BMW 3 Series - £10k

Mr^B

Mr^B

Mr^B

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Joined
25 Nov 2002
Posts
3,496
Hi,

Looking to expand my fleet, what's the best bang-for-buck 3 series I could get for £10k ish?

Servicing and Warranty information would be nice to know as well.

Not a diesel for preference as it will be limited mileage, probably less than 5,000 a year.

Thanks.
 
Best bang for buck? E46 M3 I guess. Servicing £250-£700 depending on oil, Insp 1, Insp 2. Warranty - unlikely given the budget and model.

But I'm guessing that's not the answer you were looking for? ;)
 
Indeed, the e46 M3 for £10k has to be a "Bang for buck" bargain, that said, I somehow doubt the OP wants one....?
 
A 10k E46 M3 might well go bang for your buck.

Personally I would spend less on a mint e46 330i or 330ci, or more if you want the newer model.
 
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blun said:
And should be posisble to get it covered by a reasonably priced BMW warranty as discussed in the "you'd be mad.." thread.
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Why? It's done 68k miles so isn't eligable for the £560 a year comprehensive plan. You'd need the higher mileage option which is almost £1k a year?
 
Jumps up to just short of £800 over 60k fully comp with zero excess (£771)

From what we've discussed it seems to be one of the only two options, the other being putting that aside should/when something goes wrong. I wouldn't be put off of it solely because the warranty is £300 more expensive per year as it's eventually going to fall in to that 60k + mileage bracket anyway.
 
[TW]Fox;19618380 said:
The full package is, as I said, almost £1000. Infact, it's exactly...

£914.00 per year?
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Ouch! In that case, as it's the older and possibly more reliable non-ED engine I'd recommend just doig what i do which is stick £100 a month into a "car repairs" savings account!
 
Didnt want to go starting another thread on such a similar subject.
when i return to the UK i plan to buy myself a car, i want something fast fun and reasonably practical, the E46 M3 is looking increasingly more attractive to me.
however after setting aside money for Insurance and such i am left with around the 8-9k mark to spend on the car itself, is an M3 at the price mark really such a dodgy buy baring in mind i will always have around 1500 set aside to cover problems that may arise.
i've fell into the trap of buying a car out of my means before and found it to be quite a painful experience, is an reasonable condition M3 at this price point possible.
or should i stop dreamin and look at something a bit more affordable.
 
there are a few posts on here with the running costs of an M3. If you have the spare cash to cover any major faults then it should be ok. I wouldn't call an e46 practical though, but thats me :p
 
steve45 said:
Didnt want to go starting another thread on such a similar subject.
when i return to the UK i plan to buy myself a car, i want something fast fun and reasonably practical, the E46 M3 is looking increasingly more attractive to me.
however after setting aside money for Insurance and such i am left with around the 8-9k mark to spend on the car itself, is an M3 at the price mark really such a dodgy buy baring in mind i will always have around 1500 set aside to cover problems that may arise.
i've fell into the trap of buying a car out of my means before and found it to be quite a painful experience, is an reasonable condition M3 at this price point possible.
or should i stop dreamin and look at something a bit more affordable.
Click to expand...

The less you spend the more you need to have saved for 'isues'. The potential problem I can see here is that you neither have that much to spend or that much as a back up.
 
steve45 said:
Didnt want to go starting another thread on such a similar subject.
when i return to the UK i plan to buy myself a car, i want something fast fun and reasonably practical, the E46 M3 is looking increasingly more attractive to me.
however after setting aside money for Insurance and such i am left with around the 8-9k mark to spend on the car itself, is an M3 at the price mark really such a dodgy buy baring in mind i will always have around 1500 set aside to cover problems that may arise.
i've fell into the trap of buying a car out of my means before and found it to be quite a painful experience, is an reasonable condition M3 at this price point possible.
or should i stop dreamin and look at something a bit more affordable.
Click to expand...

Contrary to what some believe, you can buy good examples of the E46 M3 for about £9.5k to £10k privately. Saying that, you can also buy high mileage good examples for less than that. They really having taken a pumping, value wise, over the last 12 to 18 months.

Insurance and fuel to one side, it goes without saying that you need cash to keep these things on the road. Decent tyres will cost anything from £500 to £1,200 depending on brand and size. New OEM brakes all round c. £700, shock & springs same again, warranty and so on.

That said, with the age and popularity of the car OEM parts can be bought from BMW dealers direct at a decent discount and there's lots of capable Independants around to save on labour costs if you can't do the work yourself.

I'm on my 3rd now and other than replacing tyres, discs and pads, I've not shelled out much over that in the 18 months I've owned this one, a 2004 car. 2yr AUC warranty took care of everything else.

If you fancy one, get on oneof the specialist websites. There's loads of knowledgeable folk in the Tayside area who would help you out in terms of not buying a pup. If you can do that, the chances of you having to ***** £5k in the first year of ownership (trust me, it is possible) are greatly reduced!
 
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