Older higher spec, it will look the same after the mods be cheaper and have a great deal more equipment aswell as a larger engine etc! also when you come to sell it if you take the kit off again you are not going to take as a big a hit with depreciation as its already depreciated its ass off before you bought it!
Age or specification?
- Thread starter [TW]Fox
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I'm still at a loss as to how, with the greatest of respect, your able to prospectively run & insure a BMW e39 whilst being a student! 
Much as you hate them, surely a small car of whatever make/model would be more practical?
I've found the e38 expensive, and I earn circa £30k per year.
Ultimately, its "to hell with practicality" just enjoy the car! - works for me mate!
Much as you hate them, surely a small car of whatever make/model would be more practical?
I've found the e38 expensive, and I earn circa £30k per year.
Ultimately, its "to hell with practicality" just enjoy the car! - works for me mate!
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
R124/LA420 said:I'm still at a loss as to how, with the greatest of respect, your able to prospectively run & insure a BMW e39 whilst being a student!
My third year is a 1 year industrial placement and some savings. This will pay for the car, rather than be spent on more sensible things like house deposits, saving for my final year, alcohol, hookers or accomodation as I'm living at home.
I'm not saying it's not daft
I don't want practical, I want to fulfil a dream
What sort of costs have you encountered?
I'm budgeting £500 every 2 years for tyres, £300 a year for servicing and aim to have a spare £1k for 'oh dear that just broke' moments..
[TW]Fox said:My third year is a 1 year industrial placement. This will pay for the car, rather than be spent on more sensible things like house deposits, saving for my final year, alcohol, hookers or accomodation as I'm living at home.
I'm not saying it's not daft
I don't want practical, I want to fulfil a dream
What sort of costs have you encountered?
I'm budgeting £500 every 2 years for tyres, £300 a year for servicing and aim to have a spare £1k for 'oh dear that just broke' moments..
Thanks for explaining your funding, fair enough mate, go for it like I have.
Costs, Fuel. drive it gently and its very economical, I've found my consumption is getting higher as I now disregard economy and enjoy the car! £40 won't last me a weekend of mixed around town driving. But, a full 85 litre tank can easily last me a trip to Taunton in Somerset plus driving about and get me back to Stoke! - these cars are built for cruising along @90 opps! I mean 70....
I've just replaced my front discs and had new pads all round, £450! but, I did have it done by a BMW dealer and had an ABS issue sorted at the same time (not covered by my warranty - bah!) I know I could have gone to Crap Fit and got it done cheaper, but, the way my car now stops tells me I've spent my money wisely.
Tyres, £280 for two fronts £400 for two rears, avoid one with nice big 18's would be my advice there..... My Dads e39 has done 50k on its front tyres and 35k on the rears! the e38 won't get anywhere near that, I'm sure.
Exhausts are scary prices from a dealer, so it pays to shop around, but, a lot of aftermarket BMW cats have an adverse effect on consumption so I'm reliably told.
I'd budget a bit more for servicing, an inspection 2 from an independent won't give you much change from £300, assuming nothing extra is needed...
As for the spare £1k, well, your better organised that I ever will be in that respect, I never needed it with my e36 and I'm more than confident I won't with this e38. (touches wood!
)I'm sure you know what your doing mate, just ensure you get a decent example in the first place and you won't go far wrong.
Soldato
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So what, one of mine is 33, the others 28
Go for the Corsa
Go for the Corsa
Vanilla said:Hmmm, now i'm tempted by a 540i.
I was looking into an RX8 for around 15k, but seeing some nice 540i's for around 10k.
Fuel not a problem due to fuel card
The steering is a lot better (imo) on the in-line 6's something to do with a different steering type, iirc.
Good advice...Jez said:
and more good adviceLashout_UK said:
You can get a brand new 06-reg Corsa for that price, with free insurance too, you can save that £1 on insurance on sweets or something for lectures... and it is also available in 5-door hatchback versions[TW]Fox said:
With brand new cars, you can customise it with pink two-tone paint, uber bling-bling alloy wheels, phat noisy dual chrome exhausts, etc.. 
On a more honest note, I would choose a newer 5-series over the old one. The facelift models look much better IMO. Why buy an older car and try to make it look like a newer one? It is still an old pre-facelift car... a bit like sticking M-badges all over a 316ti Compact, it is still a 316 at the end of the day (ok, not the best of examples but you know what I mean
).
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Soldato
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You shouldnt have to tell people how a student can afford nice things, its no-ones business but your own. I tell nosey people to f..........................
tzang said:On a more honest note, I would choose a newer 5-series over the old one. The facelift models look much better IMO. Why buy an older car and try to make it look like a newer one? It is still an old pre-facelift car... a bit like sticking M-badges all over a 316ti Compact, it is still a 316 at the end of the day (ok, not the best of examples but you know what I mean
It's not really the same though - facelift e39's look so much better than pre-facelift. It's just like someone de-tango'ing a Focus, just a bit more.
Spending a couple of quid or a couple of hundred on modifications sound fine... especially if that car isn't 200 years oldNickXX said:
I just can't see why someone would spend £1500+ on modifications on probably a 10+ year old pre-facelift model vehicle whereas investing that £1500+ on a newer facelift model would give you the looks already (which, from the looks of it, is what Fox is after)... and you won't have to worry about bits and pieces falling off due to age, my opinion though tzang said:Spending a couple of quid or a couple of hundred on modifications sound fine... especially if that car isn't 200 years old
But it's like you could have:
a)
or...
b)
For £1,500 you go from nice car, to pretty damn special car.
I do agree with you though, I would much rather go for the face-lift over the pre-facelift, but I would want to looking like the above.
Out of interest, and I'm not having a dig, do you really own a Corsa?
I think I would go for the newer car, but this is just my personal preference.
EDIT: the facelift is so much nicer. Plus, the older it is, the closer it gets to its anti-corrosion warranty running out! (even though im not sure how long BMW have).
EDIT: the facelift is so much nicer. Plus, the older it is, the closer it gets to its anti-corrosion warranty running out! (even though im not sure how long BMW have).
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