why you should stay away. that transmission is going to bite it in the next 10-25k. and its going to be balls expensive to replace. the engine will probably last to 250, but all BMW's/Mercedes require a decent amount of upkeep. if you arent a weekend mechanic, its going to eat a hole in your pocket.

9/2/2007 11:17:28 PM

Thanks for all the warnings. I'll keep looking around for a newer car with fewer miles. The test drive hooked me though. After I get my PhD and am making plenty of money I will own a BMW.

9/3/2007 12:36:12 AM

Quote :

"you'll have plenty of time for the "cool" cars when you get a career level job and salary."

Quote :

"miata if you want something fun"

9/3/2007 12:45:28 AM