Help my Father In Law choose a BMW :)

Soldato
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Help my Father In Law choose a BMW

Evening all,

My father in law is on the hunt for a new car. Hopefully you can help :)

He definitely wants a BMW and preferably a 3 series coupe as he likes the look of this the best. The budget is £18-£21k. Mileage will be very low, ~5,000 miles a year, mainly around town.

What should he be looking for with this budget? Are there any must have options that he should be looking for, mileage etc? Petrol or diesel doesnt matter, obviously petrol is preferred. Also is it worth considering a convertible?

Thanks in advance :) Bit vague I know!
 
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He might JUST be able to squeeze into a 4 series 420i at the very top of his budget. Cheapest AUC is just under £23K at the moment, so it might be expecting a bit much to get it for £21K though.

Spec's too vague really though. Does he have any limits on age of the car, or mileage? Otherwise you'll get everything from 320d to M3 recommended.
 
If he is set on a 3 Series Coupe (now the 4 Series) then he needs to have a serious think. As mentioned above the 'new' 3 Series Coupe (4 Series) is just a tiny bit over his budget so not really an option.

Equally spending £18k on the old 3 Series Coupe would be completely nuts as it's been out for ages and you could probably pick one up for under £10k now.

His budget is not useful for either car really.

Up it slightly and get a 4 Series if he can.
 
This is a terrible amount of money to spend on a 3 Series Coupe. They are 10 year old cars design wise and not somewhere to place £20,000. Either stretch to a 4 Series or half the budget and buy a 325i SE which is the cheapest and best value way into a 3 Coupe.
 
Or better still just bin off the coupe idea and buy an F30 3 Series. You'll get a better car for your money and it's more useful than the Coupe and he's probably grown out of having the flashest car in McDonalds carpark anyway. The 3 Series is the same car with more doors.
 
If the budget cannot be increased would it be worth holding out for 6 months to a year for the 4 series prices to come down a bit?
 
If he has £21k cash I am sure he can save/scrimp or whatever to up the budget enough to get a 4 series.
 
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[TW]Fox;27925231 said:
Or better still just bin off the coupe idea and buy an F30 3 Series. You'll get a better car for your money and it's more useful than the Coupe and he's probably grown out of having the flashest car in McDonalds carpark anyway. The 3 Series is the same car with more doors.

Lol. I do love some of the things you come out with. You have a great way of presenting logic!
 
[TW]Fox;27925231 said:
Or better still just bin off the coupe idea and buy an F30 3 Series. The 3 Series is the same car with more doors.

This is the best advice,.... as already said he'll get a good 328i for his budget and he'll only get a 420i for an extra few grand... I'd get the 328i ;)
 
Bit of a thread resurrection. He's still looking and the budget has increased slightly to £25k. We went to look at a few F30's over the weekend but he wasnt sold. He wants a coupe.

The 4 series has come down in price now but 90% are diesels and I am trying my best to stop him getting a diesel.

Is £25k enough or is it worth waiting a bit longer?
 
What wasn't he sold on? If he didnt like them why would he like the 4 Series - its the same car, it drives the same, it has the same engine range, etc etc. Its like not being 'sold' on a 5 door Golf but deciding a 3 door Golf is epic.

If the budget is higher then fair enough but why struggle into a 4 Series when your budget buys a fabulous 3 Series loaded with kit?

The issue here is that the choice appears to be very average 4 Series or very good 3 Series and I cannot understand why in that situation you'd still pick the 4.
 
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Spec's too vague really though. Does he have any limits on age of the car, or mileage? Otherwise you'll get everything from 320d to M3 recommended.

Seriously? The guy needs a sensible mid-level petrol, and you think an M3 or a diesel might be recommended?
 
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