E46 320/325ci

[ralphk]

thinking of chopping in my little citroen for one of these.......er........are they any good? the ones im looking at are about £5-6k, which seems to be ones with about 100k miles, is that too high or are they fairly reliable? would I be looking at big repair bills?

For instance

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2000-BMW-325CI-SE-AUTO-BLUE_...


and insurance, as im only 21, ive noted that they're group 15/16. i had a few quotes on a clio 182 which i think is a group 16, and they weren't too bad, will the BMW likely be roughly the same?

Thanks for any help

[jimmyb]

Walk away. I just picked up my new addition and 31 with two other cars 5000mls a year garaged social only 03 reg 13k car best i got was 800 for the year fully comp as i wasnt allowed to use my no claims on it.
You will get done as bmws are a thieves paradise compared to other cars so attract a higher premium insurance wise

[soprano]

jimmyb said:

Walk away. I just picked up my new addition and 31 with two other cars 5000mls a year garaged social only 03 reg 13k car best i got was 800 for the year fully comp as i wasnt allowed to use my no claims on it.
You will get done as bmws are a thieves paradise compared to other cars so attract a higher premium insurance wise

A touch pessimistic perhaps... it really depends what you want/can afford to pay for insurance.

No one can really give you any advice as to how much insurance will be, it depends on so many variables. Your best bet is to try one of the sites like confused.com with your own details on these vehicles, that will give you a rough estimate as to what it will be, though shopping around you may of course be able to get it a little cheaper.

When you have an estimate, its up to you to decide whether its worth it to you, bearing in mind your own personal circumstances. No one here knows (or wants to know) what you earn, the chap above is clearly unhappy at paying 800 quid a year, but to me that is not bad.

I'm 25, I have a 328ci, not amazing but i enjoy driving it, and I pay about the same (800). I do quite a bit of driving for work, so spend alot of time in my car, and I can currently afford to run it - so to me its worth paying.

Horses for courses i guess.

[[TW]Fox]

Go for a 330 not a 320 or a 325. With the BMW 6 pot's, the running costs are the same irrespective of the engine size you chose - they do roughly the same fuel economy, cost the same to service and repair so you may as well get the 330 and benefit from its extra performance.

Don't think that becuase you are 21 you cant get a 3 litre engine, I was 21 when I decided to get my 530i Sport.

[M3 UFM]

[TW]Fox said:

Go for a 330 not a 320 or a 325. With the BMW 6 pot's, the running costs are the same irrespective of the engine size you chose - they do roughly the same fuel economy, cost the same to service and repair so you may as well get the 330 and benefit from its extra performance.

Don't think that becuase you are 21 you cant get a 3 litre engine, I was 21 when I decided to get my 530i Sport.

I agree. If you can afford it, you might as well get a 330 because there's not much difference in running costs etc really.

[pomp1]

Im 21 and have a 04 325Ci. My insurance is evil but that is because I have a write off, 9 points and a driving ban for speeding under my belt. If you want the car, you have to pay for insurance unfortunately.

[ralphk]

ok fair enough, ill be able to afford the insurance im sure, what about the cars, are there any common problems with them, is high mileage a problem?

cheers for all the replies by the way

[soprano]

ralphk said:

ok fair enough, ill be able to afford the insurance im sure, what about the cars, are there any common problems with them, is high mileage a problem?

cheers for all the replies by the way

If insurance isnt a problem i would say go for it - i love driving mine. The 6 cylinder engines are bulletproof so mileage shouldnt be too much of a problem.

Problems tend to be annoying niggles like trim falling off etc rather than any major mechanical issues. I would second the views above - try and get one of the bigger engines rather than the 320, these are quite heavy cars and the extra power makes alot of difference to the driving experience.

HTH