Another what's this worth? (BMW 318SE)

They're good cars but chances are it'll need bits and bobs doing here and there which will soon add up especially if you use a main dealer.

If I was in your situation I'd just keep the Focus. It really isn't worth changing just for the sake of a badge and additional running costs.
 
ajgoodfellow said:
The BMW just isn't worth £1400 on top of your Focus IMO. It's a standard one with six figure mileage and potentially frightening servicing and running costs!
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I had no problem buying a 6 figure mileage 318i (125k when I got mine) it was not an expensive car to run over the 3 years I had it.

Who in their right mind would service a Sub £4k 318i with a 6 figure mileage at a BMW dealers anyway?

They are not M series cars, there is nothing on a 318i that any half decent garage could not maintain.

easyrider said:
Sorry mate,

No offence, Just chuckled while reading and watching the darts.

In your position I would keep the focus.

BMW running is not cheap.

You enjoy your Focus.

If you can afford to run it etc.. Then do it.

I doubt the 318 BMW will give you any more satisfaction...Other than bigger running cost's.

But as I said before when you were looking at at a 2.0L focus.

Dont side grade imo.

Save some money and get a better car.:)
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A better car than an e46 3 series for the sort of money described here? Like what?

The BMW is superbly built, great to drive (my mum has an e46 318i on a V plate, 60k miles and I find its a nice car to drive) :)

They certainly are not expensive to run. (and neither was my own e36 318i)

I assume the 320i you'd like Tom is a 6pot? - they certainly do cost more to maintain than the 4's tbh.

If a Focus was RWD, I may reconsider, it isn't nor is it as well built a car as the BMW imo.

If the OP wants one (and the price seems ok to me) good for him & I hope he enjoys it! :)


Sod the bloody Kittens !
 
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LA420 post just gave this thread a flicker of hope. Thanks for that mate and yes I would take it to normal garages. A local indy round here who is very good/cheap
 
6 Pot yea.

I do like the idea of a nice to drive BMW that is cheap to run. As I've said the power output is fine for me at this age. It really isn't just the badge and if people think I'm a **** they should learn to not take a book by it's cover :D

The insurance is also cheap for me coming in at just over a grand.

How much would you say your mum spends on upkeep of the BMW if you know, say per year, MPG??
 
easyrider said:
Why do you want a BMW 318?
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That's a good question - I know it's aimed at Tom but for my purpose I got a 318 because I was actually looking for a car with some specific needs and was on a set budget and my old manshowed me the advert...I saw it, liked it and got a good deal on it after part exing my banged up civic.

But the key reason though was because my Civic had gotten a bit abused by other road users, pedestrians (and stupidly myself :/) I was fed up - instead of spending money fixing it up I just wanted something more comfortable for long journeys (since I drive a full load of passengers quite often) without being much more expensive to insure or run - in fact I'm spending less money on petrol on this than I was on the Civic!

I've had it a year and I'm now looking to upgrade in the summer to a coupe 32X and as a new driver to a big car like this it was certainly a good upgrade *for me* without poking holes in my wallet!


Well that's the last bit of input for now I think I can put into this thread :)


I post this as I think I'm one of 3 people on here who have a 318 and it's always good to hear both sides of something instead of just the side that says "no" !
 
R124/LA420 said:
A better car than an e46 3 series for the sort of money described here? Like what?

The BMW is superbly built, great to drive (my mum has an e46 318i on a V plate, 60k miles and I find its a nice car to drive) :)

They certainly are not expensive to run. (and neither was my own e36 318i)

I assume the 320i you'd like Tom is a 6pot? - they certainly do cost more to maintain than the 4's tbh.

If a Focus was RWD, I may reconsider, it isn't nor is it as well built a car as the BMW imo.

If the OP wants one (and the price seems ok to me) good for him & I hope he enjoys it! :)


Sod the bloody Kittens !
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I have already said that he should go with his heart.If he wants one then he should.

He should also be able to afford it.

Fact is if something goes wrong it will cost him more money.

I'm all for enjoying new things and enjoying life.

But you have to be in a position to fix it and not make it a mistake.
 
easyrider said:
I have already said that he should go with his heart.If he wants one then he should.

He should also be able to afford it.

Fact is if something goes wrong it will cost him more money.

I'm all for enjoying new things and enjoying life.

But you have to be in a position to fix it and not make it a mistake.
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Easy you're right and I see what you're saying. Buying this BMW would stretch my finances, it's something which I have to think about.

I just need to know how much maintainance costs could be over a Focus providing I didn't go to BMW.

Anyone have any idea how much more expensive parts etc are, can't be all that much to go wrong on the 4 pot??
 
Tom|Nbk said:
LA420 post just gave this thread a flicker of hope. Thanks for that mate and yes I would take it to normal garages. A local indy round here who is very good/cheap
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Somebody will soon blow the candle out mate.... :rolleyes::D

A half decent specialist is the key to BMW ownership, I was lucky, I had a choice of 3 good places to look after my BM's.

The only regret I had with my own 318i was that it never sounded right, drive a 6pot M52 engined 320i and I'm sure you'll see what I mean.

That said, I find the 4 pot has much better balance than the bigger engined car, its much less "nose heavy" imo

The 318i is circa 118BHP if its the "M43" engine against 150BHP on the M52 6 pot.

Torque is 133lb-ft opposed to only 140lb-ft for the 6 pot - which says a lot for the torque of the smaller engine!

I've taken my figures etc from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_E46

As just when you want him to talk BMW, Fox seems hell bent on talking Kittens!

Bad Foxy. :mad:;):p:D
 
Never did an M52 320i on the E46 - there was no 320i until late 2000, when the 320i appeared with the M54B22 - 2.2 litre with 170bhp.
 
Tom|Nbk said:
The question that is going through my mind is when do these BMW's actually become unreliable :confused:
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Well, I bought my 318i @ 125k miles and sold it on as a fully "reliable" car @ 175k miles and its still about & well over 200k

My e38 728i was 98k when I bought it, and fine still @ 127k when it went.

My Dads e39 is nudging 235k and still like new - Its not seen a main dealer for a while now but a local specialist looks after it.

The common trait is all 3 had / have service files as thick as phone books, documenting work done, where & when etc etc etc, this is what your potential car needs to have - you can easily check with BMW to confirm a cars dealer history if it has one.

The thing is a BMW will still perform well without such work and ultimately such examples will and are extremely un-reliable.

No service history and I don't mean 11 stamps in the book, I mean no BMW / Garage invoices with dates etc then simply walk away.

Follow this rule,judge the car on its condition not its age & mileage, and you will get a good one. :)
 
R124/LA420 said:
Somebody will soon blow the candle out mate.... :rolleyes::D

A half decent specialist is the key to BMW ownership, I was lucky, I had a choice of 3 good places to look after my BM's.

The only regret I had with my own 318i was that it never sounded right, drive a 6pot M52 engined 320i and I'm sure you'll see what I mean.

That said, I find the 4 pot has much better balance than the bigger engined car, its much less "nose heavy" imo

The 318i is circa 118BHP if its the "M43" engine against 150BHP on the M52 6 pot.

Torque is 133lb-ft opposed to only 140lb-ft for the 6 pot - which says a lot for the torque of the smaller engine!

I've taken my figures etc from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_E46

As just when you want him to talk BMW, Fox seems hell bent on talking Kittens!

Bad Foxy. :mad:;):p:D
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Tech DATA helps his choice?

He's coming fom a 1.6 focus.

All he wants is advice about getting a 318.

Is it worth it for the financial strain it will put him under?

Does driving the 318 give him more enjoyment and stress free motoring?

Or will he dread the time when something goes wrong.

My advice is drive a car you can afford to run without financial worry.
 
[TW]Fox;10865004 said:
Never did an M52 320i on the E46 - there was no 320i until late 2000, when the 320i appeared with the M54B22 - 2.2 litre with 170bhp.
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What about the 320i M52TUB20 Built from 1998-2000 as listed in that Wikipedia link? :confused:
 
R124/LA420 said:
Well, I bought my 318i @ 125k miles and sold it on as a fully "reliable" car @ 175k miles and its still about & well over 200k

My e38 728i was 98k when I bought it, and fine still @ 127k when it went.

My Dads e39 is nudging 235k and still like new - Its not seen a main dealer for a while now but a local specialist looks after it.

The common trait is all 3 had / have service files as thick as phone books, documenting work done, where & when etc etc etc, this is what your potential car needs to have - you can easily check with BMW to confirm a cars dealer history if it has one.

The thing is a BMW will still perform well without such work and ultimately such examples will and are extremely un-reliable.

No service history and I don't mean 11 stamps in the book, I mean no BMW / Garage invoices with dates etc then simply walk away.

Follow this rule,judge the car on its condition not its age & mileage, and you will get a good one. :)
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Full Service History as per OP. Will double check it is BMW.

Easy it's not that I would dread the thing developing issues and financially going wrong as the first signs of this and it will be sold. There is always a way out either that or I'd be diving into some savings ;)

I can run and insure the car fine. Not an issue. Im just hoping the engine doesn't fall out :D
 
easyrider said:
Tech DATA helps his choice?

He's coming fom a 1.6 focus.

All he wants is advice about getting a 318.

Is it worth it for the financial strain it will put him under?

Does driving the 318 give him more enjoyment and stress free motoring?

Or will he dread the time when something goes wrong.

My advice is drive a car you can afford to run without financial worry.
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Tech data will give him an idea of the difference between the chaeper 318i or the pricier to run (I'd have thought) 320i won't it? :confused:

I'm sure he'd enjoy the 318i to drive, I find the e46 318i perfectly ok for what it is.

Why would he dread anything going wrong when Tom's already said he's got a good local indy to look after the car? - As I say they are hardly complex vehicles and not expensive to maintain & maintain correctly.
 
Tom|Nbk said:
I can run and insure the car fine. Not an issue. Im just hoping the engine doesn't fall out :D
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I can say exactly the same about my £1k sheddy Mondeo!

Cars are not much cop without 'em! :D

Not exactly a likely event though in my experience. :)
 
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