£9k to spend

Rannoch

Rannoch

Rannoch

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Looking for a car in the Edinburgh area.

Thinking about a BMW 3 series or a C class Mercedes .

Have around £9k to spend, saw a few on Evans Halshaw but having never owned either of those models Im not sure what to look for. Any tips?
 
Wouldn't bother with a 3 Series BMW at that budget. It either gets you a desirable petrol E90 era (not really advised unless you're an enthusiast), or a base model F30.

Depending on what you're after would make all the difference here.

If you just want a modern-ish BMW and don't care for the performance, I'd opt for the newer F30. Try and get some sort of warranty as a 320d engine mated to the ZF8 gearbox could make that £9k car a little more expensive, if one or both decide to pop.

Do you have any specific requirements?
 
Thanks guys

Town driving and a 2.5 hr trip to Glencoe every month. My mileage is low, average 60 miles a week in Edinburgh.

Looking for something sporty, automatic preferably, I have an 8-year-old daughter so a two seater is out.
 
Sporty is subjective.

I have an M140i which is considered pretty quick in a straight line, and is set-up to be a bit "sporty", but I wouldn't call it a sports car at all. In my eyes a sports car can only be a two seater, two door, and probably a soft-top.

If I were you I'd try and find an F30 320i/328i Sport/M-Sport with some warranty. I'd have thought autos would be easier to find than manuals.
 
Vargas said:
Thanks guys

Town driving and a 2.5 hr trip to Glencoe every month. My mileage is low, average 60 miles a week in Edinburgh.

Looking for something sporty, automatic preferably, I have an 8-year-old daughter so a two seater is out.
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Define sporty, a 320d will very much feel sporty if your coming from a 1.0 Corsa for example,if you currently have something with a big engine and low weight it certainly won’t,what car do you currently drive?
 
wingman said:
Sporty is subjective.

I have an M140i which is considered pretty quick in a straight line, and is set-up to be a bit "sporty", but I wouldn't call it a sports car at all. In my eyes a sports car can only be a two seater, two door, and probably a soft-top.

If I were you I'd try and find an F30 320i/328i Sport/M-Sport with some warranty. I'd have thought autos would be easier to find than manuals.
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This is a manual but I don’t mind too much.

https://www.johnkilkennycars.co.uk/used-bmw-3-series-edinburgh-scotland-1944227
 
:DL
Scania said:
Define sporty, a 320d will very much feel sporty if your coming from a 1.0 Corsa for example,if you currently have something with a big engine and low weight it certainly won’t,what car do you currently drive?
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Nissan Note :D 1.2
 
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Vargas said:
:DL

Nissan Note :D 1.2
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Ahh, well, pretty much any of them will feel sporty by comparison for sure! :D

M-Sport models have firmer suspension, bigger wheels (and generally a harsher ride to boot) but are quite a jump in insurance group if that’s a consideration, whilst your weekly mileage is low your once a month trip would make me not rule out a diesel (by far the majority of 3’s you see on the road are diesels) your monthly trip would be it’s opportunity to get a good run - generally diesels for short trips are regarded as a bad idea although this never stops taxi drivers from choosing them!

Be prepared to travel for the right car (although given your location, that’s a given, I mean if necessary don’t disregard a car because it’s a three hour train ride away) i would certainly go for an f30 over the older e90, better tech, styling (imo), and I would go on condition rather than mileage, ensure you buy one with a full (dealer ideally) history and look for things like premium tyres fitted etc, it’s a good sign if the previous owner was a cheapskate or not.

Given the traveling most likely required I’d be in contact with sellers requesting plenty of high resolution photographs so you can have a good a look as possible, nothing worse than traveling a huge distance to view an “immaculate” car to find the person who described it has a guide dog..... ;)
 
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coupe69 said:
That link no longer works. What's the overall budget then? around £14k?
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How have you managed to dig this thread up? Did you specifically search for it?

I imagine the linked car has long been sold given the OP was a year ago.

Taking the current UK inflation based on RPI, the budget for 2020 would be £14,434.
 
Dr House said:
honestly Fox. You are a very sensible guy with very logical thought process and very smart.

But are you really this much of a ass in real life?
Are you a little bit on the spectrum?
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Come off it, he had a load of people giving him advice on his criteria and it was just amusing to see him pop back and have purchased something completely different :D
 
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