Buying bmw 3 series coupe help

[l-murcielago]

Hi all. A friend of mine is looking to buy an e92 coupe.

Interested in this atm:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008303...

What do you guys think?

[logan-1986]

That is a quite a lot of owners with very low mileage, so that part seems a bit weird.

[Elliot2000]

3 owners in 13 years seems pretty good! As long as the mileage checks out with hpi and mot history it should be ok.

[Touring442]

Looks OK for five grand and they're a lovely thing.

[Andy70]

Looks good, I payed £4900 for a 335i with 78k on the clock, but body was a little tatty, so I would say it needs to be A1 for that price being only a 325i, but then you would have a good car if it is spotless

[Mr Tidy]

That doesn't seem dear to me. I paid nearly £3,500 for my 55 plate E90 330i in March 2019. Although I'm really not a fan of black with black!

I certainly wouldn't be bothered about 3 former keepers for a car of that age.

And being a 2.5 litre 325i it will have the N52 engine which seems to generally have less issues than the later N53 engine.

But if your friend likes to drive enthusiastically a 330i might be a better idea! (Which is why I bought my 330i to replace an E91 325i I bought in 2018).

[Progject]

I had an E92 330i - I'm always amazed at how much car you get for the money with an E92. It is a huge jump in "moderness" from an E46 - of course, that is a bad thing to some.

[l-murcielago]

Elliot2000 said:

3 owners in 13 years seems pretty good! As long as the mileage checks out with hpi and mot history it should be ok.

Yep checked the mileage with the mot history seems okay no evidence of any clocking! For a few years running the car was only doing a couple hundred miles a year! Very low

[l-murcielago]

Thanks for your replies guys.

When he goes to view the car what kind of things should he look out for?

[l-murcielago]

Hi a friend of mine is looking to buy a 3 series coupe with a budget of around 7k. He's not fussed about performance and cares more about running costs.

What do you think of this:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008242...

[Touring442]

It's an N43 2.0 petrol.

Just do not go there, ever.

[Collectingbrass]

l-murcielago said:

Thanks for your replies guys.

When he goes to view the car what kind of things should he look out for?

Start with the buying guide, which although is for an M3 of this era is worth a read https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-buying-gui...

Secondly, I would check all the lights and electronics work as they should, and that there are no error lights on the dash or stored error codes if you have a code reader. I would also look at the age of the battery. With that low mileage there is a risk the battery could have been discharged several times which can cause no end of gremlins and fault codes. I would also check the hoses and belts under the bonnet for splits and cracking

Finally I would get a rock solid warranty if you can. That car will have stood for ages and seals will have dried out. Some use will help, but there is a risk of seals perishing.

[l-murcielago]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I searched up the number plate and there are 2 owners.

Hmm really? Anyone else feel the same way?

[Mr Tidy]

Some years ago I asked my ex-Sytner Indy what I ought to buy if I didn't want to be visiting too often and he recommended at least 6 cylinders, preferably petrol! (He did have an E39 530i himself).

I took his advice and am now on numbers 6 and 7 straight 6 petrols with no real issues.

I didn't realise they made a 318i E92 - way more show than go! I got fed up with my E91 325i for feeling gutless and replaced it with a 330i, so a 318i must be miserable!

And the seats and gear-knob in that one look way too worn for the mileage.

[MarkJS]

I wouldn’t buy either of those - they both look very dog-eared interior-wise.

I sold my E92 at 90k miles (had it from 10k miles) and apart from some very slight wear on the drivers seat side bolster, was mint inside.

Great cars though. Just beware of the ride quality of an M Sport on 19” RFT’s. Look out for cracked alloys. But again, my car never had this common issue. Maybe I was just very lucky.