Which BMW for £5k
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Due to an upcoming house purchase I have been forced to sell my TVR Griffith 500 to pay for the stamp duty - it makes me feel sad just writing that.
I still have my trusty old Fiesta 1.1 as a shopping trolley and my Kawasaki ZX6R for outright hooliganism, but am going to need another car for weekends away and occasional fun. I commute to work on the train, so don't need anything to cope with big miles, but do want something for the occasional weekend away and weekend blast.
A few years ago I had a 318is, which was a lovely car, but just too slow to be much fun. I am going to have a budget of about £5k and have been thinking about the following:
• E34 M5 - Gorgeous, but potentially expensive to run given that my budget will only buy me a leggy old model
• E39 540 - Great barge, but perhaps a bit dull
• E36 M3 - Lovely, if not classic M3, but again my budget is only likely to buy me a leggy old model
• E30 325i Sport - Retro cool, but so hard to find one that hasn't been missed with (phat rims anyone)
• 635 Highline - Gorgeous retro coupe, with real character
I don't mean to offend anyone with my comments on the above cars, but am struggling to know which direction to go. The M5 would be my choice if I could find a good model within my budget, but following that probably an M3 then 635 Highline. Running costs are a consideration, but I can stomach £1k -£2k per year, which would make the TVR seem cheap (£6k in 6 months).
What do you guys think? Am I being horribly optimistic for my budget?
Cheers,
Alex
Due to an upcoming house purchase I have been forced to sell my TVR Griffith 500 to pay for the stamp duty - it makes me feel sad just writing that.
I still have my trusty old Fiesta 1.1 as a shopping trolley and my Kawasaki ZX6R for outright hooliganism, but am going to need another car for weekends away and occasional fun. I commute to work on the train, so don't need anything to cope with big miles, but do want something for the occasional weekend away and weekend blast.
A few years ago I had a 318is, which was a lovely car, but just too slow to be much fun. I am going to have a budget of about £5k and have been thinking about the following:
• E34 M5 - Gorgeous, but potentially expensive to run given that my budget will only buy me a leggy old model
• E39 540 - Great barge, but perhaps a bit dull
• E36 M3 - Lovely, if not classic M3, but again my budget is only likely to buy me a leggy old model
• E30 325i Sport - Retro cool, but so hard to find one that hasn't been missed with (phat rims anyone)
• 635 Highline - Gorgeous retro coupe, with real character
I don't mean to offend anyone with my comments on the above cars, but am struggling to know which direction to go. The M5 would be my choice if I could find a good model within my budget, but following that probably an M3 then 635 Highline. Running costs are a consideration, but I can stomach £1k -£2k per year, which would make the TVR seem cheap (£6k in 6 months).
What do you guys think? Am I being horribly optimistic for my budget?
Cheers,
Alex
Well the only car that doesn't seem to have any drawbacks in your list is the 635, which (as it happens) would be my choice.
You would get a nice one for £5k (although not as nice as allnighter's - http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0... ) but you would need to choose carefully. As I'm sure you know, rust is an issue and they don't like being left standing for long periods. Tip-top service history is a must.
My experience was that a £2k p.a. budget is about right to keep it on the road - these are all now old cars that need love and attention. But marvellous, beautiful cars. I still miss mine!
The problem with the highline is that there are lots of additional electrical bits to go wrong - especially the seats.
Good luck with the search!
You would get a nice one for £5k (although not as nice as allnighter's - http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0... ) but you would need to choose carefully. As I'm sure you know, rust is an issue and they don't like being left standing for long periods. Tip-top service history is a must.
My experience was that a £2k p.a. budget is about right to keep it on the road - these are all now old cars that need love and attention. But marvellous, beautiful cars. I still miss mine!
The problem with the highline is that there are lots of additional electrical bits to go wrong - especially the seats.
Good luck with the search!
Alex Gurr said:
Hi Guys,
Due to an upcoming house purchase I have been forced to sell my TVR Griffith 500 to pay for the stamp duty - it makes me feel sad just writing that.
I still have my trusty old Fiesta 1.1 as a shopping trolley and my Kawasaki ZX6R for outright hooliganism, but am going to need another car for weekends away and occasional fun. I commute to work on the train, so don't need anything to cope with big miles, but do want something for the occasional weekend away and weekend blast.
A few years ago I had a 318is, which was a lovely car, but just too slow to be much fun. I am going to have a budget of about £5k and have been thinking about the following:
• E34 M5 - Gorgeous, but potentially expensive to run given that my budget will only buy me a leggy old model
• E39 540 - Great barge, but perhaps a bit dull
• E36 M3 - Lovely, if not classic M3, but again my budget is only likely to buy me a leggy old model
• E30 325i Sport - Retro cool, but so hard to find one that hasn't been missed with (phat rims anyone)
• 635 Highline - Gorgeous retro coupe, with real character
I don't mean to offend anyone with my comments on the above cars, but am struggling to know which direction to go. The M5 would be my choice if I could find a good model within my budget, but following that probably an M3 then 635 Highline. Running costs are a consideration, but I can stomach £1k -£2k per year, which would make the TVR seem cheap (£6k in 6 months).
What do you guys think? Am I being horribly optimistic for my budget?
Cheers,
Alex
What about a 320D 134/150bhp or a very leggy 330D 184bhp SE? Or even a 325i legyDue to an upcoming house purchase I have been forced to sell my TVR Griffith 500 to pay for the stamp duty - it makes me feel sad just writing that.
I still have my trusty old Fiesta 1.1 as a shopping trolley and my Kawasaki ZX6R for outright hooliganism, but am going to need another car for weekends away and occasional fun. I commute to work on the train, so don't need anything to cope with big miles, but do want something for the occasional weekend away and weekend blast.
A few years ago I had a 318is, which was a lovely car, but just too slow to be much fun. I am going to have a budget of about £5k and have been thinking about the following:
• E34 M5 - Gorgeous, but potentially expensive to run given that my budget will only buy me a leggy old model
• E39 540 - Great barge, but perhaps a bit dull
• E36 M3 - Lovely, if not classic M3, but again my budget is only likely to buy me a leggy old model
• E30 325i Sport - Retro cool, but so hard to find one that hasn't been missed with (phat rims anyone)
• 635 Highline - Gorgeous retro coupe, with real character
I don't mean to offend anyone with my comments on the above cars, but am struggling to know which direction to go. The M5 would be my choice if I could find a good model within my budget, but following that probably an M3 then 635 Highline. Running costs are a consideration, but I can stomach £1k -£2k per year, which would make the TVR seem cheap (£6k in 6 months).
What do you guys think? Am I being horribly optimistic for my budget?
Cheers,
Alex
Liam79 said:
What about a E36 328 sport. Plenty of kit for that price.
That's exactly what I was going to say!I was looking at this ad earlier and thinking....
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/241984.htm
There are only two cars on that list that I would go for personally and each one would suit a different purpose.
E34 M5 absolutelt brilliant car sound great go really well buit like a tank but potentially ruinous running costs. Also with this car a point to make is that in the real world it will take at least 15minutes for the engine oil temperature to be ready for you to thrash it.
E39 540i Uber crusier that is quite fun if less involving to drive but as for weekends away is lovely crusing up motorways and generally eating up miles. I just brought a brilliant one for about 4k .
On balance having owned both I feel that the m5 will eventually be annoying for costing so much and doing so few miles so e39 540i is the way.
All in my humble opinion.
E34 M5 absolutelt brilliant car sound great go really well buit like a tank but potentially ruinous running costs. Also with this car a point to make is that in the real world it will take at least 15minutes for the engine oil temperature to be ready for you to thrash it.
E39 540i Uber crusier that is quite fun if less involving to drive but as for weekends away is lovely crusing up motorways and generally eating up miles. I just brought a brilliant one for about 4k .
On balance having owned both I feel that the m5 will eventually be annoying for costing so much and doing so few miles so e39 540i is the way.
All in my humble opinion.
Dunk76 said:
Mustard said:
E39 Alpina B10 3.3 if your lucky
£5K for a B10 3.3!??!?You'd be luckier than Jammy Jim walking on national good luck day with a four leaf clover in his pocket and covered head to toe in bird-shit to find one at that money.
E36 M3 (non-evo) would be a good choice at that money.
Edited by dan101smith on Thursday 1st November 15:03
You'll get an exquisite E34 540i for that.
They get an uprated chassis over the normal E34's, but not quite M5. 286bhp and with a sporty pipe, they sound great. A colleague here has an M reg red manual with 112k on the clocks with full M-tec leather interior, cruise, posher stereo, full main dealer history, one owner, genuine alpina wheels and a sports exhaust (might be alpina) he got it in a private sale for just under 3.5k last xmas.
It's a bit dated and doesn't feel too special inside but it's a ton and two thirds of fun!
They get an uprated chassis over the normal E34's, but not quite M5. 286bhp and with a sporty pipe, they sound great. A colleague here has an M reg red manual with 112k on the clocks with full M-tec leather interior, cruise, posher stereo, full main dealer history, one owner, genuine alpina wheels and a sports exhaust (might be alpina) he got it in a private sale for just under 3.5k last xmas.
It's a bit dated and doesn't feel too special inside but it's a ton and two thirds of fun!
Dunk76 said:
Mustard said:
E39 Alpina B10 3.3 if your lucky
£5K for a B10 3.3!??!?You'd be luckier than Jammy Jim walking on national good luck day with a four leaf clover in his pocket and covered head to toe in bird-shit to find one at that money.
Biggest thing with Alpinas is the dreamy prices most people TRY and ask for them rather than the cold reality of what they are worth
Edited by Mustard on Thursday 1st November 15:36
Alex Gurr said:
E30 325i Sport...
Alex Gurr said:
... Retro cool, but so hard to find one that hasn't been missed with (phat rims anyone)
Tell me about it! Been looking myself on the offchance that I could bag a totally unmolested example, but the only ones I could find were either blinged-up or shabby.Alex Gurr said:
635 Highline - Gorgeous retro coupe, with real character
Very cool. Another car that I love. Seems these have been better respected in their old age too! Not sure what ownership is like though.Edited by MitchT on Thursday 1st November 19:02
In terms of 'bang for bucks' probably the best suggestion so far has been Podman's 740i. Not much comes close for the amount of car and performance you're getting for that kind of money.
You'll easily bag a good one now for under £5K.
Unless you really know what you're doing a 635 is a potential disaster area.
Don't even begin to think all 635s are going to be anything like 'Allnighter's' recent purchase...because they ain't!
I have a friend who is 'bigtime' into older BMWs and has had several 635s. He spent months looking at lots of so called 'mint etc' ones...could he find a decent one? Indeed, one that he previously owned himself was for sale. The car was close to concours when he owned it back in about 2000...he looked at it now...did he buy? Nope! What did he buy instead? E39 540i.
The 740i seems to have really slipped off the radar. It is a damn quick car. Example: When I had my last one I was driving it back home after buying it with my eldest son who was probably about 9 years old at the time...I floored it for a few brief seconds on the last part of the journey. Now bear in mind he'd been in a few 'quick' cars by then and had already spent sevearl years driving himself around a track in a kart fairly briskly even at that age by then ...when he turned to me, looked up and said:
"Daddy, this car is really fast, isn't it?"
I know it's a 9 year old saying it but...
E34 M5? Well, the only really good sounding one I've seen advertised in the past 12 months was over £14K. In fact, other than that one I can't recall seeing one with low mileage in eons? Certainly nothing remotely interesting around that £5K budget. In fact, I went to look at one locally during the summer. LHD, purportedly in great condition with a replacement engine etc etc etc....total shed! And it wasn't £5K!
E30 325i Sport? Chances of bagging a good, original one of those now for £5K? Virtually zilch! I get so many enquiries through my website about this particular model from people looking for one and "...can I help them"... More so than any other model of BMW! I don't even bother looking anymore...
I think with £5K in your pocket you can get a great car...but you need to go off the "obvious beaten track".
You'll easily bag a good one now for under £5K.
Unless you really know what you're doing a 635 is a potential disaster area.
Don't even begin to think all 635s are going to be anything like 'Allnighter's' recent purchase...because they ain't!
I have a friend who is 'bigtime' into older BMWs and has had several 635s. He spent months looking at lots of so called 'mint etc' ones...could he find a decent one? Indeed, one that he previously owned himself was for sale. The car was close to concours when he owned it back in about 2000...he looked at it now...did he buy? Nope! What did he buy instead? E39 540i.
The 740i seems to have really slipped off the radar. It is a damn quick car. Example: When I had my last one I was driving it back home after buying it with my eldest son who was probably about 9 years old at the time...I floored it for a few brief seconds on the last part of the journey. Now bear in mind he'd been in a few 'quick' cars by then and had already spent sevearl years driving himself around a track in a kart fairly briskly even at that age by then ...when he turned to me, looked up and said:
"Daddy, this car is really fast, isn't it?"
I know it's a 9 year old saying it but...
E34 M5? Well, the only really good sounding one I've seen advertised in the past 12 months was over £14K. In fact, other than that one I can't recall seeing one with low mileage in eons? Certainly nothing remotely interesting around that £5K budget. In fact, I went to look at one locally during the summer. LHD, purportedly in great condition with a replacement engine etc etc etc....total shed! And it wasn't £5K!
E30 325i Sport? Chances of bagging a good, original one of those now for £5K? Virtually zilch! I get so many enquiries through my website about this particular model from people looking for one and "...can I help them"... More so than any other model of BMW! I don't even bother looking anymore...
I think with £5K in your pocket you can get a great car...but you need to go off the "obvious beaten track".
Bought a lovely 840Ci 1995 4.0 replacement factory engine years ago 97,000 miles Silver with gen Alpina's for £4k. Drives a dream. And before anyone says they are a nightmare so can potentially everything else on the list. Hankered after one of these for years but never bought one as kept being told they ae drama cars. Will enjoy until I find a 99 car.
I agree with those comments about the 6 series.
I have owned one for more than 11 years now, and I can't stop throwing money at it.Purchased for 3 Grand in 1996, I spent a lot of money restoring it from scratch putting new front wings and new front nose, rebuilding the rusty inner wings and sills as well as floor pans as the windscreen and wiring harness from inside the engine bay were letting water in like Niagra falls.I purchased a complete highline interior for it as the seats were the flat leather type and everytime you went around the roundabout you were playing musical chairs with the passenger seat.
I went through two head gaskets and replaced a cracked cylinder head in the end.The power steering system is complicated as it's works with the braking system as well, and the spherical ball needs replacing as well as the perished compression hoses which are a nightmare DIY job to do.
The electrics can be dodgy especially the back windows for lack of us.What else? oh yeah, the milometer and the rev counter can pack up as they did on mine, and you would need to change the motherboard as the attached batteries leak and mess up all the electrics.The onboard computer has a mind of its own, sometimes it works sometimes it goes on strike.The steering box needs replacing after a while when it starts leaking.The front suspension needs replacing every 60 or 70K miles as it's a heavy car(easier DIY job to do than a VW Golf)and make sure they are gas shocks not oil filled shock as BMW main dealer tried to sell me one day.The headlights are prone to rust when the chrome falls apart, and its wipers never worked on my one.
Oh and the rear lenses are prone to cracking when they are overtightened from the inside and rain water will just sip in as a result.The rear window rubbers can act as a drainage area for rain water to go straight in the boot and under the back seats.They need replacing after a while.
It's a constant battle to keep the rust off my back wings and if it's a pre-highline model the front and rear chrome trims on the bumpers are prone to rust from the inside and cost more than gold to replace.
Apart from that it's joy to drive.
So far it has cost me in excess of 11 Grand to keep on top of it.It's been garaged for the last 5 years so the decay has been delayed but those damn rear wings are still bubbling up.It has done 220K miles and sounds as fresh as anything.
You seriously need the same budget (5K) set aside if you're only going to spend 5K on an E24.You'd be better off buying an E36 or even an E46 model.
If I need to sell mine now I doubt it'll fetch more than 2.5K.
HTH
I have owned one for more than 11 years now, and I can't stop throwing money at it.Purchased for 3 Grand in 1996, I spent a lot of money restoring it from scratch putting new front wings and new front nose, rebuilding the rusty inner wings and sills as well as floor pans as the windscreen and wiring harness from inside the engine bay were letting water in like Niagra falls.I purchased a complete highline interior for it as the seats were the flat leather type and everytime you went around the roundabout you were playing musical chairs with the passenger seat.
I went through two head gaskets and replaced a cracked cylinder head in the end.The power steering system is complicated as it's works with the braking system as well, and the spherical ball needs replacing as well as the perished compression hoses which are a nightmare DIY job to do.
The electrics can be dodgy especially the back windows for lack of us.What else? oh yeah, the milometer and the rev counter can pack up as they did on mine, and you would need to change the motherboard as the attached batteries leak and mess up all the electrics.The onboard computer has a mind of its own, sometimes it works sometimes it goes on strike.The steering box needs replacing after a while when it starts leaking.The front suspension needs replacing every 60 or 70K miles as it's a heavy car(easier DIY job to do than a VW Golf)and make sure they are gas shocks not oil filled shock as BMW main dealer tried to sell me one day.The headlights are prone to rust when the chrome falls apart, and its wipers never worked on my one.
Oh and the rear lenses are prone to cracking when they are overtightened from the inside and rain water will just sip in as a result.The rear window rubbers can act as a drainage area for rain water to go straight in the boot and under the back seats.They need replacing after a while.
It's a constant battle to keep the rust off my back wings and if it's a pre-highline model the front and rear chrome trims on the bumpers are prone to rust from the inside and cost more than gold to replace.
Apart from that it's joy to drive.
So far it has cost me in excess of 11 Grand to keep on top of it.It's been garaged for the last 5 years so the decay has been delayed but those damn rear wings are still bubbling up.It has done 220K miles and sounds as fresh as anything.
You seriously need the same budget (5K) set aside if you're only going to spend 5K on an E24.You'd be better off buying an E36 or even an E46 model.
If I need to sell mine now I doubt it'll fetch more than 2.5K.
HTH
Edited by allnighter on Friday 2nd November 00:02
Edited by allnighter on Friday 2nd November 01:13
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