I'm a fifteen year old, about to be sixteen, looking for my first car. I love Bimmers, so naturally that's pretty much all that I'm looking at.
I recently found a 1999 328i sedan (5spd manual, 160k) for $5k obo on craigslist. I haven't gone to look at it yet, but I'm planning on going this weekend. From talking on the phone, this is what I've found out: everything is in good condition (clean title, good body, good interior), the seller has owned it since '01, all maintenance has been done at the BMW dealer, comes with winter tires (important because I live in michigan), license plate light is out.
I'm definitely going to have it checked out at the dealer before buying it and I'm pretty open to doing most of the work on it myself (my dad's an engineer/bimmer nut). I also know that they are known for subframe issues, so if that's bad, obviously it'll be a no-go.
I love my 99 328i but it is expensive to maintain! I bought it a few years ago with 95k from original owner that was well maintained. I have about 5k into it since I bought it in just parts. I did all repairs diy including vanos seals, cooling system, auto to 5 spd swap (reverse went out in my auto), belts, pullies, valve cover gasket, plugs, window regulator, etc. etc. etc.
Now that the car is practically brand new I will keep it and drive it for a long time but my next car will be a Honda or Toyota.
It sounds like you're on the right track. Get a pre-purchase inspection so you'll know if there are any major problems with the car.
Once you get past a certain point (seems to be like 5-7 years on my BMW's) you have to replace more than just "wear items". The main parts that seem to have experiation dates are usually made of rubber, like gaskets and seals and stuff. They just wear out in the weather.
I work on Friday and Saturday nights. They pay a lousy $7 a hour plus $.25 per pie.
With tips I get $12-20 a hour after gas.
My car has no sunroof. Spare tire removed. Manual seats. And light weight rims.
So I get 8.5L / 100km even in city.
Depends OP a BMW isnt the best starter car but if its what your set on and are confident you can do all nessiary repairs and have the tools go for it (if the car is in good shape) We all know you will mod it even if you say now you wont, One thing dont get caught up on is trying to make it fast if you want to do that buy an E46 M3 or at least a 330i and even then they are slow
Honestly, buying any car that old with that many miles will have more issues than you can speculate about. The fact that this one has the known issues discussed (subframe, ccv, cooling) just adds to the mix. Honestly, I'm not sure Id recommend an older BMW for anyone that doesn't plan to get their hands dirty... otherwise its just incredibly expensive! That being said, at that age Id spend 4000 on the car, but plan to spend another 2k relatively quickly getting it into a good reliable state.
Based on the position you describe, I'd recommend getting an E30 and swapping in an S50/S52.
Spending $5K on a high mileage early E46 just to dump a bunch of time and money into it is probably not worth it. If you have the time and resources, invest it in a car that you'll be able to sell at break-even or better.
Unless he gets rear - ended in traffic or has an accident in which case his s52 e30 that he spent more money than you might think to build is totaled by the insurance company for 1k. plus there's nothing that says reliability like a budget-built 24v swap e30.
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