E90 - What do I need to know?

[39resU]

Hello all, it's my first post/topic, I've been browsing through forum for couple years but never really had to ask anything, anyway.
I'm looking for E90 325i Tourer/Saloon 07/08 I've picked 325i as it seems like enough and my insurance is quite low(I'm 23) £490 comparing to £800 for 330i. I could put up with higher insurance if its really worth it but so far I can't justify £300 a year more + higher running cost. I used to own E36 328i so pretty similar in terms of power I think. I don't drive much as I have a company car (about6k miles a year in my own car).
I have £5000 but market looks quite small for this particular model, do I need more?
Shall I cosider other engine? If yes, what kind of difference in running cost should I expect, reliability etc?
What should I do first after purchase other than service?
Automatic or manual? I never owned an automatic myself but quite enjoy drive in one. A lot of people have different opinion on AT in e90.

Thanks!

Edited by 39resU on Friday 26th May 07:02

Edited by 39resU on Friday 26th May 07:03

[39resU]

Hi all, sorry for being absent I had extremely busy weekend at work, I've done about 600 miles in 3 days(mostly urban/38hrs on shift), I much appreciate all posts and advice along with them, I've been monitoring the market everyday, still very slow, a lot of cars look dodgy, wear doesn't match mileage and I'm not up for travelling 300 miles to see a shed (I'm based in Scotland). I'm specific only about few things and non of them is really special imho: Manual, either 325i or 330i, around 100k miles, saloon or tourer and full service history.
Is 5k really not enough to get a decent one?

I thought about E46 but since I've been driving one couple years back(325i) I'm under impression that they don't age well and they can turn into a money pit at that age.

And here is a great example of why you should always double check MOT history.

[39resU]

aka_kerrly said:

Sorry, I'm not quite certain if you mean that a 10 year old car that requires rear brake pads and (likely) a pair of tyres is dodgy and should be avoided or if (like me) you are looking at that thinking for 10 year/60k car that only needs those items is perfectly acceptable. You can find examples of cars that have what appears to be horrendous looking MOT history but if for example the car turns up an needs 1 ball joint and a spring and the owner decides now is the time to buy 4 new shocks, 4 springs, new ball joints all round how is that shown on the MOT history? You'd only find that out by checking the service book/receipts with the car!

Also, what do you mean by they (E46?) don't age well & become money pits, if you perform the required maintenance, servicing & replace all worn parts then yes it is still very easy to spend a decent chunk of money on an older car but if you can do some work yourself and shop around for parts then running a older BMW does not have to be expensive.

IMHO more stuff replaced means they took care of it and didn't save money on it, that's why I'm looking for a car with FSH so I can learn a bit about history of the car.
I'm quite sure you did not notice mileage on November 2012 and then on June 2013?

They don't age well as of interior of the vehicle, after that much time is hard to find a decent one, most of them is really worn (no wonder after all this years) or was not maintained properly and is hard not to mention rust which is a big problem in E46(££££+time+hassle) along with other problems(subframe etc.)