Discussion
Hello everyone,
Being a massive fan of RWD cars, I'm dying to get hold of my first one (with decent-handling and reasonable performance) ASAP.
Now, I am 20-years old, so insurance costs dictate that I can't get anything too extreme. Also, I wouldn't be able to afford the running costs of anything that does less than 35mpg (petrol) or 40mpg (diesel) anyway.
Any car I look at is to have less than 40k miles on the clock. I do approx 12k miles a year.
I've already narrowed it down to these three types of BMW...now, what would the BMW fans of this forum recommend?
a 1-series SE/Sport/M-Sport,
E46 3-series SE/Sport/M-Sport,
or E92 3-series SE/M-Sport?
And out of those, which engine(s) should I go for, and are the petrols massively more fulfilling than the diesels?
Thanks in advance for replies,
Clive
Being a massive fan of RWD cars, I'm dying to get hold of my first one (with decent-handling and reasonable performance) ASAP.
Now, I am 20-years old, so insurance costs dictate that I can't get anything too extreme. Also, I wouldn't be able to afford the running costs of anything that does less than 35mpg (petrol) or 40mpg (diesel) anyway.
Any car I look at is to have less than 40k miles on the clock. I do approx 12k miles a year.
I've already narrowed it down to these three types of BMW...now, what would the BMW fans of this forum recommend?
a 1-series SE/Sport/M-Sport,
E46 3-series SE/Sport/M-Sport,
or E92 3-series SE/M-Sport?
And out of those, which engine(s) should I go for, and are the petrols massively more fulfilling than the diesels?
Thanks in advance for replies,
Clive
Have a chat with these boys :
http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/default.asp
A good bunch of beemer fanatics that'll give you the bad points as well as the good.
Mileage isn't so much of an issue with these cars, as a rule.
There is also a very good 2nd hand parts supply and back up, should you have any issues.
Insurance ig going to be your nightmare, as the marque doesn't have a good claims history.
Sorry to sound like your dad, but rwd drive can be a LOT less forgiving should you overcook it, so should you be able to afford the insurance on something more powerful.......be careful, I'd suggest some driver training (the cheap stuff, an IAM advanced course as an example...£90).
http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/default.asp
A good bunch of beemer fanatics that'll give you the bad points as well as the good.
Mileage isn't so much of an issue with these cars, as a rule.
There is also a very good 2nd hand parts supply and back up, should you have any issues.
Insurance ig going to be your nightmare, as the marque doesn't have a good claims history.
Sorry to sound like your dad, but rwd drive can be a LOT less forgiving should you overcook it, so should you be able to afford the insurance on something more powerful.......be careful, I'd suggest some driver training (the cheap stuff, an IAM advanced course as an example...£90).
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I seem to recall seeing some sub-40k mile E92 320ds (possibly on AutoTrader). I've also seen the economy/performance figures and they're extremely impressive compared with rivals.anonymous said:
[redacted]
Fair enough - I understand the principle of your point. I would, after all, rather have a good condition, well-specced example of an E46 than a poverty-spec E92......the only thing I have to question is that I've heard that the lesser 3.0-litre engine in the 325i is one of BMWs "most disappointing engines" and that you might as well go for the more highly tuned 330i because there's not much difference in economy but you get a smoother, more powerful engine...?
Is there any truth behind that?
tomTVR said:
IMO if someone wants a "Starter" BMW then i automatically think E36. They are modern, cheap, good to drive and have a choice of great engines.
And are a tad troublesome due to their age, having generally been owned by chavs and ragged, tend to go rusty, and are VERY dissapointing to drive............, in my humble opinion of course. The ones that are in any way decent as far as performance goes.......the op will struggle to insure
As you can tell I'm not an E36 fan, I'd suggest a very well cared for E30 318iS, or an E46 316/318 to get him going.
Trouble is, I think he's too young to get classic insurance, otherwise he could start looking at the E30 soft tops with the 2.5 litre straight six, the exhaust noise and drive-ability of those should keep him amused.
To the OP...E30's rust like hell, they weren't galvenised and are now at least 15 - 16 ish years old, you'd need help to make sure you got a good one.
35mpg in an E46 320Ci is possible - my sister has one and gets those sort of figures.
But that's not really the point.
Why are you so firm on 40k miles? And what's your budget? As others have said, better to get a nice car for £5k and spend a bit more on fuel than get a dull car for £20k which does 50mpg.
As to your choices, i'd suggest something like a 120d MSport could be perfect for you. If you want to ignore the 40k miles and the fuel consumption and save yourself a lot of capital on buying the thing in the first place then i'd suggest you check the insurance on an E46 330i...
But that's not really the point.
Why are you so firm on 40k miles? And what's your budget? As others have said, better to get a nice car for £5k and spend a bit more on fuel than get a dull car for £20k which does 50mpg.
As to your choices, i'd suggest something like a 120d MSport could be perfect for you. If you want to ignore the 40k miles and the fuel consumption and save yourself a lot of capital on buying the thing in the first place then i'd suggest you check the insurance on an E46 330i...
tomTVR said:
IMO if someone wants a "Starter" BMW then i automatically think E36. They are modern, cheap, good to drive and have a choice of great engines.
That'd be my choice - E36 318, but make sure you find one that's not been chavved (and there are plenty that haven't).Having said that, my starter BMW was an E39 535
VerySideways said:
35mpg in an E46 320Ci is possible - my sister has one and gets those sort of figures.
But that's not really the point.
Why are you so firm on 40k miles? And what's your budget? As others have said, better to get a nice car for £5k and spend a bit more on fuel than get a dull car for £20k which does 50mpg.
As to your choices, i'd suggest something like a 120d MSport could be perfect for you. If you want to ignore the 40k miles and the fuel consumption and save yourself a lot of capital on buying the thing in the first place then i'd suggest you check the insurance on an E46 330i...
So based on my initial post, you'd go for a 120d? I've driven the new 123d and was very impressed, but I realise that the 120ds I'd be able to afford would be "pre-facelift" with the old 163BHP engine.But that's not really the point.
Why are you so firm on 40k miles? And what's your budget? As others have said, better to get a nice car for £5k and spend a bit more on fuel than get a dull car for £20k which does 50mpg.
As to your choices, i'd suggest something like a 120d MSport could be perfect for you. If you want to ignore the 40k miles and the fuel consumption and save yourself a lot of capital on buying the thing in the first place then i'd suggest you check the insurance on an E46 330i...
I do really like the E46 320i, especially in coupé form, so that's an option. I guess I could spend a couple of grand less than my budget on the car itself, then use the rest towards running it...but I'd be nervous about insurance and running costs once that "reserve cash" had been eaten away. I hope I'm making sense to you...?
The reason I don't want an older car, or one with over 40k on the clock is that this is my last opportunity to swap cars for quite a while (due to the fact that I want to save in order to purchase a property when house prices hit their lowest)...so I want something that's going to be in A1 condition and that's going to last me a good while.
That's also the reason I'm bothered about running costs - once I've bought a car, I'll be trying to save as much as I can towards the above rather than spending it on car insurance and fuel.
The final thing that's on my mind at the moment regarding this is residual values. I currently drive a Citroen C4, and, although it's only a 2007 model, it's worth less than the equivalent 2004 1-series. At this rate, my investment will disappear quickly before my eyes...with a BMW, that happens more slowly due to the "premium" image (although I personally couldn't care less about the badge). However, I foresee that a 120d, for example, would probably hold more value than a 320i, due to the demand these days for small diesels.
My money would go on an E36 318is or E46 323i. The E36 will be frugal enough, good fun to drive, cheap(ish) to insure, by far the cheapest to run and will let you keep £18k in the bank.
You can get one with all the toys (leather, climate etc) and if in a few years you want to change it then you'll still have your big pot of cash to spend.
I don't see the point in spending a wad of cash on a mediocre car now when you can get a decent one in a short while, but a 318is will get you used to RWD and save you from having to suffer a diseasel.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Thanks for the reply - to be honest, even a 318i isn't a slug compared to my current car...11.2 to 60...so to be honest I'd be happy with something that could get to that figure in less than 9 seconds.Looking at what's available, I noticed that 318is, 320is and 325is only have 5-speed manual 'boxes. What were BMW thinking? A sixth gear is always a very handy thing to have if you've just settled into a motorway cruise...
...nevertheless, it shouldn't affect me massively, as I mostly use A and B-roads to get to the places I most commonly visit.
Following a quick AutoTrader search, this looks interesting:
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...
- I know it's "only" a 320i, but the car as a whole looks very nice IMO.
So: This sort of thing...or £2k more for a diesel 1-series?
Might just be me, but that wear on the drivers seat seams a bit much for 35k. Something looks a bit wrong in the pictures as well, can't seem to pic my finger on it.
Sorry don't mean to be negative...
As much as I like my car out of our 2, I'd probably get an E46 if I was buying one now, the build quality on SHMBO's is much better than my 1'er. That said the 1 series is a nimble little beastie, just not too practical or pleasing to the eye.
Sorry don't mean to be negative...
As much as I like my car out of our 2, I'd probably get an E46 if I was buying one now, the build quality on SHMBO's is much better than my 1'er. That said the 1 series is a nimble little beastie, just not too practical or pleasing to the eye.
Edited by mike325112 on Saturday 10th January 00:47
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Now that looks gorgeous! I have seen that particular car before when searching (before it was sold), but I was slightly suspicious, as most post-facelift M-Sports with that level of spec (full leather etc.) seem to be over £10k.But if it's a genuine "good" deal, then there'll soon be more. You'd recommend that sort of thing, then?
Clivey said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Now that looks gorgeous! I have seen that particular car before when searching (before it was sold), but I was slightly suspicious, as most post-facelift M-Sports with that level of spec (full leather etc.) seem to be over £10k.But if it's a genuine "good" deal, then there'll soon be more. You'd recommend that sort of thing, then?
Thanks for the replies everyone,
I've decided to leave it for a while after looking into insurance costs (£2k for an E46 320) - I'd rather put that amount of money towards a house - but I will look at an E46 Coupé when insurance costs are more sensible.
It does seem silly though that the insurance on an E46 (320Ci) is more than a new-shape MX-5 with better performance (2.0i Sport). I'd have the Mazda, but I need occasional rear seats and a boot that I can fit a decent amount of clobber in!
I've decided to leave it for a while after looking into insurance costs (£2k for an E46 320) - I'd rather put that amount of money towards a house - but I will look at an E46 Coupé when insurance costs are more sensible.
It does seem silly though that the insurance on an E46 (320Ci) is more than a new-shape MX-5 with better performance (2.0i Sport). I'd have the Mazda, but I need occasional rear seats and a boot that I can fit a decent amount of clobber in!
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